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What Was Mindfulness? | November 15, 2014
When the studies on mindfulness started rolling in a few years ago,
it was good news for those of us who had been practicing Buddhist
meditation for years. . . . But in the midst of all this there was a
question few of us ever thought to ask: What was mindfulness for? Did it stand for anything? Did it have any ethical content? Did it produce compassionate people—or compliant people?
- Clark Strand, "What Was Mindfulness?"  |
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
O que é uma Sangha?
Sangha
Virtual
Estudos Budistas
Tradição
do Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh
O que é uma Sangha?
Uma Sangha é uma comunidade de amigos praticando o Dharma
juntos de forma a fazer acontecer e manter a consciência. A essência da Sangha
é consciência, entendimento, aceitação, harmonia e amor. Quando você não vê
isto em uma comunidade, não é uma verdadeira Sangha e você deveria ter a
coragem de dizer. Mas quando você encontra esses elementos presentes em uma
comunidade, sabe que tem a felicidade e a sorte de estar em uma Sangha real.
No evangelho de Mateus, achamos a seguinte frase: “Vocês são
o sal da terra; mas se o sal se tornar insípido, com que se há de restaurar-lhe
o sabor? Para nada mais presta, senão para ser lançado fora, e ser pisado pelos
homens.” Nesta passagem Jesus descreve seus seguidores como sal. Comida precisa
de sal de forma a ficar saborosa. Vida precisa de entendimento, compaixão e
harmonia de forma a ser possível de ser vivida. Esta é a contribuição mais
importante para a vida que os seguidores de Jesus podem trazer ao mundo.
Significa que o Reino dos Céus tem que ser percebido aqui, não em nenhum outro
lugar, e que os cristãos precisam praticar de forma que possam ser o sal da
vida e uma verdadeira comunidade de cristãos.
Sal é também uma importante imagem no cânone budista e este
ensinamento cristão é equivalente ao ensinamento do Buda sobre Sangha. O Buda
disse que a água nos quatro oceanos tem um só sabor, o sabor do sal, assim como
seus ensinamentos tem apenas um sabor, o sabor da liberação. Portanto os
elementos da Sangha são o sabor da vida, o sabor da liberação e temos que
praticar de forma a nos tornarmos sal. Quando dizemos, “Eu tomo refúgio na
Sangha” não é uma declaração, é uma prática.
Nas escrituras budistas é dito que há quatro comunidades:
monges, monjas, homens leigos e mulheres leigas. Mas eu também incluo elementos
que não são humanos na Sangha. As árvores, água, ar, pássaros e assim por
diante, podem todos ser membros da Sangha. Uma boa almofada também pode.
Podemos transformar muitas coisas em elementos de apoio da Sangha. Esta idéia
não é inteiramente nova, pode ser achada através dos sutras e no Abbidharma
também. Uma pedrinha, uma folha e uma dália são mencionados no
Sadharmapundarika Sutra. É dito no Sutra da Terra Pura que se você for
plenamente consciente, então quando o vento ventar pelas árvores, você ouvirá
os ensinamentos dos Quatro Estabelecimentos de Atenção Plena, o Nobre Caminho
Óctuplo e assim por diante. O cosmos inteiro está rezando o Dharma do Buda e o
praticando. Se você for atento, entrará em contato com esta Sangha.
Eu não acho que o Buda queria que abandonássemos nossa
sociedade, nossa cultura ou nossas raízes de forma a praticar. A prática do
budismo deveria ajudar as pessoas a voltar para suas famílias. Deveria ajudar
as pessoas e se reintegrar na sociedade de forma a redescobrir e aceitar as
boas coisas que existem na nossa cultura e para reconstruir aquelas que não
estão.
Nossa sociedade moderna cria muitos jovens sem raízes. Eles
estão desenraizados de suas famílias e da sua sociedade. Eles vagam, não
completamente como seres humanos, porque não tem raízes. Um bom número deles vêm
de famílias desestruturadas e se sentem rejeitados pela sociedade. Eles vivem à
margem, procurando por um lar, por algo a que possam pertencer. Eles são como
árvores sem raízes. Para essas pessoas é difícil praticar. Uma árvore sem
raízes não pode absorver nada, não pode sobreviver. Mesmo se eles praticarem
intensamente por dez anos, será difícil para eles serem transformado se
permanecerem como uma ilha, se não puderem estabelecer uma ligação com outras
pessoas.
