Monday, September 23, 2024

The Lost Years of Jesus Christ: Evidence in Japan, Britain, and India

The Missing Years of Jesus | National Geographic

The Lost Years of Jesus

The Lost Years Of Jesus | Mysterious Saint Isa In India | By Richard Boc...

Jesus was a Buddhist Monk BBC Documentary

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Via FB -- O MANTRA


 

O MANTRA
 
O Mantra é como um sábio que guia nossos pensamentos pelos labirintos da mente com sua sabedoria. É um canto sagrado que, com sua doce melodia, se espalha e ressoa dentro de nós, orquestrando as harmonias da alma.
 
O Mantra é como uma estrela-guia numa noite escura, iluminando o caminho quando nossas virtudes parecem desbotadas e distantes. É um músico celestial que, mesmo quando o mundo parece envolto em silêncio, canta as notas da verdade e da serenidade.
 
O Mantra é um mestre invisível que nos ensina e acompanha até nos momentos em que acreditamos não ter ninguém para nos guiar. É uma chama que brilha no coração, aquecendo e iluminando nosso caminho com a luz da paz interior.
 
Antes de o homem descobrir a escrita, o Mantra habitava espontaneamente na mente do ser humano. Para transmitir os versos sagrados, o homem os preservava na memória, passando-os de geração em geração. Mas com a disseminação da escrita, o Mantra começou a sofrer, correndo o risco de desaparecer. Foi salvo por poucos sábios que descobriram que o Mantra — a memória gravada em nossa mente — possui uma força e um poder maiores que a própria escrita. 
 
Gravado na mente, o Mantra atua até mesmo em silêncio, e quando é recitado, ele descansa. Sim, o descanso é tão importante quanto a ação: quando o Mantra é entoado, ele descansa; quando descansa, atua, pois nunca para. Ele não é como a escrita, que, embora robusta e intacta, desaparece da mente pouco depois de ser lida. Além de ser recitado em voz alta, uma das maneiras mais eficazes de fazer o Mantra ressoar é deixá-lo fluir suavemente pela nossa mente durante a meditação, permitindo que ele flua naturalmente e sem esforço.
 
Adotar um mantra não é simplesmente uma escolha, mas uma verdadeira coroação. É essencial prestar atenção a esse passo, pois há coroas tecidas de luz, destinadas a guiar a alma para a elevação, e coroas de escuridão, que envolvem o espírito num oceano de sofrimento. Dependendo de nossas aspirações e inclinações, devemos escolher o mantra mais adequado para nós. Idealmente, essa coroação deve ser acompanhada por uma guia sábia. No entanto, às vezes, a orientação mais valiosa pode ser a nossa busca interior incessante, que se move incansavelmente em direção à verdade.
 
Quais são os mantras que envolvem o espírito num oceano de sofrimento? São aqueles que repetem: “Eu quero, eu sou”, alimentando o ego e o apego, amarrando-nos a prazeres sensuais baixos, vulgares e destrutivos. O Mantra no qual quero me concentrar, tecido de luz, é o do Nobre Caminho Óctuplo. Esse mantra conduz à visão clara e ao conhecimento, guiando-nos para a paz interior, a sabedoria, o despertar e a libertação final do sofrimento.
 
Este Mantra diz o seguinte:
 
“Busco a Visão Correta, o entendimento claro do caminho para a verdade. Desejo seguir o Caminho que leva à paz interior e à consciência profunda. Antes que minha mente e meus sentidos se detenham em qualquer detalhe, esforço-me para ver a realidade em sua totalidade, sem distorção e sem apego, para abandonar a fraqueza e a ignorância e cultivar a sabedoria.
 
