Thursday, September 18, 2014

Flower of the Day: 09/18/14

“Some people are stuck in the game of accusations, but are not the slightest bit aware of it. Their lives are a disaster, but they cannot see where they are putting themselves. The person may believe they are a saint, or at least a really good person, but doesn’t stop complaining and speaking ill of others. This negative energy turns against them and this becomes a vicious circle that can only be broken if there is space for friendship, cooperation, union and most importantly self-responsibility.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma


Compassion Isn’t Incidental | September 18, 2014

When there isn’t enough compassion being generated (either for ourselves as individuals or in the world in general), we become unbalanced; we suffer from it as we would from a lack of fresh air and clean water. It is not an incidental element, it is mandatory. We will not survive without it. 
 
- Patricia Anderson, "Real or Pretend?" 
 

Flower of the Day: 09/17/14

“As you evolve along the journey, you start to see beyond the veil of illusion and to perceive that everything is part of the divine game. Everything that happens is a chance for you to free yourself of karmas. Even negative situations are the manifestation of divine mercy, because they are opportunities that teach you to overcome attachments and your identification with the ego. They’re an opportunity for you to fulfill the objective of life, which is to experience unity within multiplicity.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma


The Secret of Zen | September 17, 2014

"The secret of Zen is just two words: not always so."
- Shunryu Suzuki, "Mindfulness at Moonshine Hollow" 
 

Via Daily Dharma


Opening to Vulnerability | September 16, 2014

Relationships work to open us up to ourselves. But first we have to admit how much we don’t want that to happen, because that means opening ourselves to vulnerability. Only then will we begin the true practice of letting ourselves experience all those feelings of vulnerability that we first came to practice to escape. 
 
- Barry Magid, “No Gain” 
 

Flower of the Day: 09/15/14

“Don’t expect the violence out there to cease: that is an illusion. The world will always invite you to enter into warfare. The question is whether or not you will accept the invitation. It isn’t always possible to be out there in the world relating to others without getting identified with something. When this happens, allow yourself to withdraw from the world; but know that at some point you will have to go back out there. The key is to be willing to give of yourself, really wanting to see others happy. It starts with this higher-level study of acting as a channel for generosity and sharing your silence and love with others, even if they don’t know that you are doing it, or if they consciously don’t want you to – or even worse: if they get angry about it.”


Sri Prem Baba

For Whom Do We Practice? | September 15, 2014

We must ask: for whom do we practice? We see the paradox of the self in the world, focusing inwardly in order to manifest outwardly. The inward look is the outward view. Ultimately we practice for others as our inward polishing manifests itself as good action in our activities. 
 
- Eido Frances Carney, "The Way of Ryokan" 
 

Via Daily Dharma


More Than Heartfelt | September 14, 2014

The bodhisattva approaches the work of relieving others’ difficulties with as much ardency as we might pursue or protect the things that we value most highly and desire most strongly. His motivation is more than heartfelt; it is urgent, passionate. 
 
- Manjusra, "An Everyday Aspiration" 
 

Flower of the Day: 09/14/14

“Suffering catches hold of us through comparison and desire, which drag down our consciousness. With the slightest lack of care, we begin to compare and desire things, which places us in the labyrinth of psychological time. We go from the past to the future, and from the future to the past, but we are never in the present. When we compare ourselves to others, we start wanting to be what they are or to have what they have. This is one of the roots of human misery. When we can observe all that is transitory without getting identified with it through desire or comparison, we will have discovered the way out of the labyrinth.” 



Sri Prem Baba