.....For Izzy's purple party
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Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
- 20:28 at The Buddhist House for Amida Ministry Team meetings #
- 21:17 hot chocolate in bed - the luxury #
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The great Indian teacher Nisargadatta Maharaj once said, "Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my life flows." "I am nothing" does not mean that there is a bleak wasteland within. It does mean that with awareness we open to a clear, unimpeded space, without center or periphery - nothing separate. If we are nothing, there is nothing at all to serve as a barrier to our boundless expression of love. Being nothing in this way, we are also, inevitably, everything. "Everything" does not mean self-aggrandizement, but a decisive recognition of interconnection; we are not separate. Both the clear, open space of "nothing" and the interconnectedness of "everything" awaken us to our true nature. This is the truth we contact when we meditate, a sense of unity beyond suffering. It is always present; we merely need to be able to access it.
~ Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness
..at the Buddhist House late afternoon after a long journey involving a diversion as the A1 was closed by a horrible accident. (Cynthia SatNav - on my BlackBerry - was a great boon as the police hadn't marked all the diversionary route out, that not being a priority one can imagine, and I was on foreign-to-me roads) Sudana has been an excellent Guest Master. And I've met the gorgeous Buddhist Baby, Jake - 9 months old and the son of Amida Chaplain, Mudita....I'm in love! Now for an early night before our day of Ministry Team meeting.
Vox Member since Jun 22, 2006
No idea how many posts in that time
Update - silly me - 1347 posts
Devotion, scholarship, and meditation can all be empty rituals, and whether these devotional acts or any other practices are in fact Dharma depends solely upon one's motivation. . . . Our initial attempts at spiritual practice tend to be very self-conscious. We want to overcome the distortions of our minds and cultivate such wholesome qualities as kindness, insight, mindfulness, and concentration; but as we engage in practices designed to cultivate these, at first they appear to be only mental exercises. Dharma seems separate, something adopted from outside. But as we go deeper into the practice, this sense of separation begins to disappear; our minds become the very Dharma we seek to cultivate.
~ B. Alan Wallace, Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up
The core of Dharma practice is freeing oneself from the attachments of this life. It focuses on the deeper issue of gaining complete release from discontent by means of freeing our minds from the afflictions of confusion, attachment, and anger. In a broader sense, Dharma practice is concerned with serving others, in terms of both their temporary and ultimate needs. Does this mean that one who is committed to Dharma suddenly renounces all worldly enjoyments - no more vacations, no entertainment, no sensory pleasures? No. If one tries that approach it usually results in spiritual burnout; and the common rebound is equally extreme sensual indulgence. For this reason, the practice of Buddhist Dharma is often called the Middle Way because it seeks to avoid the extremes of sensual indulgence and severe asceticism. The former leads to perpetual dissatisfaction and the latter damages one's physical and mental health.... The Middle Way is a sensitive exertion of effort that is neither lax nor aggressive, and from this practice there ultimately arises an increasing satisfaction and delight in virtuous activity that is a result of our spiritual transformation.
~ B. Alan Wallace, Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up
While we may concentrate on one particular aspect of the path at a time, it is important to have an overall balance between the different aspects. Meditation should progress hand in hand with study, without either one being neglected. Having cleared away doubts intellectually, we should integrate our understanding with the experience of meditation. In this way our practice will be balanced and complete.
~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama, A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night
- 16:44 yes, yes, YES - it took 4 hours+ but the Blackberry is up and running, sending and receiving email - phew #
- 08:49 very disturbed night - missing cat for whom had searched what seemed like (but obviously wasn't) whole house twice turned up in early hours #
- 10:56 considering MBT shoes #
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