Via Daily Dharma: The Way to Enlightenment

 To study the way of enlightenment is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. 

—Eihei Dogen Zenji, “Tea and Rice”

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Via Daily Dharma: Opening Through Prayer

 Through prayer, we come out of the mine shaft, open our eyes, become receptive to enlightened presence, the omnipotent love and compassion that exist for all beings.

—Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, “Prayer: Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche”

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Via FB / *copied and pasted*

Just a note for my right leaning family and friends from my left leaning self as we near voting day: 

They say we want to disband police departments (and that we hate the police): we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to weed out racism and unnecessary police brutality and for those who abuse their power to be held accountable. 

They say we want to release all prisoners: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to weed out racism and ensure the punishments match the crimes and to deprivatize prisons. 

They say we want open borders: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want asylum seekers to be given their chance to seek asylum. We want to help people who are coming from unimaginable terror and poverty help to give them the chances we have. We want to ensure children aren’t separated from their parents and that nobody is kept in cages. But we do want proper vetting. 

They say we want to take away your guns: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want logical gun control to help prevent mass shootings. 

They say we want to wage a war on Christianity and Christian values: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want people of all religions to be able to practice and worship freely. 

They say we want to get everything for free: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to work hard and make sure that healthcare and education are affordable for all. 

They say we want a war against traditional marriage: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want people of all sexual orientations to be able to love freely, no matter who you love. 

They say we want to destroy or rewrite history: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to recognize the ugly parts of our past and do everything we can to say “that’s not okay, let’s not honor those aggressors, let’s not let those things happen again”. 

They say we want to take away your constitutional rights: we don’t, that’s a lie. We choose to believe science and wear masks and try to prevent the spread of this disease. 

They say we hate America: we don’t, that’s a lie. We just recognize our faults and want us to do better, be better. 

Stop with the us vs. them. Stop with the straw man arguments.  

Stop with the fake news. Stop with Fox News. Our position is one of empathy, compassion and logic. Stop believing the hype. Stop with the division. Just because we want equality for all doesn’t mean we want to take anything away from you. 

Feel free to use the words as your own. They are! 

*copied and pasted*

Via Daily Dharma: Making Meditation a Habit

We have to realize that for the last twenty, thirty years we have cultivated many habits which promoted distractions, and when we meditate we go against all these habits. It is going to take some time before we dissolve the power of these tendencies. 

—Martine Batchelor, “The Ten Oxherding Pictures” 

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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - August 26, 2020 💌

 

Listening is an art that comes from a quiet mind and an open heart. Listening uses all of your senses, and it is a very subtle skill, not only with the ears but with your being. Your being becomes the instrument of listening. Your sensing mechanism in life is not just your ears, eyes, skin sensitivity, and analytic mind. It's something deeper in you. It's an intuitive quality of knowing. With all of your being, you become an antenna to the nature of another person. Then, for the relationship to remain a part of the Living Spirit, one of the best ingredients to put into the stew is truth.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Guide Your Mind

 The mind is very powerful. Therefore, it requires firm guidance. A powerful jet plane needs a good pilot; the pilot of your mind should be the wisdom that understands its nature. 

—Lama Thubten Yeshe, “Your Mind Is Your Religion”

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Via NPR: 'Hoax' Traces The 'Grotesque Feedback Loop' Between President Trump And Fox News

President Trump greets talk show host Sean Hannity at a 2018 rally in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Make the jump here to listen

Via Daily Dharma: Connection Between Mind and Body

 If proper attention is not given to sensations, then we are not going to the deepest levels of the mind. The deepest level of the mind, according to Buddha, is constantly in contact with body sensations. 

—Interview with S. N. Goenka by Helen Tworkov, “Superscience”

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Golden Palace s01e11 Confederate Flag Scene

Via White Crane Institute // This Day in Gay History: STEPHEN JOHN FRY

 

