Sutra Snips

[Skull]

Scores of sutras and shastras from the Buddhist tradition have been translated, many in English. Here are a few sample excerpts:

From the Benefits of Giving Sutra:

Discerning people give gifts in thirty-seven ways. What are the thirty-seven?

1. In order to be rid of miserliness, they give gifts out of faith.370
2. They give gifts at appropriate times.
3. They give the three objects that are fully purified as they accord
with those allowed by the Tathāgata.
4. In order to be rid of all the faults of disturbed thoughts, they give
gifts while showing respect.
5. In order to extract something worthwhile from the body that has
no worth, they give gifts with their own hands.
6. Giving gifts without causing any harm to others leads to accomplishing
a grand renunciation of property.
7. Giving colorful gifts leads to a beautiful complexion.
8. Giving aromatic gifts leads to the fragrant scent of good reputation.
9. Giving delicious gifts leads to the auspicious characteristic of
a supreme ability to discern tastes.
10. Giving refined gifts leads to refined enjoyments.
11. Giving gifts plentifully leads to plentiful enjoyments.
12. Giving food leads to freedom from hunger in all births to come.
13. Giving liquids to drink leads to freedom from thirst in all births to come.
14. Giving garments leads to the enjoyment of all sorts of cloth.
15. Giving housing leads to the possession of upper stories, courtyards,
gabled houses, palaces, mansions, gardens, pleasure groves, and land.
16. Giving beds and seats leads to birth in a high-ranking family.
17. Giving vehicles leads to the accomplishment of the four means of
supernormal power.
18. Giving medicine leads to the realization of nirvāṇa, the state that is
without aging and death and that is the termination of sorrow and affliction.

From the new collection of 25 sutras by Peter Skilling, Questioning the Buddha

[BigJohn]

Gift giving in Buddhism is something I enjoy doing.

Thanks for sharing this timely information.

[Skull]

On the same important theme of generosity, here is the summary of the Perfection of Generosity Sutra:

In this sūtra a bodhisattva asks the Buddha how bodhisattvas should exert themselves after having given rise to the mind set on awakening. The Buddha replies by describing the ten virtuous actions and the motivation that bodhisattvas should engender when they engage in those practices. Next, after explaining how they should exert themselves in the ten perfections, the Buddha presents a detailed explanation of the perfection of generosity, focusing on the compassionate motivation that bodhisattvas cultivate while practicing it. A particular feature of this sūtra is how it details the significance of making different kinds of offering, in terms of the spiritual attainments, qualities of awakening, and other benefits that will result.

This is just one sutra from the many at 84000 translation project: https://84000.co/

[BigJohn]

Thanks for sharing.

Exercizing generosity brings forth compassion, comfort, unity, etc.

[Unseeking Seeker]

Now, where did I read something beautiful related to this somewhere, gist of which goes like this:

Giving alms while looking at the recipient’s feet
Was asked why his self esteem did deplete
To which he said ‘I seem to be the giver
Yet God alone is the divine lover
So I look down ashamed
Lest heart be stained’

[Skull]

Technically this is a shastra, yet being as any good shastra is, packed with sutra quotations, I suggest the one volume for study and practice. Here is one of many excellent reviews:

This is an excellent translation of Tsongkhapa’s Middle-Length Treatise (Lam rim ’bring ba), which sets out the way to skillfully progress through the stages of the path to enlightenment. This translation successfully conveys that Tsongkhapa is speaking not only to his fifteenth-century disciples but to us as well, more than six hundred years later. I am absolutely sure that this work offers us a key to concisely comprehend the profound and magnificent system of Tsongkhapa’s lam rim teaching.

– Kodo Yatsuya, professor, Komazawa University

The title is - The Middle-Length Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment by Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa, translated by Philip Quarcoo.

[BigJohn]

Sounds very interesting.

Thanks for sharing.

[Skull]

Master Hsuan Hua (d. 1995) commented on many sutras and taught buddhadharma from his youth. Here are some teachings on cultivation and practice of Buddhism:

You don’t have to believe in me or believe in the Buddha. Believe in your own inherent wisdom. Discover the wisdom in your own nature.
What is wisdom? It is a manifestation of selflessness. What is idle thinking? It is an indication of selfishness. Once selfishness takes hold, idle thoughts arise.

Master Hsuan Hua, Spring Sun, Lotus Flower

[sky]

Originally Posted by Skull

Master Hsuan Hua (d. 1995) commented on many sutras and taught buddhadharma from his youth. Here are some teachings on cultivation and practice of Buddhism:


Master Hsuan Hua, Spring Sun, Lotus Flower

'Whatever joy there is in the world arises from wishing for others happiness. Whatever suffering there is in the world arises from wishing for your own happiness.' Shantideva.
When you read this it seems to advise that we shouldn't wish for our own happiness, but through the Teachings of The Buddha we can see that's not true. We can and should wish for personal happiness but not by making others miserable....

[Skull]

This foundational booklet by Bhikkhu Payutto is helpful to ponder before one tackles his huge Buddhadhamma book:

https://www.watnyanaves.net/uploads/...ma-English.pdf