contentment

Teaching on Not Seeking, Part II

The Encounter  |  The Mind   |   Brooks Hansard  |   February 2, 2012, 4:47 pm

The act of seeking, at this subtle level, is directly related to one of the twelve links in the Buddha’s teaching on dependent origination. The tenth link is called bhava in Sanskrit. In English, it is translated as becoming or continuation. The way in which seeking is related to this link is through its involvement in moving the mind’s attention away from the present and into the future. When we seek, we are always seeking after something in the future, because of the fact that in the present we feel discontent. [...]

Teaching on Not Seeking, Part I

The Encounter  |  The Mind   |   Brooks Hansard  |   December 1, 2011, 7:36 pm

Back in 2003, I first came across the original BTTS (Buddhist Text Translation Society) version of the Shurangama Sutra, which was available online. That sutra and its commentary had a profound effect on my view of the Dharma. In Master Hsuan Hua’s commentary, there were a few of his teachings that influenced me the most [...]