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| Budai brand beer? |
Imagine a place so crass that it exploits the Buddha's image to promote beer and hard liquor, drunkenness and carelessness, negligence and unskillful karma. Let's call the place "
Buddha Bar." No, that's taken. Let's call it
Funky Buddha. Open it on the dangling participle of the country (Sandy Schlong Beach, Florida).
Let's invite the Dalai Lama, who says he's all about laughing it up, and tell him to bring his freaky friends like the ghost of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. We can hold a skimpy BBC (
Buddha Bikini Contest) with a large purse and a slow reveal that begins with the wet tee-shirt phase.
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| Yo yo yo, how we feeling out there tonight!? |
DJ Buddhahed can spin the turntables with EDM and hip-hop beats pleasing to all. Fight through protesters and picketers to get in there and, BAM, we've got ourselves a party. Well, no need for imagination because a company called Funky Buddha beat us to it:
funkybuddha.com with BuddhaFest MarZen
Alan Watts, Zen monks stole swigs of saké on Cloud Mountain, while their whereabouts were unknown? No, that was Taoists. And it wasn't saki, the water of life, but ambrosia.SUTRA: To Sujata (Sigalovada)
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| Doesn't booze make the writer? |
(DN 16) Thus I have heard. One time, the Buddha was staying on Vulture's Peak (Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa in Rājagṛha), Rajgir. He was accompanied by a large assembly of 1,250 monastics.
It was then that the Buddha (the Blessed One, the Bhagavān) put on his outer robe and took his bowl into the city for alms. At the time, there was a prominent man’s son named Sujata in Rajgir. Early in the morning, he went out of the city to go for a walk in the park. He bathed, wetting his entire body. He then bowed in all the directions: east, west, south, north, above, and below.
The Buddha saw Sujata getting wet [as a mark of respect] then bowing in the directions. Seeing this, the Buddha went over to Sujata and asked: “Why did you leave the city in the early morning to go to a park, wet your entire body, and bow in the directions?”
Sujata explained to the Buddha, “My father’s death is imminent, and he gave me this instruction: ‘When you go to bow, you should first bow to the east, south, west, north, above, and below.’ I dare not neglect to carry out my father’s instruction, so after I’ve bathed, I first saluted while facing east then bowed to the east. I do this for all the cardinal directions -- south, west, north, above, and below.”
The Buddha then told Sujata, “These 'directions' are only names. We, too, have this practice, but we do not bow to the directions to pay respect to them in this noble teaching [enlightening Dharma].”
Sujata then said to the Buddha, “Please, Blessed One, it would be good if one were to explain the way it is done in the noble Teaching!”
The Buddha said, “Listen closely, listen closely! Consider it well, for I will explain this.”
Sujata replied, “Very well. I am glad to hear it.”
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| DUI with loaded gun and salsa: Welcome to TX |
The Buddha taught: “Suppose one knows of four unskillful actions, and the grounds for their being unskillful, so one avoids them and is able to know the six actions that squander wealth.
“That is to say, Sujata, one abandons four unskillful actions and pays homage to the six directions. It will be good for the present life, and one will obtain good results in later lives.
“It will be the source for this in the present life and later lives. In the present life, one is commended by the wise and gains this one worldly reward: When the body breaks up and life ends, one will be reborn in a good place.
“Sujata, you should know, those four bad actions are: 1. killing, 2. stealing, 3. sexual misconduct, and 4. false speech. These are the four bad actions.
“What are the four grounds for these bad actions? They are: 1. desire, 2. anger, 3. fear, and 4. delusion.
“If one does unskillful actions on these four grounds, then one will decline.”
After saying this, the Buddha restated it in verse:
“Desire, anger, fear, delusion:
Those who harbor these four
See their reputation dwindle away
As the waning moon does day by day.”
The Buddha further told Sujata, “If one avoids these unskillful actions on these four grounds, then one will improve.”
The Buddha then restated this in verse:
“One who avoids unskillful actions
Done out of desire, anger, fear, or delusion
Will see improvement day by day
As the waxing moon steady gains.”
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| What happened to all our money, Brian? - This. |
“The Buddha further told Sujata, “The six actions that squander wealth are:
- indulging in alcohol
- gambling
- self-indulgence
- getting carried away at musical performances
- associating with bad friends and
- idleness.
“These are the six acts that squander wealth.
“Sujata, suppose one understands these four actions, avoids these unskillful actions done on these four grounds, and knows the six actions that squander wealth.
“Doing this, Sujata, one can abandon these four grounds and make offerings to the six directions. It will be good for the present life and good in later lives. It will be the source for this in the present life and in later lives. In the present, one will be praised by the wise and gain this one worldly reward: When one's body breaks up and life ends, one will be reborn in a good place.
Defects of drinking
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| Go on. I'm listening. I only imbibe to drink the pain away. You got a better way? |
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| Wine, women, and song! Why stop now? |
“Sujata, know that drinking alcohol has six defects: 1. loss of wealth, 2. becoming ill, 3. fighting, 4. circulation of a bad reputation, 5. sudden outbursts of anger, and 6. a daily loss in wisdom. Sujata, if they drink alcohol, their family and property with decrease day by day. ...
Then Sujata exclaimed: “...The Buddha is a Wayfarer (Tathāgata), Luminary (Arhat), and a Supremely Awakened One, so he is able to reveal to the world clear instructions. Now, I go for guidance to the Buddha, go for guidance to the Dharma, and go for guidance to the Saṅgha.
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| How will I ever be able to stop? |
“Blessed One, please permit me to become a lay follower in the true Teaching! Starting today, I will avoid killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and drinking alcohol for the rest of my life.”
Having heard what the Buddha taught, Sujata rejoiced and approved of it.
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