Meditation is intended to help us gain control of the mind, to free it from being dominated by disturbing emotions and to increase its familiarity with positive feelings like love and compassion. - Sonam Rinchen
WHAT THE BUDDHA DID AFTER HE WAS 'ENLIGHTENED' . . . BASICALLY NOTHING EXCEPT FOR THIS . . .10/20/2020
According to tradition, after the Buddha was enlightened he spent the next seven days just looking at the tree which gave him shelter and under which his awakening emerged. Take a moment to understand what he did. Rather than rush off, start teaching and sharing his life changing insights with others, the Buddha took an entire week to sit in gratitude before a tree which meant so much to him. From the Buddha we get a glimpse of how important it is to pause and feel gratitude. Pause to examine your own mind by asking these questions of yourself:
An example of "engaged" Buddhism is taking place in Australia where volunteers from Quang Minh Buddhist Temple in Melbourne have been providing vegan meals to nearly 900 people in the suburbs of Footscray and Braybrook, since July of this year. The experience has made them aware of the great need for this assistance that it has made them resolute to continue their efforts until the pandemic is over.
The efforts were in response to the struggles that the Buddhists saw among their neighbors, particularly the homeless and international students trapped by the lockdown. Volunteers from the temple have served an estimated 50–80 meals per week over the last three months. Meals served, including pho, rice, fried noodles, spring rolls, and banh mi, have been cooked and packed by temple volunteers and distributed to community members in need. The Buddhists have ensured that pick-up locations for the meals are accessible and that health and social-distancing rules are observed, out of concern for the volunteers and those served. (source: www.buddhistdoor.net) The enlightenment path advocates practicing spiritual strength and humor in the face of ordeals and challenges that life throws upon us. - Glenn H. Mullin
Through meditation we can train the mind not to get lost in anger or grief, but instead to look into the heart of these feelings and find a way to mine their energy. - Sharon Salzberg
To understand the law of karma is to realize that we ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and our own misery. We are the architects of our karma. - K. Sri Dhammananda
Meditation helps us sit with powerful emotions yet avoid two extremes—being overcome or defined by them, or trying to push them away. - Sharon Salzberg
Knowledge is power. But is it? Personally I think this popular maxim is grossly misleading. Nevertheless, knowledge that leads to self-understanding is invaluable because it empowers us to live a life that is not dictated by the mechanism of our unconscious. - Georg Feuerstein
 (public domain photo www.pixabay.com) It's completely lacking dogma, doctrine, and the inflexibility which come with those spiritual vices. The Buddha himself said: Do not believe in anything (simply) because you have heard it; Do not believe in traditions, because they been handed down for many generations; Do not believe in anything, because it is spoken and rumored by many; Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books; But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. Here's what modern Buddhist thinker, Dr. Ambedkar writes about this novel spiritual approach: “Buddha wanted his religion to remain evergreen and serviceable at all times. That is why he gave liberty to his followers to chip and chop as the necessities of the case required. No other religious teacher has shown such courage. They were afraid of permitting repair, because the liberty to repair may be used to demolish the structure they had reared. Buddha had no such fear. He was sure of his foundation. He knew that even the most violent iconoclast will not be able to destroy the core of his religion.” For the sake of world peace, if you find that the doctrines of your faith contain something that is intolerant of the other groups or in contradiction with the promotion of world peace, then you should make new interpretations of these relevant doctrines because every wholesome religion should get along peacefully with other groups so that it can influence human kind on earth to stay far away from the causes of war. - Sheng Yen
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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
October 2020
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