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Things that please God more than fasting: do not exalt tortures, do not stimulate hate or use arms, do not be indifferent to human suffering. This can be done every day and God accepts this as a penance.

Via Daily Dharma: Live in the Here and Now

 To practice the way of Buddha means to completely live out this present moment—which is our whole life—here and now.

 Kodo Sawaki Roshi, “To You”

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and the Fourth Jhāna

 

RIGHT MINDFULNESS
Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects

A person goes to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty place and sits down. Having crossed the legs, one sets the body erect. One establishes the presence of mindfulness. (MN 10) One is aware: “Ardent, fully aware, mindful, I am content.” (SN 47.10)   When doubt is internally present, one is aware: “Doubt is present for me.” When doubt is not present, one is aware: “Doubt is not present for me.” When the arising of unarisen doubt occurs, one  is aware of that. And when the abandoning of arisen doubt occurs, one is aware of that. One is just aware, just mindful, "there is a mental object.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection

As we cycle through the five hindrances as arising and passing mental objects, we come to the last one, doubt. Some doubt is healthy, but this is the sort of doubt that prevents you from seeing clearly and is an obstacle to further progress along the path. It may take the form of self-doubt or doubting that you are practicing correctly. In meditation you can just be aware doubt is there, and let it go without buying in to what it is saying.

Daily Practice

The next time you feel the kind of doubt that impedes your ability to function well, take some time to examine it phenomenologically. That is to say, pay careful attention to what it feels like and how it is arising and passing away each moment, and learn to recognize it as just another mental factor that comes and goes. Understanding the transient nature of doubt gives you power to “ride out” its influence on your mind.

RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Fourth Phase of Absorption (4th Jhāna)

With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, one enters upon and abides in the fourth phase of absorption, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure, and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. The concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability. (MN 4)

Reflection

The four stages of mental absorption described in the system of jhānas culminate with the attainment of a profound and imperturbable equanimity. In this state the mind is free of both craving and aversion, neither favors nor opposes any mental object, and is able to simply regard things as they actually are, undistorted by our projections and fears. Notice also that such equanimity has the effect of purifying mindfulness.

Daily Practice

Sitting quietly and allowing the mind to become more and more peaceful, progressively more unified, and gradually steadier will eventually culminate in the quality of mind described here. This is not a transcendent state but rather a natural, immanent state of mind. See if you can allow your mind to become still like tranquil water and watch the mind reflect whatever comes before it without distortion.

Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering
One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna

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

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via White Crane Institute // Easter

 

Noteworthy Ukrainian Pysanky - artist credit: Paul Wirhun 2022 - EASTER falls on this date in 2022. According to the Venerable Bede, Easter derives its name from Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A month corresponding to April had been named "Eostremonat," or Eostre's month, leading to "Easter" becoming applied to the Christian holiday that usually took place within it. Prior to that, the holiday had been called Pasch (Passover), which remains its name in most non-English languages. Based on the similarity of their names, some connect Eostre with Ishtar, the Babylonian and Assyrian goddess of love and fertility, but there is no solid evidence for this. It seems probable that around the second century A.D., Christian missionaries seeking to convert the tribes of northern Europe noticed that the Christian holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus roughly coincided with the Teutonic springtime celebrations, which emphasized the triumph of life over death. Christian Easter gradually absorbed the traditional symbols: Easter Eggs: In Medieval Europe, eggs were forbidden during Lent. Eggs laid during that time were often boiled or otherwise preserved. Eggs were thus a mainstay of Easter meals, and a prized Easter gift for children and servants. In addition, eggs have been viewed as symbols of new life and fertility through the ages. It is believed that for this reason many ancient cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Romans, used eggs during their spring festivals. Many traditions and practices have formed around Easter eggs. The coloring of eggs is a established art, and eggs are often dyed, painted, and otherwise decorated. Eggs were also used in various holiday games: parents would hide eggs for children to find, and children would roll eggs down hills. These practices live on in Easter egg hunts and egg rolls. The most famous egg roll takes place on the White House lawn every year. Different Traditions: Orthodox Christians in the Middle East and in Greece painted eggs bright red to symbolize the blood of Christ. Hollow eggs (created by piercing the shell with a needle and blowing out the contents) were decorated with pictures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other religious figures in Armenia. Germans gave green eggs as gifts on Holy Thursday, and hung hollow eggs on trees. Austrians placed tiny plants around the egg and then boiled them. When the plants were removed, white patterns were created. Artistic Creations: The most elaborate Easter egg traditions appear to have emerged in Eastern Europe. In Poland and Ukraine, eggs were often painted silver and gold. Pysanky (to design or write) eggs were created by carefully applying wax in patterns to an egg. The egg was then dyed, wax would be reapplied in spots to preserve that color, and the egg was boiled again in other shades. The result was a multi-color striped or patterned egg. You can get some really beauties here: https://www.paulwirhun.com/ The Easter Bunny: Hares and rabbits have long been symbols of fertility. The inclusion of the hare into Easter customs appears to have originated in Germany, where tales were told of an "Easter hare" who laid eggs for children to find. German immigrants to America -- particularly Pennsylvania -- brought the tradition with them and spread it to a wider public. They also baked cakes for Easter in the shape of hares, and may have pioneered the practice of making chocolate bunnies and eggs. But what does fertility have to do with Easter? Many who celebrate the holiday do not recognize that Easter is not a biblical holiday at all—it is wholly derived from pre-Christian celebrations of springtime fertility, devoted to pagan goddesses with names such as Ishtar, Astarte and Ostara, from whom the name "Easter" is derived. Also, those who make a pun on "Son rise" and "sunrise" may not be aware that their Easter morning "sunrise" service—facing the direction of the rising sun during their worship — has its origins not in Scripture but in pagan sun goddess worship. Easter Cards: Easter cards arrived in Victorian England, when a stationer added a greeting to a drawing of a rabbit. According to American Greetings, Easter is now the fourth most popular holiday for sending cards, behind Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Mother's Day. Easter Parades: After their baptisms, early Christians wore white robes all through Easter week to indicate their new lives. Those had already been baptized wore new clothes instead to symbolize their sharing a new life with Christ. In Medieval Europe, churchgoers would take a walk after Easter Mass, led by a crucifix or the Easter candle. Today these walks endure as Easter Parades. People show off their spring finery, including lovely bonnets decorated for spring.

