Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - February 4, 2018

We all love our own melodramas. We each have one. Everybody thinks they're somebody doing something, or somebody thinking something, or somebody wanting something: "I've gotta have sex tonight or I'll die." "I'm so lonely!" "I can't meditate!" "I'm so high!" We all get so involved in our melodramas, so busy thinking we're the actors, so busy thinking we're doing it all - and it's really all just this lawful stuff running off. How funny!

But in order to see that, in order to begin to appreciate the lawfulness of the unfolding, we need to develop a little perspective. It can be a nice meditation to take a seed, and put it in a bit of earth. Put it on a kitchen window sill, and watch it grow into a plant, into a flower. Just observe it everyday. Use that as your daily meditation exercise; see the way the whole process unfolds. 

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Our Heart’s Capacity

We use only five to ten percent of our heart’s capacity to love and feel kindness. Instead of boxing in our hearts we must try to slowly expand that box till we’re able to love all humanity.

—Nawang Khechog, “Elevated Music”

Via Daily Dharma: Awareness Meets Emotion

You don’t have to “do” anything; awareness simply meets emotions as they arise.

—Tsultrim Allione, “Feeding Your Demons”

Via Daily Dharma: Examining Our Judgment

Our Buddhist practice drives us to examine the self, but also to examine the self’s ideas about the other, and to admit that any problem we encounter is at least partly of our own making.

—Sallie Tisdale, “Beloved Community”

Via Daily Dharma: Karmic Opportunity

You are constantly creating new karma, and that gives you a golden opportunity. With your reaction to each experience, you create the karma that will color your future.

—Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche, “The Power of the Third Moment”

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - January 31, 2018

We’ve lived our lives with negative images of ourselves, from childhood on, and we’ve built upon those images, and built upon them, and they became very heavy weights. These thoughts about us are a part of our ego, and they’re manifested through our roles of child or husband, wife, breadwinner, all of those roles. They’re built upon the thoughts of, “I’m not truthful” or “I’m not likable”, “I’m not good” – all of those negative images.

Once you identify with your soul you start to taste the love in your true self, in your spiritual heart and it’s different than all of the loves you’ve ever had. It’s just different; it’s unconditional love. 

- Ram Dass - 

Via Daily Dharma: Having Faith in Enlightenment

Awakening the enlightened mind may not be a question of self-improvement, which is never-ending; it may be a question of faith, which is always available right now.

—Hannah Tennant-Moore, “Buddhism’s Higher Power”

Via Daily Dharma: Envisioning a Pure Realm

Those unfamiliar with the idea of pure realms can simply imagine a beautiful, blissful place where every last being is perfectly contented, where terms such as pain, suffering, and misery are unheard of, and where the minds of all who abide there are wholly infused with goodness.

—Sherab Rinpoche, “The Form of Compassion”

Via Daily Dharma: What All Religions Offer

When we make the effort to understand what may seem strange in the religious practices of others, we may find that it opens the door to something beyond the particular case, something quite general: the capacity of humans to participate in divinity.

—Robert Bellah, “The R Word”

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - January 28, 2018

If we are to help heal the world, we need to remember that it is a sacred place. Our actions need to be positive statements, reminders that even in the worst times there is a world worth struggling for. We need to find ways to keep the vision alive, to acknowledge but not get caught in the dark side, to remember that even the worst aspects of suffering are only part of the whole picture. We need to enter lightly.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: The Opportunity of Disagreement

If we had no disagreements with the world, we would have little reason to grow and less opportunity to become more compassionate, wakeful human beings.

—Diane Musho Hamilton, “Transforming Conflict”

Via FB / Ian McKellen

I’ve never met a gay person who regretted coming out – including myself. Life at last begins to make sense, when you are open and honest. Today is the 30th anniversary of the BBC radio discussion when I publically said I was gay. So I’m celebrating!

- Ian McKellen

Via Daily Dharma: Wisdom Doesn’t Discriminate

We are the recipients of this immeasurable wisdom and compassion of life that sustains us and embraces us at all times, regardless of the kind of people we are.

—Patricia Kanaya Usuki, “The Great Compassion”

Via Lion's Roar / How to Read and Study Buddhist Teachings

There is such a wealth of Buddhist books and teachings to consume. Where do you start? Here are some tips on how to tackle your reading list. 

 

Photo by Eugenio Mazzone.

A lot of people think Buddhism is all about sitting in silence and finding inner wisdom. When you start practicing Buddhism, it’s easy to carry that stereotype onto your spiritual path. But any teacher will tell you: At some point on the path, it’s important to balance your practice with cold, hard study.

The Buddha stressed the importance of studying — and even memorizing — Buddhist teachings. Practically speaking, in the modern world there is a wealth of misinformation about Buddhism. Fake Buddha quotes are as common as authentic ones. One of the core goals of Buddhist practice is the cultivation of wisdom, or prajna, which requires dedicated study along with meditation practice.

Read more: Four Teachers Discuss the Importance of Study

Here is a short guide to working with Buddhist teachings to develop prajna, along with further resources to go deeper with your study.

Choosing Something to Study

Sometimes, the first step is the hardest. There are countless Buddhist teachings, books, classical texts, commentaries, memoirs, and investigations. Where do you start?

If you have a teacher or a community, the obvious place to start is with the teachings they recommend. If you’re not sure, you might want to ask a teacher or an instructor for some suggestions. If you can’t get a recommendation, Zenkei Blanche Hartman suggests studying the teachings of contemporary teachers in your tradition.

If you don’t have a specific tradition to dive into, not to worry. Judy Lief suggests that you “notice what you are drawn to reading and reflecting upon.” See where those teachings come from. If you’re committed to a Buddhist path, ensure that the teachings come from an authentic, unbroken Buddhist lineage. Explore the essential texts of that tradition.

