Via LionsRoar: A Future Is Possible by Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Photo by Paul Davis.

When we see people living mindfully, smiling and behaving in a loving manner, we gain confidence in our future.

There’s a lot of suffering in the world, and it’s important for us to stay in touch with this suffering in order to be compassionate. But to remain strong, we also need to embrace the positive elements. When we see a group of people living mindfully, smiling and behaving in a loving manner, we gain confidence in our future. When we practice mindful breathing, smiling, resting, walking, and working, we become a positive element in society, and we will inspire confidence in everyone around us. This is the way to avoid allowing despair to overwhelm us. It is also the way to help the younger generation so they don’t lose hope. It’s very important that we live our daily lives in such a way as to demonstrate that a future is possible.

To bring about real change in our global ecological situation our efforts must be collective and harmonious, based on love and respect for ourselves and each other, our ancestors, and future generations. If anger at injustice is what we use as the source of our energy, we may do something harmful, something we will later regret. According to Buddhism, compassion is the only source of energy that is useful and safe. With compassion your energy is born from insight; it’s not blind energy. Just feeling compassion is not enough; we have to learn to express it. That is why love must always go together with understanding. Understanding and insight show us how to act.

Adapted from The World We Have. Look inside the January issue of the Shambhala Sun, dedicated to the life and teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. For a limited time, use this link to subscribe and start your subscription with this special issue (U.S. subscribers only).

Today's Daily Dharma: Arising and Subsiding

Arising and Subsiding

In the eternal scheme of things, we all sacrifice our lives, whether we are awake to this fact or not. This vast interdependence, in which the disappearance of one thing paves the way for the appearance of another, is the essence of life itself.

—Clark Strand, "The Wisdom of Frogs"

Read More

VIa Aniabal - Obrigado!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mosteiro-Zen-Budista-pico-de-Raios/201928749819511

Gayatri Mantra 108 Times With Lyrics - Chanting By Brahmins - Peaceful Chant

Oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ 

tát savitúr váreṇyaṃ 

bhárgo devásya dhīmahi 

dhíyo yó naḥ pracodáyāt

Via JMG: Pew Research: White Christians No Longer A Majority

Pew Research: White Christians No Longer A Majority

November 24, 2015 News, Politics, Religion

 

Politico reports:

White Christians now make up less than half of the U.S. population, largely receding from the majorities of most demographic groups, with one notable exception: the Republican Party. According to the latest results from Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape survey published Monday by National Journal’s Next America project, just 46 percent of American adults are white Christians, down from 55 percent in 2007.

At the same time, according to the report, the share of white Christians identifying as Republican has remained steady, even equal with the share of the party that carried President Ronald Reagan to his 1984 reelection. Nearly seven in 10 white Christians — 69 percent — identify with or lean toward the GOP, while just 31 percent do the same with Democrats.

More from the National Journal:

Even as White Chris­ti­ans shrink in their over­all num­bers, they still ac­count for nearly sev­en-in-10 Amer­ic­ans who identi­fy with, or lean to­ward, the Re­pub­lic­an Party, the Pew study found. White Chris­ti­ans, in fact, rep­res­ent as large a share of the Re­pub­lic­an co­ali­tion today as they did of Amer­ic­an so­ci­ety over­all in 1984, when Ron­ald Re­agan won reelec­tion. A clear ma­jor­ity of all White Chris­ti­ans across the United States now identi­fy as Re­pub­lic­an, Pew found.

In sharp con­trast, the Pew data show, the Demo­crat­ic co­ali­tion has evolved in­to a three-legged stool that di­vides al­most evenly between White Chris­ti­ans, non-White Chris­ti­ans, and those from all races who identi­fy either with a non-Chris­ti­an faith or, in­creas­ingly, with no re­li­gious tra­di­tion at all. Most Amer­ic­ans who don’t identi­fy with any re­li­gious faith – a rap­idly grow­ing group—now align with Demo­crats.

Make the jump here to read the original and more on JMG

Via JMG: It Gets Better Celebrates Five Years [VIDEO]

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 24/11/2015

“Você está aqui para aprender a dirigir o seu veículo, o corpo. A mente é parte do corpo. Se o veículo anda sem condutor, inevitavelmente encontra um poste ou um abismo. Se a mente não tem condutor, ela é conduzida por impulsos inconscientes.Conduzir o veículo significa escolher quando e para onde você vai.Essa é uma metáfora para o estado de equanimidade mental gerado pela presença. Isso só é possível quando você pode ocupar o seu corpo.”

