We have to stop clinging to the conditioned path and learn to be open to the unconditioned path. - Tenzin Palmo
Meditation is a pattern in which we are fixed enough to create stability of ground, and at the same time open enough so that we can shift. In other words, so that transformation is possible. - Martine Batchelor
There are only two things you can really depend on: one is the changeableness of life, and the other is the unchanging Self within you. Sivya Subramuniyuaswami
Mindfulness isn’t difficult; we just need to remember to do it. - Sharon Salzberg
Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose your Original Mind.
- Crazy Cloud Ikkyu Be aware about being too tight or too loose in life. When a person is too tight, there’s not much opportunity for experiencing expansion. Thus, the only time they change is when chaos enters their life.
Conversely, when a person is too loose there is no motivation to progress. That person is stuck in place and a shift will occur only when there’s a crisis. Buddhism stress the ideal is to be neither too loose nor too tight. It’s this middle way creates stability as well as an open and spacious approach to life. It never hurts to self examine ourselves asking “am I too tight or too loose?” Poverty is the best remedy for the disease of pride. The disease of pride, vanity and egoism, that is caused by possession of wealth, can be cured by the ointment of poverty. - Swami Sivananda
We all know this - a consistent meditation practice produces stronger and more noticeable results. It's better to meditate regularly - preferably daily - for five or ten minutes than just once a week for half an hour. If you'd like a little motivation today to jump start your meditation practice, have a look at my article in the January 2022 issue of YOGA magazine which has my feature on modern Chinese Buddhist master Hsuan Hua (1918-1991). He offers three benefits of a consistent meditation practice. At the end of the short article, you will also see several inspiring quotes from Hsuan Hua.
hsuan_hua_jan_202_.pdf Great strength of character is required to attain spiritual goals, enormous courage and forbearance, and anyone who lacks that strength and stamina will cease striving long before full realization is attained. - Sivya Subramuniyuaswami
In his book, Miniatures Of A Zen Master, Robert Aitken, director of the Diamond Sangha in Honolulu, tells of an experience when he first lived in Japan. A neighbor had just graduated from high school and came over to him announcing she had just been hired as a telephone operator. “It will allow me to be of service to my country,” she said excitedly. Aitken thought she was being “incredibly naive” but after spending more time in Japan understood better their positive attitude toward the opportunities provided by employment.
That incident raises this question: how would attitude toward work change in our culture if more people viewed their employment as an opportunity to be of service to others? Some ways to shift an employment attitude from the negative to the positive could be done by asking these kinds of questions: • Am I “just” a server or am I helping people have a fine dining experience? • Am I “just” a plumber or am I helping people live comfortably in their homes? • Am I “just” a truck driver or am I helping people have access to things they need? • Am I “just” an airplane mechanic or am I helping keep people safe in the skies? • Am I “just” a bricklayer or am I helping create comfortable housing for people? Be aware and be wary in moments when you use the word "just" referencing yourself and your services. |
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
April 2024
Categories |