Uma comunidade de prática, uma Sangha, pode proporcionar uma
segunda chance para um jovem que vem de uma família desestruturada ou é alienado
da sua sociedade. Se a comunidade de prática é organizada como uma família, com
uma atmosfera amigável e morna, os jovens poderão ter sucesso na prática.
Sofrimento (dukka) é um dos maiores problemas do
nosso tempo. Primeiramente temos que reconhecê-lo e notá-lo, Então precisamos
olhar profundamente para a sua natureza de forma a encontrarmos uma saída. Se
olharmos para a situação presente em nós mesmos e na nossa sociedade, poderemos
ver muito sofrimento. Precisamos chamá-lo por seus verdadeiros nomes: solidão,
sentimento de ser cortado, alienação, divisão, desintegração da família,
desintegração da sociedade. Nossa civilização, nossa cultura foi caracterizada
pelo individualismo. O indivíduo quer ser livre da sociedade, da família. O
indivíduo não pensa que tem que tomar refúgio na família, na sociedade e pensa
que pode ser feliz sem uma Sangha. É por isso que não temos solidez, não temos
harmonia, não temos a comunicação que precisamos tanto.
A prática é, portanto, fazer crescer algumas raízes. A
Sangha não é um lugar para se esconder de forma a se evitar responsabilidades.
A Sangha é um lugar para praticar, para a transformação e a cura do ego e da
sociedade. Quando você é forte, pode estar presente de forma a ajudar a
sociedade. Se sua sociedade está em confusão, sua família está desestruturada,
se sua igreja não é capaz de te prever vida espiritual, então você trabalha
para tomar refúgio na Sangha de forma que possa restabelecer sua força, seu
entendimento, sua compaixão, sua confiança. Então você poderá usar sua força,
entendimento e compaixão de volta para reconstruir sua família e sociedade, para
renovar sua igreja, para restabelecer comunicação e harmonia. Isto pode ser
apenas feito como comunidade – não como indivíduos, mas como uma Sangha.
De forma a conseguirmos desenvolver algumas raízes,
precisamos de um tipo de ambiente que nos ajude a nos tornar enraizados. Uma
Sangha não é uma comunidade de prática onde cada pessoa é uma ilha, incapaz de
comunicar com os outros. Isto não é uma Sangha verdadeira. Nenhuma cura ou
transformação resultará de tal Sangha. Uma verdadeira Sangha deveria ser como
uma família na qual há um espírito de irmandade.
Há muito sofrimento, sim, e temos que abraçar esse
sofrimento. Mas para ficarmos fortes, também precisamos tocar os elementos
positivos e quando formos fortes, poderemos abraçar o sofrimento em nós e ao nosso
redor. Se virmos um grupo de pessoas vivendo em plena consciência, capazes de
sorrir, de amar, ganhamos confiança no nosso futuro. Quando praticamos
respiração consciente, sorrindo, descansando, andando ou trabalhando, nos
tornamos um elemento positivo na sociedade e inspiraremos confiança em todos ao
nosso redor. Este é o caminho para evitar deixar o desespero nos derrotar. É
também o caminho para ajudar as gerações jovens de forma que eles não percam a
esperança. É muito importante que vivamos nossa vida diária de tal modo que
demonstremos que um futuro seja possível.
Na minha tradição aprendemos que indivíduos não podem
fazer
muito. É por isso que tomar refúgio na Sangha, tomar refúgio na
comunidade é
uma prática muito forte e importante. Quando eu digo: “Eu tomo refúgio
na
Sangha”, não significa que eu quero expressar minha devoção. Não. Não é
uma
questão de devoção, é uma questão de prática. Sem estar em uma Sangha,
sem ser apoiado por um grupo de amigos que estão motivados pelo mesmo
ideal e
prática, não podemos ir longe.
