Thursday, April 25, 2024

Via Daily Dharma: Zazen Is Enough

 


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Zazen Is Enough 

Don’t worry about whether your practice is working, don’t judge your performance, don’t tell yourself stories or find other ways to avoid this very moment. These are just ways of separating from our deepest intention and our zazen. When you do zazen, just do zazen. That’s enough.

Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, “An Introduction to Zen” 


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Working With the Five Hindrances: Sloth and Torpor
By Vanessa Zuisei Goddard
Tips for working with the third hindrance described by the Buddha as sloth and torpor, experienced as sleepiness, disinterest, or a general feeling of malaise.
Read more »

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Verbal Action

 


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RIGHT ACTION
Reflecting Upon Verbal 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 verbal action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)

When you have done an action with speech, reflect upon that same verbal action thus: “Has this action I have done with speech led to the affliction of another?” If, upon reflection, you know that it has, then tell someone you trust about it and undertake a commitment not to do it again. If you know it has not, then be content and feel happy about it. (MN 61)
Reflection
Let’s not overlook the last line of this passage. If you reflect upon what you have said to people in the past and on review you realize you have not said anything harmful, you should feel happy about that. Feeling happy and content about your own behavior is not only allowable but encouraged. Positive feedback is as valuable as criticism, and acknowledging your own self-worth is healthy. We forget this sometimes.

Daily Practice
Confide in a friend some instance in which you have spoken badly in the past and give that misdeed a chance to come into the open and be encountered with awareness. Perhaps you told a lie or spread a rumor or otherwise said something that caused harm. By revealing this openly you are able to acknowledge that it was wrong, that you know better now, and that you undertake a commitment to not do it again.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given
One week from today: Reflecting upon Mental Action

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

Questions?
Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.



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Via Lama Rod Owens // Free Radicals: Next Thursday

 






Lama Rod Owens logo

Free Radicals
2hr Special

.Personal Practice, Collective Freedom.

Monthly Online Community Practice

with Lama Rod + Sanah Ahsan


Thursday May 2nd,
6pm - 7pm
UK Time
(1pm EST, 10am PST)
Join us for this very special gathering at May's Free Radicals!

This month we invite you to join Daniel and Lama Rod as they are joined by special guest and very good friend, Dr Sanah Ahsan as they celebrate the release of their books and explore shared themes which run throughout their writing and spiritual practices.

There will of course be music and time for practice and Q&A, which are the pillars of our Free Radicals gathering each month.

 
Click here to Register for Free Radicals Next Thursday

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

VIa Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - April 24, 2024 💌

 

One day in India on my second stay, Maharaji said to me, “You don’t have to change anybody; you just have to love them”. In relationships, when the other person doesn’t fit into your model of how heaven would be, you don’t have to play God. You just have to love individual differences and appreciate them the way they are. Because love is the most powerful medicine.

The key is that you aren’t even doing it manipulatively: “I love you, now change.” You’re looking at another being, just the way they are, and saying, “Let me appreciate God’s perfection.” You lost the key? Great. You forgot to pick up the laundry? Right. If each of us is separate, and yet each of us is part of the whole, but we got lost a little bit into dualism and we’re finding our way back out, every time we’re in the presence of unconditional love, we remember. And when we remember, we open. And when we open, the light pours through us.

If you became a person who could love unconditionally, everyone you love would flower before your very eyes. Every way you look would be light. That’s one of the fringe benefits of this method. It’s breathtaking. At every level. 

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: The Wondrous Working of the Infinite

 


I read the daily dharma every morning to set an intention for the day.

—Daily Dharma reader
 
Dear DANIEL

Every morning Tricycle sends out thousands of Daily Dharma newsletters to our growing community of readers. We share these pearls of wisdom every day to offer you inspiration and guidance to contemplate throughout your day. 

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With nearly 100,000 subscribers, Daily Dharma has become one of Tricycle’s most beloved offerings. We’ve been delighted to hear from our readers about how much they love starting their day with these quotes (and the Tricycle articles they’re pulled from). One reader recently wrote us to say that "Daily Dharma is the best thing about opening my email because it reminds me how to live my life and be at peace."

Thank you for being part of the Tricycle community and helping us fulfill our mission to preserve and share Buddhist teachings for the benefit of all beings. We look forward to continuing to serve our readers and share new offerings in the future. 

With gratitude, 

The Tricycle Team 
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The Wondrous Working of the Infinite

The more one tries to control and measure the world, the more one experiences fear and apprehension.

Primoz Korelc Hiriko, “Relinquishing Preference through ‘The Silent Sages of Old’”


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Koans and Crises
By Noelle Oxenhandler
A review of Susan Murphy’s new book, A Fire Runs Through All Things, and a discussion of what we can learn from koans amid a climate disaster.
Read more »

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Malicious Speech

 



RIGHT SPEECH
Refraining from Malicious Speech
Malicious speech is unhealthy. Refraining from malicious speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning malicious speech, one refrains from malicious speech. One does not repeat there what one has heard here to the detriment of these, or repeat here what one has heard there to the detriment of those. One unites those who are divided, is a promoter of friendships, and speaks words that promote concord. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak maliciously, but I shall abstain from malicious speech.” (MN 8)

Disputes occur when a person is contemptuous and domineering. Such a person dwells disrespectful and undeferential towards others, causing harm and unhappiness for many. If you see any such root of a dispute either in yourselves or externally, you should strive to abandon it. And if you do not see any such root of dispute either in yourselves or externally, you should practice in such a way that it does not erupt in the future. (MN 104)
Reflection
You may have noticed that some people are more argumentative than others. There are certain character traits that account for this, and being contemptuous and domineering is certainly among them. The fact is that human conflicts are rooted in human qualities of mind, and these need to be addressed if any kind of transformation is to happen. The place to begin this process is in yourself. Do you see any roots of dispute in yourself?

Daily Practice
One of the ways to practice refraining from malicious speech is to clear your mind of the mental and emotional traits that give rise to it. Do you ever catch yourself being contemptuous or domineering? Do you ever dwell disrespectful and undeferential towards others? This is the place to start: “Others might tolerate these qualities in themselves, but I shall not.” Honest self-reflection is a challenging but rewarding practice.

Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Verbal Action
One week from today: Refraining from Harsh Speech

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

Questions?
Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.



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© 2024 Tricycle Foundation
89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003