Rev. Danny Fisher

Photo by YashiWong.

Today’s quote comes from Siddhartha Gautama (circa fifth and/or sixth century B.C.E.) — the historical Buddha and de facto progenitor of the Buddhist religions. This is it:

Faith is the seed, practice the rain,
And wisdom is my yoke and plow.
Modesty’s the pole, mind the strap,
Mindfulness my plowshare and goad.

Body and speech are guarded well,
And food and drink have been restrained.
Truthfulness I use for weeding,
And gentleness urges me on.

Effort is my beast of burden,
Pulling me onward to safety.
On it goes without returning,
Where, having gone, one does not grieve.

This is how I plow my plowing —
The crop it yields is deathlessness!
And when one has plowed this plowing,
One is released from all suffering.

Buddhapada (footprints of the Buddha), limestone, Amaravati, 2nd century. Image © The British Museum.

Today’s quote comes from Siddhartha Gautama (circa fifth and/or sixth century B.C.E.) — the historical Buddha and de facto progenitor of the Buddhist religions. This is it:

Dwelling on their own views, quarreling, different skilled people say: ‘Whoever knows this, understands Dhamma. Whoever rejects this, is imperfect.’ Thus quarreling, they dispute: ‘My opponent’s a fool & unskilled.’ Which of these statements is true when all of them say they are skilled?

If, in not accepting an opponent’s doctrine, one’s a fool, a beast of inferior discernment, then all are fools of inferior discernment — all of these who dwell on their views. But if, in siding with a view, one’s cleansed, with discernment made pure, intelligent, skilled, then none of them are of inferior discernment, for all of them have their own views.