Awareness Awakening...

Awareness Awakening...

One of tonight's source texts will be the The Diamond Sutra

So you should view this fleeting world --
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
A flash of lightening in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.

This common translation has been manipulated a bit so that it rhymes in English. The translator Red Pine (Bill Porter) gives us a more literal translation --

As a lamp, a cataract, a star in space / an illusion, a dewdrop, a bubble / a dream, a cloud, a flash of lightening / view all created things like this.

"After reading this verse we may think that the Buddha is saying that all dharmas [in the sense of 'phenomena'] are impermanent -- like clouds, smoke, or a flash of lightning. The Buddha is saying 'All dharmas are impermanent,' but he is not saying that they are not here. He only wants us to see the things in themselves. We may think that we have already grasped reality, but, in fact, we are only grasping its fleeting images. If we look deeply into things, we will be able to free ourselves from the illusion."~ Thich Nhat Hanh

the World’s Oldest Dated Printed Book

http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/prajparagen2.pdf
a pdf version of The Diamond Sutra
titled:
A General Explanation of the Vajra Prajña Paramita Sutra by Dhyana Master Hsüan Hua

6:30pm Meditation

7pm Dharma talk