Last Sunday was the opening day for my Solo Exhibition at the Alpha Utara Gallery on China Street in downtown Georgetown. There was a good turnout at the opening but most who came were not the regular faces that i used to see at art openings in Penang but mostly people who were has been supporting me from the first show I had here which were mostly friends and relatives and school children. In a way i was quite happy that this was so as i had a great time entertaining all instead of being cornered by one or two so called prominent art collectors or well known personalities in the art circle. I was very happy to have my older sister there for the first time and some foreigners from off the street who expressed genuine interest in my works which were mostly Mono prints.
Hence what are the Dharma Gates?
"It would be more accurate to refer to Buddhism as the "Buddha Dharma," meaning the Truth pointed out by the Buddha so that we can discover it for ourselves. Buddhism, then, is really a way of life designed to help people see things as they really are, free of delusion, projections, paranoia and false assumptions."
by Ryuei Michael McCormick
Do not accept any of my words on faith,
Believing them just because I said them.
Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns,
And critically examines his product for authenticity.Only accept what passes the test
By proving useful and beneficial in your life.
The Buddha (Jnanasara-samuccaya)
Believing them just because I said them.
Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns,
And critically examines his product for authenticity.Only accept what passes the test
By proving useful and beneficial in your life.
The Buddha (Jnanasara-samuccaya)
I do not wish to convert people from one organized religion to another; I have no
interest in any of these organised religions. My interest is in Dhamma -
the truth, the Teachings of all Enlightened ones. If at all there is any
conversion, it should be from misery to happiness, from defilement to purity,
from bondage to liberation, from ignorance to enlightenment.
- S N
Goenka
Love which is
alone the means for the unity of mankind, must be supreme, and it cannot be so
unless the mind is transcendentally pure.
- Sayagyi U Ba
Khin
Dharma or Dammas as in the Pali cannon has two application ie the Dharma with a capitalD and that with a small d.The capital D is the "Laws" of Buddhadharma and the small d to me are the day to day phenomenon, the ideas the concepts the thoughts that we manifest day in dayout, positive as well as negative, good and bad, these are Dharma Gates. and according to the Bodhisatva vow, I will enter them or take them on or understand them and let them go. Some are easier than others but most will keep creeping up into my consciousness like weeds untill I have uprooted them from the ground of my consciousness. Dharmas are also illusions that I have created through my own ignorance as the Buddhas teachings repeatedly points out, for so long as I believe my 'self' is real I am bound by the laws of Karma or cause and effect I have a long long way from doing away with my self thought 'self'. Try as I may sitting and burning away the midnight oil with my sitting in meditation trying to empty my mind.all I ended with is a bad back but my mind is far from empty more and more stuff keeps popping up.
Why do I even bother!? Why create more suffering in order to end suffering? I have pretty much understood what the Buddha's teaching is all about but annihilation of my self is the toughest act to follow. Why even bother? I do it over the years ever since I first encountered Buddhist thoughts simply because it makes a whole lot of sense to me For more than forty years I have studied Buddhism in spite of being a Muslim constantly begging Allah's Mercy and Forgiveness just in case I transgress and worship two instead of the One and end up in the wrong place in my after life. But I keep telling myself that Buddhism is NOT a religion nor is there a God to be worshipped. It Is a Way of tackling this life that I am having a tough time navigating through without blind faith alone.I intend to enter this final Dharma Gate at least before I die with a Complete Understanding and Enlightenment...Insha'Allah.
He who knows Himself knows His Maker.
IN this life you can only know yourself through others, through relationships. interactions, interdependence and so on. It is when you realize how you are what you are because of the processes of evolution of your mind in relation to others that you begin to channel your thoughts towards self discovery. Being aware of your daily experiences and you thought processes in relation to these experiences you begin to look at life as you would look in a mirror and what you see is the reflection of who you are, or who you think you really are. However you are still trapped in a thought process, in a dual thinking mental state of right and wrong, black and white form and emptiness. The process of getting closer to discovering you true nature will involve hard work as set down in the various teaching of the ancient texts and enlightened men.. the Perfect Men. (al Insan Kamil), the Prophets and the Saints, (Wali ul Allah), the Great Teachers and Rishis. These are the ones who can point you your journey inwards, towards understanding your inner nature and the relationship you have to the Divine Nature. They will help you to shatter the shackles that has held you down keeping you a prisoner of your own ignorance.
This is your work, your Practice, your journey in life...the journey back home.
Dharma or Dammas as in the Pali cannon has two application ie the Dharma with a capitalD and that with a small d.The capital D is the "Laws" of Buddhadharma and the small d to me are the day to day phenomenon, the ideas the concepts the thoughts that we manifest day in dayout, positive as well as negative, good and bad, these are Dharma Gates. and according to the Bodhisatva vow, I will enter them or take them on or understand them and let them go. Some are easier than others but most will keep creeping up into my consciousness like weeds untill I have uprooted them from the ground of my consciousness. Dharmas are also illusions that I have created through my own ignorance as the Buddhas teachings repeatedly points out, for so long as I believe my 'self' is real I am bound by the laws of Karma or cause and effect I have a long long way from doing away with my self thought 'self'. Try as I may sitting and burning away the midnight oil with my sitting in meditation trying to empty my mind.all I ended with is a bad back but my mind is far from empty more and more stuff keeps popping up.
Why do I even bother!? Why create more suffering in order to end suffering? I have pretty much understood what the Buddha's teaching is all about but annihilation of my self is the toughest act to follow. Why even bother? I do it over the years ever since I first encountered Buddhist thoughts simply because it makes a whole lot of sense to me For more than forty years I have studied Buddhism in spite of being a Muslim constantly begging Allah's Mercy and Forgiveness just in case I transgress and worship two instead of the One and end up in the wrong place in my after life. But I keep telling myself that Buddhism is NOT a religion nor is there a God to be worshipped. It Is a Way of tackling this life that I am having a tough time navigating through without blind faith alone.I intend to enter this final Dharma Gate at least before I die with a Complete Understanding and Enlightenment...Insha'Allah.
He who knows Himself knows His Maker.
IN this life you can only know yourself through others, through relationships. interactions, interdependence and so on. It is when you realize how you are what you are because of the processes of evolution of your mind in relation to others that you begin to channel your thoughts towards self discovery. Being aware of your daily experiences and you thought processes in relation to these experiences you begin to look at life as you would look in a mirror and what you see is the reflection of who you are, or who you think you really are. However you are still trapped in a thought process, in a dual thinking mental state of right and wrong, black and white form and emptiness. The process of getting closer to discovering you true nature will involve hard work as set down in the various teaching of the ancient texts and enlightened men.. the Perfect Men. (al Insan Kamil), the Prophets and the Saints, (Wali ul Allah), the Great Teachers and Rishis. These are the ones who can point you your journey inwards, towards understanding your inner nature and the relationship you have to the Divine Nature. They will help you to shatter the shackles that has held you down keeping you a prisoner of your own ignorance.
This is your work, your Practice, your journey in life...the journey back home.
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