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The Dhammapada - The Chapter on Flowers
Just fifteen minutes of sitting and observing the person we love or dislike from afar with a heart of compassion, a surge of loving-kindness arises, helping us to look back at our anger, reproaches, and to open our hearts in love. Andersen’s story about the two children burying their dog with a loving grave and the “ticket” being a button reminds us that only when we are far away do we truly cherish and feel compassion for others as well as for ourselves.
From a high vantage point, like when humanity looked back at the Earth from the moon, we can clearly see the fragile and pitiable beauty of our planet, with billions of people competing and killing each other. This image is like a bell of mindfulness awakening us to cherish our time and our shared home. Some main points:
- The first few hundred astronauts brought back photographs of the blue-and-white Earth against the black backdrop of space
- The Flower Garland Sutra in the Dhammapada has 26 chapters in the Pali version; the Chinese version adds 13 more chapters
- Dharmatrata (Pháp Cứu) – a Sarvastivada commentator – is likened to a “flower picker” who selects the most essential Dharma teachings and weaves them into a garland of virtue