Siddhis Buddhism Quotes

In the beginning we define what is spiritual. But as you go on, you see that everybody and everything is an instrument of infinity. ~ Frederick Lenz

Your experiences in the causal dimensions will give you knowledge of time, space, dimensionality and what lies beyond all these things. ~ Frederick Lenz

People are under the assumption that the kundalini just flows from the base of the spine up. That's not the case at all. Kundalini also flows downward. ~ Frederick Lenz

Sometimes, sitting there on the cushion failing to watch your breath, it can feel like you're the only weirdo weird enough to be wasting your time in this way. But you're not! There are generations of weirdos, monasteries full of them, and we have the benefit of their accumulated wisdom. ~ Jay Michaelson

याता लोचन-गोचरं यदि विधेर् एणेक्षणा सुन्दरी

नेयं कुङ्कुम-पङ्क-पिञ्जर-मुखी तेनोज्झिता स्यात् क्षणम् ।

नाप्यामीलित-लोचनस्य रचनाद् रूपं भवेद् ईदृशं

तस्मात् सर्वम् अकर्तृकं जगद् इदं श्रेयो मतं सौगतम् ।। (Subhāṣita-Ratna-Koṣa 440)

If this gazelle-eyed beauty had crossed the creator's eyes,

he could never have let her go.

And surely,

he couldn't have produced these features with his eyes closed.

From this we see that the Buddhists have it right:

There is no creator. ~ Dharmakirti

You don't understand. I only prostitute the part of the body that isn't important, and nobody suffers except my karma a little bit. I don't do big harm. You prostitute your mind. Mind is seat of Buddha. What you do is very very bad. You should not use your mind in that way ~ John Burdett

Buddha once saw a jackal, a wild dog, run out of the forest where he was staying. It stood still for a while, then it ran into the underbrush, and then out again. Then it ran into a tree hollow, then out again. Then it went into a cave, only to run out again. One minute it stood, the next it ran, then it lay down, then it jumped up. The jackal had the mange. When it stood, the mange would eat into its skin, so it would run. Running, it was still uncomfortable, so it would stop. Standing, it was still uncomfortable, so it would lie down. Then it would jump up again, running to the underbrush, the tree hollow, never staying still. The Buddha said, "Monks, did you see that jackal this afternoon? Standing, it suffered. Running, it suffered. Sitting, it suffered. Lying down, it suffered. It blamed standing for its discomfort. It blamed sitting. It blamed running and lying down. It blamed the tree, the underbrush, and the cave. In fact, the problem was with none of those things. The problem was with his mange." We are just the same as that jackal. Our discontent is due to wrong view. Because we don't exercise sense restraint, we blame our suffering on externals. Whether we live in Thailand, America or England, we aren't satisfied. Why not? Because we still have wrong view. Just that! So wherever we go, we aren't content. But just as that jackal would be content wherever it went as soon as its mange was cured, so would we be content wherever we went once we rid ourselves of wrong vi ~ Ajahn Chah

You necessarily have to be lost, before you're found. ~ T. Scott McLeod

The very idea of inevitable death, carrying with it the manifest folly of human concerns, is at the core of ruin porn fetish. Memento mori: You and everyone you know will die and become wreckage plowed under and renewed, because that's they way of all things. Fight it and be terrified; accept it and know peace. Live accordingly. ~ Brian Awehali

Somewhere Dōgen wrote about the number of moments in the snap of a finger. I don't remember the exact figure, only that it was large and seemed quite arbitrary and absurd, but I imagine that when I am in the cockpit of my plane, aiming the nose at the hull of an American battleship, every single one will be clear and pure and discernible. At the moment of my death, I look forward at last to being fully aware and alive. ~ Ruth Ozeki

Zazen is indeed the posture of "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13). In our zazen we realize the illusory nature of thoughts, and no matter how powerful they might be, we don't chase after them, try to get rid of them, or act on them. So zazen is the posture of "We know that our old self was crucified with him" (Romans 6:6) or "I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:19). In the end, zazen is the purest expression of "Be still, and know that I am God!" (Psalms 46:10). ~ Kosho Uchiyama

Consider that we live in a world predicated upon fear. The underlying assumption is that human beings are innately evil and must be groomed and controlled. That is the dichotomy that is set up within the human mind, good and evil. ~ Frederick Lenz

You can do anything. You can perform miracles, but it won't fulfill you. What will fulfill you is the stillness of eternity. ~ Frederick Lenz

Following feeling, relying on liking or wanting, we are not free. The freedom to "do as we like" is not freedom of choice because we are ruled by the powerful property of feeling; we cannot choose apart from liking and disliking. Likes and dislikes may be articulated in the form of sophisticated-sounding opinions, but the decision is made for us by feeling.

The Western world places a high value on personal feelings and opinions: Each individual "has a right" to an opinion. But rarely do we question how we have arrived at our opinion. Upon examination, we may discover that opinions tend to stem from convenience, familiarity, and selfishness–what feels good or what is pleasing or comfortable to us. Upon this basis, we act, and receive the consequences of our action.

