Want to be rich?
One of my favorite books these days is a very short Buddhist book titled "Life in Relation to Death". While you might think the answer to that statement is obvious (death comes after life), well, I wrote the answer here before, and I'll repeat it again:
"In enlightenment, death has no relevance to one's state of being."
As the chef Emiril would say, "Bam!"
In regards to those wanting wealth, the author offers another gold nugget.
The Heart Sutra (in English)
Here are the words of The Heart Sutra, in English, as translated by the wonderful people at the Kwan Um School of Zen. (If you have been to one of the Kwan Um Zen Centers, you will know this sutra well.)
The Heart Sutra (in English)
The Maha Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
perceives that all five skandhas are empty
and is saved from all suffering and distress.
Life in Relation to Death (book)
Geez, if you're ever interested in Buddhist thought on life and death, the super-small book "Life In Relation To Death
Here are a couple of sample lines from this wonderful little book:
"This body is not me"
I read these great lines in a Buddhist chanting book today:
This body is not me.
I am not limited by this body.
I am life without boundaries.
I have never been born,
and I have never died.
I wonder how many people read those lines and really believe them? I don't know why most people become Buddhists, but I consider myself very fortunate to have had many experiences where I can read these lines and at least feel like I know what they mean.
Six Buddhist spiritual powers
While putting this website together, I just thumbed through "The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma", and found this information in an appendix:
"(Spiritual powers) Buddhists recognize six such powers: the ability to see all forms; the ability to hear all sounds; the ability to know the thoughts of others; the ability to know the previous existences of oneself and others; the ability to be anywhere or do anything at will; and the ability to know the end of rebirth."
A religion that isn't afraid of science
This is a pretty cool link: religious people who aren't afraid of science.
It's a pretty cool story. From January 20 through January 31, more than 30 Tibetan monks and a handful of nuns will be working with a team from San Francisco's Exploratorium to "build exotic machines to create patterns from sunlight using cardboard, dowels, reflective sheets of mylar and electronic components."
