Revoked

Friday, October 30, 2015

Today's Daily Dharma: Overcoming Our Fear of Death

Overcoming Our Fear of Death

If we ask ourselves questions like 'What is my death?' and 'Where do I go after I die?' we may be able to come up with some interesting ideas. But in the shadow of death, we shall need more than fascinating explanations to sustain us. Our salvation lies in sustaining holy ignorance, the open, receptive mind of bare awareness. This requires faith, courage, and determination, because when we penetrate beyond ideas about dying, we uncover what we really fear, and with good reason—our feelings about dying.

—Ken Jones, "Aging into Dying and Death"

Today's Daily Dharma: The Fundamental Aim

The Fundamental Aim

The fundamental aim of Buddhist practice is not belief; it’s enlightenment, the awakening that takes place when illusion has been overcome.

—Trinlay Tulku Rinpoche, "The Seeds of Life"

Waking Life 2001 Full Movie

Today's Daily Dharma: The Fruits of Solitude

The Fruits of Solitude

We can't kid ourselves: if we never take a break from our busy lives, it's going to be extremely difficult to tame our minds. This is why it's recommended to take time every day to meditate. Even short periods of sitting silently with ourselves allow the mind to settle down.

—Pema Chödrön, "Cutting Ties: The Fruits of Solitude"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 28/10/2015

“A água nos oferece muitos ensinamentos. Se você observá-la, verá que ela jamais impõe a sua cor a nada ou a ninguém. Ela está sempre recebendo todas as cores. Assim ela nos ensina sobre a aceitação e a humildade; sobre a liberdade de fluir sem se apegar a nada. Ela nos mostra caminhos para atravessarmos os grandes desafios dessa tão desafiadora etapa da nossa jornada evolutiva.

“El agua nos ofrece muchas enseñanzas. Si la observas, verás que ella jamás impone su color a nada o a nadie. Está siempre recibiendo todos los colores. Así nos enseña sobre la aceptación y la humildad, sobre la libertad de fluir sin apegarse a nada. Nos muestra caminos para atravesar los grandes desafíos de esta tan desafiante etapa de nuestro camino evolutivo.”

"Water offers us many lessons. If you observe water, you’ll see that it never imposes its color on anything or anyone. Water is always receiving the colors of the world. It teaches us about acceptance and humility; about the freedom of flowing without clinging to anything. It shows us ways to cross the great challenges that come in this extremely difficult stage of our evolutionary journey.”

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Today's Daily Dharma: We Must Act Now

We Must Act Now

The situation in which we find ourselves today is more dire than any other moment in human history, and we simply cannot wait until we become perfect bodhisattvas or perfect environmentalists before we respond. We must act now, as flawed, failed,
flailing selves.

—Roy Scranton, "Learning to Die in the Anthropocene"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 26/10/2015

“A maior parte dos chamados ‘seres humanos’ ainda está transitando do animal para o homem. O que caracteriza o estado de consciência animal é a luta pela sobrevivência. Só é possível ancorar a consciência humana quando deixamos de simplesmente buscar pela sobrevivência através da satisfação de necessidades básicas e começamos a manifestar valores humanos: cooperação, respeito, amor, verdade e assim por diante. E somente quando consolidamos esses valores e ancoramos a consciência humana poderemos nos mover em direção à consciência divina.”

“La mayor parte de los llamados ‘seres humanos’ aún está transitando del animal al hombre. Lo que caracteriza el estado de consciencia animal es la lucha por la supervivencia. Solo es posible anclar la consciencia humana cuando dejamos de simplemente buscar la supervivencia a través de la satisfacción de necesidades básicas y comenzamos a manifestar valores humanos: cooperación, respeto, amor, verdad y así en adelante. Y solamente cuando consolidamos estos valores y anclamos la consciencia humana podremos movernos en dirección a la consciencia divina.”

“At the deepest level, most of whom we refer to as 'human beings' are still transitioning from an animalistic consciousness to a truly human one. What characterizes the animal state of consciousness is the struggle for survival. We can only anchor human consciousness when we stop focusing exclusively on our own survival, needing to satisfy our most basic needs, and instead begin to manifest human values such as cooperation, respect, love, truth and so forth. Only when we unite these values and anchor human consciousness can we move toward divine consciousness."

Today's Daily Dharma: Exchange Self and Other

Exchange Self and Other

Whosoever wishes to swiftly provide
Deliverance for themselves and others
Should practice the sublime mystery
Of exchanging self and other.

—Shantideva in "Because We Can" by Pamela Gayle White

Via WP: Gay asylum seekers face threat from fellow refugees in Europe

Four young refugees in their apartment in the German city of Dresden. They were taken out of official refugee shelters after being harassed. (Mario Wezel for The Washington Post)

DRESDEN, Germany — Rami Ktifan made a snap decision to come out. A fellow Syrian had spotted a rainbow flag lying near the 23-year-old university student’s belongings inside a packed refugee center. The curious man, Ktifan recalled, picked it up before casually asking, “What is this?”

