Via Daily Dharma: Trust Your Compassionate Intentions

When a compassionate intention arises, don’t evaluate it. Trust it. Just do it.

—Colin Beavan, “Intuitive Action”

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Via Daily Dharma: How to Benefit from Unavoidable Suffering

Suffering can be our greatest source of transformation. The dharma teachings show us how to use all the stuff of life—particularly those unavoidable experiences of pain, loss, and suffering—as fodder for awakening.

—Carolyn Gregoire, “Buddhist Thank-You Cards”

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Via Daily Dharma: The Dharma of Our Hearts

There’s a level where this dharma is just human dharma—it doesn’t have any special language. It’s just about our hearts—whether they’re suffering or not, and how they can bind or how they can open.

—Interview with Ayya Tathaaloka and Thubten Chodron, “The Whole of the Spiritual Life”

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Via Daily Dharma: Choosing the Present Moment

The present moment is not defined solely by letting go of past and future, nor by accepting and appreciating what arises right now, but by choosing in this very moment how we make sense of the world.

—Jack Petranker, “The Present Moment”

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Via Daily Dharma: Expressing Your Needs without Clinging

Expressing my needs, without making them into demands, can be as much a path to growth as letting them go. Needs aren’t the problem; it is rigidly clinging to a particular strategy to meet them that produces suffering.

—Katy Butler, “Say It Right”

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Aditya Hridayam Punyam Sarva Shatru Vinashanam

“Loosely translated, it means, ‘As for the being who keeps the sun in the heart, all evil vanishes for life.’ That is, when you remember the Atman, the Buddha, the place in your heart, the being, the inner guru, the light that comes from your own heart, then you no longer live with that which takes people from God, because all you see is God and that which brings you to it. When you do this mantra sometimes, you sit in front of the sun, and you let the sun come into your heart until the warmth in your heart becomes like a thousand suns and the light pours out from you.” 

– Ram Dass 

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Via Daily Dharma: Learning Buddhism

When we become fundamentally aware of the mind’s incessant need to reify experience into fixed categories that are convenient to the self, then we are learning Buddhism.

—Victor Hori, “Sweet and Sour Buddhism”

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Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - October 23, 2019 💌

"Open and stay centered. If you remain centered, your calm presence helps to free all those around you. Go inside yourself to that quiet place where you are wisdom. Wisdom has in it compassion. Compassion understands about life and death. The answer to dying is to be present in the moment."

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Resting Comfortably with Emotions

Instead of either controlling or sequestering our feelings, we can learn to both contain and feel them fully. That containment allows us to feel vulnerable or hurt without immediately erupting into anger; it allows us to feel neediness without clinging to the other person. We acknowledge our dependency.

—Barry Magid, “No Gain”

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'Compassion, Truth and Adversity' with Ram Dass and Sharon Salzberg

There’s no doubt that we all have adversity, and these days it’s even more obvious in our very difficult world. In this new film, Compassion, Truth and Adversity, Ram Dass and Sharon Salzberg pinpoint the ways in which we can transform our adversity, by being honest with ourselves, and compassionate and truthful with others. This film and all other offerings on RamDass.org are only possible with the support of friends like you. Please consider a donation of any amount before, during or after the event, which will allow Ram Dass' Love Serve Foundation to continue to present more projects like this and to help him share these transformational teachings with current and future generations. 

Donate Here: http://goo.gl/d3a8JT

Via Ram Dass / Metta Meditation... from the Heart

First thing is to acknowledge what you’re feeling: “My heart is closed.”

I’ll tell you there are numerous practices for this, and you have to find one that’s comfortable for you. For example, I work a lot with my breath, and I breathe in and out of my heart, and when I’m breathing out in my heart, I allowed whatever love I can muster for anything to be offered to people, to beings around me, and when I’m breathing in, I’m taking the existence of the universe into myself, and I keep feeling this breath going back and forth, and the breathing out is, “May all beings be free of suffering, may all beings be peaceful, may all beings be happy,” and I say:

“Hard-hearted though I am, and closed hearted though I am, I am going to use my energies to the extent that my mind and my heart can do it for the benefit of others. I’m gonna wish them well.

 - Ram Dass

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Via Daily Dharma: An Interconnected Experience

Our experience is not primarily that of a separate consciousness trapped in its head; rather, when we look out at a sunset, we experience ourselves out-there, at the sunset.