Se não temos uma Sangha que nos dê suporte, podemos
não
estar obtendo o tipo de apoio que precisamos para nossa prática, que
precisamos
para nutrir nossa bodhicitta (o desejo forte de cultivar amor e
entendimento em
nós mesmos). Às vezes chamamos isso, “mente principiante”. A mente de um
principiante é sempre muito bonita, muito forte. Em uma Sangha boa e
saudável há encorajamento para a mente do principiante, para nossa
bodhicitta. Portanto a Sangha é o solo e somos a semente. Não importa o
quanto
seja bonita e vigorosa nossa semente, se o solo não nos provê
vitalidade, nossa
semente morrerá.
Um dos irmãos de Plum Village, Irmão Phap Dung, foi ao
Vietnã alguns anos atrás com alguns membros da Sangha. Foi uma experiência
muito importante para ele. Ele está no Ocidente desde que era pequeno. Quando
ele foi ao norte do Vietnã, pode entrar em contato com alguns dos elementos
mais antigos da cultura vietnamita e com as montanhas e rios do norte do
Vietnã. Ele me escreveu e disse: “Nossa terra do Vietnã é tão bonita, bonita
como um sonho. Eu não ouso dar passos pesados nessa terra do Vietnã”. Ele quis
dizer que tinha a atenção plena correta quando andou. Sua plena atenção correta
foi devido à prática e ao apoio que ele teve na Sangha antes de ir ao Vietnã.
Esta é a mente de principiante, a mente que você tem no início quando se
compromete com a prática. É muito bonito e precioso, mas a mente principiante
pode ser quebrada, destruída, perdida se não for nutrida ou apoiada por uma
Sangha.
Embora ele tivesse sua pequena Sangha perto dele no Vietnã,
o ambiente era de muita distração, e ele viu que se ficasse muito tempo longe
de uma Sangha maior, ele seria levado pelo ambiente, pelo esquecimento – não
apenas seu próprio esquecimento, mas o esquecimento de todos ao seu redor. Isto
porque a atenção plena correta para alguém que apenas começou na prática é
ainda fraca e o esquecimento das pessoas ao nosso redor é muito grande e capaz
de nos arrastar na direção dos cinco desejos. Como a maioria das pessoas ao
nosso redor é levada pelos cinco desejos, é este ambiente que nos arrasta e nos
impede de praticar a atenção plena correta.
Para praticar a atenção plena correta precisamos de uma
ambiente correto, e este é a nossa Sangha. Sem uma Sangha, somos fracos. Em uma
sociedade onde todos estão correndo, todos estão sendo levados pelas suas
energias de hábito, a prática é muito difícil. É por isso que a Sangha é a
nossa salvação. Uma Sangha onde todos estão praticando a caminhada atenta, fala
atenciosa, alimentação consciente parece ser a única chance para termos sucesso
para terminar o círculo vicioso.
E o que é a Sangha? A Sangha é uma comunidade de pessoas que
concordam que se não praticarmos a atenção plena correta, perderemos todas as
coisas bonitas na nossa alma e ao nosso redor. As pessoas na Sangha perto de
nós, praticam conosco, nos apoiando de forma que não sejamos puxados para fora
do momento presente. Seja quando for que nos encontremos em uma situação
difícil, dois ou três amigos na Sangha estão lá para nós, entendendo e nos
ajudando e nos farão superar tudo. Mesmo na nossa prática silenciosa, ajudamos
uns aos outros.
Na minha tradição dizemos que quando um tigre deixa a
montanha e vai ao vale, será capturado por humanos e morto. Quando um
praticante deixa sua Sangha, abandona sua prática depois de alguns meses. De
forma a continuar nossa prática de transformação e cura, precisamos de uma
Sangha. Com uma Sangha, é muito mais fácil praticar, e é por isso que eu sempre
tomo refúgio na minha Sangha.
(Traduzido do livro “Friends on the
path” – Thich Nhat Hanh)
Comente esse texto em http://sangavirtual.blogspot.com
Friday, November 14, 2014
Tricycle dharma talk: Free from Fear When we are not fully present, we are not really living
Our
greatest fear is that when we die, we will become nothing. Many of us
believe our entire existence is limited to a particular period, our
“lifespan.” We believe it begins when we are born—when, out of being
nothing, we become something—and it ends when we die and become nothing
again. So we are filled with a fear of annihilation.But if we look deeply, we can have a very different understanding of our existence. We can see that birth and death are just notions; they’re not real. The Buddha taught that there is no birth and no death. Our belief that these ideas about birth and death are real creates a powerful illusion that causes us a great deal of suffering. When we understand that we can’t be destroyed, we’re liberated from fear. It’s a huge relief. We can enjoy life and appreciate it in a new way.
