Via Daily Dharma: Feel Deeply

 

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Feel Deeply You don’t get part of a human life without feeling all of it. You don’t get to love without knowing that you are going to lose the one you love or they will lose you. Jane Hirshfield, “Don’t Despair of This Falling World” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Spiritual Bypassing and the Plight of Ingyinbin By Joah McGee As the Burmese spiritual center becomes the focal point of a violent campaign by the military junta, one practitioner asks why the greater Vipassana Organization has remained silent. Read more »

Via FB

 

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - December 25, 2024 💌

 

"I would say that most of us stay locked in our separateness and we are very frightened of coming out of it, we feel very vulnerable. In truth you’re not vulnerable at all. Who you think you are is vulnerable. Who you are is not vulnerable. This is the truth of it. That’s what Christ was saying over and over again but nobody seemed to want to hear him. You are not vulnerable, but you experience that you are. So it’s very hard for you to open your heart to another being whose love is conditional. Because they’re saying, ‘I will love you as long as you’re a certain way’ and you keep protecting yourself. So you find it very easy to open yourself sometimes to inanimate objects, or to an animal, or to a memory, or to a very young child that’s very innocent, before it develops any kind of definition of itself that starts to manipulate the universe to get what it needs. When you’re with a guru, the guru realizes that they’re not vulnerable, they don’t need you to do anything. They just need you to be what you are, so their love is unconditional. When you’re in the presence of unconditional love, that’s the optimum environment for your heart to open."

>> Want to dive deeper with Ram Dass? Click Here to Receive a Daily Wisdom Text from Ram Dass & Friends.

Via GBF: 21 Videos Added to the GBF Website

The last of the VIDEOS from the archive have been added to our growing library of dharma talks! 

 

The next videos will be posted in March, when we will continue to add new videos weekly as they are recorded. 

Where to Find the Videos

• On the GBF YouTube channel, in our Dharma Talks - VIDEO playlist
  (Be sure to subscribe to the channel to be notified immediately when each new video is posted.) 
• On the GBF website. Each talk has its own page where the audio and video are posted along with a summary.
  Here are links directly to the 21 most recently added:

1. Embracing The 6 Paramis – Jokai
2. Being a Warrior of Compassion – Dale Borglum
3. A Bridge Over Troubled Water – Laura Burges
4. The Brahma Vihāras (Divine Abodes) – Walt Opie
5. The Truth of Old Age, Sickness, Death and Awakening – Bob Stahl
6. Gay Pride and Our Ordinary Life – Liên Shutt
7. The Pure Love of Metta – John Martin
8. The Thousand Natural Shocks – Laura Burges
9. The Role of Pleasure in Our Practice – René Rivera
10. Wise Speech in Difficult Times – Tom Baker
11. The Dance of Change – Syra Smith
12. Living Our Practice – Kevin Griffin
13. The Wisdom Within the Heart Sutra – Prasadachitta
14. Thinking vs. Experiencing – David Lewis
15. Generosity as a Means to Joy – Ian Challis
16. Jewels From Our Dark Places – Laura Burges
17. What Makes GBF Tick? – Volunteer Appreciation Day
18. The Stories We Tell Ourselves – Daigan Gaither
19. Navigating Missteps in Our Relationships – René Rivera
20. The Diamond Approach: Knowing Ourselves from the Inside Out – Trip Weil
21. How to Quiet the Monkey Mind – Michaiel Patrick Bovenes

Via Lama Rod

 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from False Speech

 

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RIGHT SPEECH Refraining from False Speech False speech is unhealthy. Refraining from false speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning false speech, one dwells refraining from false speech, a truth-speaker, one to be relied on, trustworthy, dependable, not a deceiver of the world. One does not in full awareness speak falsehood for one’s own ends or for another’s ends or for some trifling worldly end. (DN 1) One practices thus: "Others may speak falsely, but I shall abstain from false speech." (MN 8) Such speech as you know to be untrue, incorrect, and unbeneficial but which is welcome and agreeable to others—do not utter such speech. (MN 58)

Reflection This teaching is pointing out the unhealthy effects of flattery and other kinds of hollow speech. Why speak something you know is untrue? Presumably in this case to make someone else feel good or to like you more. This is a short-term strategy that will only cause more harm than good in the longer term. Right speech is about understanding the more subtle aspects of cause and effect in the realm of human communication. Daily Practice The most direct way to practice right speech is to undertake a serious commitment to always speak the truth. From the Buddhist perspective, this has more to do with deeper health than with what you eat or how much exercise you get. Notice that this practice is not about judging other people for their wrong speech but is focused on your own dedication to abstaining from false speech and consistently telling the truth. Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Bodily Action One week from today: Refraining from Malicious Speech Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: Solitude Fosters Awareness

 

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Solitude Fosters Awareness For me, solitude is not loneliness but a space where I can be fully aware of the myriad ways that all things, myself included, are connected.  Lauren Krauze, “Not Alone During the Holidays” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Tricycle’s Favorite Books of the Year By The Editors Here are our favorite Buddhist titles from 2024.  Read more »

Via White Crane Institute // SOL INVICTUS

 

Noteworthy

The Unconquered Sun

2021 -

SOL INVICTUS ("the Unconquered Sun") or, more fully, Deus Sol Invictus ("the Unconquered Sun God") was the late Roman state sun god. The cult was created by the emperor Aurelian in 274 CE and continued until the abolition of paganism under Theodosius I. The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, "the birthday of the unconquered sun."

The use of the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the patron god of Emperor Aurelian (270-274); and Mithras. Oh, and a Jewish upstart named Jesus.

December 25^th was also considered to be the date of the winter solstice, which the Romans called bruma. It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening of daylight hours. (When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 B.C.E., December 25^th was approximately the date of the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21^st or 22^nd.)

The Sol Invictus festival has a "strong claim on the responsibility" for the date of Christmas, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Solar symbolism was popular with early Christian writers as Jesus was considered to be the "sun of righteousness."

The date for Christmas may also bear a relation to the sun worship. According to the scholiast on the Syriac bishop Jacob Bar-Salibi, writing in the twelfth century:

"It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the same 25 December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnized on that day." (cited in "Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries", Ramsay MacMullen. Yale:1997, p155)

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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 Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Lovingkindness

 

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RIGHT INTENTION Cultivating Lovingkindness Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis on which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop meditation on lovingkindness, for when you develop meditation on lovingkindness, all ill will will be abandoned. (MN 62)   The characteristic of lovingkindness is promoting welfare. (Vm 9.93)

Reflection One of the great insights of Buddhist practice is that who you are at any given moment is not set in stone, is not a matter of chance, and is not shaped by others. In every mind moment you are shaping who you will become in the next moment. Understanding this is profoundly empowering, for it gives you an opportunity to decide for yourself that you will be a better person in the future by being a better person now.     Daily Practice Kindness can become an ongoing practice, a habit of mind and heart that tries at every opportunity to wish the best for others. It is not a matter of liking people as much as wishing them well and caring for their well-being. Practice targeting random people you encounter throughout the day and wishing them well. Notice the subtle effect this has on your own mind, squeezing out any annoyance or resentment you might otherwise feel. Tomorrow: Refraining from False Speech One week from today: Cultivating Compassion Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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