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8| 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 |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

Via White Crane Institute // CHAVELA VARGAS

 

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Chavela Vargas

1919 -

ISABEL VARGAS LIZANO (d: 2012), better known as CHAVELA VARGAS, was a Costa Rican-born Mexican singer. She was especially known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras, but she is also recognized for her contribution to other genres of popular Latin American music. She has been an influential interpreter in the Americas and Europe, muse to figures such as Pedro Almodovar, hailed for her haunting performances, and called "la voz áspera de la ternura", the rough voice of tenderness.

She is featured in many Almodóvar's films, including La Flor de mi Secreto in both song and video. She has said, however, that acting is not her ambition, although she had previously participated in films such as 1967's La Soldadera. Vargas recently appeared in the 2002 Julie Taymor film Frida, singing "La Llorona" (The Weeping Woman). Her classic "Paloma Negra" (Black Dove) was also included in the soundtrack of the film.

Vargas herself, as a young woman, was alleged to have had an affair with Frida Kahlo, during Kahlo's marriage to muralist Diego Rivera. She also appeared in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Babel, singing "Tú me acostumbraste" (You Got Me Used To), a bolero of Frank Dominguez. Joaquin Sabina’s song "Por el Boulevar de los Sueños Rotos" ("Down the Boulevard of Broken Dreams") is dedicated to Vargas.

Her heavy drinking and raucous life took their toll, and she vanished from public life in the 1970s. Submerged in an alcoholic haze, she said, she was taken in by an Indian family who nursed her back to health without knowing who she was. In 2003, she told The New York Times that she had not had a drink in twenty-five years.

In the early 1990s she began singing again at El Habito, the bohemian Mexico City nightclub. From there her career took off again, with performances in Latin America, Europe and the United States. At 81, she announced that she was a lesbian.

“Nobody taught me to be like this,” she told the Spanish newspaper El País in 2000. “I was born this way. Since I opened my eyes to the world, I have never slept with a man. Never. Just imagine what purity. I have nothing to be ashamed of.”

On the eve of her Carnegie Hall debut in 2003, she looked back on how her singing had changed over her career. “The years take you to a different feeling than when you were 30,” she said in an interview with The Times. “I feel differently, I interpret differently, more toward the mystical.”

On the evening of her death in 2012, instead of holding a traditional Mexican wake, friends, fans and musicians gathered in the evening for a musical tribute at Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City, where Ms. Vargas had spent many a night drinking with Mr. Jiménez. She would have loved it.

