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Via Daily Dharma / October 18, 2016: Swimming Practice

We are not separate from our practice, and so no matter what, our practice is present. An ocean swimmer is loose and flows with the current and moves through the tide. When tossed upside-down in the surf, unable to discern which way is up and which is down, the natural swimmer just lets go, breathing out, and follows the bubbles to the surface.

—Sensei Pat Enkyo O’Hara, "Like a Dragon in Water"

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Via Daily Dharma / October 17, 2016: Monday Zen

In a work situation, if you have a particularly cantankerous boss who you think is a complete idiot, can you look at that person as the Buddha? As a manager, can you see that person who is working for you as the Buddha?

—Gerry Shishin Wick Sensei, "Zen in the Workplace"

Via NPR: E Is For Empathy: Sesame Workshop Takes A Crack At Kindness

Make the jump here to read the original at NPR

The progression is quite inevitable. After some time on the path of awakening, the type of associates you share time with changes. Finally, you realize that except for existing karmic commitments - such as familial, or societal commitments - there is no reason to spend time with anyone except as an aid to one’s sadhana (service). So all new relationships, be they friendships, roommates, marriages, business partnerships, take on implicitly, and finally explicitly, this contractual basis.

When your center is firm, when your faith is strong and unwavering, then it will not matter what company you keep. Then you will see that all beings are on the evolutionary journey of consciousness. They differ only to the degree that the veil of illusion clouds their vision. But for you… you will see behind the veil to the place where we are all ONE.

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Via Daily Dharma / October 16, 2016: On True Success

Anyone who enjoys inner peace is no more broken by failure than he is inflated by success.

—Matthieu Ricard, "A Way of Being"

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Via Daily Dharma / October 15, 2016: Just Do Less

The more we try to make life conform to our desires, the more we struggle, and the more we suffer. The only way out of this vicious cycle is to accept what arises, completely: in other words, do nothing.

—Ken McLeod, "Something from Nothing"

Via United Nations Free & Equal / FB:

 

 

United Nations Secretary General-elect Antonio Guterres's appeal for #LGBT equality.

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Via Daily Dharam / October 14, 2016: The Best Season of Your LifeTen thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life. —Wumen Huikai, "The Best Season"

Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.
If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.

—Wumen Huikai, "The Best Season"

Via Red Rocks Zen Circle: Thich Naht Hahn – A Dharma Reflection…

Posted on November 18, 2014 by dkeeber 

Offered by David Mushin Keeber:

This evening, our teacher Eisho offered a lovely Dharma Reflection as we sat zazen. Given that Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Naht Hanh has taken seriously ill recently, she brought to us a gatha he often sits with.

Breathing in, I calm my body
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment
I know this is a wonderful moment.
He has offered these reflections on the gatha.

Breathing in, I calm my body. This line is like drinking a glass of ice water on a warm day. You feel the freshness permeate your body. When I breathe in and recite this line, I actually feel the breathing calming my body, calming my mind.

Breathing out, I smile. A smile can relax hundreds of muscles in your face and relax your nervous system. Smiling means that we are ourselves, that we have sovereignty over ourselves, that we are not just drowned in forgetfulness. This kind of smile can be seen on the faces of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Dwelling in the present moment. While I sit here, I don’t think of somewhere else, of the future or the past. I sit here and know where I am. The only moment to be alive is the present moment.

I know this is a wonderful moment. This is the only moment that is real. To be here and now, and enjoy the present moment is our most wonderful task.

As we sit, we can easily remember this gatha by thinking of these words on each breath, one by one: Calming, Smiling, Present, Wonderful

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Via Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

Via Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche: Those who get it

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Ludovico Einaudi - "Elegy for the Arctic" - Official Live (Greenpeace)