—Matthew Abrahams, “A More Human Nature”

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Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - October 20, 2019 💌

"Wherever you are, be it at the beginning of the journey, well on your way, or resting comfortably at some height, you must acknowledge where you are. That is the key to further growth. You should keep some perspective about the entire journey, so that you will not sink into complacency – feeling you have finished the journey when you have not even begun to approach liberation."

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Every Moment Is Significant

Life is mostly about mundane experiences. When you start thinking that only your most thrilling experiences are significant, you have already lost the most precious thing in life, the ability to fully immerse yourself in every experience.

—Brad Warner, “It’s the Journey, Not the Trip”

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Via This Day in Gay History : Divine

1945 -

DIVINE, American actor born (ne Glenn Milstead) (d. 1988); best known for his drag persona, Divine. In the 1970s, Milstead starred as Divine in a number of New York City theater pieces, including Tom Eyen’s classic camp women's prison drama, Women Behind Bars, which was a major off-Broadway hit in 1976, playing the lead role of the evil matron, Pauline. Divine returned to the stage in another Tom Eyen off-Broadway play, The Neon Woman, where he played the role of Flash Storm, the owner of a sleazy strip club plagued by a series of murders.

Eyen's play was loosely based on famed burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee's book, "The G-String Murders". He appeared with the Cockettes in San Francisco. After their New York bomb, the Cockettes came back to San Francisco and performed their final show in the summer of 1972, "Journey to the Center of Uranus." Divine, joined the group, in her San Francisco debut, performing her song "The Crab at the Center of Uranus" dressed as a lobster.

Milstead starred in a number of films and was part of the regular cast known as the Dreamlanders. The Dreamlanders appeared in many of John Waters' earlier works such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, and Hairspray.

In 1985 Milstead appeared opposite Tab Hunter in their hit Lust in the Dust, repeating their successful pairing in Polyester. He is also remembered as a major character in the documentary homage Divine Trash by Steve Yeager, covering the life and work of John Waters.

In 1988, the British film The Fruit Machine, also known as Wonderland in the United States, used Milstead's songs in a nightclub disco dance sequence that showcased an early Robbie Coltrane in drag as "Annabelle", the club's owner (a cross between Divine and Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz).

Late in his career, Milstead also played in non-drag roles in his last three films: Trouble in Mind, Hairspray, and Out of the Dark. In Hairspray he played two roles, one male and one female (which he had first done in the earlier Female Trouble).

Here’s what Divine had to say about his “Edna Turnblad” (and honey...he ain’t no John Travolta!):

“For all those people who always thought I was nothing more than a drag queen, wait until they see what I agreed to look like in Hairspray! Drag queens are supposed to be hung up on glamooouur. Meanwhile, on my first day on location, I came out as Edna Turnblad--in my flip-flops and hideous housedress, with varicose veins drawn on my nubble-shaved legs and everything that is wrong with me accentuated, schlepping along in these pin curls and barely any makeup--and I walked right by the crew. Just kept going. Not one person on the set recognized me or even noticed me, because I looked like half the women in Baltimore. I had to go up to John and stand face-front for him to realize who I was. He was thrilled. I was crushed.”

Divine was the inspiration for the design of Ursula the Sea-Witch in the Disney classic The Little Mermaid.

Via Daily Dharma: Discovering Truth

Grief can lead us to a profound understanding that reaches beyond our individual loss. It opens us to the most essential truth of our lives: the truth of impermanence, the causes of suffering, and the illusion of separateness.

—Mark Matousek, “A Splinter of Love”

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Via Ram Dass

Maharajji said, “The best form in which to worship God is all forms.” Everyone you meet is Ram who has come to teach you something. Mantra is remembering that place in the heart – Ram, Ram, Ram. Say it, mouth it, think it, feel it in your heart. You are continually meeting and merging into perfection.

- Ram Dass

Via Daily Dharma: How to Hold Your Mind Open

Thoughts are endless, and they rush in to fill the yawning well of awareness. But one might learn to hold that space open, with practice. It may not stay empty—but one can choose what to let in.

—Jeff Greenwald, “The Great Indoors”

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Via Daily Dharma: What Questions about the Self Really Matter?