Busco o Pensamento Correto, pois dele nasce tudo o que se segue. É a fonte das palavras que falo, a origem das ações que tomo, e, como um oleiro que molda o barro, molda o meu ser e interage de maneira sutil com o mundo ao meu redor. Esforço-me para garantir que meu pensamento esteja enraizado no essencial e na não-malevolência. Comprometo-me a deixar de lado os pensamentos egoístas, a abandonar a raiva e o ódio, e a nutrir pensamentos de paz.
 
Busco a Palavra Correta, porque a palavra não é apenas o espelho que reflete nosso pensamento e revela nossas intenções mais profundas, mas também é a vestimenta que nos cobre. A palavra é tão afiada quanto uma espada e tão poderosa quanto um criador; pode acariciar suavemente ou pesar como uma condenação. Mas escolho a palavra correta, a que cura e une, a que espalha compreensão e amor, a que não fere nem engana, mas sustenta a verdade.
 
Busco a Ação Correta, sabendo que o Pensamento Correto concebe, mas é a Ação Correta que torna visíveis os frutos do nosso caminho. É a manifestação mais tangível da nossa existência. A Ação Correta é como um escultor que, golpe a golpe, esculpe o mármore bruto numa figura perfeita. É como um jardineiro que poda cada ramo com precisão para que a planta cresça exuberante. Sem a Ação Correta, seríamos como viajantes numa floresta escura, incapazes de encontrar um caminho para fora das sombras.
 
Busco o Meio de Vida Correto, sabendo que só devo ganhar o que é suficiente. Se buscasse mais do que preciso, roubaria tempo e atenção do que realmente importa. O Meio de Vida Correto é equilíbrio: o trabalho e os meios de sustento não devem ser um fardo, mas uma ferramenta para apoiar uma vida virtuosa. Não busco ganhos baseados no engano ou no prejuízo dos outros. Envolvo-me em atividades que trazem benefício e não criam sofrimento nem para mim nem para os outros.
 
Busco o Esforço Correto, reconhecendo que a Atenção Plena tem prioridade absoluta, como a pegada de um elefante que, devido ao seu tamanho, ofusca todas as outras pegadas. Se a atenção plena é o mais importante, o Esforço Correto é o que sustenta cada prática virtuosa. Esforço-me para cultivar a Visão Correta, para manter o Pensamento Correto, e não me deixar levar pelos acontecimentos, de modo que cada pensamento, palavra e ação seja guiado por uma intenção desinteressada.”
 
Busco a Atenção Correta, que se manifesta como uma presença mental constante e atenta, uma guardiã silenciosa que observa cada passo do nosso caminho. Observa cada ação que tomamos, cada sensação que sentimos, cada pensamento que cruza a nossa mente e cada palavra que pronunciamos, juntamente com o tom em que a expressamos. Até mesmo observa a nossa respiração. A Atenção Correta não julga, nem age como um filtro que separa, mas é como um rio que deixa tudo fluir, sem se apegar a nada. Cada momento é recebido em sua totalidade e vivido ao máximo, sem que nada escape à sua atenção.
 
Busco a Concentração Correta, varrendo a sonolência e a letargia, impedindo a mente de se dispersar. Busco essa concentração que, como um arqueiro que tensiona seu arco, foca cada energia com precisão absoluta em direção ao alvo. Minha mente, como a visão de um falcão voando alto, permanece afiada e vigilante. Não vagueia nem se perde em desejos inúteis ou preocupações. Com a Concentração Correta, a mente se torna tão clara quanto o cristal, pronta para despertar para a verdade última.”
 
Se eu escolho recitar este Mantra do Nobre Caminho Óctuplo de forma mais concisa, recito-o assim: Visão Correta, Pensamento Correto, Palavra Correta, Ação Correta, Meio de Vida Correto, Esforço Correto, Atenção Correta, Concentração Correta.
 
E quando desejo evocar este Mantra mais rapidamente, só preciso pensar na forma de uma roda de oito raios: a Roda do Dhamma, posta em movimento pelo Sublime Gotama, que representa todo o ensinamento do Buda, preservado no Cânone Pali. Cada raio simboliza um aspecto do Nobre Caminho Óctuplo. Cada vez que visualizo esta roda, mesmo em minha mente, num instante, a Visão Correta dos ensinamentos do Sublime me é revelada, viva e luminosa.

