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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation / Words of Wisdom - April 15, 2020 💌

"If we only work with our intellects and with the emptying of our minds, as in some yogas, and we fail to open our hearts, our journey becomes very dry and brittle. Ultimately, no matter what our methods, we have to find a very even balance between our energy, heart, and mind. "

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: How to Turn Suffering into Connection

Compassion allows us to use our own pain and the pain of others as a vehicle for connection. 

—Sharon Salzberg, “A Quiver of the Heart”

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#COVID19 #BOSarts #LGBTQmusic From Our Homes to Yours - Everything Possible - Boston Gay Men's Chorus

Via Daily Dharma: Embarking on an Optimistic Path

Buddhism is a path of supreme optimism, for one of its basic tenets is that no human life or experience is to be wasted or forgotten, but all should be transformed into a source of wisdom and compassionate living.

—Taitetsu Unno, “Number One Fool”

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Via Daily Dharma: How to Develop Real Intimacy

There is no such thing as two people—whether baby and mother, two lovers, or teacher and student—being perfectly in sync with each other’s needs and wishes. Real intimacy arises from an ongoing process of connection that at some point is disrupted and then, ideally, repaired.

—Pilar Jennings, “Looking into the Eyes of a Master”

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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation / Words of Wisdom - April 12, 2020 💌

"Over the years we develop strong habits of perceiving the universe, and we come to be very secure within these habits. We selectively perceive our environment in ways that reinforce them. This collection of habits is what we call ego. But meditation breaks the ego down. As we begin to see through it we can become confused as to what reality is. What once seemed absolute now begins to seem relative.
When this happens, some people get confused; others fear they may be going insane. The best strategy for dealing with this disorientation is to note it and let it be. The path to freedom is through detachment from your old habits of ego.
Slowly you will arrive at a new and more profound integration of your experience in a more evolved structure of the universe. That is, you will flow beyond the boundaries of your ego until ultimately you merge into the universe. Until then you must break through old structures, develop broader structures, breakthrough those, and develop still broader structures."

- Ram Dass -

via Daily Dharma: Wise Mind, Not Blank Mind

The purpose of Zen is not to become people who don’t think, but to think only what we need to; not to be lost in unnecessary thoughts, but to see what is most necessary right now.

—Shodo Harada Roshi, “Finding Our Essence of Mind”

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Via Daily Dharma: The Power You Hold

Buddhism is a demanding moral practice; it turns over to each person the power to decide what is right to do in any given moment.

—Sallie Tisdale, “A Life in Her Hands”

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Via Ram Dass / A Breath Exercise for Suffering and Joy

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A Breath Exercise for Suffering and Joy

Posted August 20, 2019

In the 11th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna shows Arjuna all the forms of the Universe, turning back into the pure form from which they were manifested.

The forms of the Universe: Breathe them in. Take in the baby’s crying, the sound of traffic, it’s all energy, it’s all shakti in form. As you draw it into your being, let the forms go, let your concepts about it all go, turn it back into pure shakti. Sit straight, draw it all into your chest.

All of your thoughts now, your memories, think of the political world, a breath for that.

See all the candidates, all of the international intrigue, all of the genuine seeking for peace, a breath for that.

See it all; the play, the dance, the forms, the mother, the mother at play, all aspects of the mother. Draw it back into its pure form within you, Mother shakti. Draw it into your heart.

Think of all the things that fill you with love and tenderness, a child’s smile, a flower, the smell of Spring, feeling love for another human being or from another human being, seeing peace exist between two people, moments of gratification.

As they come to mind, notice them, allow them, see them as forms, draw them in upon your breath. You are forming a relationship with the Mother, for these are all aspects, the beautiful aspects of the Mother. These are Durga, Lakshmi, Mary, Rachel, all the beautiful aspects.

Now bring to mind all the heavy aspects of the Universe: violence, suffering, physical pain, incredible loneliness, paranoia, people out of control on drugs, tensions between generations, races, religions, man’s ecological shortsightedness, our greed, lust, our anger.

Draw it all in on the breath. These are the other faces of the Mother. This is Kali Ma; the Mother whose tongue hangs out dripping with blood, who wears a circlet of skulls around her neck, who is ugly beyond belief.

If you’re going to have a love affair with the mother, you can’t just have the beautiful aspects, you’ve got to take it all.

Are you strong enough and quiet enough to give space to all the faces of the Mother, to all the forms? Hey Ma, you’re really ugly, oh Ma, I love you so much. Can you love the Universe that much?

Can you find a place in yourself where you don’t judge God? Where you look upon it all and see it’s perfection, including its horror?

– Ram Dass

Make the jump here to read the orginal and more

Via Daily Dharma: Living a Life of Compassion

Compassion is one of the principal things that make our lives meaningful.

—H. H. the Dalai Lama, “Consider Yourself a Tourist”

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Via FB: What if???

