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Obscured by time, very little is known about the early life of the Buddha. Some bits of basic information are available. For example, he was born into an Indian ruling family; he was destined to succeed his father; he was married and had a child. In addition, it is told and re-told that as a young man he managed to leave the walls of his royal compound and venture outside. There, for the first time in his life, he was moved by the appearance of an old man, by a very sick person, and by witnessing a corpse. He also saw holy man walking the streets.
It is this last story which is not historically "true". No one can live such a sheltered life. The only "truth" to the story is that it is symbolical and is an attempt to explain the Buddha's life and search for a solution to the issue of human suffering. His basic message could be condensed this way: Problems are inevitable but people are capable of responding to them and working with them skillfully and in ways which do not need to include the additional layer of suffering. "Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional" is a commonly stated Buddhist principle.
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Pessimism can be so deadly. The habit of worrying about problems or seeing only the negative aspect of a situation hardly leaves any room for healing. When the mind becomes encrusted and rigid with this attitude, then everything that happens appears tainted by pain and negativity. - Tulku Thondop
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Any situation, whether “good” or “bad”, will be made better or worse by the attitude we bring when facing it.Will a negative attitude ever improve a bad situation? Even a positive situation can be spoiled by a poor attitude. In contrast, a negative situation can be made tolerable by a good attitude, and an already positive situation can be vastly improved.
We may not be able to control all aspects of a given situation, but the attitude we bring is always ours to determine. Which will you choose? - Tashi Nyima (Dallas Lama)
We may not be able to control all aspects of a given situation, but the attitude we bring is always ours to determine. Which will you choose? - Tashi Nyima (Dallas Lama)
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Compassion enhances immune response, activates the pleasure centers in the brain, enhances longevity and the sense of moral integrity. When people see others being compassionate, they feel uplifted themselves, so it can be positively contagious. There is no downside. - Roshi Joan Halifax
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This past year when I taught at the Texas Yoga Retreat, held on the grounds of North America's largest Hindu Ashram, a young woman of Indian descent spoke with me after my presentation. She thanked me for making her Hinduism interesting and applicable to life and added that "no one in my family, including my parents who are from India know much about Hinduism beyond Temple rituals."
This young woman also told me she felt that today's Western yoga instructors are helping Indian immigrants to better understand and appreciate their religious heritage.
The reasons Hindu's are illiterate about their own religious tradition are concisely explained by Murali Balaji, a journalist and lecturer at Pennsylvania State University. He writes:
"Much of what we know about Hinduism today was profoundly shaped by three major overlapping forces: colonialism, Christianity and capitalism. We as modern Hindus, whether we are in India or are diasporic children in distant lands, are products of colonial-era constructions of Hinduism. This has been a major contributor to our collective illiteracy about our way of life, as British attempts to eliminate or obscure Vedic teachings were connected to the Crown's grand vision of making Indians into the ideal colonial subjects.... While Indians mark the annual anniversary of India's physical emancipation from British rule, it's important to note that we have yet to mark our psychological emancipation from colonialism. We continue to be the ideal colonial subjects, inherently believing in the British standard of society as the one that India--and Hindus--needed to progress towards."
Under the yoke of a powerful colonial empire, everything British was to be embraced and things Vedic dropped. For example, Indians have moved heavily into Western Medicine completely neglecting their own Ayurvedic health and wellness system almost. Indians who exercised did so in British YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) gyms present in Indian cities, abandoning their own yoga culture.
Little by little these colonial impositions are being addressed and corrected, largely by yogis in the West who have discovered and are sharing India's vast spiritual resources.
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Buddhism is about becoming skilled in life. Change, troubled times and difficulty are inevitable. When we develop our inner strengths, we can enjoy these time as well as the moments of tranquility. - Pat Allwright
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To lose heart just because of one or two failures is the height of foolishness. Life is a long, long journey. - Daisaku Ikeda
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Attaining Buddhaood is not a matter of ‘becoming a Buddha’, but of revealing what already exists within us. Buddhahood is ot a superhuman state, but the process of developing our humanity. - Pat Allwright
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From Taisen Deshimaru in his book Questions to A Zen Master:
"It is most effective at sunset or at sunrise because the cells of our bodies change then. They change twice each day. In the evening we settle, our cells become less active. In the morning they become active again. So it is good to get up early in the morning. It is very good to practice meditation at twilight and at dawn. It gives us energy, infuses activity into our cells. Those are the best times of day."
"It is most effective at sunset or at sunrise because the cells of our bodies change then. They change twice each day. In the evening we settle, our cells become less active. In the morning they become active again. So it is good to get up early in the morning. It is very good to practice meditation at twilight and at dawn. It gives us energy, infuses activity into our cells. Those are the best times of day."
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Compassion is not pity and goes beyond empathy. Compassion is the intention and action to relieve the suffering of another being or oneself. - Robertson Work