Thursday, September 25, 2014

Flower of the Day: 09/25/14

“Gluttony is related to sexual repression. There is a subtle channel that connects the tip of the tongue to the sexual organ. You cannot fulfill the objective of life without looking at sexuality. Once you are able to free yourself from repression, your whole body can relax and an internal space will open up. An awareness springs, which also helps bring one’s eating habits into balance.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma


Hanging Off a Rock | September 25, 2014

Hanging off a rock is an exaggerated experience of facing the unknown. It is exhilarating, scary, and completely vibrant. When we can’t find a foothold, the mind falls into an open stillness—the same brief pause we encounter in any situation where we lose our familiar reference points. If we have the wherewithal to relax, we find our way. 
 
- Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel, "Open Stillness" 
 

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Via NYT Opinion: ‘I Do’ Means You’re Done

In and around Rome, the talk is of Pope Francis’ sage acceptance of the 21st century, of his empathy, of his departure from the stern moralizing on matters of the heart that his predecessors engaged in.
In Montana, a gay couple who have been together for more than three decades have been told that they’re no longer really welcome in the Catholic parish where they’ve been worshiping together for 11 years.

This happened last month, in the town of Lewistown. By all accounts, these two men, one of them 73, the other 66, had done no one any harm. They hadn’t picked a fight. Hadn’t caused any particular stir. Simply went to Mass, same as always. Prayed. Sang in the church choir, where they were beloved mainstays.

There was only this: In May of last year, without any fanfare, the men had traveled to Seattle, where they had met and lived for many years, to get married. And while they didn’t do anything after to publicize the civil ceremony, word eventually leaked out.

So in early August, a 27-year-old priest who had just begun working at the parish summoned them to a meeting, according to local news reports. And at that meeting, he told them that they could no longer be choir members, perform any other roles like that or, for that matter, receive communion.

If they wanted those privileges restored, there was indeed a remedy, which the priest and other church officials spelled out for them over subsequent conversations. They would have to divorce. They would have to stop living together. And they would have to sign a statement that marriage exists only between a man and a woman.

Translation: Renounce a love fortified over 30 years. Unravel your lives. And affirm that you’re a lesser class of people, barred from the rituals in which others blithely participate.
With those little tweaks, the body of Christ can again be yours.

In one sense there’s nothing revelatory here. For all the changes afoot in enlightened countries around the world, the church remains censorious of same-sex marriage — fervently so, in many instances — and Catholic teaching still forbids sexually intimate relationships between two men or two women.
But there are details to note, rue and reject. One is the hypocrisy (or whatever you want to call it) of punishing a same-sex couple for formalizing a relationship that was already obvious, as these men’s partnership was.

Such punishment has befallen many employees of Catholic schools or congregations since the legalization of same-sex marriage in many states allowed them civil weddings. Teachers long known to be gay are suddenly exiled for being gay and married, which is apparently too much commitment and accountability for the church to abide. Honesty equals expulsion. “I do” means you’re done.

I reached the Montana couple, Tom Wojtowick and Paul Huff, on the phone Tuesday, and Wojtowick expressed befuddlement. “We’re just two old men,” he said, and their relationship was no secret. “We’re only 5,900 people in this town, and Paul and I are really well known.”


Flower of the Day: 09/24/14

“The deepening of a loving relationship cannot be forced. At times a person needs variety, which may even be the remedy for healing their repression. They may need variety because they aren’t ready to look at certain pages of the book of their life yet. There is nothing wrong with this. These are just moments along the journey. We must not fall into the trap of the idealized self which expects us to give what we don’t have to give. The idealized self is a cruel tyrant who demands that we be something we are not. It asks us to surrender ourselves to a relationship, even if we are not ready for that.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma


Addiction to Thoughts | September 24, 2014

When it comes to addiction we’re usually talking about alcohol or substance abuse, but there can also be an addictive quality to our thinking.
 
- Robert Chodo Campbell, "Just Shut Up" 
 

Flower of the Day: 09/23/14

“I know that many people who are with me are praying for others who are ready, that they may wake up. This is a spiritual current for awakening. It is a vigil happening around the globe. This vigil is made up of current of souls that are mature enough to understand that they need to pray for their brothers and sisters.”


Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma



Touch the Core of Time | September 23, 2014



Through spiritual practice we can go beyond our egoistic point of view. We can touch the core of time, see the whole world in a moment, and understand time in deep relationship with all beings. Then we cannot be isolated and cold people. We become beautiful and warm people, appreciating and helping all beings.




- Dainin Katagiri, "Time Revisited"


Monday, September 22, 2014

Flower of the Day: 09/22/14

“The remedy for all wounds is understanding why you had to go through a particular situation that hurt you. Emotional wounds are like thorns stuck in the flesh, and sometimes they get infected. This infection is when bitterness and skepticism develop regarding the possibility of being happy. This bitterness can sometimes turn into revenge, and can activate vicious circles that act in different ways, but always generate suffering and destruction. However, the wound should be seen as a teacher, because it is always teaching you about the mystery of life: it is teaching you to forgive.”


Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma


A Never-departing Shadow | September 22, 2014

All experience is preceded by mind,
Led by mind,
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a peaceful mind,
And happiness follows,
Like a never-departing shadow. 
 
- The Buddha, "'We are what we think." 
 

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Via Daily Dharma


A Tree Needs Roots | September 21, 2014

In Buddhism, we study and reflect on the dharma; and then, fully blending what we have understood with our mind, we practice resting evenly in meditation. In the beginning, a tree needs strong roots. Similarly, what is most important for meditation is calm abiding. 
- Ogyen Trinley Dorje, "Calm Abiding"

Via Daily Dharma


If We Could Let Go| September 20, 2014

The very act of clinging causes mental distress—have you ever noticed that longing hurts? Moreover, the exertions are futile since grasping cannot extend the life of pleasure, not even by a nanosecond. As for unpleasant sensations—in truth, they disappear in a moment, too. But when you feel averse to them, the pain doubles. It’s like trying to remove a thorn in your foot by piercing the skin with a second thorn. If we could let go, the mind wouldn't suffer. 
 
- Cynthia Hatcher, "What's So Great About Now?"
 

Flower of the Day: 09/19/14

“Absolutely everything that happens has a spiritual significance, because life is a spiritual adventure. But of course there are more meaningful moments and less meaningful ones. The greater the change that life brings you, the greater the spiritual significance you will unveil. For example, even if you were satisfied with your job and end up losing it, take this as a gift from existence that is helping you to align yourself with your dharma, your greater purpose.”

Sri Prem Baba

No Thought of Self | September 19, 2014

Bow not for something—to get something for yourself. Bow to empty yourself, to repent and clean out your mind. With no thought of self, all benefit. With a thought of self, all suffer. 
 
- Heng Sure, "Bowing" 
 

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