Via Daily Dharma: Finding the Right Tone

 In music, technical brilliance by itself may be impressive, but if the tone isn’t true, the music does not resonate, and those who listen soon become bored or restless. The same holds true for meditation. There is a quality in attention, and when you hit it, your practice is alive and awake.

Ken McLeod, “One-Breath Meditation”

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Via White Crane Institute // Noteworthy

 

Noteworthy

2009 -

On this date a sociologist at an Iranian university presented a study showing high levels of homosexual experiences among the country's population. Iran has strict laws against sex outside marriage and other sexual acts such as masturbation. Adultery and same-sex acts are punishable by death. Startling new research from sociologist Parvaneh Abdul Maleki found that 24% of Iranian women and 16% of Iranian men have had at least one homosexual experience. 73% of men and 26% of women surveyed said they had masturbated.

 

Ms. Maleki presented her findings at the Third Conference on Well-being in the Family and the story was reported in the Iranian press, albeit as a report on sexual deviance in need of treatment. The report also revealed that more than 75% of those who grew up in a conservative religious environment have watched pornography, 86% have had a heterosexual relationship outside of marriage and just over 4% have had Gay or Lesbian relationships. Since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979, human rights groups claim that between 3,000 and 4,000 people have been executed under Sharia law for the crime of homosexuality. The President of Iran admitted in an interview that there may be "a few" gay people in his country, but attacked homosexuality as destructive to society.

 

In an interview with U.S. current affairs TV program Democracy Now, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also rejected criticism of the execution of children in Iran. During a visit to the U.S. in 2007 he said in reply to a question posed about homosexuality during his speech at New York's Columbia University: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country… In Iran we do not have this phenomenon, I don't know who has told you that we have it." In his TV interview he condemned American acceptance of gay people. "It should be of no pride to American society to say they defend something like this," President Ahmadinejad said. "Just because some people want to get votes, they are willing to overlook every morality."

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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute

"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org

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Via Thich Nhat Hanh foundation

 

The Great Bell Chant (The End Of Suffering)

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Intoxication

 

RIGHT LIVING
Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Intoxication

Intoxication is unhealthy. Refraining from intoxication is healthy. (MN 9) What are the imperfections that defile the mind? Negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind. Knowing that negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind, a person abandons it. (MN 7) One practices thus: "Others may become negligent by intoxication, but I will abstain from the negligence of intoxication." (MN 8) One of the dangers attached to addiction to intoxicants is increased quarreling. (DN 31)

Reflection

Diligence is one of the mental states most highly valued in Buddhist teachings, and negligence, its opposite, is one of the greatest dangers. The argument against intoxication is not the substance itself (alcohol, drugs, and the like) but the state of negligence it invites. The mind is "defiled" or poisoned by these dispositions, and they lead to a host of secondary problems, such as diminishing health and increased quarreling.

Daily Practice

Practice diligence of mind at every opportunity and in any creative way you can. This is not a practice of what you put into your body in the way of food or drink but of how alert, clear, and balanced you can be in your life every day. So many modern activities involve a sort of mental intoxication that makes us negligent in various ways. As a practice, notice what effect different activities have on your mental clarity.

Tomorrow: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States
One week from today: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Love Is the Most Meritorious Action

 Buddhism emphasizes love’s beneficial power. Because its nature is joy and because it always brings about happiness and well-being, to love is the most meritorious action.

Karma Trinlay Rinpoche, “What We’ve Been All Along”

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Via _dharmalog // Thich Nhat Hanh

 

17coObrigado querido mestre,

Querido professor,

Querido irmão,

Querido exemplo,

Querido Buda.

 

Thich Nhat Hanh, o monge zen que inspirou tantos de nós, encerrou sua passagem terrena neste dia 22 de janeiro, 00am, no templo Tu Hieu Pagoda, no Vietnã (onde foi ordenado monge aos 16 anos), aos 95 anos.

 

A.comunidade Plum Village, que ele criou e coordenou, pede que façamos uma pausa e uma respiração consciente em homenagem ao Thay.

“Por favor, não construam uma stupa para mim. Por favor, não coloquem minhas cinzas em um vaso, não me prendam dentro e limitem quem eu sou.

 

Sei que isso será difícil para alguns de vocês. Se você tiver que construir uma stupa, por favor prometa que vai colocar uma placa nela que diz:

“Eu não estou aqui”.

Além disso, você também pode colocar outra placa que diz:

“Eu também não estou lá fora”.

E uma terceira placa que diz:

“Se eu estiver em algum lugar, é na sua respiração consciente e nos seus passos calmos”.

 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

 

#thichnhathanh

Via The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism // Thich Nhat Hanh

 

The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism announces that our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95. We invite our global spiritual family to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful breathing, as we together hold Thay in our hearts in peace and loving gratitude for all he has offered the world. 

 

More official news will be coming shortly. 