Puzzling over the metaphysics of the self, the Buddha said, pulls us away from what really matters, and from posing the question about ourselves that really matters: what can I do, right now, that will lead to lasting well-being and happiness?

—Mary Talbot, “Saving Vacchagotta”

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Via Utne / Entangled by the World

Photo by Getty Images/Aydinmutlu

“Wisdom seems to sprout from the most unusual places and in the most unexpected moments.” 

“If you want to find your way, you must become lost. Generously so.” I asked, “How does one become lost?” He replied, “Shall I turn you into a goat?” 

The fire hissed softly as another piece of coal collapsed into white ash, overcome by the steadying flames. Still African to my bones, and quite used to warmer climates, I was grateful for the heat the juvenile bonfire emitted. But even its heat was no match for the wintry sternness and eeriness of the ‘Wodge,’ Schumacher’s Forest School site in Northwoods, Dartington. Except for the amber glow that danced uneasily across the faces of the cohorts in the circle, the whole place was dark and silent, with only tall proud trees and the bits of sky that fell through their interconnecting branches that bore witness to this hushed ring of seekers.

Fire. Witnessing trees. A desperate chill. And a whiff of collective madness. These were the elements that ordained this mysterious circle of 17 persons.

Manish signalled to me that it was time, so I went first — not before telling the group that one of the edges we had to explore in the days ahead was disgust, and how the things we feel repulsed by hold clues about the kinds of social-material frameworks we already inhabit. I then sat on a log of wood, raised my head to meet Manish’s gaze, and held out my hands as one would do when making supplication to the gods above. For what I was about to receive in return for my prayerful gesture, the moment was thick with perverse irony. Clad in a camo winter jacket, awkward head gear, and a blanket-scarf, Manish stirred the contents of the white ceramic bowl with his fingers, scooped up a generous amount, and pressed it on my face — covering my forehead, my cheeks, my chin, and nose with the stuff. He asked the circle to make a clicking sound with their tongues as I — and others after me — received this blessing. This anointing of sorts. I closed my eyes as the cold grimy mixture kissed my skin. When he was done, he placed a huge lump of the stuff between my cupped palms.

It was cow shit. Glorious cow shit. Green, brown, wild, and overpoweringly alive. We had obtained a fresh bucketful a farm away, mixed it with neem leaves and the spirit of a bonfire. Now it was on my face, like bees on a jar of honey. I stood up and retook my place in the circle. An hour or so later, we were all covered in shit (except two students who opted out for personal reasons), our faces a mishmash of toothy grins and green grime. The jokes came easy (“This is some good shit!” “We are having a bit of a shit-uation here!”) and then we shared stories and wise sayings in the womb of the forest as the shit dried up and stiffened our faces, so that many of us could hardly talk. I looked around, taking in all the faces: given that we had advertised that session as a “cow dung ritual,” it was amazing to me that everyone showed up. I had expected the students to scoff at some of the other processes we had earmarked for the week — “Death Walk,” “Powerful Questions,” “Composting Ourselves,” “Shop of the Open Heart” — but that didn’t happen.

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Via Lion´s Roar / Extinction Rebellion activist Mark Ovland on bringing climate activism & Buddhism together

Mark Ovland (center) at an Extinction Rebellion protest in November 2018. Photo by Steve Eason.

Buddhadharma editor Tynette Deveaux talks to Buddhist Extinction Rebellion (XR) activist Mark Ovland about his decision to join the XR movement and why he feels it’s aligned with the dharma.

Mark Ovland left behind his Buddhist teacher training earlier this year to join the Extinction Rebellion (XR) movement as a climate activist. Monday, October 7 marked the beginning of a two-week campaign of action by XR in 60 cities around the world, and I spoke to Ovland just days before the protests began.

When we spoke, police were preparing to raid the XR warehouse in London, where the group was storing equipment for their demonstrations. Ovland said police had blocked every road out, and were arresting anyone trying to get things out of the warehouse, including solar panels, portable toilets, and kitchen equipment.

Police used a battering ram to break into the building after activists barricaded themselves inside, and 10 people were arrested for “suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance.” Hours after the raid on the XR warehouse, the group says it received £45,000 from the public to replace items confiscated by police. Nearly 300 people were arrested in London during Monday’s protests.