Even if we compile a large number of such opinions, there is no guarantee that we will develop a wise perspective as a ground for action. Often this process only creates a mass of confusion, for opinions of one individual tend to conflict with the opinions of another. If there appears to be agreement, we tend to assume this agreement will remain stable. But agreement only means that the needs of the individuals involved are temporarily similar, and when those needs shift, agreement will evaporate.

To make certain decisions, we rely on logic or scientific findings, which are supposedly free from personal opinion but are still weighted with the opinions of a particular culture. This ~ Dharma Publishing

They've got lots of theories, books, sciences - I've read a lot of those books. Most of them are pretty unhappy. ~ Frederick Lenz

How can you possibly overcome your fears, doubts, worries and other problems? You can't. You simply don't have the capacity. Fortunately, the infinite can do all of these things for you. How? Because it is lacking in nothing. ~ Frederick Lenz

Learn to meditate. It's fun. It will give you a strong, wonderful mind. ~ Frederick Lenz

A secular approach to Buddhism is thus concerned with how the dharma can enable humans and other living beings to flourish in this biosphere, not in a hypothetical afterlife. Rather than emphasizing personal enlightenment and liberation, it is grounded in a deeply felt concern and compassion for the suffering of all those with whom we share this earth. ~ Stephen Batchelor

I'm helped by a gentle notion from Buddhist psychology, that there are "near enemies" to every great virtue - reactions that come from a place of care in us, and which feel right and good, but which subtly take us down an ineffectual path. Sorrow is a near enemy to compassion and to love. It is borne of sensitivity and feels like empathy. But it can paralyze and turn us back inside with a sense that we can't possibly make a difference. The wise Buddhist anthropologist and teacher Roshi Joan Halifax calls this a "pathological empathy" of our age. In the face of magnitudes of pain in the world that come to us in pictures immediate and raw, many of us care too much and see no evident place for our care to go. But compassion goes about finding the work that can be done. Love can't help but stay present ~ Krista Tippett

Beyond this world there are myriad worlds, thousands of inter-dimensional planes with different types of beings going through other cycles of existence. Beyond all beings is something that is eternal. ~ Frederick Lenz

What is perfect? From the Zen mind, perfection is not being there. ~ Frederick Lenz

Amida's unimpeded light is the sun of wisdom that destroys the mind of darkness.
(Preface in Teaching, Practice, Faith, Enlightenment) ~ Kentetsu Takamori

Any speech which ignores uncertainty is not spoken by a sage. ~ Ajahn Chach

Mind is a forerunner of all actions.
All deeds are led by mind, created by mind.
If one speaks or acts with corrupt mind,
suffering follows,
As the wheel follows the hoof of an ox pulling a cart.

Mind is the forerunner of all actions.
All deeds are led by mind, created by mind.
If one speaks or acts with a serene mind,
happiness follows,
As surely as one's shadow.

'He abused me, he mistreated me, defeated me, robbed me.'
Harboring such thoughts keeps hatred alive.

'He abused me, he mistreated me, defeated me, robbed me.'
Releasing such thoughts banishes hatred for all time.

Animosity does not eradicate animosity.
Only by loving kindness is animosity dissolved.
This law is ancient and eternal. ~ Dhammapada

Psychic development makes you strong. It develops a common sense attitude in which you don't expose yourself to forces, people and situations that would drain you. ~ Frederick Lenz

When you begin to relinquish your ego, you will no longer feel compelled to prove to people how busy you are in an attempt to validate your sense of worth. ~ Miya Yamanouchi

Forgiveness is the best revenge. ~ Frederick Lenz

The nagual is the unknown. It cannot be talked about, it can only be witnessed. ~ Frederick Lenz

In the end, all any of these religions aim to do is give us hope. The main difference with Buddhism is that it aims to teach us to find hope from within ourselves, rather than seeking outside advice or saviors. It tells us that only we can help ourselves. It's existentialist in that way, and shockingly modern. ~ Dominique Francon

The experience of light in a very pure form always creates happiness. The experience of desire and aversion tends to create unhappiness. ~ Frederick Lenz

All know the way, but few actually walk it. ~ Bodhidharma

Whether it's the waitress who brings steaming hot food to a table of hungry people or the janitor who keeps an office clean and free of germs, each of us have the power to deliver joy and happiness to the people around us through the work we do. ~ Alex Kakuyo

The siddhas are developed through the tonal, not the nagual. ~ Frederick Lenz

The energy strands and bands of our being are linked in a certain way and makes us what we are. It causes us to perceive a certain level of the dream of life. But you can reorder those. That's magic, you see. ~ Frederick Lenz

Each one of you has created a sense of self. That's what the tonal does. Each one of you is taught a system of maintenance that has been developed by humankind from your birth till your death. ~ Frederick Lenz

Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival. ~ Dalai Lama XIV