Amanda's Tea Room 阿勳茶室

Face it, accept it, deal with it, and let go of it.

Amanda’s Goals

• Continue fixing my actions, speeches, and thoughts. (修正我的身語意.)
• Let go of my egocentrism. (捨我執.)
• Figure out how to fulfill the meaning of life.
• Attain the enlightenment.
• Help my friends and family see the causes of their pain and suffering, so they can face them, work on them, and eventually relieve from them.
• My friends and family help their friends and families, to make the world a better and happier place.

Amanda’s Cliff Notes

1. [06/20/2009] These days I’ve been reading two excellent books: “The Disappearance of the Universe” by Gary Renard and “A Course in Miracle” scribed by Dr. Helen Schucman. You might find it strange, since those books are not Buddhist. Well, as I found out, what’s said in those books are absolutely in sync with the Buddha’s teachings! And, guess what? They are written in modern, plain English! Even better, Mr. Renard’s book is very funny and easy to read, even though it’s packed tons of material that requires lots of thinking. To get a better idea of what his books are about (he has more than one), you can check his witty and well-made Podcast series. (His website seriously needs a full makeup to get rid of the phony & tacky New Age look.) As for “A Course in Miracle“… Well, Mr. Renard’s book itself is an introduction to it, and I think that I’ll leave him to do the honor.
2. [06/20/2009]I wanna emphasize this: Believing in which religion doesn’t matter; what matters is if one can reach the same final destination. I choose Buddhism because it describes the way in much more details than any other religions and its Sutras barely got contaminated from any political parties for their own propaganda. That’s all. It’s my choice, and I don’t and won’t force my choice on you. It’s the Buddhist way. (However, if I sense that it’s time for a person to get ready to be enlightened, I’ll get a bit pushy. But, don’t worry, this seldom happens.)
3. I have absolutely no intention of persuading people to become Buddhists. Every religion has its purpose and its target audience. To me, Buddhism is not a religion (Buddha != God), but rather a life science and a way to a better life. (THIS life, too, not just the afterlife.) Buddha’s teaching shows us the way to attain the enlightenment and become just like him, a Buddha, a being who has awaken.
4. There are many branches of Buddhism, but the fundamental teachings are all the same.
5. Many people misunderstand Buddhism and refuse to learn from Buddha to gain his Wisdom, mostly due to the label “religion“. Since I haven’t attain the enlightenment, I have to borrow Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche’s (詠給．明就仁波切) words from “The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness” (“世界上最快樂的人“):

When you’re trained as a Buddhist, you don’t think of Buddhism as a
religion. You think of it as a type of science, a method of exploring
your own experience through techniques that enable you to examine your actions and reactions in a non judgmental way, with the way toward recognizing, “Oh, this is how my mind works. This is what I need to do to experience happiness. This is what I should avoid to avoid
unhappiness.”

At its heart, Buddhism is very practical. It’s about doing things that
foster serenity, happiness, and confidence, and avoiding things that
provoke anxiety, hopelessness, and fear. The essence of Buddhist
practice is not so much an effort at changing your thoughts or your
behavior so that you can become a better person, but in realizing that
no matter what you might think about the circumstances that define
your life, you’re already good, whole, and complete. It’s about
recognizing the inherent potential of your mind. In other words,
Buddhism is not so much concerned with getting well as with
recognizing that you are, right here, right now, as whole, as good, as
essentially well as you could ever hope to be.

You don’t believe that, do you?

Well, for a long time, neither did I.

Masters from Different Branches

Northern Branch

• Venerable Yin Shun (印順法師) at 財團法人印順文教基金會
• Master Sheng Yen (聖嚴法師) at Dharma Drum Mountain (法鼓山)
• Master Nan Huai-Chin (南懷瑾大師)
• Teacher Hong Chi-Sung (洪啟嵩老師)
• Venerable Haiyun Jimeng (海雲繼夢和上) at Hua Yen World (大華嚴寺)
• Master Cheng Yen (證嚴法師) at Tzu Chi Foundation (慈濟基金會)
• Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (宣化上人) at DRBA (萬佛聖城)
• 常照法師 at 慈照寺彌勒講堂
• Thich Nhat Hanh (一行禪師)
• (more…)

Tibetan Branch

• The 14th Dalai Lama (達賴喇嘛)
• The 17th Karmapa (大寶法王)
• Tenzin Palmo (丹津‧葩默)
• (more…)

Southern Branch

• Ajahn Chah (阿姜察)
• (more…)

Libraries

• 佛學數位圖書館暨博物館 (Digital Library & Museum of Buddhist Studies)
• BuddhaNet’s Buddhist Studies
• 般若文海
• 佛陀教育基金會 (The Corporate Body of The Buddha Educational Foundation)
• (more…)

Recommended Readings for the Westerners

• Chan/Zen – “Hoofprint of the Ox: Principles of the Chan Buddhist Path as Taught by a Modern Chinese Master” by Master Sheng Yen

[Last Updated: 06/20/2009]