A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||||
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Monday, January 7, 2013
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Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma January 7, 2013
Developing Equanimity
When
we really see, in our mind’s eye, a person we think we don’t like, and
instead of solidifying our reasons for hatred we honestly wish them
happiness, good health, safety, and an easeful life, we start to forget
what we thought we hated and why we felt that way in the first place. A
sense of equanimity toward everyone arises as we do this practice—we
feel compassion for those who were once invisible to us, and our
disregard and apathy morph into concern for their well-being and safety.
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- Cyndi Lee, “May I Be Happy”
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma January 6, 2013
A Great Dharma Feast
When
we take words to be statements of ultimate truth, then differences of
opinion will inevitably result in conflict. This is where ideological
wars come from, and we see in the history of the world an endless amount
of suffering because of it. But if we see the words and the teachings
as different skillful means for liberating the mind, then they all
become part of a great dharma feast.
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- Joseph Goldstein, “One Dharma”
Saturday, January 5, 2013
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Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma January 5, 2013
Our Common Enemy
If
we can begin to consider hatred as the enemy, as your and my enemy,
then we can begin to transform our anger into compassion. That will be
how we can take advantage of an unfortunate and tragic situation.
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- Nawang Gehlek Rimpoche, "The Real Enemy"
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma January 4, 2013
Truth is Vulnerable
Truth
has no action. Truth is weak. Truth is not utilitarian, truth cannot be
organized. It is like the wind: You cannot catch it, you cannot take
hold of it in your fist and say, ‘I have caught it.’ Therefore it is
tremendously vulnerable, impotent like the blade of grass on the
roadside—you can kill it, you can destroy it. But we want it as a thing
to be used for a better structure of society. And I am afraid you cannot
use it, you cannot—it is like love, love is never potent. It is there
for you, take it or leave it.
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- Krishnamurti, "A Question of Heart"
Friday, January 4, 2013
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Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Thursday, January 3, 2013
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma January 3, 2013
Working with Thoughts
It
is helpful at the beginning of your meditation practice to free
yourself from the idea that in order to meditate properly you must have
no thoughts. Instead, establish a different relationship with your
thoughts so that over time they can fade more effortlessly into the
background. All meditators have thoughts arising during their
practice—it’s what you do with them that matters.
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- Bob Sharples, "Do the Thoughts Ever Stop?"
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma January 2, 2013
Developing Inner Wealth
It
looks like only one thing can save us: the development of inner wealth.
Then there’s a perfect circle, everything is good. When we’re in tune
with our inner wealth—the qualities of compassion, contentment,
patience, and so on—it’s endless, it’s timeless. Those are the qualities
that we’re born with. Everybody. The whole process of meditation is all about trying to dig into this inner wealth, to access it.
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- Trinlay Thaye Dorje, “Diamond-like Resolve”
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma January 1, 2013
A New View for the New Year
We
have to look at what’s important in life, develop a strong sense of
priorities, and be willing to say no to the currents that would lead to
less worthwhile pleasures. As the Buddha said, if you see a greater
pleasure that comes from forsaking a lesser pleasure, be willing to
forsake that lesser pleasure for the greater one.
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- Thanissaro Bikkhu, “The Dignity of Restraint”
Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Monday, December 31, 2012
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 31, 2012
Deeper than Thought
It
is undeniable that others and the larger world, so beleaguered at this
moment in history, need everything that we have to give. But what to
give is the problem. It seems finally clear that we cannot find out what
to do simply by thinking about it. We need to gain our inspiration and
our direction from much deeper sources.
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- Reginald Ray, “Looking Inward, Seeing Outward”
Via AmericaBlog Gay:Interview with the gay military couple whose iconic “kiss” photo went viral this year (video)
You may recall the photo of the gay kiss, showing a Marine jumping into his boyfriend’s arms on coming home from Afghanistan.
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