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Via Words of Wisdom - October 16, 2019 💌

The sooner one develops compassion on this journey, the better. Compassion lets us appreciate that each individual is doing what he or she must do, and that there is no reason to judge another person or oneself. You merely do what you can to further your own awakening.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Gifts at the End of Life

The end of life often offers rare opportunities to affirm and deepen our highest human values—reconciling conflicts, sharing forgiveness and gratitude, deepening a sense of loving intimacy, and rising above our myopic experience of ourselves, our lives, and the world.

—Joseph Loizzo, “So the Darkness Shall Be the Light”

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Via Daily Dharma: Sitting with Vulnerability

By putting things in a bigger context, [we are] able to enter a whole realm of practice—learning to stay with the rawness or vulnerability of being human.

—Pema Chödrön, “On Not Losing Heart”

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Via Daily Dharma: Offer Yourself a Comfortable Refuge

Any diligent practice of watchfulness, including meditation, requires routine and rhythm. During meditation, when we offer the body a familiar seat and comfortable environment, we create a refuge in which we can better discern and understand what’s going on in our constantly shifting private landscape.

—Lauren Krauze, “A Watchfulness Routine for Writing”

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Via ADAM & ANDY

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Via Daily Dharma: Seeking Wiser Motivation

When we wake up to how human life on this planet actually is, and stop running away or building walls in our heart, then we develop a wiser motivation for our life.

—Ajahn Sucitto, “From Turning the Wheel of Truth: Commentary on the Buddha’s First Teaching”

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Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - October 13, 2019 💌

It’s a little more like the image of a caterpillar - enclosing itself in a cocoon in order to go through the metamorphosis to emerge as a butterfly.

The caterpillar doesn’t say, “Well now. I’m going to climb into this cocoon and come out a butterfly.” It’s just an inevitable process.

It’s inevitable.

It’s just happening.

It’s got to happen that way.

from Be Here Now

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Can You Change Your Relationship to Your Life?

There’s no question that hard and difficult things happen to us. The question is, what is our reaction to it? What is our relationship to what happens? The Buddhist teachings are both revolutionary and simple in that they attempt to change our relationship to our life experience, whatever that is.

—Larry Rosenberg, “The Weather Is Just the Weather”

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Via Daily Dharma: Celebrate Who You Are

Life is given to us for free. How can we repay such a gift except with the fullness of our own life?

—Caitriona Reed, “Coming Out Whole”

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Via Daily Dharma: The Salve of Self-Compassion

Self-blame is an internalized second aggressor that can victimize us long after external damage is done. Self-compassion is like applying first aid to a wound and is the necessary first step to any process of healing.

—Miles Neale, “How to Heal After Your Teacher Crosses the Line”

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Via Lion's Roar / Happiness in Every Breath by Thich Nhat Hanh

When we stop feeding our cravings, says Thich Nhat Hanh, we discover that we already have everything we need to be happy.

The human mind is always searching for possessions and never feels fulfilled. This causes impure actions ever to increase. Bodhisattvas, however, always remember the principle of having few desires. They live a simple life in peace in order to practice the Way and consider the realization of perfect understanding as their only career.
—The Sutra on the Eight Realizations of the Great Beings

The Buddha said that craving is like holding a torch against the wind; the fire will burn you. When someone is thirsty and drinks only salty water, the more he drinks, the thirstier he becomes. If we run after money, for example, we think that a certain amount of money will make us happy. But once we have that amount, it’s not enough; we think we need more. There are people who have a lot of money, but they are not happy at all. The Buddha said that the object of our craving is like a bone without flesh. A dog can chew and chew on that bone and never feel satisfied.

We all experience moments when we feel lonely, sad, empty, frustrated, or afraid. We fill up our feelings with a movie or a sandwich. We buy things to suppress our pain, despair, anger, and depression. We find a way to consume, in the hopes that it will obliterate the feelings. Even if a TV show isn’t interesting, we still watch it. We think anything is better than experiencing the malaise, the ill-being in us. We have lost sight of the reality that we already have all the conditions we need for our own happiness.

Each of us has our own idea of happiness. It’s because of this idea that we run after objects we desire. We sacrifice our time and, to a certain extent, destroy our bodies and our minds. According to the Buddha, happiness is simple—if we go home to the present moment, we realize that we have more than enough to be happy right here and now. All the wonders of life are in us and around us. This realization can help us release our craving, anger, and fear.