August 24 Born Stephen Fry 1957 - STEPHEN JOHN FRY  is an English comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and activist born on this date.  With Hugh Laurie, he is half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, who starred in Jeeves and Wooster. Fry's acting roles include a Golden Globe–nominated lead performance in the film Wilde, portraying Oscar Wilde, Melchett in the BBC series Blackadder, the title character in the television series Kingdom, a recurring guest role as Dr Gordon Wyatt on the crime series Bones, and as Gordon Deitrich in the dystopian thriller V for Vendetta. He has also written and presented several documentary series, including the Emmy Award–winning Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, which saw him explore his bipolar disorder, and the travel series Stephen Fry in America. He was also the long-time host of the BBC television quiz show OI, with his tenure lasting from 2003 to 2016. Besides working in television, Fry has contributed columns and articles for newspapers and magazines and written four novels and three volumes of autobiography, Moab is My Washpot, The Fry Chronicles and More Fool Me. He also appears frequently on BBC Radio4, starring in the comedy series Absolute Power, being a frequent guest on panel games such as Just A Minute, and acting as chairman during one series of I'm Sorry I haven't A Clue, where he was one of a trio of possible hosts who were tried out to succeed the late Humphrey Lyttelton, Jack Dee getting the post permanently. Fry is also known for his voice-overs, reading all seven of the Harry Potter novels for the UK audiobook recordings, narrating the LittleBigPlanet and Birds of Steel series of video games, as well as an animated series of explanations of the laws of cricket, of which he is a particular fan, and a series of animations about Humanism for Humanists UK. Fry married comedian Elliott Spencer in January 2015. Fry is on cordial terms with Prince Charles, through his work with the Prince's Trust. He attended the Prince's wedding to Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005. Fry is a friend of comedian and actor (and Blackadder co-star) Rowan Atkinson and was best man at Atkinson's wedding to Sunetra Sastry at the Russian Tea Room in New York City. Fry struggled to keep his homosexuality secret during his teenage years at public school, and by his own account did not engage in sexual activity for 16 years from 1979 until 1995. When asked when he first acknowledged his sexuality, Fry quipped: "I suppose it all began when I came out of the womb. I looked back up at my mother and thought to myself, 'That's the last time I'm going up one of those'." Fry was in a 15-year relationship with Daniel Cohen, which ended in 2010. Fry was listed #2 in 2016 and #12 in 2017 on the World Pride Power list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3ZBeX9uC8s

Via Daily Dharma // Overcoming Difficult Emotions in a Chaotic World With Bhante Buddharakkhita

 

 

In the midst of chaos, we can anchor ourselves in peace and stillness. August’s Dharma Talk series offers mindfulness practices for weathering the storms of a turbulent world.

Watch now »

Via Daily Dharma: Accepting the Limits of Faith

 True faith in one’s religious practice means accepting the possibility—perhaps even the inevitability—of being wrong. It means to accept our limits in a radical way. That is what true faith is.

—Clark Strand, “Nothing to Regret”

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Prince Royce performs Stand By Me at DNC

Via FB / Albert Camus

 

Via Lion's Roar // How to Practice Zazen

 

 

How to Practice Zazen

Jules Shuzen Harris teaches the meditation practice at the heart of Zen Buddhism.

There has been a lot of attention recently on the many practical benefits of meditation. It reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and is effective in working with depression, anxiety, and anger. These are all good reasons to meditate, but ultimately Buddhists practice zazen and other meditations to realize what Buddhism calls our true nature, which is beyond self-identity with its self-imposed limitations. From a Buddhist perspective, our main problem is attachment to our deluded idea of who we are, and what we need to do to maintain this delusion. To make real progress in zazen, we must make a genuine commitment to practice.

 

Via Lion's Roar // How to Practice Shamatha Meditation

 

How to Practice Shamatha Meditation

Shamatha meditation — mindfulness or concentration — is the foundation of Buddhist practice. Lama Rod Owens teaches us a version from the Vajrayana tradition.

Shamatha meditation allows us to experience our mind as it is. When we practice shamatha, we are able to see that our mind is full of thoughts, some conducive to our happiness and further realization, and others not. It is not extraordinary that our minds are full of thoughts, and it is important to understand that it is natural to have so much happening in the mind. Over time, practicing shamatha meditation calms our thoughts and emotions. We experience tranquility of mind and calmly abide with our thoughts as they are. Eventually, this leads to a decrease in unhelpful thoughts.

Via Lion's Roar: How to Practice Walking Meditation

 

How to Practice Walking Meditation

Step-by-step — pun-intended — instruction from Leslie Booker.

Walking meditation is often described as a meditation in motion. In this practice, you place your full attention on the process of walking — from the shifting of the weight in your body to the mechanics of placing your foot. Walking meditation is an integral part of retreat life in many traditions and is used to offset and shift the energy of sitting practice. It is a bridge to integrate practice into daily life and can be more accessible than a sitting practice for many people.

Via Daily Dharma: Weaken the Power of Anger

 Patience is the only thing that defeats anger. Don’t be disappointed if you can’t do it right away. Even after years of practice you may find that you’re still losing your temper. It’s all right. But you will also notice that the power of anger has weakened.

—Nawang Gehlek Rimpoche, “Anger and Patience”

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