When I lost my mother, I suffered a lot. The day she died, I wrote in my journal, “The greatest misfortune of my life has happened.” I grieved her death for more than a year. Then one night, I was sleeping in my hermitage—a hut that lay behind a temple, halfway up a hill covered with tea plants in the highlands of Vietnam. I had a dream about my mother. I saw myself sitting with her, and we were having a wonderful talk. She looked young and beautiful, with her hair flowing down around her shoulders. It was so pleasant to sit and talk to her as if she had never died.
When I woke up, I had a very strong feeling that I had never lost my mother. The sense that my mother was still with me was very clear. I understood then that the idea of having lost my mother was just that: an idea. It was obvious in that moment that my mother was still alive in me and always would be.
I opened the door and went outside. The entire hillside was bathed in moonlight. Walking slowly in that soft light through the rows of tea plants, I observed that my mother was indeed still with me. My mother was the moonlight caressing me as she had so often done, very gentle, very sweet. Every time my feet touched the earth, I knew my mother was there with me. I knew this body was not mine alone but a living continuation of my mother and father, my grandparents and great-grandparents, and of all my ancestors. These feet I saw as “my” feet were actually “our” feet. Together my mother and I were leaving footprints in the damp soil.
From that moment on, the idea that I had lost my mother no longer existed. All I had to do was look at the palm of my hand, or feel the breeze on my face or the earth under my feet, to remember that my mother is always with me, available at any time.
When you lose a loved one, you suffer. But if you know how to look deeply, you have a chance to realize that his or her nature is truly the nature of no-birth, no-death. There is manifestation, and there is the cessation of manifestation in order to have another manifestation. You have to be alert to recognize the new manifestations of one person. But with practice and effort, you can do it. Pay attention to the world around you, to the leaves and the flowers, to the birds and the rain. If you can stop and look deeply, you will recognize your beloved manifesting again and again in many forms. You will release your fear and pain, and again embrace the joy of life.
The Present Is Free from Fear
When we are not fully present, we are not really living. We’re not really there, either for our loved ones or for ourselves. If we’re not there, then where are we? We are running, running, running, even during our sleep. We run because we’re trying to escape from our fear.
We cannot enjoy life if we spend our time and energy worrying about what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. If we’re afraid all the time, we miss out on the wonderful fact that we’re alive and can be happy right now. In everyday life, we tend to believe that happiness is only possible in the future. We’re always looking for the “right” conditions that we don’t yet have to make us happy. We ignore what is happening right in front of us. We look for something that will make us feel more solid, safer, more secure. But we’re afraid all the time of what the future will bring—afraid we’ll lose our jobs, our possessions, the people around us whom we love. So we wait and hope for that magical moment—always sometime in the future—when everything will be as we want it to be. We forget that life is available only in the present moment. The Buddha said, “It is possible to live happily in the present moment. It is the only moment we have.”
The Here and Now I have arrived, I am home
In the here, in the now
I am solid, I am free
In the ultimate I dwell
When we come back to the here and now, we recognize the many conditions of happiness that already exist. The practice of mindfulness is the practice of coming back to the here and now to be deeply in touch with ourselves and with life. We have to train ourselves to do this. Even if we’re very intelligent and grasp the principle right away, we still have to train ourselves to really live this way. We have to train ourselves to recognize the many conditions for happiness that are already here.
You can recite the poem above as you breathe in and out. You can practice this poem when you drive to your office. You may not have arrived at your office, but even while driving you have already arrived at your true home, the present moment. When you arrive at your office, this is also your true home. In your office, you are also in the here and now. Just practicing the first line of the poem, “I have arrived, I am home,” can make you very happy. Whether you are sitting, walking, watering the vegetable garden, or feeding your child, it is always possible to practice “I have arrived, I am home.” I have run all my life; I am not going to run anymore; now I am determined to stop and really live my life.
When we practice breathing in and we say, “I have arrived,” and we really arrive, that is success. To be fully present, 100 percent alive, is a real achievement. The present moment has become our true home. When we breathe out and say, “I am home” and we really feel at home, we no longer have to be afraid. We really don’t need to run anymore.