The more we consume, the more we bring in the toxins that feed our craving, anger, and ignorance. We need to do two things to return to mindful awareness. First, we can look deeply into the nutriment that is feeding our craving, examining the source. No animal or plant can survive without food. Our craving, just like our love or our suffering, also needs food to survive. If our craving refuses to go away, it’s because we keep feeding it daily. Once we have identified what feeds our craving, we can cut off this source of nutriment, and our craving will wither.

The second practice is mindful consumption. When we end our consumption of things that feed our craving, ignorance, and wrong perceptions, we can be nourished by the many wonderful things around us. Understanding and compassion are born. Joy in the present moment becomes possible. We have a chance to transform our own suffering.

The Four Nutriments

The Buddha spoke of four kinds of nutriments, the four kinds of foods that we consume every day. Our happiness and suffering depend very much on whether what we consume is wholesome or unwholesome.

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Via Daily Dharma: Becoming the Stream

Meditation is not just a rest or retreat from the turmoil of the stream or the impurity of the world. It is a way of being the stream, so that one can be at home in both the white water and the eddies.

—Gary Snyder, “Just One Breath”

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Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - October 9, 2019 💌

"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 -

ViaWhite Crane Institute / Today's Gay Wisdom

Reverend Nancy Wilson

"In such a toxic environment, the poor, the minorities, and the politically vulnerable populations will be the first to exhibit signs and symptoms of the deteriorating immunological picture. It is the canary-in-the-mines syndrome. When miners wanted to know if a particular mineshaft was safe from poisonous gases, they sent a canary in first. If the canary returned, the miners felt safe to go in. On our planet today, poor people, people of color, women and children, and gays and lesbians are the canaries (or sitting ducks if you prefer). Those who have any kind of privilege (gender, race, class, sexuality, age) are better able, for a time, to buffer and insulate themselves from the toxic environment — from AIDS, cancer, and other diseases. But not forever.

"There is also a moral and religious toxicity in reaction to so much upheaval, change, and worldwide political challenges. This phenomenon is called in many religions fundamentalism. In a century of increasing relativity in values, morality, and religion, fundamentalism provides absolutes and identifies the enemies. It is a kind of collective mental illness that includes obsessive thinking, tunnel vision, and functions much like other addictions." 

- Rev. Nancy Wilson, Our Tribe: Queer Folks, God, Jesus and the Bible

 

CHOIR sings OM SO HUM Mantra (Must Listen)

OM SO HUM MANTRA with EPIC CHOIR @ 432Hz' Get MP3 of this Track : https://gum.co/HbHsK 

So Hum is derived from Sanskrit and literally means "I am That" . it means identifying oneself with the universe or ultimate reality. As we meditate on this, we realize that we are all one, we have all come from one Infinite Source, and a part (Ansh) of that infinite source is present in all of us. We are all connected. "You are the same as I am" 

OM is the sound of universe. Om Soham ~ I am the universe, I am part of it, I am connected to that Infinite source, Understand ~ Meditate ~ Chant ~ Sing Along this beautiful Mantra

Via Daily Dharma: It’s Okay to Have Faults

There is no need to be afraid of having faults, because knowing we have them can help us to improve. If you considered yourself perfect, would you still want to meditate and cultivate your practice?

—Master Sheng-Yen, “How to Be Faultless”

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Via Tricycle: Architecture of Awakening

“Architecture creates a place to rest. To learn. To think. To grow. To connect,” he wrote. “It nurtures us, helps us to be better people.”

Anthony Poon wasn’t looking for a teacher or a spiritual practice in 2008 when he received a call from an old friend. The Tibetan Buddhist community at the Bodhi Path retreat center in Natural Bridge, Virginia, had some building projects in mind, and she wondered if that would interest him.

Friendship aside, Poon was not an obvious choice. An architect with degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, he has over three hundred projects to his name and a slew of prestigious awards, including, in 2018, the American Institute of Architects’ highest accolade, the National Design Award for Best in Housing Design. Poon Design, based in Los Angeles, is known for elegant, modernist designs for luxury residences, upscale restaurants, and cutting-edge commercial, educational, and cultural facilities. Though Poon’s portfolio contains several churches and a chapel for Air Force retirees, at the time of his friend’s phone call he had never been inside a Buddhist center.