 

Please sign up for email updates here: https://bit.ly/3fJx7pd

 

#thichnhathanh #plumvillage #buddhism #mindfulness

Affirmation for a Little Guy's Streptococcus

 

Via Tumblr

 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Social Action

 

RIGHT ACTION Reflecting Upon Social Action

However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds; bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too social action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61) One reflects thus: "A person who speaks in hurtful ways is displeasing and disagreeable to me. If I were to speak in hurtful ways, I would be displeasing and disagreeable to others. Therefore, I will undertake a commitment to not speak in hurtful ways." (MN 15)

Reflection

Social action is not one of the formal categories of action outlined by the Buddha, but today it represents a large part of our activity. The image of reflecting on social interactions as carefully as you would those of body, speech, and mind is a useful one, allowing you to check on the effects of your actions on the world around you. Is what you are doing socially leading to beneficial or to harmful consequences?

Daily Practice

When people speak to us in hurtful ways, our first reflex is often to respond in kind or to recoil, feeling angry, hurt, or resentful. This teaching is pointing us in an entirely different direction. Instead of trying to get back at or reform the other person, we learn from them what not to do. If you know what it feels like to be hurt, why would you want to hurt anyone else? Try this way of looking at things and see what happens.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Intoxication
One week from today: Reflecting upon Bodily Action

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Let Wisdom Arise

 We have to remember to be patient, not to have expectations. Then one day we will find ourselves understanding suffering, knowing its origins, observing it, and watching it end.

Ayya Medhanandi Bhikkhuni, “The Dharma of Snow”

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Via White Crane Institute // Alexander Woollcott

 

Today's Gay Wisdom

Alexander Woollcott

2018 -

"I'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work it." - Alexander Woollcott

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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute

"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org

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Via GBF

 

A new talk has been added to the audio archive at the GBF website:

2022.01.16 Sean Feit Oakes (Difference & Interdependence).mp3

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - January 19, 2022 💌

If you cannot find that place in you that is free of fear, even though you acknowledge that there might also be a part of you that is frightened, you are not going to be able to contribute to a universe that is free of fear. So, as far as I am concerned, social action must have at its very foundation a spiritual focus. But even though we find ourselves afraid, and not feeling peaceful, and less than fully loving and compassionate, we must act. There is no way you can be in an incarnation without acting. We cannot wait until we are enlightened to act. We all hear the way in which our silence is itself an act of acquiescence to a system. That is as much an action as walking. Since we must act, we do the best we can to act consciously and compassionately. But in addition, we can make every action an exercise designed to help us become free. Because the truth that comes from freedom, and the power that comes from freedom, and the love and compassion that come from freedom are the jewels we can cultivate to offer to our fellow sentient beings for the relief of their suffering.

- Ram Dass

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Frivolous Speech

 

RIGHT SPEECH Refraining from Frivolous Speech

Frivolous speech is unhealthy. Refraining from frivolous speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning frivolous speech, one refrains from frivolous speech. One speaks at the right time, speaks only what is fact, and speaks about what is good. One speaks what is worthy of being overheard, words that are reasonable, moderate, and beneficial. (DN 1) One practices thus: "Others may speak frivolously, but I shall abstain from frivolous speech." (MN 8) When a person commits an offense of some kind, one should not hurry to reprove them but rather should consider whether or not to speak. If you will be troubled, the other person will not be hurt, and you can help them emerge from what is unhealthy and establish them in what is healthy, then it is proper to speak. It is a trifle that you will be troubled compared with the value of helping establish them in what is healthy. (MN 103)

Reflection

The guideline to refrain from frivolous speech is a recommendation that we take seriously what we say and say what is meaningful with a sense of purpose and care. It does not mean everything we say has to be profound, just carefully considered. Here we also have guidance for when to speak up and when not to. If we can help someone and make a difference by speaking out, then the fact that it is troublesome is a trifle.

Daily Practice

As you practice considering carefully the way you speak, the suggestion to "not hurry to reprove" someone who does or says something offensive but rather to "consider whether or not to speak" is an important suggestion. This moment of pause and reflection is itself a powerful practice in daily life and should be followed at every opportunity. Try speaking up only when you really can help a person or situation and not simply from habit or reflex.

Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Social Action
One week from today: Refraining from False Speech

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Tricycle // The Power of Mindful Journaling

 

 

The Power of Mindful Journaling
By Rev. Grace Song

Getting thoughts out of our heads and onto a piece of paper can help us to create space around the situations in our lives that provoke reactivity.

Read more »

Via Daily Dharma: Nothing to Add

 We talk about giving up and developing, renouncing and cultivating. But when the fruit of practice is realized, there is nothing to add and nothing to remove.

Ajahn Chah, “Meeting the Dharma Alone”

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Via Daily Dharma: An Unbroken Sequence

 A stable, solid body is a mental image superimposed onto a stream of events in the same way that a spinning propeller is seen as a circle. The constant succession of discrete acts of cognition or feeling appears as a monolithic event, just as the rapid change of frames in a film appears as a smooth continuum.

The Dalai Lama and Thubten Chodron, “An Unbroken Sequence”

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