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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

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

 

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - April 17, 2022 💌

 
 

If you’re involved with relationship with parents or children, instead of saying, "I can’t do spiritual practices because I have children," you say, "My children are my spiritual practice." If you’re traveling a lot, your traveling becomes your yoga.

You start to use your life as your curriculum for coming to God. You use the things that are on your plate, that are presented to you. So that relationships, economics, psychodynamics—all of these become grist for the mill of awakening. They all are part of your curriculum.

- Ram Dass -

via Midia Ninja // FB

 

Via FB

 

Mother Earth alive in me: a guided meditation by Sister Dang Nghiem

Two from Be Here Now Network

  Set and Setting – Ep. 10 – Music, Laughter, and Altered States w/ Laraaji
April 14, 2022 Madison Margolin sits down with Laraaji for a discussion on music, laughter, and altered states. They discuss the beauty of being in the flow...

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Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 435 – Science & Spirituality
April 14, 2022 In this special anthology episode of the Mindrolling podcast, Raghu explores the brimming intersection of science and spirituality with an assortment of wise and...

Listen Now

Via White Crane Institute. // Margot Adler

1946 - 

MARGOT ADLER,journalist, born (d: 2014); American author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, radio journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) Adler was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and grew up mostly in New York City. Her grandfather, Alfred Adler, is considered the father of individual psychology.

Adler wrote Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today, considered a watershed in American Neopagan circles. The book provided the first comprehensive look at the nature-based religions in the US, and became what was for many the first point of contact with the larger subculture. She was a speaker at the 1986 WinterStar Symposium, from which the Association for Consiousness Exploration produced her lecture tape From Witch to Witch-Doctor: Healers, Therapists and Shamans and the panel discussion The Magickal Movement: Present and Future (with Isaac Bonewits, Selena Fox, and Robert Anton Wilson). 

Her second book, Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution, was published by Beacon Press in 1997. Adler was a Wiccan priestess of the Gardnerian Wicca tradition and a Unitarian Universalist.

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8| 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 |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

Via Lion's Roar // Celebrating Thich Nhat Hanh

 

A Cloud Never Dies

Andrea Miller on what Thich Nhat Hanh taught her, his inspiring and courageous life, and how — through us — his wisdom will continue.

In January, I got the email from a colleague: “Thich Nhat Hanh has died.” On January 23, the casket ceremony was livestreamed with thousands of people from all over the world watching from their homes. I watched too, of course. At Tu Hieu, monastics were gathered, saffron shoulder to shoulder. As the crowds’ singing swelled and broke, a procession of monks carried Thay’s body from his hut to the Full Moon Meditation Hall. There he was lovingly placed in his coffin. Then the coffin was shut tight and festooned with chrysanthemums, his favorite flower. I had been right, back in 2013. I never would see Thay again in the same form—and now none of us will. But we will see Thay again. Even as the casket ceremony was unfolding, we were seeing him.

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States

 

RIGHT EFFORT Maintaining Arisen Healthy States

Whatever a person frequently thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders healthy states, one has abandoned unhealthy states to cultivate the healthy state, and then one’s mind inclines to healthy states. (MN 19) Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to maintain arisen healthy mental states. One maintains the arisen tranquility and concentration awakening factors. (MN 141)

Reflection

Healthy and positive mental states arise all the time. The idea is to learn how to notice them, recognize their value, and make some effort to sustain them when they arise. This means developing habits that will reinforce qualities like kindness, generosity, compassion, and truthfulness. Slowing down, becoming peaceful, and allowing the mind to unify through focusing is particularly valuable.

Daily Practice

The two factors of awakening, tranquility and concentration, are considered together here because of their natural affinity with each other. Finding time to slow down, stop doing things, and simply allow the mind to become peaceful and focused is a healthy thing to do. It is not that settling the mind takes effort, but it takes effort to disengage from normal business to give the mind time to focus naturally. Once you do it, you'll see that it’s worth it.

Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and the Fourth Jhāna
One week from today: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States

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

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Reevaluating “Success”

 Effort is more important than so-called success because effort is a real thing. What we call “success” is just the manifestation of our mind’s ability to categorize things. This is “success.” That is “failure.” Who says? You says. That’s all. Reality is what it is, beyond all concepts of success and failure.

