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Paying Homage to our Great Buddha

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 2:11 am
by Madushka
There is a big argument going on saying that Buddha never said to pay homage to his images.

True! A Buddha does not have such a low character or is full of defilements to ask others to pay reverence to his images.

Though Buddha has never said to revere his images, he accepted homage with compassion because he knew that devotees acquired merit by doing so.

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Re: Paying Homage to our Great Buddha

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 2:53 am
by ground
When sense of self arises it may feel like burden. To counter this felt burden a sense of devotion may arise. Wisdom does inhere somewhere (metaphor). :sage:

Re: Paying Homage to our Great Buddha

Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 5:36 am
by amaan
Though Buddha has never said to revere his images, he accepted homage with compassion because he knew that devotees acquired merit by doing so.

Re: Paying Homage to our Great Buddha

Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 7:00 am
by Kusala
In Praise of Arduous Deeds

Fatigue, loss of the joy of solitude,
the company of fools, the press of the crowd
and the pairs of opposites: all these discomforts
you endure as if they were blessings.

With mind detached, you quietly work
for the welfare of the world.
How awesome is the Buddha-nature of the Buddha!

You ate poor food, sometimes you went hungry.
You walked rough paths and slept on the ground
trampled hard by the hooves of cattle.

Though you are the Master, in order to serve others
you endured insults and adapted your clothes and words,
out of love for those whom you taught.

You are the Lord, but you never lord it over others.
All may use you as a servant to obtain the help they need.

No matter who provoked you,
where or how, never did you transgress
your own path of fair conduct.

You help those who wish you ill
more than most men
help those who wish them well.

To an enemy intent on evil
you are a friend intent on good.
To one who gleefully seeks faults
you respond by seeking virtues.

Those who sought to give you poison and fire
you approached with compassion and nectar.

You conquered revilers with patience,
the malicious with blessings,
slanderers with truth and the cruel with kindness.

You reversed in an instant
the manifold natures and evil destinies
of those depraved from beginningless time.

Re: Paying Homage to our Great Buddha

Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 7:08 am
by Kusala
In Praise of Speech

Well worded and significant, true and sweet,
deep or plain or both together, condensed or copious.
Hearing such words of yours, would not even an opponent
be convinced that you were all-knowing?

Generally your speech was wholly sweet
but when necessary it would be otherwise.
But either way, every word was well spoken
because it always achieved its purpose.

Soft or hard or possessing both qualities,
all your words when distilled had but one taste.

Ah! How pure, perfect and excellent your actions are,
that you employed these jewel-like words in such a way.

From your mouth pleasing to the eye, drop words
pleasing to the ear, like nectar from the moon.

Your sayings are like a spring shower settling the dust of
passions, like a garuda killing the serpent of hatred.

They are like the sun again and again
dispelling the darkness of ignorance,
like Sakra's scepter splitting the mountain of pride.

Your speech is excellent in three ways:
based on fact it is truthful,
because its motive is pure it causes no confusion,
and being relevant it is easily understood.

When first heard your words excite the mind
but when their meaning is pondered over
they wash away all ignorance and passion.

They go to the hearts of all.
While comforting the grieving they alarm the heedless
and rouse those preoccupied with pleasures.

Truly your words are for all: they delight the wise,
strengthen those of middling intelligence
and illuminate the minds of the dull.

Your sayings coax men from false views
and draw them towards Nirvana.
They remove faults and rain down virtues.

Your knowledge embraces all things,
your mindfulness is ever present
and thus what you say will always come to pass.

Because you never speak at the wrong time
or in the wrong place or towards the wrong person,
your words, like energy rightly applied, are never wasted.

Re: Paying Homage to our Great Buddha

Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 7:15 am
by Kusala
In Praise of Skill

Through your skill in teaching the rough became gentle,
the mean became generous and the cruel became kind.

A Nanda became serene, a Manastabdha humble,
an Angulimala compassionate.
Who would not be amazed?

Delighted with the flavor of your teaching,
many wise ones left their beds of gold
to sleep on beds of straw.

Because you knew time and temperaments,
sometimes you remained silent when questioned,
sometimes you spoke first, and at other times you aroused
their interest and then spoke.

Having first scrubbed clean the garment of the mind
with talk on generosity and other virtues,
you then applied the dye of the Dharma.

There is no expedient or opportunity
which you did not use
in order to rescue this pitiful world
from the fearful abyss of samsara.

To train people in different situations,
according to their state of mind,
many and various were the words and deeds you used.

They were pure and friendly, honored and praised,
saluted and acclaimed by both gods and men.

Difficult it is to speak well and then do good.
But for you, O Truthful One, both these things come easily.

By your purity alone you could have cleansed the whole universe.
In the triple world no one is to be found like you.

You rose up for the welfare of all beings
lost in the beginningless and fearful straits of becoming.

Re: Paying Homage to our Great Buddha

Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 7:21 am
by Kusala
Those were just some of my favorites from the Satapancasatka... http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... html#intro