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering

 

RIGHT VIEW
Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering
And what is the way leading to the cessation of suffering? It is just this noble eightfold path: that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. (MN 9)

One practices mindfulness and full awareness . . . (DN 2)
Reflection
Having established that there is an escape from suffering, based on understanding what causes it in the first place, the teachings go on to lay out a path you can walk to get from here to there, from suffering to the end of suffering. It is an integrated path, involving many interrelated components, but at heart it requires the ability to be mindful and fully aware of all that happens in the realm of lived experience.

Daily Practice
Practice the skill of being mindful in all you do. That is, be aware of what is happening in the moment with an attitude of equanimity, neither attached to nor repelled by anything. Also practice the skill of doing all you do—in body, speech, and mind—with full awareness. That is, be carefully attentive to what you do as you do it. These two practices serve as the right and left steps along the path to the end of suffering.

Tomorrow: Cultivating Equanimity
One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering


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Via Daily Dharma: Immersing Yourself in the Present Moment

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Immersing Yourself in the Present Moment

In flow, we are released from all egoic constrictions, freed from grasping and aversion. The sense of separation falls away as we immerse ourselves wholeheartedly in whatever we’re doing, whatever is arising in the present moment.

John Brehm, “The Art of Appreciative Attention”


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UPCOMING TRAININGS

The Fourth Turning

Begins October 22nd

"Known by various names—from evolutionary Buddhism to Integral Buddhism—the Fourth Turning, like all the previous turnings, transcends yet includes its predecessors, adding new material while retaining all the essentials." — Ken Wilber

Learn more »

 

 

Featured Content

Podcast

Nut Job Jhāna

In this episode of Buddhist Geeks, Brian Newman discusses his journey into deep jhāna meditation practice. He explores his training in the rigorous Pa-auk tradition, the challenges and breakthroughs he experienced, and the balance between traditional and more modern approaches to jhāna, ultimately advocating for a playful, less rigid approach to accessing these deep states of concentration.

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Sunday, September 22, 2024

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Via White Crane Institute // EQUINOX

 


2022 -

This is the AUTUMNAL EQUINOX in the Northern Hemisphere and the Vernal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. An equinox in astronomy is the moment in time (not the whole day, that is called "the equilux") when the center of the Sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth’s equator, occurring around March 20 and September 23 each year. Today this moment is 9:03 p.m. on the East Coast.

The September equinox marks the first day of Mehr or Libra in the Iranian calendar. It is one of the Iranian festivals called Jashne Mihragan, or the festival of sharing or love in Zoroastrianism. The September equinox was "New Year’s Day" in the French Republican Calendar, which was in use from 1793 to 1805. The French First Republic was proclaimed and the French monarchy was abolished on September 21, 1792, making the following day the equinox day that year, the first day of the "Republican Era" in France. The start of every year was to be determined by astronomical calculation, (that is: following the real Sun and not the mean Sun as all other calendars).

A folk tale claims that only on the March (Vernal) equinox day (some may add the September equinox day or may explicitly not), one can balance an egg on its point. However one can balance an egg on its point any day of the year if one has the patience.