Brad Warner, “Think Not Thinking”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Facebook // COMO A POPULAÇÃO LGBTQIA+ CONQUISTOU DIREITOS NO BRASIL

 

Via Tumblr

 

Hanuman Chaleesa - Live On Earth - Krishna Das

Lyrics: 

Bhajelo-ji Hanuman (4x) Shree Guru charana saroja raja nija manu mukuru sudhari Baranaun Raghubara bimala jasu jo daayaku phala chaari Buddhi heena tanu jaanike sumiraun pawana kumaara Bala budhi vidyaa dehu mohin harahu kalesa bikaara Bhajelo-ji Hanuman (4x) 

1. Jaya Hanumaan gyaana guna saagara, Jaya Kapeesha tihun loka ujaagara 

2. Raama doota atulita bala dhaamaa, Anjani putra Pawanasuta naamaa 

 3. Mahaabeera bikrama bajarangee, Kumati niwaara sumati ke sangee 

4. Kanchana barana biraaja subesaa, Kaanana kundala kunchita kesaa 

5. Haata bajra aura dwajaa biraajai, Kaandhe moonja janeu saajai 

6. Shankara suwana Kesaree nandana, Teja prataapa mahaa jaga bandana 

7. Bidyaawaana gunee ati chaatura, Raama kaaja karibe ko aatura 

8. Prabhu charitra sunibe ko rasiyaa, Raama Lakhana Seetaa mana basiyaa 

9. Sookshma roopa dhari Siyahin dikhaawaa, Bikata roopa dhari Lankaa jaraawaa 

10. Bheema roopa dhari asura sanghaare, Raamachandra ke kaaja sanvaare 

11. Laaya sajeevana Lakhana jiyaaye, Shree Raghubeera harashi ura laaye 

12. Raghupati keenhee bahuta baraaee, tuma mama priya Bharatahi sama bhaaee 

13. Sahasa badana tumharo jasa gaawain, asa kahi Shreepati kanta lagaawain 

14. Sanakaadika Brahmaadi muneesaa, Naarada Saarada sahita Aheesaa 

15. Yama Kubera digapaala jahaante, kabi kobida kahi sake kahaante 

16. Tuma upakaara Sugreevahin keenhaa, Raama milaaya raaja pada deenhaa 

17. Tumharo mantra Bibheeshana maanaa, Lankeshwara bhaye saba jaga jaanaa 

18. Yuga sahasra yojana para bhaanu, leelyo taahi madhura phala jaanu 

19. Prabhu mudrikaa meli mukha maaheen, jaladhi laanghi gaye acharaja naaheen 

20. Durgama kaaja jagata ke jete, sugama anugraha tumhare tete 

21. Raama duaare tuma rakhawaare, hota na aagyaa binu paisaare 

 22. Saba sukha lahai tumhaaree sharanaa, tuma rakshaka kaahu ko dara naa 

23. Aapana teja samhaaro aapai, teenon loka haanka ten kaanpai 

 24. Bhoota pisaacha nikata nahin aawai, Mahaabeera jaba naama sunaawai 

25. Naasai roga hare saba peeraa, japata nirantara Hanumata beeraa 

 26. Sankata ten Hanumaana churaawai, mana krama bachana dhyaana jo laawai 

 27. Saba para Raama tapaswee raajaa, tina ke kaaja sakala tuma saajaa 

28. Aura manorata jo koee laawai, soee amita jeewana phala paawai 

29. Chaaron juga parataapa tumhaaraa, hai parasidha jagata ujiyaaraa 

30. Saadhu santa ke tuma rakhawaare, asura nikandana Raama dulaare 

31. Ashta siddhi nau nidhi ke daataa, asa bara deena Jaanakee Maataa 

32. Raama rasaayana tumhare paasaa, sadaa raho Raghupati ke daasaa 

33. Tumhare bhajana Raama ko paawai, janama janama ke dukha bisaraawai

 34. Anta kaala Raghubara pura jaaee, jahaan janama Hari bhakta kahaaee 

35. Aura devataa chitta na dharaee, Hanumata se-ee sarva sukha karaee 

36. Sankata katai mite saba peeraa, jo sumire Hanumata bala beeraa 

37. Jai jai jai Hanumaana Gosaaee, kripaa karahu gurudeva kee naaee

38. Jo sata baara paata kara koee, chootahi bandi mahaa sukha hoee 

39. Jo yaha parai Hanumaana chaaleesaa, hoya siddhi saakhee Gaureesaa 

40. Tulasee Daasa sadaa Hari cheraa, keejai naata hridaya mahaan deraa Pawanatanaya sankata harana mangala moorati roopa Raama Lakhana Seetaa sahita hridaya basahu sura bhoopa