To read the full article and more click here

Via Daily Dharma: Making Our Own Peace

Forgiveness is really not about someone’s harmful behavior; it’s about our own relationship with our past. When we begin the work of forgiveness, it is primarily a practice for ourselves.

—Gina Sharpe, “The Power of Forgiveness”

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Via Faithful in America: Father James Martin

Dear Faithful America member,

On Monday, Pope Francis met privately with Father James Martin, an outspoken advocate for pro-LGBTQ ministries within the Catholic Church. The meeting was a clear and welcome papal rebuke of the anti-LGBTQ criticism Martin has received from American bishops.

In September, notorious conservative Archbishop Charles Chaput condemned Martin's work in Philadelphia's diocesan newspaper. Chaput even wrote that Martin should never say "the Church welcomes gay people" without giving a list of conditions.

Jesus did not give conditions when he commanded us to love our neighbors -- but to make matters worse, bishops in Knoxville, TN, and Springfield, IL, piled on, calling Martin's pro-LGBTQ ministry full of "moral errors" and "deeply scandalous."

Not only is Martin's ministry supported by the Vatican, he's doing right by LGBTQ persons whom the church has long treated like outsiders. Each and every human being is created in the image of God, and James Martin needs to know that his work spreading that vital message is appreciated in spite of the bishops' attacks.

Add your name to thank Fr. Jim Martin, SJ, for his support for LGBTQ Christians >>

Thanks for everything you do to love your neighbor and fight discrimination!

In peace,

- Jason, Rev. Nathan, and the Faithful America team

P.S. Faithful America depends on the support of members like you to continue mobilizing Christians to challenge the religious right and its dangerous alliance with Donald Trump. Can you chip in to support this urgent work?

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Faithful America is the largest online community of Christians putting faith into action for social justice. We can be reached through traditional mail at Faithful America, 206 Elm Street, Box # 202898, New Haven, CT 06520-2898. If you are receiving this message, it is likely because your email address was used either to sign one of our petitions or join via our homepage, faithfulamerica.org. We only want to contact people interested in receiving our emails, so while we hope you'll stick around and take action, you can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - October 6, 2019 💌

"When somebody is hungry you give them food. As my guru said, 'God comes to the hungry person in the form of food.' You give them food and then when they’ve had their belly filled, then they may be interested in questions about God. "

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Turn Meditation into Action

Don’t confuse training with trying: Meditation to develop compassion is not actually being compassionate to others. If you want to weaken your self-centeredness, go on and meditate, but don’t stop there. Take compassionate action.

—Sallie Tisdale, “Self-Care for Future Corpses”

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Via FB:

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

Via Daily Dharma: What Is the Nature of Your Mind?

You don’t have to believe anything. Just understand your mind; how it works, how attachment and desire arise, how ignorance arises, and where emotions come from. It is sufficient to know the nature of all that; that alone can bring you happiness and peace.

—Lama Thubten Yeshe, “Your Mind Is Your Religion”

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Via Daily Dharma: How to Appreciate Just Being

It is precisely our recognition of life’s inevitable hardships, along with our uprooting of the attachment that exacerbates them, that allows us to appreciate the mere fact of being.

—Reverend Patti Nakai, “Someone Is Jealous of You”

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Via Daily Dharma: Unclench Your Fist

The cultivation of liberation and compassion go together like the front and back of an open hand. Clinging, attachment and mental bondage are like clenching the hand into a fist. When the fist is opened, liberation and compassion are both there.

—Gil Fronsdal, “Why I Walk Two Paths”

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Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - October 2, 2019 💌

"Don’t get caught in righteousness; don’t get caught in helping somebody. It doesn’t mean don’t help them, just don’t get caught in it… If you really want to help somebody, instead of just ripping off the experience of helping them for yourself, give up helping anybody. And then just be with them and see what happens."

- Ram Dass - 

Via Daily Dharma: Mending the True Problem

If your car is broken, you don’t try to find ways to repaint its chassis; most of our problems—and therefore our solutions, our peace of mind—lie within.

—Pico Iyer, “Adventures in Going Nowhere”

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