We repeat this mantra, “I have arrived, I am home,” until it feels real. We repeat breathing in and out and taking steps until we are firmly established in the here and now. The words should not be an obstacle—the words only help you concentrate and keep your insight alive. It is the insight that keeps you home, not the words.
The Two Dimensions of Reality
If you have succeeded in arriving at home, truly dwelling in the here and now, you already have the solidity and freedom that are the foundation of your happiness. Then you are able to see the two dimensions of reality, the historical and the ultimate.
To represent the two dimensions of reality, we use the images of the wave and water. Looking at the dimension of the wave, the historical dimension, we see that the wave seems to have a beginning and an end. The wave can be high or low compared with other waves. The wave might be more or less beautiful than other waves. The wave might be there or not there; it might be there now but later not there. All these notions are there when we first touch the historical dimension: birth and death, being and nonbeing, high and low, coming and going, and so on. But we know that when we touch the wave more deeply, we touch water. The water is the other dimension of the wave. It represents the ultimate dimension.
In the historical dimension we talk in terms of life, death, being, nonbeing, high, low, coming, going, but in the ultimate dimension, all these notions are removed. If the wave is capable of touching the water within herself, if the wave can live the life of water at the same time, then she will not be afraid of all these notions: beginning and ending, birth and death, being or non-being; non-fear will bring her solidity and joy. Her true nature is the nature of no-birth and no-death, no beginning and no end. That is the nature of water.
All of us are like that wave. We have our historical dimension. We speak in terms of beginning to be at a certain point in time, and ceasing to be at another point in time. We believe that we are now existing and that before our birth we did not exist. We get caught in these notions, and that is why we have fear, we have jealousy, we have craving, we have all these conflicts and afflictions within us. Now if we are capable of arriving, of being more solid and free, it will be possible for us to touch our true nature, the ultimate dimension of ourselves. In touching that ultimate dimension, we break free from all these notions that have made us suffer.
When fear loses some of its power, we can look deeply into its origin from the perspective of the ultimate dimension. In the historical dimension, we see birth, death, and old age, but in the ultimate dimension birth and death are not the true nature of things. The true nature of things is free from birth and death. The first step is to practice in the historical dimension, and the second step is to practice in the ultimate dimension. In the first step we accept that birth and death are happening, but in the second step, because we’re in touch with the ultimate dimension, we realize that birth and death come from our own conceptual minds and not from any true reality. By being in contact with the ultimate dimension we are able to be in touch with the reality of all things, which is birthless and deathless.
Practicing in the historical dimension is very important for our success practicing in the ultimate dimension. Practice in the ultimate dimension means being in touch with our no-birth, no-death nature, like a wave being in touch with its true nature of water. We can ask metaphorically, “Where does the wave come from, and where will it go?” And we can answer in the same manner, “The wave comes from water and will return to water.” In reality, there is no coming and going. The wave is always water; it doesn’t “come from” water, and it doesn’t go anywhere. It is always water; coming and going are just mental constructions. The wave has never left the water, so to say the wave “comes from” the water is not really correct. As it is always water, we cannot say it “returns to” water. Right at the moment when the wave is a wave, it is already water. Birth and death, coming and going are just concepts. When we are in touch with our no-birth, no-death nature, we have no fear.
No Coming, No Going For many of us, the notions of birth and death, coming and going, cause our greatest pain. We think the person we loved came to us from somewhere and has now gone away somewhere. But our true nature is the nature of no coming and no going. We have not come from anywhere, and we will not go anywhere. When conditions are sufficient, we manifest in a particular way. When conditions are no longer sufficient, we no longer manifest in that way. This doesn’t mean that we don’t exist. If we’re afraid of death, it’s because we don’t understand that things do not really die.
There’s a tendency for people to think that they can eliminate what they don’t want: they can burn down a village, they can kill a person. But destroying someone doesn’t reduce that person to nothing. They killed Mahatma Gandhi. They shot Martin Luther King, Jr. But these people are still among us today. They continue to exist in many forms. Their spirit goes on. Therefore, when we look deeply into our self—into our body, our feelings, and our perceptions—when we look into the mountains, the rivers, or another person, we have to be able to see and touch the nature of no-birth and no-death in them. This is one of the most important practices in the Buddhist tradition.
