Why Buddhas Smile

Post sayings or stories from Buddhist traditions which you find interesting, inspiring or useful. (Your own stories are welcome on DW, but in the Creative Writing or Personal Experience forums rather than here.)
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Nicholas Weeks
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Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:21 am
Location: California

Why Buddhas Smile

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

The Buddha’s Smile

Now it is a law of nature that whenever lord buddhas manifest their
smiles, rays of blue, yellow, red, and white light, and those the color of
topaz, rubies, diamonds, beryl, sapphires, crystals, red pearls, right spiraling
conch shells, quartz, coral, gold, and silver emerge from their
mouths, some going downward and some going upward.

Those that go downward enter
the various hells down to the Avīci (Ceaseless Torture)
... Becoming cold, they fall in the
hot hells, and becoming hot, they fall in the cold hells. In this way, at
that moment, those rays of light alleviate the particular torments of
those beings who dwell in these various hells.

And so they think,
“Friends, have we died and passed away from this place? Have we been
reborn somewhere else?”

Then, in order to engender their faith, the Blessed One manifests a
magical image of himself for them to see. Seeing this magical image,
they think, “Friends, we haven’t died and passed away from this place,
nor have we been born someplace else. Instead, it’s this person who
we’ve never seen before; it’s by his power that our particular torments
are alleviated.”

Cultivating faith in their minds toward this magical
image, they then cast off that karma still to be suffered in these hells and
take rebirth among gods and mortals, where they become vessels for
the [four noble] truths.
[From Divine Stories p. 136; tr. by Andy Rotman]
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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Thomas Amundsen
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Re: Why Buddhas Smile

Post by Thomas Amundsen »

That's beautiful! :heart:
Nicholas Weeks
Posts: 4209
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:21 am
Location: California

Re: Why Buddhas Smile

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Those rays of light that go upward, enter the various divine
realms... There they proclaim
[the truth of ] impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and no-self.

And they utter these two verses:

Strive! Go forth!
Apply yourselves to the teachings of the Buddha!
Destroy the army of death
as an elephant would a house of reeds.

Whoever diligently follows
this dharma and monastic discipline
will abandon the endless cycle of rebirth
and put an end to suffering.
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
joy&peace
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Joined: Mon May 11, 2015 4:53 pm

Re: Why Buddhas Smile

Post by joy&peace »

Great

I dunno if that is a long enough post,

But, really great,

Namaste

Love and peace.
Om Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate bodhi svaha
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aflatun
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Location: Bay Area, CA

Re: Why Buddhas Smile

Post by aflatun »

That's really beautiful, thank you !

:anjali:
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