Namaste

                 To introduce Buddhism,

                     I will present the words of two most famous Buddhists,

                              His Holiness the Fourteenth Dali Lama, and Thich Nhat Hanh, as

                      well as those said to be from the Buddah himself.  

Twenty-Four Brand-New Hours

Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new

hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in

a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy, and happiness to

ourselves and others.

Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we

do and see. The Question is whether or not we are in touch with it.

We don't have to travel far away to enjoy the blue sky. We don't have

to leave our city or even our neighborhood to enjoy the eyes of a

beautiful child. Even the air we breathe can be a source of joy.

We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows

us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available.

We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living.

We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing

to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on.

But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive at the

present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.

Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with

peace, joy, and serenity. We need only to be awake,

alive in the present moment. …

------Thich Nhat Hanh,

Peace Is Every Step

Words from H.H., The Dali Lama

Although attempting to bring about world  peace through the

internal transformation of individuals is difficult, it is the only

way.  Wherever I go, I express this, and I am encouraged that

people from many different walks of life receive it well.  Peace

must first be developed within an individual.  And I believe

that love, compassion, and altruism are the fundamental basis

for peace.  Once these qualities are developed within an individual,

he or she is then able to create an atmosphere of peace

and harmony. This atmosphere can be expanded and extended

from the individual to his family, from the family to  

the community and eventually to the whole world.  

THE  ILLUSORY   NATURE OF THE WORLD

Know all things to be like this:

A mirage, a cloud castle,

A dream, an apparition,

Without essence but with qualities that can be seen.

Know all things to be like this:

As the moon in a bright sky

In some clear lake reflected,

Though to that lake the moon has never moved.

Know all things to be like this:

As an echo that derives

From music, sounds, and weeping,

Yet in that echo is no melody.

Know all things to be like thisL

As a magician makes illusions

Of horses, oxen, carts, and other things,

Nothing is as it appears.

The Buddah