“Estás aquí para aprender a manejar tu vehículo, el cuerpo. La mente es parte del cuerpo. Si el vehículo anda sin conductor, inevitablemente encuentra un poste o un abismo. Si la mente no tiene conductor, es conducida por impulsos inconscientes. Conducir el vehículo significa elegir cuándo y para dónde vas. Esta es una metáfora para el estado de ecuanimidad mental generado por la presencia. Esto solo es posible cuando puedes ocupar tu cuerpo.”

“You are here to learn how to drive your vehicle, which is your body. The mind is a part of the body. If the vehicle moves without a driver, it will inevitably drive into a light post, or worse,down a cliff. If the mind doesn’t have a driver, it is conducted by unconscious impulses. Driving a vehicle means deciding when and where you want to go. This is a metaphor for the state of mental equanimity generated by presence. This is only possible when you are able to occupy your body.”

Via Lion's Roar: Orginal Caligraphy of Thich Nhat Hanh

Make a bid here

Today's Daily Dharma: Two Aspects of the Path

Two Aspects of the Path

The spiritual path consists of two aspects: seeing beyond the limited self and refining the limited self. As you move along this path, you have to consistently attend to both.

—Shinzen Young, "The Point of Contact"

Read More

Deva Premal & Miten in Concert (Byron Bay 2008)

Om Namo Bhagavate /Gayatri Mantra - Deva Premal & Miten

Deva Premal - Gayatri Mantra: For the Rio Doce // Para o Rio Doce

Via Tricycle

Via God / FB:

Bernie Sanders Draws Distinction On Gay Rights | MSNBC

Via Chico Xavier e amigos / FB:

 

ORAÇÃO NOSSA
 
Senhor,
ensina-nos a orar sem esquecer o trabalho,
a dar sem olhar a quem,
a servir sem perguntar até quando,
a sofrer sem magoar seja a quem for,
a progredir sem perder a simplicidade,
a semear o bem sem pensar nos resultados,
a desculpar sem condições,
a marchar para a frente sem contar os obstáculos,
a ver sem malícia,
a escutar sem corromper os assuntos,
a falar sem ferir,
a compreender o próximo sem exigir entendimento,
a respeitar os semelhantes sem reclamar consideração,
a dar o melhor de nós, além da execução do próprio dever sem cobrar taxas de reconhecimento.
Senhor,
fortalece em nós a paciência para com as dificuldades dos outros, assim como precisamos da paciência dos outros para com as nossas próprias dificuldades.
Ajuda-nos para que a ninguém façamos aquilo que não desejamos para nós.
Auxilia-nos sobretudo a reconhecer que a nossa felicidade mais alta será invariavelmente aquela de cumprir-Te os desígnios, onde e como queiras, hoje, agora e sempre.

-Chico Xavier/Emmanuel - Livro: À Luz da Oração

Via Elephant Journal: Buddhist Advice on How to deal with Difficult Emotions

Elephant was honored to host Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche at Camp Elephant, our HQ in Boulder, Colorado. We discussed how and why to meditate. Rinpoche offered how meditation applies to life—with all its ups and downs by leading us through a practice.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 23/11/2015

“Luz e sombra passam constantemente pelo nosso sistema e nós temos a tendência de querer segurar os sentimentos e pensamentos luminosos e de sair correndo dos sentimentos e pensamentos sombrios. Porém, o apego e a aversão constituem a dinâmica mental que mantém a identificação com a ilusão. Através das práticas espirituais e da auto-observação é possível dissolver essa dinâmica e desenvolver equanimidade mental.”

“Luz y sombra pasan constantemente a través de nuestro sistema y tenemos la tendencia de querer sostener los sentimientos y pensamientos luminosos y de huir de los sentimientos y pensamientos oscuros. Sin embargo, el apego y la aversión constituyen la dinámica mental que mantiene la identificación con la ilusión. A través de las prácticas espirituales y de la auto-observación es posible disolver esta dinámica y desarrollar la ecuanimidad mental.”

“Light and shadow are constantly passing through our systems. Our tendency is to want to hold on to the feelings and thoughts that are light-filled and to flee from the shadowy thoughts and feelings. Attachment and aversion make up the mental dynamics that keep us identified with illusion. Through spiritual practices and self-observation, it can be possible to dissolve this dynamic and to develop mental equanimity.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Doing What We Can

Doing What We Can

We don’t have to look at others and be critical of their lack of virtue. Even when those close to us can’t practice, we should do what we can first. Before we worry about the deficiencies of others, those of us who understand and can practice should do that straightaway.

—Ajahn Chah, "Meeting the Dharma Alone"

Read More