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WHAT THE BUDDHA SAID ABOUT DIET AND CLOTHING

5/31/2019

Practitioners who do not wear silk, leather boots, furs, or down, or consume milk, cream, or butter can truly transcend this world. When they have experienced the consequences of their previous acts, they will not have to re-enter the Triple Realm. […]Both physically and mentally one must avoid the bodies and the by-products of living beings, by neither wearing them nor eating them. I say that such people have true liberation.
What I have said here is the teaching of the Buddhas. Any explanation counter to it is
the teaching of demons.

—Buddha Shakyamuni, Surangama Sutra 6:27-29

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

5/31/2019

If a person commits many offenses and does not repent of them, but cuts off all thought of repentance, the offenses will engulf him, just as water returning to the sea will gradually become deeper and wider. If a person commits offenses and, realizing they are wrong, reforms and does good, the offenses will dissolve by themselves, just as a feverish person who begins to perspire will gradually be cured. —Buddha

WHY I CHANT OM AS A REGULAR PART OF MY MEDITATION PRACTICE

5/30/2019

If you want to find the secrets of the universe,

think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration*.
- Nikola Tesla

According to Vedic tradition chanting OM delivers a wide variety of benefits, many of them increasingly confirmed by scientific studies. Here are ten benefits of Chanting OM

Chanting OM harmonizes our vibration with the vibration of the universe. The planet and the entire universe vibrate and the sound that can be detected both deep in the earth and far in outer space is a hum, the sound of OM.
Chanting OM is the fastest, most direct way to still the mind and reduce the incessant chatter of thoughts going on.
Chanting OM unifies a group in meditation. People may not know each other but the heart "knows" and, in a group, heart beats synchronize when OM is chanted.
Chanting OM brings a sense of peace, balance, tranquility, harmony, love, feelings of gratitude, abundance, compassion.
Chanting OM shifts us from the lower self to the Higher Self; from the human self to the Divine Self.
Chanting OM opens us up for going deeper and deeper into our own inherent silence.
Chanting OM integrates and uifies the various levels, aspects of our personality.
Chanting OM promotes deep breathing thereby stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, the one which creates calm and ease.
Chanting OM increases the flow of oxygen in the blood promoting a healthier body.
Chanting OM tones the nervous system, clears blockages and revitalizes body, mind and spirit.

HERE'S A DISTURBING QUESTION ABOUT A 'LOVING' GOD

5/30/2019

Unfortunately, this morning, my cat captured and killed a small bird before I could attempt to rescue the small creature.

Attending a Christian church as a youth, I was taught repeatedly that a loving God is the source of our beautiful creation.

There are many hymns about this including one (All Things Bright and Beautiful) which speaks of beautiful animals - great and small God made them all..."

Here's the philosophical and theological question about a loving God and his creation which I've been puzzled by: "What kind of loving God creates a world where beings have to kill and eat each other to survive"?

I've been disturbed by the very logical question - why did a loving God create a world where that has to happen - birds kill and eat worms; cats kill and eat birds; coyotes kill and eat cats, etc., all the way up the food chain to humans who kill and eat other animals.

Truly, this does not seem to be a loving act at all, especially for creatures lower on the food chain.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

5/30/2019

If one is not greedy for material things, then one's spiritual life can rise to a higher level.
- Hsing Yun

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

5/29/2019

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again. - Buddha

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

5/28/2019

No matter to what culture we belong, the advice to avoid bad friends and keep the company of good ones is universal...for the good reason that the company we keep has a profound effect on us. The influence of good friends will help us get rid of physical, verbal and mental faults and overcome hindrances. - Khenpo Sonam Rinpoche

"MY STUPIDITY MAKES THE WORLD HAPPIER!" - A BUDDHIST MONK LAUGHS AT HIS MISTAKES

5/28/2019

Ajahn Brahm is Spiritual Director of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. His initial training as a monk took place in northeast Thailand under the supervision of the renowned meditation teacher Ajahn Chah. When Brahm arrived in Thailand from England, he spoke no Thai but was required to use the language immediately at the monastery. It meant he had to learn "on the job".

One day he needed some soap so he asked the teacher. The Thai word for soap is saboo but he said sapo, which means "pineapple". Ajahn Chah asked Brahm "why do you need a pineapple?" Brahm answered "to wash with!" Ajahn Chah laughed hysterically and for days told visitors to the monastery that "Westerners wash with pineapples. They're such an advanced culture!"

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

5/27/2019

No matter where you stay, be it a busy place or a solitary retreat, you only need to conquer your mind’s five poisons (attachment, aversion, indifference, jealousy, and pride), and your own true enemies, the eight worldly concerns (pleasure and pain, gain and loss, fame and infamy, praise and censure) —nothing else. - Chatral Rinpoche

ONE THIRD OF ALL CHURCHES IN CANADA WILL CLOSE OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS

5/26/2019

There's now another dramatic indicator that Christianity is losing it's hold in the West. According to the National Trust for Canada, low numbers of people making up congregations, combined with the high repair costs for old churches, is driving up to 9,000 of the churches in Canada to close in the coming ten years. That is nearly one-third of all churches in the country.

As in the United States, more and more people are migrating away from traditional Christianity opting to be "spiritual but not religious" (SBNR).. That group is finding their spirituality and community in yoga classes, meditation groups or increasing looking at Buddhist, Vedic and Taoist traditions for their spiritual focus.

( Read more here: https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/secularization-canada-set-shut-third-churches )

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Victor M. Parachin ...is a

Vedic educator, yoga instructor, meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore.

Victor M. Parachin ...is a

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