#master sheng yen

[radical-revolution]

Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go on its own way, meandering here, trickling there.

- Master Sheng-yen

[zerogate]

Even monks and nuns can lose the energy of a deep experience, but it is much more difficult for lay people to retain it. In Chan there is a verse:

To hear the Buddha Dharma is not very difficult. More difficult is it to practice. To practice is not very difficult. More difficult is it to realize the Path. To realize the Path is not very difficult. More difficult is it to not fall from the Path.

There is also a saying: "When you have gotten the Buddha-mind go to the woods, live by a stream and meditate; thus will you nourish your saintly embryo." When will this baby be born? You don't know. But, like an expectant mother, you must nourish the saintly embryo.

-- Master Sheng Yen, Getting the Buddha Mind

[kungfuwushuworld]

Legendary Tsui Siu-Ming in Donnie Yen wuxia movie Sakra (2023)

Born in Hong Kong and a native of Guangdong, Hsu was once a recognized child star. Hsu had tried his hands in singing during the 1970s and 80s with such renowned tunes as "The New Chameleon", "Za Xiang Hu Shan Xing" and "Huei Sheng Gu Li Nian Li Qing". He has helmed various films in the 1980s and 90s, including "Gang Master", "The Fung-Shui Master", "The Holy Robe of Shaolin", "Mirage" and "Mistaken Identity". He was the martial arts choreographer in "Poison Rose and the Bodyguard", "Born to Defence", "Blood Ritual" and "The Revenge of Angel". He also produced drama serials for Rediffusion Television (RTV) such as the rating-topper "Chameleon". Hsu worked for ATV in 1998 and became CEO of Emperor Motion Picture in the subsequent year where he was responsible for film and TV business development.

[mountain-sage]

“When he sat, his stillness made his body resemble a block of dry wood. Hung Chih, calling his method “Silent Illumination,” describes it as follows: “Your body sits silently; your mind, quiescent, unmoving. Your mouth is so still that moss grows around it. Grass sprouts from your tongue. Do this without cease, cleansing the mind until it gains the clarity of an autumn pool, bright as the moon illuminating the evening sky.”

The Poetry of Enlightenment: Poems by Ancient Chan Masters

Chan Master Sheng Yen

[mahayanapilgrim]

KARMA YOGA

Before cultivating samadhi,

people with heavy or deep karmic obstacles might not feel pain in body and mind.

But after beginning the life of cultivation, obstructions of the body and mind become glaringly apparent.

The best method for such people

is to perform volunteer services for the public and to undertake arduous physical tasks for the sangha.

Instead of seeking accomplishments, they seek to have their karma dispelled.

After some time, their desire for fame, benefits, and material goods grows weak.

Then, even if they do not achieve deep samadhi, their minds gradually become purified.

~ Master Sheng-yen

From: «Dharma Drum: The Life and Heart of Ch'an Practice» (Dharma Drum Publications).

[primordialsoundmeditation]

Master Sheng Yen

Zen Garden

[gotohoon]

You Can Make a Difference

When I was a young novice, my teacher, Master Sheng Yen, would tell me that it’s quite normal when things don’t turn out the way one expects, and it’s uncommon for things to go smoothly. “Face everything with an ordinary mind,” he advised.  An ordinary mind, which is a mind unfazed by vexations and deluded views, is undaunted in the face of difficulties. Why undaunted? Because all things are…

[blackheart-brotherhood]

Four Steps to Magical Powers

Before you fully embark on the path of the bodhisattvas and buddhas, says Chan master Sheng Yen, you must first practice the four steps to magical powers. What are these steps and what are the magical powers you need? The four steps to magical powers are also called by such names as the four steps to the power of ubiquity, the four steps to unlimited power, and the four kinds of samadhi. In…

[terracemuse]

[yuknoomyichakkahk]

Why do Buddhist monks and nuns have to shave their heads?

Master Shèngyán 聖嚴.

Five Desires according to the Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism:

(1) The desires that arise from the contact of the five sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body) with their respective objects (color and form, sound, smell, taste, and texture).

(2) The desires for wealth, sexual love, food and drink, fame, and sleep.

[i5i0]

There are many Buddhas in the past, present, and future; Buddhahood is achieved by sentient beings. A bodhisattva is one who is in the process of going from the stage of sentient being to Buddhahood. Bodhisattvas help Buddhas and work with Buddhas to deliver sentient beings. Deities protect the Three Jewels—the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha—so that the Buddhadharma may be propagated smoothly and numerous beings may be delivered. That is why in monasteries of Mahayana Buddhism there are many statues of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and deities.

Ven. Sheng Yen

[salonduthe]

Do not become annoyed when faced with difficulties. To do so merely adds difficulty to difficulty and further disturbs your mind. By maintaining a mind of peace and nonopposition, difficulties will naturally fall away.

Master Sheng-yen (with thanks to aliveonallchannels)

[mountain-sage]

In one-mindedness there are no

wandering thoughts.

-Master Sheng Yen

[twilightronin]

The Young Master 1980

[themonroe]

[mavskinks]