For more on egg balancing: http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/errata/a/equinox_eggs.htm

Although the word "equinox" implies equal length of day and night, as is noted elsewhere, this is not true. For most locations on earth, there are two distinct identifiable days per year when the length of day and night are closest to being equal. Those days are commonly referred to as the "equiluxes" to distinguish them from the equinoxes. Equinoxes are points in time, but equiluxes are days. By convention, equiluxes are the days where sunrise and sunset are closest to being exactly 12 hours apart. This way, you can refer to a single date as being the equilux, when, in reality, it spans sunset on one day to sunset the next, or sunrise on one to sunrise the next

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/EarthSeasons.php


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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 White Crane Institute // In 1992 White Crane #15 looked at The Wild Man, Robert Bly and Gays

 

Today's Gay Wisdom
2017 -

In 1992 White Crane #15 looked at The Wild Man, Robert Bly and Gays, and included a spirited debate among Harry Hay, Mark Thompson, and Arthur Evans on the origins of the Faeries. J. Michael Clark issued a call to ecological reflection:

Toward A Gay Ecological Perspective: the Gay Experience and Ecology

One important theme in Gay liberation is the realization that we cannot wait for others to sanction our efforts in theology or spirituality. We must instead find our own prophetic voice and assume our own authority to speak in theology and spirituality. Ultimately, neither Gay men and Lesbians, nor Native Americans, nor the poor, nor any other oppressed people can afford to wait for an external conferral of authority to speak. Moreover, the shared nature of oppression means that as we create our own liberation, so also are we obliged to seek the liberation of other people, and of the Earth itself, from objectification, disvaluation and exploitation.

Gay spirituality and theology, borne out of our experience of oppression, can contribute something unique to ecological reflection. While we would not expect the so called deep ecologists and other straight male writers to include our particular perspective, it is surprising that the majority of feminist writers also do not include Gay/Lesbian oppression as part of their analysis of human and ecological oppression and exploitation. Even when women, African Americans, Native Americans and Third World [sic] peoples and their environments are acknowledged and examined, Gay men and Lesbians are consistently absent and invisible. The extension of rights to Blacks, to women, and in a limited extent to some endangered species and the environment, conveniently passes over certain groups which, therefore, remain disenfranchised — most Native Americans, the poor, the homeless, and Gay men and Lesbians. These groups of people are all too much of the biosphere as well as invisible, even to so-called liberals, and treated as disvalued and disposable.

According to deep ecology, human self-centeredness has led to environmental problems. According to feminism, masculine privilege and social structures have devalued and exploited both women and nature. A Gay perspective would insist that not only are women, nature and the Earth devalued, but our society, with its fear of diversity, disvalues anyone (Gays, Lesbians, Native Americans, the poor and homeless, etc.) and anything (the environment, the Earth) designated as “other.” What we see is not just a devaluing which leads to domination and exploitation, but a disvaluing which strips away all value leading to exclusion, to being disposable, to being acceptable for extinction. This insight is one unique contribution to ecology which Gay people can offer, Gay thinking must move beyond the issues of domination and exploitation to those of disvaluation, exclusion and expendability to radically celebrate diversity and the intrinsic value of all that is, the human, the biospheric, the geospheric. Gay people must work against the disvaluation and exclusion of self and world as disposable, worthless commodities in a society that disdains diversity and eliminates the unnecessary — that which has no utilitarian value.

As Gay men and Lesbians look out on our disposable society of planned obsolescence and throw-away consumerism, we cannot help but be aware of the growing trash heap, the over-burdened landfills, the industrially polluted water and the wastelands of deforestation. We are able to see out society throwing away our Earth, our home, because we are also aware of how often human beings themselves have been treated as disposable and expendable. Historically, African-Americans, Native Americans, the poor and the homeless, the physically and mentally challenged and virtually all Third World [sic] peoples have been treated as either expendable after use (in slavery or minimum wage work) or as totally useless.

In the history of our own community, never has our expendability been so evident as in the rising incidence of anti-Gay violence and in the AIDS health crisis. Our government continues to spend money in the pursuit of protocols and vaccines, while ouor politico-medical system drags its feet in regard to approving treatment protocols or to finding a cure. Gay men, IV-drug users, people of color, and Third World [sic] communities where AIDS rages heterosexually are still devalued and/or disvalued. Our expendability becomes an example of our society’s attitudes toward all the Eart. Hence, our Gay ecological perspective must adamantly oppose any disvaluation and exclusion that leads to dispensing with diversity and disposing of life. Neither Gay men and Lesbians, nor the biosphere, nor the geosphere, nor any of the great diversity which god/dess creates and delights in is expendable.

An ecological perspective will also address our own lives as Gay men and Lesbians. We must be held accountable whenever we accede to or cooperate with the forces of oppression, exploitation and expendability. We must challenge any Gay/Lesbian assimilation which mitigates our diversity. Gor Gay men in particular, we must also examine our socialization as men. We must discern how we as men have been conditioned to accept exploitation, disvaluation and expendability — worthlessness — in our lives. If the typical masculine socialization process of our society works against a compassionate, caring, empathy for nature, spiritual Gay men who escaped that socialization may be able to demonstrate, for all men, a male-embodied love and care for nature.

As we (re)confront the abuses that imperil the environment, we can begin to create a Gay ecology that discloses that our Gay and Lesbian existence is not only a mode of being-in-the-world, but also a way of being-with-the-world, as co-partners in the process of healing and liberation throughout the Earth. Granted, in some respects Gay men and Lesbians, as a larger community, may lag behind other groups in wrestling with ecological issues and environmental causes because our energies are so consumed with dealing with AIDS, homophobia and other forms of oppression. Even with our considerable in-house agenda, which absolutely must not be forsaken, groups such as the various faerie circles and Gays United Against Nuclear Arms have pursued ecological concerns, while individuals have worked within local neighborhood groups on similar issues. Developing a broader, ecological perspective can help us see the connection among all forms of oppression, exploitation and disvaluataion and can facilitate liaisons to confront all of these. Not through co-option, but through cooperation, working together to achieve liberation for all peoples and the Earth itself, will we find out own liberation achieved as well.

Michael Clark is the author of Beyond the Ghetto: Gay Theology in Ecological Perspective, Pilgrim Press 1993


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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 // "Waking Up to the Nature of Reality" with David Lewis

Our latest dharma talk is now available.

Here's a 60-second audio preview

(part of our "Dharma Wisdom Nuggets" series)

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What did the Buddha mean when he spoke of ignorance?

In this talk, David Lewis discusses the essence of mindfulness and the core principles of Buddhism, emphasizing direct experience over intellectual understanding. He explains that ignorance in Buddhism is not about a lack of information but rather the failure to see things clearly in the present moment. “Ignoring” the present reality and being caught up in thoughts can lead to suffering.

He discusses:

  • Perception and Misperception: David highlights that our perception is conditioned by our experiences, often leading to erroneous interpretations of reality. He uses the metaphor of blind men perceiving an elephant differently to illustrate how we can have differing understandings of the same phenomenon.
  • Insight and Ignorance: According to David, insight in Buddhism is not intellectual but a deeper, intuitive understanding that emerges from conscious awareness. It helps dissolve ignorance, which is the beginning of suffering.
  • The Three Characteristics of Existence:
    1. Impermanence (Anicca): Everything is in a state of change, and recognizing this helps us let go of attachments and fear of death or loss.
    2. Suffering (Dukkha): Often misunderstood as mere suffering, Dukkha refers to the inherent unsatisfactoriness and unreliability of life.
    3. Not-Self (Anatta): David discusses the concept of no-self, which challenges the idea of a permanent, unchanging self, promoting a deeper understanding of interconnectedness and letting go of ego-based clinging.

David emphasizes that these insights are tools for waking up to the nature of reality, leading to freedom from suffering. Meditation serves as a practice to cultivate awareness and wisdom, helping us to live in harmony with the true nature of things.

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You can watch or listen to the full talk on our website or YouTube:

Waking Up to the Nature of Reality – David Lewis | Gay Buddhist Fellowship

Waking Up to the Nature of Reality - David Lewis 2024-09-08 (youtube.com)

or listen on your favorite podcast player.