Finding Solid Ground
In our daily lives, our fear causes us to lose ourselves. Our body is here, but our mind is all over the place. Sometimes we plunge ourselves into a book, and the book carries us far away from our body and the reality where we are. Then, as soon as we lift our head out of the book, we’re back to being carried away by worries and fear. But we rarely go back to our inner peace, to our clarity, to the buddhanature in each of us, so that we can be in touch with Mother Earth.
Many people forget their own body. They live in an imaginary world. They have so many plans and fears, so many agitations and dreams, and they don’t live in their body. While we’re caught in fear and trying to plan our way out of fear, we aren’t able to see all the beauty that Mother Earth offers us. Mindfulness reminds you to go to your in-breath and to be totally with your in-breath, be totally with your out-breath. Bring your mind back to your body and be in the present moment. Look deeply straight in front of you at what is wonderful in the present moment. Mother Earth is so powerful, so generous, and so supportive. Your body is so wonderful. When you’ve practiced and you are solid like the earth, you face your difficulty directly, and it begins to dissipate.
Practice
Breathing in the Present
Please take a moment to enjoy the simple practice of mindful breathing: “Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in; breathing out, I know that I am breathing out.” If you do that with a little concentration, then you’ll be able to really be there. The moment you begin to practice mindful breathing, your body and your mind begin to come back together. It takes only 10 to 20 seconds to accomplish this miracle, the oneness of body and mind in the present moment. And every one of us can do it, even a child.
As the Buddha said, “The past no longer is, the future is not yet here; there is only one moment in which life is available, and that is the present moment.” To meditate with mindful breathing is to bring body and mind back to the present moment so that you do not miss your appointment with life.
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, and peace activist. He lives at Plum Village, a meditation center in the Dordogne region of southern France.
For the original posting please make the jump here
"Ultimately,
life is very short. Even if we live one hundred years more, that is
still very short. We don't have time to hate anybody. We don't have time
to judge anybody. So how are we going to spend the rest of our life
from this moment on? This is a good question. 'How am I going to spend
the rest of my life from this moment on?' We must realize that life is
extremely short. It is like the snap of
our fingers until the time we die. So we have to realize that ultimately
there is nothing to gain and nothing to lose. Ultimately there are no
enemies, there are no friends. There is not even any 'I.' From this
moment on the only thing that matters is to live life from compassion,
awareness, and wisdom."
-- Anam Thubten, "Are We On the Right Track?" from "No Self, No Problem"
-- Anam Thubten, "Are We On the Right Track?" from "No Self, No Problem"
Via JMG: LA Galaxy Sign Out Soccer Star Robbie Rogers To Multi-Year Contract Extension
Via press release:
RELATED: Last month ABC green-lighted a sitcom based on Rogers' life. The show is tentatively titled Men In Shorts.
Reposted from Joe Jervis
The LA Galaxy announced today that the club has signed defender Robbie Rogers to a multi-year contract extension. Rogers, an MLS veteran and former U.S. Men’s National Team member, joined in Galaxy in May 2013 and has made 30 appearances and 22 starts as a member of the Galaxy. “We are excited that Robbie will remain a part of our organization going forward,” LA Galaxy Head Coach and General Manager Bruce Arena said. “He has proven to be a dynamic player in our League and an integral part of our success this year. We look forward to his continued contributions in the years to come.” Rogers, 27, has made 15 appearances for the Galaxy this season in addition to recording two assists. After making the move to defense full-time with a start against Chivas USA on June 8, the Galaxy have gone 10-2-7 in all MLS competitions in which Rogers appeared, including MLS Cup Playoffs.(Tipped by JMG reader Benjamin)
RELATED: Last month ABC green-lighted a sitcom based on Rogers' life. The show is tentatively titled Men In Shorts.
Via Mountain Stream Meditation Center:
Often
when we feel we don’t know, we want to do something right away. We want
to impose our little intelligence on Reality. Without trust habit
dominates. With trust there can be a willingness to not interfere, to
not try to change things, to not manipulate them, to not push and pull
at them. Instead we allow things to emerge. This opens us to the
possibility of surrender and to the guidance of our more essential
nature.