“I decided to tell the truth, that it is the flag for gay people like me,” Ktifan said. “I thought, I am in Europe now. In Germany, I should not have to hide anymore.”

What followed over the next several weeks, though, was abuse — both verbal and physical — from other refugees, including an attempt to burn Ktifan’s feet in the middle of the night. The harassment ultimately became so severe that he and two other openly gay asylum seekers were removed from the refugee center with the aid of a local gay activist group and placed in separate accommodations across town.

As the largest flow of refugees since World War II streams into Europe, Ktifan’s case illustrates an emerging problem for gay and lesbian asylum seekers. Some of them arrive in Europe only to find themselves under threat from fellow refugees.

Gays who face official persecution in nations such as Iran and Uganda have been fleeing to Europe for years. But experts estimate that a record number of gays and lesbians seeking asylum, as many as 50,000, will arrive this year in Germany, the European nation accepting the largest number of refugees. Rather than leaving their home countries specifically because of anti-gay persecution, many are fleeing violence and war in nations such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Make the jump here to read the full article in the Washington Post

Via Equality House / FB:

BERNIE SANDERS | FULL INTERVIEW WITH JAKE TAPPER on 'CNN STATE OF THE UNION’ 10/25/15

Via WGB: Billys Dad is a Fudge Packer

Billy's Dad is a Fudge-Packer! is a 2004 American black-and-white short comedy film written and directed by Jamie Donahue in her first non-acting effort. It is a parody of the 1950s social guidance films, and depicts the life of a boy learning about adulthood in a traditional family. The apparently innocent account of family life in the 1950s is loaded with sexual innuendo. It was made by production company POWER UP.

Via The ManKind Project / FB:

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 25/10/2015

“O conflito está na mente. A separação é somente uma ilusão criada pela mente condicionada. A espiritualidade não divide, ela une. O Eu maior é indivisível. Se você está em comunhão com o Ser, onde quer que esteja você estará presente e inteiro. Você será capaz de transformar um lugar comum em um santuário. Tudo se torna sagrado porque a sacralidade emerge dessa inteireza - a paz e a pureza nascem da presença.”

“El conflicto está en la mente. La separación es solamente una ilusión creada por la mente condicionada. La espiritualidad no divide, une. El Yo mayor es indivisible. Si estás en comunión con el Ser, donde quiera que estés, estarás presente y entero. Serás capaz de transformar un lugar común en un santuario. Todo se torna sagrado porque la sacralidad emerge de esa entereza –la paz y la pureza nacen de la presencia-.”

“Conflict only exists in the mind. Separation is but an illusion created by the conditioned mind. Spirituality does not divide: it only unites. The higher self is indivisible. If you are in communion with your Being, you will be present and whole wherever you go. You will be able to turn an ordinary place into a sanctuary. Everything becomes sacred, because sanctity emerges from this wholeness. Peace and purity are born out of presence.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Root out Suffering

Root out Suffering

Just as a tree, though cut down, sprouts up again if its roots remain uncut and firm, even so, until the craving that lies dormant is rooted out, suffering springs up again and again.

—Acharya Buddharakkhita, "From the Canon: Thirst"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 24/10/2015

“O trânsito da ilusão para a percepção da Realidade na qual experimentamos Satchitananda – existência, consciência e bem aventurança absolutos - inevitavelmente envolve episódios de cura. Ocorre uma espécie de cirurgia psicoespiritual na qual tumores de autoengano são removidos. Essa cirurgia pode ser bastante desafiadora. O desafio será proporcional ao tamanho do apego ao que precisa ser removido.”

“El tránsito de la ilusión a la percepción de la Realidad en la cual experimentamos Satchitananda –existencia, consciencia y bienaventuranza absolutos– inevitablemente envuelve episodios de cura. Ocurre una especie de cirugía psico-espiritual en la cual tumores de autoengaño son removidos. Esta cirugía puede ser bastante desafiante. El desafío será proporcional al tamaño del apego que precisa ser removido.”

"We are moving from a perception of illusion to the perception of reality in which we experience Sat-chit-ananda: existence, consciousness and absolute bliss. This transition inevitably involves a healing process. A type of psychospiritual surgery may occur where tumors of self-deceit are removed. This surgery can be quite challenging, and how challenging it will be depends on how attached we are to what is needing to be removed.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Enlightenment Isn't Perfect

Enlightenment Isn't Perfect

We must give up the pursuit of positive emotional states through spiritual practice. The path of awakening is not about positive emotions. On the contrary, enlightenment may not be easy or positive at all. It is not easy to have our illusions crushed. It is not easy to let go of long-held perceptions. We may experience great resistance to seeing through even those illusions that cause us a great amount of pain.

—Adyashanti, "Bliss is a By-Product"

Via M.J. Rose / FB:

This is so beautiful. I was crying by the second line, Written by Henry Scott Holland (27 January 1847 – 17 March 1918) was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford.