Via Daily Dharma

Liberation. Period. | December 11, 2014 Freedom from desires and passions is not the same as the attainment of 'liberation by mind' and 'liberation by insight' which alone can cut the root of dependent origination: ignorance. Buddhism was not conceived as a means to become liberated from desire, but as a means to become liberated. - Stuart Smithers, "Freedom's Just Another Word"

The Sati Center for Buddhist Studies

The Sati Center for Buddhist Studies supports the study of Buddhist teachings through these venues:
• Daylong Community Classes, Sutta Study, and Study Retreats
• Buddhist Chaplaincy Training
• Compassion Cultivation Training™

Make the jump here to vist the Sati Center website

Via Folha de S.Paulo / FB:

Via Join the Coffee Party Movement / FB:

Top 10 Christian Fails Of 2013 (Waitng for his 2014 list)

 

Flower of the Day: 12/10/14

"There are times when we make others feel guilty for what's really our own inability to love – that's truly malicious. We rob the other’s energy for us to feel more powerful; and this brings us a momentary satisfaction. But the load of taking someone away from their path by putting the blame on them is very heavy. We point the finger at them and say, ‘You are guilty for my misery.’ The person then has to go to hell and back to be accepted by you. The needier the person is, the greater their need will be to please you."

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

Waiting for American Buddhism | December 10, 2014 Americans tend to be impatient. We think if Buddhism has been here for a hundred and fifty years, of course it should be totally American. But that ignores the fact that in Asia it took centuries for Buddhism to become fully acculturated when it moved to a new cultural region. . . . It will take time. - Charles Prebish, "Pursuing an American Buddhism"

Via Gay Politics Report: Pope Francis calls for church support of LGBT families

Pope Francis calls for church support of LGBT families
Pope Francis on Sunday called on the Catholic Church to provide support for parents with LGBT children. "We come across this reality all the time in the confessional: a father and a mother whose son or daughter is in that situation. ... We have to find a way to help that father or that mother to stand by their son or daughter," Francis said during a discussion of the church's Synod of Bishops in the fall. A day earlier, the pontiff urged his fellow officials to recognize the "signs of the times." 

International Business Times/Independent (London) (tiered subscription model), The (12/8), Advocate.com/LaNacion.com.ar (Argentina) (Spanish-language content) (12/8)

Flower of the Day: 12/09/14

"Competition is at the service of adding value to the idea of ‘me’: we want to be recognized since that makes us feel we have found our place in the world. When we feel isolated and separate, and start competing with others, it’s almost impossible for us to discover our place in the world. I invite you to give up the ‘doer,’ since compulsive doing serves this sense of competition. Each time we do something compulsively, we get further imprisoned in the webs of karma."

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

The World of Interaction | December 9, 2014 Awakening is not an individual achievement but arises because of and along with the awakening of others. - Rev. Patti Nakai, "The Tie That Need Not Bind"

Flower of the Day: 12/08/14

"Deconstructing the masks, our false identities, implies reliving certain wounds. It means getting in touch with the feelings of abandonment, humiliation, rejection and exclusion that were experienced in the past. This is not easy, but you can only move forward in your evolutionary journey if you can free yourself of denied feelings. Some people believe that it is enough to just focus their awareness on the present moment without paying attention to the past, but this approach can be dangerous precisely because it is suppressing the past. The past cannot be denied: it needs to be transcended. Transcendence is only possible when you understand the past and can be in harmony with it."

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

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The Care We Share | December 8, 2014

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Like an underground spring that nourishes living things but goes unseen, the care we share is the underpinning of our life, its hidden support.

- Andrew Cooper, "Life's Hidden Support"

Flower of the Day: 12/06/14

"When we arrive in this realm through the physical body, our vision gets veiled, meaning that our perception diminishes. Thus, we take the real for the unreal, and we believe the unreal to be real. This is the main source of human suffering. We then continue to deal with suffering until we reach a saturation point and get tired of it. At that point, we start seeing that there may be something wrong with our perception, and so begin the work of self-awareness by increasing our perception. That's how we remove the veil of ignorance that covers our higher self."

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

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Fear of Silence | December 6, 2014

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I have the impression that many of us are afraid of silence. We’re always taking in something—text, music, radio, television, or thoughts—to occupy the space. If quiet and space are so important for our happiness, why don’t we make more room for them in our lives?

- Thich Nhat Hahn, "Fear of Silence"

Flower of the Day: 12/05/14

"The first layer of the veil of illusion is forgetting life’s purpose. Being aware of our purpose connects us to the source and enables us to remember the truth. Being enveloped by the veil of illusion, we feel separate and isolated, and a by-product of this isolation is anguish. This anguish is a great poison, which often finds its way in through a sadness that seemingly comes out of nowhere. This opens the door to bad habits, which in turn opens the door to evil."

Sri Prem Baba

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Innate Dignity | December 5, 2014

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My own practice of loving kindness has opened me to the power of compassion and to the fact that all beings want to be happy. Everybody wants to have their innate dignity recognized and to recognize the innate dignity of others.

- Sharon Salzberg, "Why I Support Fast Food Workers"

Via Lizzy the Lezzy / FB:

Flower of the Day: 12/04/14

"Children must be free, and at the same time, they need firm boundaries and care. But these boundaries must be born from a loving heart that truly sees the child. They must be born out of respect, and not from the adult’s wounded child."

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

Creating Compassion | December 4, 2014 The idea of creating compassion for our environment, for something that we take for granted daily—something that, as a human race, we are just absolutely destroying, for the most part without a care—I think that connecting compassion to that is really, really powerful. - Emily Burke, "Meditating in Public"