~~Frank Ostaseski
Via JMG: Happy Purple Marriage Map
JMG reader Jay Sheckley has sent us an alternative map to the Wikipedia
version posted here several times a week in recent months. Embiggen for
the details.
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Flower of the Day: 11/14/14
“The
phase of the journey that we call the ABC’s of Spirituality where we
heal and transform the lower self involves becoming aware of the parts
of ourselves that are denied or that we have not yet come into agreement
with. This healing process has phases, and the first step is to
identify these parts within ourselves. We go on following these steps
until we enter the abyss of denied feelings. Here, it is necessary to
learn how to navigate the dark waters of the ocean of fear, until all
fear can be dissolved.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Dialy Dharma
Life in the Present Moment | November 14, 2014
We’re afraid all the time of what the future will bring—afraid
we’ll lose our jobs, our possessions, the people around us whom we love.
So we wait and hope for that magical moment—always sometime in the
future—when everything will be as we want it to be. We forget that life
is available only in the present moment.
- Thich Nhat Hanh, "Free From Fear"
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Flower of the Day: 11/13/14
“Bad
habits open the doorways for evil to enter our lives. Little by little,
our consciousness diminishes and we become more and more dense. The
first symptom can be detected in our dreams when we begin to have
nightmares and lose our presence. I am referring to bad habits in
relationship to food, various behaviors and ways we relate to others,
and even the places we sometimes go to. The more sensitive you are, the
more attentive you should be, because your tendency to absorb the
energies from those around you is greater. With time, you will learn how
to deal with this: you learn to walk on fire without getting burned.
But even at this stage it is necessary to know your limits, or to know
how long you can stay in a place vibrating in cruelty without getting
contaminated. A sensitive person is like a delicate flower – any
mishandling of it can hurt it.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma: BLOG: DON'T JUST SIT THERE, DO SOMETHING
Ever since Western converts began adopting Buddhist traditions, their community has sought a balance between the quest for personal peace and tranquility and the sense of social engagement. That seemingly irreconcilable conflict made itself felt when several generations of Buddhists came together for the 2014 National Gathering of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
Via Daily Dharma
Thoughtful Conviction | November 13, 2014
To question is unbelievably powerful. But if you question all the
time and you remain in doubt, going first this way and then that,
conviction is absent. If you develop a line of inquiry and learn from
your experience, conviction grows.
- Segyu Rinpoche, "Buddhist Training for Modern Life"
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Thich Nhat Hanh: On Homosexuality
Posted on March 29, 2009
Thich Nhat Hanh, the noted Zen monk, poet, teacher who is the inspiration behind Deer Park Monastery and the Plum Village tradition, shares these words about the Buddhadharma’s view of “homosexuality” in the latest book, ANSWERS FROM THE HEART.
Q. What is the Buddhist view of homosexuality?
A.
The spirit of Buddhism is inclusiveness. Looking deeply into the nature
of a cloud, we see the cosmos. A flower is a flower, but if we look
deeply into it, we see the cosmos. Everything has a place.
The base-the
foundation of everything-is the same. When you look at the ocean, you
see different kinds of waves, many sizes and shapes, but all the waves
have water as their foundation and substance. If you are born gay or
lesbian, your ground of being in the same as mine. We are different, but
we share the same ground of being. The Protestant theologian Paul Tillich
said that God is the ground of being. You should be yourself. If God
has created me as a rose, then I should accept myself as a rose. If you
are a lesbian, then be a lesbian. Looking deeply into your nature, you
will see yourself as you truly are. You will be able to touch the ground
of your being and find peace.
If
you’re a victim of discrimination, then your way to emancipation is not
simply by crying out against injustice. Injustice cannot be repaired by
recognition alone, but by your capacity to touch the ground of your
being. Discrimination, intolerance, and suppression stem from lack of
knowledge and lack of understanding. If you’re capable of touching the
ground of your being, you can be released from the suffering that has
been created in you through discrimination and oppression.
Someone
who discriminates against you, because of your race or the color of your
skin or your sexual orientation, is ignorant. He doesn’t know his own
ground of being. He doesn’t realize that we all share the same ground of
being; that is why he can discriminate against you.