Read More: Ten Buddhist Books Everyone Should Read

How Much Should You Study?

This is completely subjective. Some practitioners love to read Buddhist texts and neglect practice in favor of reading. Others refuse to read, instead opting to sit in silent contemplation indefinitely.

Study and practice are both important. For a simple rule of thumb, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal recommends:

Whatever meditation practice you commit to, your study should support that, so that in your practice you know what you are doing and you have a reference for your experiences. Your study guides your practice, and your practice validates your study.

Judy Lief advises, “study yourself.” Get a sense of where you are in your practice, what your challenges are, and how you feel about reading and meditating. 

Knowing that studying and practice support each other, try to find your own balance. Lief writes:

No matter how much you read, how many talks you hear, or how many websites you visit, there is no guarantee that there will be any real benefit. It is good to accumulate knowledge, but it is better to let that knowledge transform you. The benefit comes in the meeting point between you and the dharma, when a seemingly outer teaching strikes a deep inner chord.

Read More: How I should balance practice and study?

How to Let Wisdom Penetrate

In general, teachers recommend that you take the time to let yourself absorb what you’re reading or listening to. This means different things to different people. 

You might read a chapter and then meditate on what you’ve read. You might read slowly and thoughtfully. 

Maybe you read one paragraph over a few times and then contemplate it for the rest of the day. Maybe you tape a favorite paragraph to the bathroom mirror and contemplate it regularly for years. “Each time you go over it,” writes Lief, “question what is really being said, its relevance, how it can be applied, and whether it rings true to your own experience and observation of the world.”

Are you the kind of person who wakes up and immediately checks Twitter, Instagram, and CNN? Bhante Gunaratana suggests replacing that morning routine, instead listening to a teaching of the Buddha, then keeping the wisdom with you throughout the day.

Read More: How to Start Studying Buddhist Teachings

Going Deeper with the Three Prajnas

Some schools of Buddhism break the development of wisdom down into three steps, as described expertly by Reggie Ray. These are: the first prajna, hearing; the second prajna, contemplating, and the third prajna, meditating.

The first prajna, hearing, deals with literally studying texts. This might mean reading a text over repeatedly, memorizing, or studying the meaning of the text in depth. In the second prajna, contemplating, as Ray explains, you look at the teaching in the context of your own experience. How does it feel? The third prajna, meditation, follows the teaching into the unconditioned experience of meditating on ultimate truth.

Read More: How to Study the Dharma

Resources

Advice

• How should I balance practice and study?
• How to Study the Dharma
• Forum: The Importance of Study
• DIY Dharma: You Have Everything You Need
• How to Start Studying Buddhist Teachings

Book Recommendations

• 10 Buddhist Books Everyone Should Read
• 10 Essential Books for Your Meditation Library
• Zenkei Blanche Hartman and Narayan Helen Liebenson’s book recommendations

Specific Traditions

A selection of commentaries on texts and studies from various traditions:

• John Tarrant’s introduction to contemplative Zen koan practice
• Four teachers discuss Zen koan contemplation
• More on koans
• Four teachers discuss Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen, and his writing
• John Daido Loori on Dogen’s Mountains and Rivers Sutra
• Zen monk Daigaku Rummé defines the word “sutra”
• Judy Roitman on contemplating Nagarjuna’s four negations
• The Dalai Lama’s commentary on Shantideva’s classic text, The Way of the Bodhisattva
• Pema Chödrön’s commentary on The Way of the Bodhisattva
• Karl Brunnholz’s commentary on the Buddha’s Heart Sutra
• Norman Fischer and Thich Nhat Hanh on the Heart Sutra
• Thich Nhat Hanh on the Heart Sutra
• Donald S. Lopez, Jr. on the Lotus Sutra
• Pema Chödrön on contemplating lojong mind training slogans
• Norman Fischer on contemplating lojong
• More on lojong
• Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche on contemplation practice
• Larry Rosenberg on skepticism and critical thinking
• Bodhipaksa on fake Buddha quotes

 Make the jump here to read the original article and more

Via Daily Dharma: Act on Spontaneous Compassion

When a compassionate intention arises, don’t evaluate it. Trust it. Just do it.

—Colin Beavan, “Intuitive Action”

Via Daily Dharma: Whose Presence Do You Value?

Many of us have a mind that measures self-worth in terms of productivity...  We give ourselves no credit for just being present. And yet, if you asked the people you care about what they would like most from you, their answer is likely to be some version of “your presence.”

—Jan Chozen Bays, “The Gift of Waiting”

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - January 24, 2018

   

How stable are our lives? How stable is anybody’s life? What happens when stability is threatened is that people contract. If you’ve got an investment, and then it all starts to change, and you can’t quite stop it, so you contract, your heart closes, you go up into your mind, and when you get into your mind, you cause a lot of trouble.

The mind, in the service of fear, causes the quality of the thinking to become about things, so it sees everything as an object. All people become “them,” and “they” must be dealt with in order to protect yourself.

You and I are in training to find a place in ourselves, and in the way we live our lives, where we don’t freak out about changes to our dependent form of existence. A place where we don’t freak out in the presence of change or increasing chaos.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Moving Past Your Old Stories

We need not be limited by our stories. We are much more mysterious than they are.

—Mark Epstein, “If the Buddha Were Called to Jury Duty”

Via Daily Dharma: The Ecology of Mind

Dhamma is the ecology of the mind. This is how nature has arranged things, and it has always been like this, in a most natural way. The mind with Dhamma is fresh, beautiful, quiet, and joyful.

—Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, “Conserving the Inner Ecology”