Those who harm animals, either in competitive sports or in transportation, make evil karma. - Ledi Sayadaw
When King Kosala’s wife, Queen Mallika gave birth to a daughter, the King expressed disappointment to the Buddha that the birth was not that of a son. The Buddha’s advice to the King reveals the high regard with which he regarded women as he reminded the King that a female child was well able to become a better offspring than a male. Therefore, he advised the King to care for her kindly offering her the same love and devotion he would give to a son. The Buddha’s attitude toward women as demonstrated in this encounter was both bold and radical. At the time women were considered to be inferior to men and, as a result, treated disrespectfully.
While all religions and cultures have exhibited negative attitudes toward women, “Buddhism can certainly claim to have the least discriminatory attitudes against women,” says the Venerable Dr. K Sri Dhammananda. “ There is not the slightest doubt that the Buddha was the first religious teacher who had given women equal and unfettered opportunities in the field of spiritual development. The Buddha had opened the gates for the full participation of women in the field of religion by making them eligible for admission to what was known as the Bhikkuni Sangha - the Order of Nuns - which truly opened to women new avenues of culture and social service and ample opportunities for public life. This had brought them to a recognition of their importance to society and greatly enhanced the status of women.” Historically, women played an important role in the expansion of early Buddhism. Famous early women Buddhists included Bhadda, a powerful debater and teacher renown for her memory of previous lives; Visakha, a wealthy patroness and benefactor of the sangha; Dhammadinna, a nun whom the Buddha described as having “discerning wisdom”; Khema, a former queen who gave up a royal life to become a nun and one of the Buddha’s senior disciples and who gave dharma lessons to a king. Sanghamitta, the daughter of King Asoka, who established Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Currently, there is a growing awareness of a distinction between Buddhism and the Dharma. Buddhist is a constellation of the institutions and orthodoxies that have developed over thousands of years. However, the Dharma contains the fundamental teachings of the Buddha and a succession of teachers. Joan Sutherland Roshi, a teacher in the Zen koan tradition correctly observes: "There is nothing in the dharma—as opposed to some of the institutions of Buddhism—that limits women’s participation." Arrogance is about thinking you’re the only one that matters, winner take all. You’re the only star. Confidence still leaves room for others to shine, too.” —Aimee Daramus, PsyD
It's much more productive to simply let go of the past or, even better, to recall that part of the past that was pleasant. You learn far more from your pleasant memories of past success and happiness that you ever learn from your suffering. - Ajahn Brahm
(personal photo) This popular aphorism is a reminder to make the best of whatever situation we find ourselves. It is especially applies to the tough experiences which come our way, unwelcome and uninvited. Here are 7 ways to bloom where you are planted: 1. Learn to shine you light when a great darkness has come upon you. 2. Chose hope over despair, optimism over pessimism. 3. Don't complain. It extinguishes whatever joys struggle to emerge. 4. Change. If your circumstance can't be changed, then change your attitude. 5. Help others. Take the focus off yourself, your problem and help another person. 6. Identify positives. Perhaps you're learning resilience; perhaps you're discovering who your real friends are; perhaps you're tapping into strengths you were not aware of. 7. Be patient. Flowers don't bloom over night. If we make a mistake, instead of beating ourselves up, we simply acknowledge it. There's no point to punishment - wisdom, real wisdom, knows that punishment just makes the problem worse by creating more unskillful states of mind. - Ajahn Brahm
PRINCE WILLIAM SHARES WHAT HE LEARNED ABOUT GRIEF OVER THE DEATH OF HIS MOTHER, PRINCESS DIANA7/13/2019
England’s Prince William William, 36, recently spoke about the unexpected 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana, following a Paris car crash, as he offered a message of hope to grieving families who’d lost loved ones in the March New Zealand terrorist attack.
“I have had reasons myself to reflect on grief and sudden pain and loss in my own life and in my role I have often seen up close the sorrow of others in moments of tragedy, as I have today. What I have realized is that of course grief can change your outlook. You don’t ever forget the shock, the sadness, and the pain. But I do not believe that grief changes who you are. Grief, if you let it, will reveal who you are. It can reveal depths that you did not know you had. The startling weight of grief can burst any bubble of complacency in how you live your life, and help you to live up to the values you espouse.” Being alone and far from friends and family
may be a fact, but feeling lonely is a mental state. Having physical difficulties may be a fact; feeling betrayed by the body and sorry for ourselves is a mental state. Deep discontent with our situation in life is a mental state; it is not a condition. - Tashi Nyima Those of us who do meditation using a mantra know the calming, peaceful effect of the practice.
Recently, researchers have started to investigate the power of this practice. A study published in the journal Brain Behavior described research in which participants were asked to lie down, first with no instruction, and then, after a few minutes, with the instruction to silently repeat a simple mantra to themselves. Throughout the test, their brain activity was observed with a functional MRI machine. While they were repeating the mantra, participants had a marked decrease in brain activity, in what neuroscientists call the default mode network—the part of the brain that is involved in planning and self-focused thinking. When they weren’t repeating the mantra, however, participants’ default mode network had normal levels of activity. Simply stated: repeating a mantra occupies the brain enough so that it doesn’t get caught up in obsessing, planning, and wandering. This, the researchers write, accounts for a significant “calming effect.” Disposable plastic bottles remain a major environmental threat to the planet, so the monks of Wat Chak Daeng, a Buddhist temple on the artificial island of Bang Kachao in Bangkok, Thailand, have been integrating their Dharma practice with environmental awareness by recycling plastic bottles to make monastic robes.
Venerable Thipakorn, one of the monks promoting this initiative as a way of being more responsible toward the environment, observed: “There is not a big difference between the robes . . . I myself wear a recycled plastic robe and they are very similar to the traditional ones.” The project is an example of the sustainable application of modern technology by converting plastic bottles into wearable fabrics. First of all, discarded plastic bottles are collected in the temple compound. After compressing them they are packed into bales and sent to a processing plant, where the plastic is chipped and melted into fabrics, which are returned to temple. Volunteers in the temple fashion the recycled fabrics into robes for the monks. “Until now, we have made some 200 robes,” said Ven. Thipakorn A local community association, which receives financial support from large companies and patronage from Thailand’s Royal Palace, is overseeing the initiative. This year, they have made seven full sets of monastic robes. According to media reports, it takes about 30 plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) one-and-a-half liter bottles to produce a set of robes, each of which is composed of 30–35 per cent recycled plastic, combined with cotton and other materials. read more: www.buddhistdoor.com |
Victor M. Parachin ...is aVedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Archives
May 2024
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