Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Via NEB - International Network of Engaged Buddhists
Deer Park Monastery
A holiday letter from Thay Phap Dung, Abbot of Deer Park Monastery:
Dear Beloved Thầy,
Dear Sanghas throughout the World,
Dear Dharma Brothers and Sisters,
Our loving Mother Earth is still there for us, right beneath our two feet. She is a miracle, a jewel in the cosmos, refreshing and healing. She has shown unlimited patience throughout human history and an uncanny ability to transform just about anything with equanimity and acceptance. She is now calling us for help. She is suffering from our human activities based on our craving, discrimination, fear, and despair.
The Gift of Practice - This holiday season, we have a chance to express our love and care for Mother Earth by the way we care for our self, our family and our environment. We can practice mindfulness to care for our inner environment, our feelings and our emotions so that we do not lose ourself in worries about the future or regrets about the past, or lose ourself with our feelings and thinking in the present moment. We practice in such a way that we are peaceful, free and happy right in the here and now. We can practice to be more relaxed in our body and mind as we drive our car to work, or cook for our family, or play with our friends, or even rest when we return home. We can look deeply into our relationships with our loved ones, with our environment, our neighborhood, and our workplace and find skillful ways to care, to renew and to improve them. Care is a priceless gift.
Having Enough – Concretely this Holiday Season, we invite you to make an effort to find ways that you can give a gift that does not require you to spend a lot of money or even any at all. The greatest gift is, of course, our practice, our true presence, our understanding and love. The giving of this gift will require more effort, more creativity, and deeper looking into your beloved. You can make something. You can surprise him or her with a message that has been waiting for so long.
“Dear Father, I know you are there and I am happy.”
“My son, I am here for you completely.”
“My dear, I am sorry; let us begin a new chapter.”
“Dear Mother Earth,I take refuge in you and bow down deeply.”
A reminder, a memory, a simple attention with skillfulness in expression can touch and transform. Understanding and compassion cannot be bought.
This is an invitation to all practitioners throughout the world to join us this Season for a silent resistance – to the mass pressure to consume, to the forces that cause us to run away from ourself in forgetfulness. Let us change the way we spend our Holiday Season this winter. Let us show our care for the planet in concrete ways. Let us say to Mother Earth that She can have trust in us. And please share this with the larger community by writing about your priceless gift: your gift of practice; your gift of transformation, with by messaging us here at the Deer Park Facebook page, or by commenting below.
With trust and confidence,
Brother Pháp Dung for the Plum Village Community
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 5, 2012
Generosity of the Heart
Genuine
happiness in relationships comes forth naturally when it’s no longer
blocked by all the conditions that we normally add—our agendas, our
needs, our expectations. When we’re more able to refrain from indulging
our self-centered motivations, we no longer look at our relationship in
terms of what we will get. Instead, as we move toward the generosity of
the heart, we naturally want to give.
|
- Ezra Bayda, "Giving Through Relationships"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 7th, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
| Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
| |||
Via JMG: France's First Lady: I Can't Wait To Take Part In My First Same-Sex Wedding
Valerie Trierweiler, the girlfriend of French President Francois Hollande, has given plans to legalise gay marriage with her personal seal of approval by announcing she will be a witness at one of the first ceremonies. While her partner's commitment to proposed legislation allowing same-sex marriages has been questioned in recent weeks, Trierweiler revealed she had accepted an invitation to participate in the wedding of gay friends. "I'm delighted that I'm going to be a witness at one of the very first marriages for all," Trierweiler said. A law providing for same sex couples to wed and adopt children is expected to be on the statute book by the middle of next year. Its passage through parliament is likely to be stormy however given strong opposition from sections of the opposition right, Catholic bishops and other religious leaders.France's national legislature begins debate on the draft version of the bill in three months.
Labels: France, marriage equality, Socialist Party
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 4, 2012
Valuing the Here and Now
Goal-seeking
activity is always the enemy of real peace and contentment. The idea
that what is here and now is less valuable than what’s over there just
past the finish line prevents us from ever being truly content and happy
right where we are. No matter what your ultimate goal is, it’s always
off in the distance. This goes for any goal at all, even the goal of
attaining ultimate inner peace or saving all beings.
|
- Brad Warner, "Goalless Practice"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 6th, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)