Via FB // THINLEY NORBU RINPOCHE

 

THINLEY NORBU RINPOCHE 

I have spent the greater part of my life in the East and so have always been involved in Eastern social customs, which are very rigid and restrictive. I have also been involved in the tradition of Dharma, which is also in its own way quite rigorous. 

Some of the people I met in the West were involved in Dharma and some were not. I found that a lot of the people not involved in Dharma are simple people with very good minds. I also found that some Westerners practicing Dharma are actually being harmed by it — their minds are deteriorating. 

A lot of people I met who are not involved in Dharma are very direct and straightforward, without many thoughts, doubts, or worries. 

Many people involved in Dharma, on the other hand, have a lot of doubts and worries and are not exactly straightforward. This made me think that perhaps in some ways it’s better not to practice Dharma. 

Buddha Shakyamuni said that the source of all Dharma is directness, and in my experience people who know nothing of Dharma often tend to be very direct. Having learned a great deal about Dharma, people tend to become involved in the artificiality of mental fiction and so become much less direct. The teachings of Dharma have in fact taken them away from Dharma.

*** ECHOES - The Boudhanath Teachings THINLEY NORBU - Translated by William Koblensky - SHAMBHALA Publications Boulder · 2016

**I read this in the 80s but it kept coming up in my mind. Thanks to Lizeta Lozuraityte for bringing this up again.

Va FB

 

Joseph Campbell From The Power of Myth

 

"The problem in middle life, when the body has reached its climax of power and begins to decline, is to identify yourself, not with the body, which is falling away, but with the consciousness of which it is a vehicle. This is something I learned from myths. What am I? Am I the bulb that carries the light? Or am I the light of which the bulb is a vehicle?

One of the psychological problems in growing old is the fear of death. People resist the door of death. But this body is a vehicle of consciousness, and if you can identify with the consciousness, you can watch this body go like an old car. There goes the fender, there goes the tire, one thing after another— but it’s predictable. And then, gradually, the whole thing drops off, and consciousness, rejoins consciousness. It is no longer in this particular environment."

 

~Joseph Campbell

From The Power of Myth

 

https://jcf.org/.../joseph-campbell-and-the-power-of.../

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Bodily Action

 

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RIGHT ACTION Reflecting Upon Bodily Action However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds, bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too bodily action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61) When you wish to do an action with the body, reflect upon that same bodily action thus: “Would this action I wish to do with the body lead to both my own affliction and the affliction of another?” If, upon reflection, you know that it would, then do not do it; if you know that it would not, then proceed. (MN 61)

Reflection Not only is it wise to think before you speak, it is also important to think before you act. Another way of putting this is to act consciously instead of automatically, from habit. Conscious action is mindful action, and there is no activity that can't be done mindfully rather than mindlessly. Every action is accompanied by an intention, and this practice trains us to pay attention to this aspect of experience. Daily Practice Try going through your day as if you are holding a mirror up to yourself in your mind and you are able to see what you're thinking and reflect what you're about to do. Take that extra moment to be aware of yourself, aware of your actions, and aware of their impact on the world around you. This practice involves bringing mindful awareness to intention—to the impulse to act—in the moment before you follow through into action. Tomorrow: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings One week from today: Reflecting upon Verbal Action Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: Believing in All-Encompassing Love

 We must encounter Great Love. We must begin to believe in the possibility of something that sees us exactly as we are, with all our deep flaws and ugliness, and that accepts us just the same.

Satya Robyn, “Meeting Shame with Compassion: A Pure Land Antidote”

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