A Little Dharma for the Weekend, bless you all dear Friends. Namaste, Miguel

A Handful of Knowledge

There aren’t that many fundamental, or root, principles of dharma. The Buddha said that his teaching is “a single handful.” A passage in the Samyutta-nikaya makes that clear. While walking through the forest, the Buddha picked up a handful of fallen leaves and asked the monks who were present to decide which was the greater amount, the leaves in his hand or all the leaves in the forest. Of course, they all said that there were more leaves in the forest, that the difference was beyond comparison. Try to imagine the truth of this scene; clearly see how huge the difference is. The Buddha then said that, similarly, those things that he had realized were a great amount, equal to all the leaves in the forest. However, that which was necessary to know, those things that should be taught and practiced, were equal to the number of leaves in his hand.

- Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, from “A Single Handful,”

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As Buddhists, while we practice our own teaching, we must respect other faiths, Christianity, Judaism and so forth. We must recognize and appreciate their contributions over many past centuries to human society, and at this time we must strive to make common effort to serve humankind.

~The Dalai Lama

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So ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

- Leonard Cohen

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"No one is to be called an enemy; all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves."

- St. Francis of Assisi (1181/1182 C.E. – 1226 C.E.)