Wake Up and Laugh!

Try to recite these once or twice a day, three times or more. Just let them sink down within you. Reciting them in the morning helps set the course for your day, and reciting them at night sets the course for your dreams! (Probably! Lol.)

Through one mind I take refuge in Buddha, who watches over and takes care of all material and nonmaterial realms.

Should the mind of an animal arise within me, let me learn the truth of non-duality through the deep wisdom of one mind.

When I rely upon my one mind for everything, should the mind of an evil spirit arise within me, it will willingly surrender to my one mind.

This is an interesting verse, in that it doesn’t promise that everything will be taken care of, but rather that should I be taken over by the attitude of a hungry ghost, then my one mind has the capability, should I try to rely upon it, to embrace that attitude and cause it to dissolve.

When my mind acts like a hungry ghost, my one mind can embrace that consciousness and cause it to surrender.
Experiencing oneness, it is truly fulfilled.

This year, aside from all the corona stuff, the lunar calendar also had a “leap month” that gave us two Buddha’s Birthdays. Normally the second one would be ignored, but with all of the quarantines and people avoiding gathering, the Korean Buddhist orders decided to have two Buddha’s Birthdays. The first was fairly simple, without any emphasis on public ceremonies at the temples, just quiet ceremonies with mostly just monks and nuns.

The hope was that things would have settled down in time to have a more public celebration on the second Buddha’s Birthday. Unfortunately, the latest outbreak has forced the cancellation of those plans. We’re still having a bit bigger celebration, with three nights of the lantern lighting celebration, but it’s a lot more low key than in previous years. Here’s a mix of photos from this year (taken by Hoon Park), and photos from previous years.

I hope you all have a wonderful Buddha’s Birthday! And remember, the point is to discover and brighten the light within us. This light that can show us our way forward and and help ease our suffering while dissolving some of the hindrances before us.

With palms together,
Chong Go

A single thought causes my mind to fall into the hell of boiling water,
but when that thought is dissolved,
this hell also collapses.

All of the hell realms within my mind vanish
as the thoughts that gave rise to them
are extinguished.

This is the start of an interesting section of The Thousand Hands Sutra that deals with hell realms and hellish states of existence. The “Hell of Knives” is traditionally just that – mountains of knives. But it could also perhaps be seen as everything that cuts you or cuts you down, emotionally and figuratively as well as literally.

Should the hell of knives arise within my mind,
let the all embracing energy of one mind
cause this hell to collapse.

My one mind hears and answers
all the cries of the world,
so I return to my one mind and rely upon it.
Mind freely manifests and functions everywhere.
Let me discover that all enlightened teachers are my one mind.

Try to recite this a few times before going to bed, and seeing if your dreams change!

My one mind is the Bodhisattva of Compassion,
so I return to my one mind and rely upon it.

Let me know that all Buddhas exist
within my one mind,
the place where enlightenment is attained.

Because we are so used to the material realm, we naturally try to match that format in our perceptions. Where things exist as separate entities, separated by distance and time.

However, they don’t actually exist that way. They are all part of one flowing, interconnected whole, and spiritual practice is the (attempt!) to live in tune with that. The more in tune we become, the more we become able to see things as they truly are, and the more we are able to act effectively in the world. And if you see everyone as yourself, could there be anything more natural than wanting to help them move from suffering?

My one mind is the Bodhisattva of Compassion,
so I return to my one mind and rely upon it.

One mind,
the Way that isn’t a fixed path,
its inherent brightness is never troubled by birth and death.
I vow to realize one mind without delay.