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Reposting from On being Notorious

 

My sacred place in HQ

One thing I do when I lay down and hold tight for the radiation treatment is saying the Buddhist Metta prayer. I use a simplified version of it to keep calm.

I begin with:

May all who laid here before me

Be Happy

May all who laid here before me

Be safe

May all who laid here before me

Be healthy

May all who laid here before me

Be free and at ease in all the worlds!

Then:

May I be happy

May I be safe

May I be healthy

May I be free and at ease in all the worlds!

Then: 

May all who come here after me

Be Happy

May all who come here after me

Be safe

May all who come here after me

Be healthy

May all who come here after me

Be free and at ease in all the worlds!

Today I am taking sides

 Today I am taking sides.

I am taking the side of Peace.

Peace, which I will not abandon

even when its voice is drowned out

by hurt and hatred,

bitterness of loss,

cries of right and wrong.

I am taking the side of Peace

whose name has barely been spoken

in this winnerless war.

I will hold Peace in my arms,

and share my body’s breath,

lest Peace be added

to the body count.

I will call for de-escalation

even when I want nothing more 

than to get even.

I will do it

in the service of Peace.

I will make a clearing

in the overgrown 

thicket of cause and effect

so Peace can breathe 

for a minute

and reach for the sky.

I will do what I must

to save the life of Peace.

I will breathe through tears.

I will swallow pride.

I will bite my tongue.

I will offer love

without testing for deservingness.

So don’t ask me to wave a flag today

unless it is the flag of Peace.

Don’t ask me to sing an anthem

unless it is a song of Peace.

Don’t ask me to take sides

unless it is the side of Peace.

Irwin Keller, Oct. 17, 2023

Reposting from Cari Jacobs-Crovetto

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Via White Crane Institute //

 

Today's Gay Wisdom 1618 - The Passionate Shepherd to His Love Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields. And we will sit upon rocks, Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks, By shallow rivers to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals. And I will make thee beds of roses And a thousand fragrant poises, A cap of flowers, and a kirtle Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle; A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull; Fair lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold; A belt of straw and ivy buds, With coral clasps and amber studs; And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me, and be my love. The shepherds's swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my love. Christopher Marlowe 1599 Raleigh’s Reply   If all the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherd's tongue, These pretty pleasures might me move To live with thee and be thy love.   Time drives the flocks from field to fold, When rivers rage and rocks grow cold; And Philomel becometh dumb; The rest complains of cares to come.   The flowers do fade, and wanton fields To wayward winter reckoning yields: A honey tongue, a heart of gall, Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall.   The gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses, Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten,— In folly ripe, in reason rotten.   Thy belt of straw and ivy buds, Thy coral clasps and amber studs, All these in me no means can move To come to thee and be thy love.   But could youth last and love still breed, Had joys no date nor age no need, Then these delights my mind might move To live with thee and be thy love. Sir Walter Raleigh, 1599

|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 Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation //

When you were a child, you were not taught about your Divine Self. Very few parents said, "When I look at you, I see God." What is transmitted from parent to child is all the love that can exist within the illusion, which itself is seeking the light. At every level of the illusion there must be a total honoring of your karma, at every plane. To parents, to religion, to country, to world, to mankind, to the Divine Mother - at every level there must be honor. You can't get away with bypassing any of it, you can't leave any loose ends or they'll turn into karmic anchors. - Ram Dass

Via Daily Dharma: Releasing Unhelpful Mind States

Releasing Unhelpful Mind States

Only through acknowledging and releasing blind emotions can I experience the inner unencumbered and harmonious being that is always present despite the suffering. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, “The Terror Within” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

 

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

 

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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 the awakening factor of equanimity is internally present, one is aware: “Equanimity is present for me.” When equanimity is not present, one is aware: “Equanimity is not present for me.” When the arising of unarisen equanimity occurs, one is aware of that. And when the development and fulfillment of the arisen awakening factor of equanimity 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 You will know equanimity is internally present when you feel your mind is in balance, tipping neither toward what is pleasant nor away from what is unpleasant. Normally the mind is lurching up and down, like a seesaw pushed and pulled by our desires. But it is possible to experience pleasure without being pulled into it and to experience pain without pushing it away. When the mind is attentive but not tilted, this is equanimity.  Daily Practice Become familiar with what equanimity feels like internally. Start with something simple, like a slight pain in your knee when you are sitting in meditation, and simply be aware of it as a sensation rather than as something to resist, resent, or wish away. Do the same with any slightly pleasant sensation, such as in parts of your body that feel comfortable when you sit. Learn to simply observe these sensations as phenomena, with equanimity. 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 as a result of equanimity. The concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability. (MN 4) 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.

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Via Be Here Now Network //

 

A Network of Mindfulness & Spirituality Podcasts     Thank you for listening to our podcasts every week! We truly appreciate your support. Here are the episodes that went out this week. Listen now to our most recent episodes! View this email in your web browser. Raghu Markus – Mindrolling – Ep. 514 – The Four Yugas with David Silver October 27, 2023 “If you couple the Yugas with the dynamic of reincarnation, you can see redemption for the chains from this incarnation, this sheath, to another... Listen Now

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States

 

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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 healthy states, 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 awakening factor of equanimity. (MN 141)

Reflection The mind is constantly changing, and every moment is different from every other. Still, there are some mental and emotional states that are good for us and we want to sustain, and others we are better off abandoning. We cannot always rely on the healthy states to naturally persist once they occur, and it is a skillful use of effort to work to maintain them. Doing so will incline the mind steadily in the direction of greater health.  Daily Practice When you find yourself feeling generous, look for ways to maintain that attitude of generosity by additional thoughts and acts of generosity. When you notice kindness or compassion arising in your experience, recognize it as healthy and see how you can nurture the emotion so it lingers in your mind a bit longer. At every opportunity, find ways to encourage your best qualities to continue once they have arisen. 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.

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Via Daily Dharma: The Practitioner’s Koan

Respond to Life with Wisdom

Our task as practitioners is to bring the teachings to life in a personal way. No one can tell us how to do it. This is the practitioner’s koan—the open question. Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, “The Power of an Open Question” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE