Day 46
Yoga makes the impossible possible. It is never to late to re-create yourself...
Check out this Buddhist story:
Angulimala – The Garland of Fingers
By: Tsem Rinpoche
During Buddha Shakyamuni’s time, an Indian boy was born names “Ahimsaka” meaning harmless in Sanskrit, he was later known as Angulimala.
The Pali word ‘Angulimala’ directly translates to “finger mala” or a rosary of fingers. It is a story about a man named Angulimala who quickly excelled in his Dharma studies, but then found himself going down a dark and dangerous path. He lived the younger years of his life spiritually, but due to the jealousy from his peers he was shunned by his community… even by his parents!
He decided to take on a life as a robber and set out to make a mala-like garland of 1,000 fingers – one from every person he killed! For his 1,000th finger, Buddha Shakyamuni appeared before him. Angulimala saw him as his final victim and ran after him. But as much as Angulimala tried to get closer to his last victim, Buddha Shakyamuni always remained one step ahead of him.
Finally, Angulima cried out, "O Bhikkhu, stop, stop!" And the Enlightened One replied, "I have stopped. It is you who have not stopped." Angulimala did not catch the significance of these words, so he asked, "O bhikkhu! Why do you say that you have stopped while I have not?"
The Buddha replied, "I say that I have stopped because I have given up killing all beings. I have given up ill-treating all beings, and have established myself in universal love, patience, and knowledge through reflection. But you have not given up killing or ill treating others and you are not yet established in universal love and patience. Hence, you are the one who has not stopped." On hearing these words Angulimala was recalled to reality, and thought, these are the words of a wise man. This monk is so very wise and so very brave that he must be the leader of the monks. Indeed, he must be the Enlightened One himself! (Harpreet Singh’s addition to the story)
Angulimala threw away his weapons, broke down and cried and requested to be taken in as Shakyamuni’s student. The Buddha took him in.
Angulimala’s life story is especially famous within the Theravadan school. His story shows how it is possible to change your life for the better even after committing so many negative deeds. A lot of people may feel that after creating so much negativity, there’s no turning back. Perhaps they don’t know how to change their life for the better, or that perhaps no one would give them a chance.
Like Milarepa – there are some saints who have hurt and killed many people… however, despite that, they are able to attain the state of Nirvana in that lifetime. Perhaps then, there is a way?
Share this with friends and children.
Read the comic (IN THE LINK BELOW) to find out why he wanted so many fingers… !
~ Tsem Rinpoche
“We are always the same age inside.”
~ Gertrude Stein
And One more from the Buddha about forgiveness:
In the life of Buddha, there was a man who was abusing Him without understanding and when he finished with his abuses and Buddha had left, people told him, “Do you know who you were abusing? It was Lord Buddha.” He got the fright of his life.
He said, “Where is He gone?”
“He has gone to another village.”
So he went to the other village and he said, “Sir, I am sorry for what I said. Please forgive me. It’s all wrong and I should not have done it. You can punish me the way you like.”
Lord Buddha said, “When did you do that?”
He said, “Yesterday.”
Buddha said, “I don’t know yesterday. I know only today.”
As many of you may know I love Hawaii and I love this prayer:
The Ho’oponopono Prayer
There are four forces at work in this prayer: repentance, forgiveness, gratitude, and love. These are reflected in the four phrases that make up the prayer.
The phrases, which you can repeat in any order, silently to yourself or out loud, are:
I am sorry.
(Please) Forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you.
Check out Oprah and Marianne Williamson on forgiveness:
(Its only 4 minutes, 15 seconds)
We’ve taken this time to build a daily practice, and would like make sure you are supported in the days that follow. We want to thank our local friends from Halfmoon for supporting us now and always.
Looking to add a few props to your home studio? Click the link below to see what they have to offer, from meditation cushions and eye pillows, to cork blocks - and be sure to use the code ONEYOGA_15 to save at checkout!
Mara Branscombe enjoying a Halfmoon eye pillow.
THE DIGITAL STUDIO CLASS SCHEDULE
Today, Monday February 15th
7:45-8:30am PST Power Flow with Amy Chalmers
9-10am PST Flow + Restore w/ Christine Chénier
6-7:15pm PST Slow Flow + Restore with Ariffa Lalani
