A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Be Aware of the Ebb and Flow
The Now does not come and go, but includes everything all at once. When we’re aware of being in the Now, present moments come and go, like ripples and waves in the ocean of awake awareness.
—Loch Kelly, “When Am I?”
—Loch Kelly, “When Am I?”
Monday, March 11, 2019
Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - March 10, 2019 💌
When you say, "I am," then add anything after it, you are already trying
to stand somewhere. There's nowhere to stand in this whole dance. You
can't stand somewhere when you say, "I am good." There is stuff in you
that isn't so good. You say, "I am young," yet get old. "I am alive,"
you will be dead. Every definition of yourself is a prison you put
yourself in, seemingly to protect yourself. But it ends up creating
anxiety and fear. Most of the behavior that our society performs is
motivated by fear. And it is the fear of what is.
- Ram Dass -
Via Daily Dharma: The Key to Happiness
Generosity takes many forms—we may give our time, our energy, our material possessions, our love. All are expressions of caring, of compassion, of connection, and of renunciation—the ability to let go.The beauty of generosity is that it not only brings us happiness in the moment—we feel good when we give—but it is also the cause for happiness to arise in the future.
—Joseph Goldstein, “The Evolution of Happiness”
—Joseph Goldstein, “The Evolution of Happiness”
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Tune In to Perfection
When
we numb out from our suffering, we numb out from our experience of joy.
That’s why we train our mind in meditation: to help ourselves and
others see that we are alive in each moment. We are complete and
perfect, just as we are, in the midst of our suffering.
—Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, “Turn Into the Skid”
—Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, “Turn Into the Skid”
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Our Ephemeral Existence
Normally we operate under the deluded assumption that everything has some sort of true, substantial reality. But when we look more carefully, we find that the phenomenal world is like a rainbow—vivid and colorful, but without any tangible existence.
Normalmente, operamos sob a suposição ilusória de que tudo tem algum tipo de realidade verdadeira e substancial. Mas quando olhamos com mais cuidado, descobrimos que o mundo fenomenal é como um arco-íris - vívido e colorido, mas sem existência tangível.
—Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, “Teachings on the Nature of Mind and Practice”
Normalmente, operamos sob a suposição ilusória de que tudo tem algum tipo de realidade verdadeira e substancial. Mas quando olhamos com mais cuidado, descobrimos que o mundo fenomenal é como um arco-íris - vívido e colorido, mas sem existência tangível.
—Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, “Teachings on the Nature of Mind and Practice”
Friday, March 8, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Take This Moment to Relax
Every
single moment provides an opportunity to relax the tendency to create
tension in the body and unconscious thought patterns in the mind.
—Will Johnson, “Full Body, Empty Mind”
—Will Johnson, “Full Body, Empty Mind”
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Planting Seeds of Change
We
may be powerless to change the past, but we do have the power to shape
the present and the future by what we do, moment to moment, right now.
—Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “What We’ve Been Practicing For”
—Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “What We’ve Been Practicing For”
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - March 6, 2019 💌
It's all purification from here on out. A conscious being recognizes
that he or she has taken birth and the purpose of their incarnation is
to relieve suffering.
- Ram Dass -
Via Daily Dharma: Strong Enough to Forgive
The process of forgiveness demands courage and a continual remembering of where our deepest happiness lies.
—Sharon Salzberg, “Three Ways to Practice Forgiveness”
—Sharon Salzberg, “Three Ways to Practice Forgiveness”
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: The Gift of an Open Mind
Buddhism’s
true gift is that it teaches us to learn and experience the true
characteristics and the nature of our mind and the world, as they are.
—Tulku Thondup, “Don’t Get Stuck in Neutral”
—Tulku Thondup, “Don’t Get Stuck in Neutral”
Monday, March 4, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: An Incomparable Encounter
Beyond
the internal mess is clear space, a clear mind. And there’s no better
place—indeed, no other place—to meet your true self.
—Joan Duncan Oliver, “The Sound of Silence”
—Joan Duncan Oliver, “The Sound of Silence”
Sunday, March 3, 2019
Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - March 3, 2019 💌
The essence of my relationship with Maharajji is to love him, to open
myself to his presence, to surrender to him. That's my bhakti practice, a
practice of Guru Kripa. But those qualities of love and openness and
surrender are the essence of every bhakti practice. We find some being
that draws our heart: it could be Maharajji or Anandamayi Ma, Christ or
Krishna, Allah or G-d. You pick the name.
Then we invite that being in. We install that being in our hearts, and we offer ourselves to it: We sing to it, we chant to it, we pray to it, we bring it flowers. We love and we love, and we open and we open. And then we watch, as slowly, slowly, but surely, surely, we love our way into becoming it.
Then we invite that being in. We install that being in our hearts, and we offer ourselves to it: We sing to it, we chant to it, we pray to it, we bring it flowers. We love and we love, and we open and we open. And then we watch, as slowly, slowly, but surely, surely, we love our way into becoming it.
- Ram Dass -
Via Daily Dharma: The Unshakeable Mind
For a well-trained mind, when sudden distractions arise, they do not interrupt your practice, but reinforce it.
—Judy Lief, “Train Your Mind: If You Can Practice Even When Distracted, You Are Well Trained”
—Judy Lief, “Train Your Mind: If You Can Practice Even When Distracted, You Are Well Trained”
Saturday, March 2, 2019
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