What if??? ❤️❤️❤️
If they cancel the rest of the school year, students would miss 2.5 months of education. Many people are concerned about students falling behind because of this. Yes, they may fall behind when it comes to classroom education...
But what if...❤️❤️❤️

What if instead of falling “behind", this group of kids are ADVANCED because of this? Hear me out...❤️❤️❤️
What if they have more empathy, they enjoy family connection, they can be more creative and entertain themselves, they love to read, they love to express themselves in writing. ❤️❤️❤️
What if they enjoy the simple things, like their own backyard and sitting near a window in the quiet. ❤️❤️❤️
What if they notice the birds and the dates the different flowers emerge, and the calming renewal of a gentle rain shower? ❤️❤️❤️
What if this generation are the ones to learn to cook, organize their space, do their laundry, and keep a well run home? ❤️❤️❤️
What if they learn to stretch a dollar and to live with less? ❤️❤️❤️
What if they learn to plan shopping trips and meals at home. ❤️❤️❤️
What if they learn the value of eating together as a family and finding the good to share in the small delights of the everyday? ❤️❤️❤️
What if they are the ones to place great value on our teachers and educational professionals, librarians, public servants and the previously invisible essential support workers like truck drivers, grocers, cashiers, custodians, logistics, and health care workers and their supporting staff, just to name a few of the millions taking care of us right now while we are sheltered in place? ❤️❤️❤️
What if among these children, a great leader emerges who had the benefit of a slower pace and a simpler life to truly learn what really matters in this life?❤️❤️
What if they are AHEAD? ❤️❤️❤️❤️
(Copied and pasted from a friend but too good not to share! ❤️)

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation / Words of Wisdom - April 8, 2020 💌

"Compassion in action is paradoxical and mysterious. It is absolute yet continually changing. It accepts that everything is happening exactly as it should, and it works with a full-hearted commitment to change. It sets goals but knows that the process is all there is. It is joyful in the midst of suffering and hopeful in the face of overwhelming odds. It is simple in a world of complexity and confusion. It is done for other, but it nurtures the self. It shields in order to be strong. It intends to eliminate suffering, knowing that suffering is limitless. It is action arising from emptiness..." 

- Ram Dass -

Via Tricycle: Enjoy this April Fools' satire on the Buddha’s virtual sermon

Archaeologists in India’s Bihar State this week unearthed what they believe to be a Buddhist sutra from the 1st century CE, which depicts the Buddha telecommuting to deliver a sermon to his followers. In the scripture, the Buddha’s attendant Ananda recounts a time when his teacher was traveling in a distant land but still wished to address the sangha. While much of the text has been damaged, researchers say that it appears to describe the Buddha miraculously projecting his image and voice onto a screen at a monastic hall, where disciples had gathered to hear his message.

Unfortunately, as the following excerpt demonstrates, the Buddha encountered some technical difficulties:

Thus have I (mostly) heard,
[…]
A monk asked the Buddha, “Lord, you have taught us to value both solitude and community. How are we to understand this?”
And the Buddha responded: “When one’s [inaudible] is [inaudible] or [inaudible], then it is paramount that [inaudible].”
At which point the Blessed One’s image on the screen did freeze, and the student asked, “Lord Buddha, are you still there?”
And the Buddha replied, “and so that is what—what’s that? Can you hear me now?”
And the monk said that he could.
The Blessed One then announced that he was moving to another room to see if there was better reception.
Seated once more, he continued: “The true nature of reality is—”
Alas, mid-word, the Buddha’s message did abruptly cease, and the screen went blank. The monks hurried to investigate the cause, puzzling over whether or not the issue was on their side, until, suddenly, they were startled by a chirp-like ring.
The Buddha’s image then reappeared.
“How does it look now?” the Blessed One asked.
And although the Buddha’s lips did not sync with the sound of his voice, the monk said, “It’s astounding, lord.”
The Blessed One said, “All things are subject (all things) to arising (are subject to) and passing (arising and) away—do you hear (away) that echo? (Do you hear that echo?)”
The monk answered, “Yes, Lord.”
And the Blessed One said, “Oh, great, now [inaudible] frozen (frozen)!”
The monk waved his hand to see if the Buddha could see him.
The Blessed One’s image did then disappear, before once again returning with greater clarity than before. The Buddha asked, “How about now?”
The monk answered, “Perfect, lord. I can see and hear you clearly now.”
[…]

The text cuts off at this point. Researchers continue to use fragments of the remaining text to reconstruct the rest of the sutra. But progress has been slow as they, too, have had to communicate via video conferencing, during which they keep talking over each other, simultaneously saying, “Sorry, you go,” and observing a brief silence, before all speaking at the same time again.

Make the jump here to read the original and more

Via Daily Dharma: Breathe with Your Whole Body

To better understand how to breathe with the conscious participation of the whole body, nothing is more helpful than to recognize that, in a deeply relaxed body, the force of breath can cause the entire body to remain in a state of subtle, constant, fluid motion.

—Will Johnson, "Breath Moves Body"

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Via Daily Dharma: Creating a Balanced and Accepting Mind

Equanimity is not insensitivity, indifference, or apathy. It is simply nonpreferential. Under its influence, one does not push aside the things one dislikes or grasp at the things one prefers. The mind rests in an an attitude of balance and acceptance of things as they are.

—Sayadaw U Pandita, "A Perfect Balance"

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Via Daily Dharma: Reveal Your True Self

Usually, it takes a few—or a number of—meditation sessions sitting with the agitated mind before the true self appears. But with each session the fog lifts a bit more.

—Joan Duncan Oliver, "The Sound of Silence"

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Via Daily Dharma: Coming to Rest, Stability, and Peace

When we meditate, and when we contemplate qualities such as love and compassion, we dissolve emotional states and allow our mind to come to rest, stability, and peace.

—Dawa Tarchin Phillips, “The Three Principles of Awakening”