Someone
who discriminates against others and causes them to suffer is someone
who is not happy with himself. Once you’ve touched the depth and the
nature of your ground of being, you’ll be equipped with the kind of
understanding that can give rise to compassion and tolerance, and you
will be capable of forgiving even those who discriminate against you.
Don’t believe that relief or justice will come through society alone.
True emancipation lies in your capacity to look deeply.
When you
suffer because of discrimination, there’s always an urge to speak out.
But even if you spend a thousand years speaking out, your suffering
won’t be relieved. Only through deep understanding and liberation from
ignorance can you be liberated from your suffering.
When you
break through to the truth, compassion springs up like a stream of
water. With that compassion, you can embrace even the people who have
persecuted you. When you’re motivated by desire to help those who are
victims of ignorance, only then are you free from your suffering and
feelings of violation. Don’t wait for things to change around you. You
have to practice liberating yourself. Then you will be equipped with the
power of compassion and understanding, the only kind of power that can
help transform an environment full of injustice and discrimination. You
have to become such a person-one who can embody tolerance,
understanding, and compassion. You transform yourself into an instrument
for social change and change in the collective consciousness of
mankind.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Answers from the Heart: Practical Responses To Life’s Burning Questions (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2009), 119-122.
Via Lions Roar: A Bad Day at the Airport
What better place to work with your mind?
Here is a practice I have been working with for more than a decade. I recite, usually silently, these two sentences:May I meet this moment fully.These blessing phrases cultivate and sustain a mind of peace and goodwill. For me, they represent the promise of practice. “May I meet this moment fully” expresses my faith that an alert and balanced mind is a possibility for human beings. “May I meet it as a friend” reminds me that my mind’s natural benevolence is my best refuge. Although most of my daily practice has always been the simple practice of alert attention to changing experience, I often begin periods of simple sitting with some repetitions of this two-phrase mantra as a kind of mood-setter, an incliner of my mind toward relaxing.
May I meet it as a friend.
In recent years, I find this blessing comes to mind naturally in times of stress as I go about my life. Recently, I decided to track its activity through a particularly stressful day:
I arrive at the airport well in time for my early morning flight to Orange County, where an old friend has taken quite ill. I notice the flight is delayed. I feel myself starting to cry.
May I meet this moment fully.I realize that I am feeling sad because I love my friend, and am sad to be losing her. I think about how long we’ve been friends. The pleasure of that thought settles my mind.
May I meet it as a friend.
Then, I hear the announcement that the flight has now been cancelled. I ask about the next available flight and am waved in the direction of a long line, where I’m told I need to wait for the next available agent. “If I wait in that line, it will be too late for the next flight. I already have a boarding pass,” I say. “You need to be in that line,” I’m told again.
I feel mad. I think, “I’ll write that letter on behalf of all passengers who should be treated more respectfully!”
May I meet this moment fully.I realize that everyone needs to wait and that I feel particularly sensitive because I’m sad. A helpful person standing in line says, “If we phone the airline while we stand here, we can probably get faster service.” I decide to do that. I dial. The phone rings and rings. I am feeling irritable.
May I meet it as a friend.
May I meet this moment fully.I am told, electronically, that my call is very important to the airline and that an agent will be with me soon. That message repeats many times. I hear my mind again composing indignant letters to Customer Service.
May I meet it as a friend.
May I meet this moment fully.My mind calms down and I realize that I am disappointed with myself because my friend is sick and I am indulging myself in indignation. “Really, Sylvia! What are you thinking?”
May I meet it as a friend.
May I meet this moment fully.The line progresses slowly. I repeat my phrases slowly, paying attention to what I am saying. I look around at the other travelers and wonder where they are going. In my mind, I begin blessing them.
May I meet it as a friend.
May I meet this moment fully.It is my turn at the ticket counter just at the point that my phone call is answered and so I hang up. I realize I’ve calmed down. The agent is courteous. I learn that all the flights until mid-afternoon have been cancelled because of the thunderstorms. I rebook for the next day.
May I meet it as a friend.
The airport bus for my trip home arrives just as I emerge from the terminal in time to board it. I’m grateful, and a little bewildered from the morning of hurrying up and waiting and ultimately going back home. But I’m all right. Just a little tired.
May I meet this moment fully.I travel without difficulty the next day to be with my friend.
May I meet it as a friend.
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