May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May they be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
May they never be separated from supreme joy beyond all sorrow.
May they abide in equanimity free from attachment and aversion.

— Buddhist Prayer

I’m currently watching a beautiful anime called “The Heike Story”, based on the Japanese Tale of the Heike. The central character is a child plagued with the ability to see visions (usually of death and destruction) of the future and remote events. She is anguished to witness these and is powerless to do anything about them, but finally (spoilers!) determines that she might ease her mind by praying for those involved.

This character is not portrayed as any sort of religious individual, so I wondered what kind of prayer might be appropriate for her. Searching for an “Atheist Prayer”, I quickly found the Buddhist Prayer above that might be something like she would say, that encodes the “Four Immeasurables” of Buddhist thought. This prayer is not offered to any god or gods, but just a wish and hope for those in mind and indeed for all sentient beings.

The Four Immeasurables of Buddhism are

Maitri: Loving kindness
Karuna: Compassion
Mudita: Sympathetic Joy
Upeksha: Equanimity

Further Reading:

https://iai.tv/articles/prayer-for-atheists-auid-1181

The Four Immeasurables

https://www.google.com/search?q=four+immeasurables&tbm=isch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heike_Story

[*13.16]

eightfolds, religion

The Eight Auspicious Symbols

March 14, 2020 Martin K. Jones 1 Comment

Pause only for a moment to contemplate Ashtamangala, or the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism:

The Endless Knot
The Treasure Vase
The Lotus Flower
Two Golden Fish
The Fancy Parasol
The Conch Shell
The Victory Banner
The Dharma Wheel

Further Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtamangala

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/b8symbol.htm

https://www.nwrafting.com/international/whitewater-rafters-guide-8-auspicious-symbols-buddhism

[*12.14]

eightfolds, religion

Fearless Living

June 30, 2018 Martin K. Jones Leave a comment

We can live with no fear if we remove these four pairs of opposites and have Right View.

— Thích Nhất Hạnh

No Birth
No Death
No Sameness
No Otherness
No Coming
No Going
No Being
No Non-being

Further Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Nh%E1%BA%A5t_H%E1%BA%A1nh

https://tnhaudio.org/tag/pairs-of-opposites/

[*9.226]

eightfolds, religion

The Eightfold Path

June 26, 2018 Martin K. Jones 2 Comments

The Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism (八正道):

Right View (also Understanding) (正見)
Right Intention (also Thought) (正思唯)
Right Speech (正語)
Right Action (正業)
Right Livelyhood (正命)
Right Effort (正精進)
Right Mindfulness (正念)
Right Concentration (正定)

I’ve also translated the diagram into Chinese.

Further Reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path

The Noble Eightfold Path

https://www.buddha101.com/p_path.htm#The%20Eightfold%20Path

https://www.orientaloutpost.com/shufa.php?q=eightfold

Note:

In the anime “One Piece,” marines often have the characters 正義 on the back of their coats. This means “Seigi,” or Right Morality or Justice. Note that this isn’t part of the Eightfold Path.

https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Justice

[*10.118]

eightfolds, fourfolds

The Eight Worldly Winds

March 28, 2017 Martin K. Jones Leave a comment

This fourfold of duals from Buddhism lists the hopes and fears that bind us to the world and our culture. They are known as the eight worldly winds, concerns, or dharmas. Both hopes and fears, wanting and not wanting, can be seen as negative.