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There are many choices we make which can bring us value but when they are 'exaggerated' they bring harm. Some examples include:
Exercise, which is scientifically validated to be good for the body, but 'exaggerated' exercise can and does deplete the body.
Food, properly approached, is to support and sustain a healthy body but 'exaggerated' eating - too much or far too little - does the opposite.
Physical appearance. There is a strong association between good health and looking like one is in good health - straight teeth, acne-free skin, thick, beautiful hair, muscles, etc., - but 'exaggerated' value prompts some to misuse and abuse the body injecting it with chemicals to create a "look" or appearance.
Possessions. There's nothing wrong with wealth and having fine things - auto, home, furnishings, clothing, etc. Many kings, queens and other prosperous people gained enlightenment. But, when there is an 'exaggerated' sense of possessions, ego and grasping become a dominant life theme.
Self-esteem. No one could argue that it isn't good and psychologically healthy to have self-confidence and a positive view of oneself. However, when this becomes an 'exaggerated' value one can become conceited, arrogant, condescending toward others.
From time to time, it can be a good spiritual exercise to do a quick self-inventory to make certain we're not exaggerating the value of good things.
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Suffering is very real, and, I fear, mankind rather increases than decreases it. - Allan Bennett
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The secular knowledge that you get from the universities is mere husk only. It serves the purpose of earning one's livelihood and not other use of it is made by the majority of persons. It cannot give you peace of mind and salvation. It thickens the veil of ignorance by fattening egoism. - Swami Sivananda
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Do not utter anything that will give annoyance to anybody. A thoughtless man who has not controlled his organ of speech and who speaks at random, is entangled in the foolishness of his own words. Therefore be very careful when you speak.
- Swami Sivananda
- Swami Sivananda
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"Treating your mind like a best friend involves approaching it with a warm, engaging attitude: “Hey buddy! Do you want to meditate now? What do you want to watch? How do you want to sit? You tell me how long.” When you treat your mind with kindfulness, your mind does not want to wander off anywhere. It likes your company. You hang out together, chilling out, for far longer than you ever expected." - Ajahn Brahm
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Those who speak with quarrelsome intent, settled in their opinions, swollen with pride, ignoble, assaulting virtues, look for openings to attack one another. They mutually delight when their opponent speaks badly and makes a mistake; they rejoice in his bewilderment and defeat. The Noble Ones do not engage in such talk.
—Buddha (Anguttara Nikaya)
—Buddha (Anguttara Nikaya)
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Since 1993, teaching any meditative techniques or yoga in Alabama schools has been prohibited by a state law that grew out of conservative opposition to exposing Alabama’s schoolchildren to the Hindu roots of yoga. But a bill that recently passed in the state legislature’s lower house may permit yoga to be taught.
Under the new legislation, which must still be voted on in the Alabama Senate, asana — the physical practice of yoga — will be allowed, but traditional Sanskrit names for the traditional postures, as well as the simple greeting “namaste” will be prohibited, as will any sort of chanting. Students have the option to opt out of participating.
Mat McDermott, director of communication for the Hindu American Foundation says he's conflicted about the move. "On one hand, I’m happy that students in Alabama will be able to be exposed to asana and hopefully reap the physical and mental benefits that steady practice can bring. But I need a couple other hands to hold all the reservations I have: the continued disassociation of yoga from its Hindu roots, disconnection of the postures themselves from the larger place of yoga as a philosophy and spiritual practice, as well as a seeming genuine ignorance about and bias toward Sanskrit as a language. "
(source Religion News Service)
Under the new legislation, which must still be voted on in the Alabama Senate, asana — the physical practice of yoga — will be allowed, but traditional Sanskrit names for the traditional postures, as well as the simple greeting “namaste” will be prohibited, as will any sort of chanting. Students have the option to opt out of participating.
Mat McDermott, director of communication for the Hindu American Foundation says he's conflicted about the move. "On one hand, I’m happy that students in Alabama will be able to be exposed to asana and hopefully reap the physical and mental benefits that steady practice can bring. But I need a couple other hands to hold all the reservations I have: the continued disassociation of yoga from its Hindu roots, disconnection of the postures themselves from the larger place of yoga as a philosophy and spiritual practice, as well as a seeming genuine ignorance about and bias toward Sanskrit as a language. "
(source Religion News Service)
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Following complaints from Buddhist leaders and a public petition of opposition, local media reports indicate that the US Air Force has backed down on its plans for a military gun range near Kagyu Samyé Ling, a Tibetan Buddhist complex in the rolling hills of the Scottish countryside.
Monastics at Kagyu Samyé Ling had earlier called on the public to help support their bid to block plans for a military shooting range near their rural religious sanctuary. The plans would have seen a weapons training facility for US Air Force special forces operating just two kilometers from the retreat center.*
The Buddhist community at Kagyu Samyé Ling and local residents had voiced concerns that the firing range would shatter the tranquility of the village of Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway, and pose a threat to local wildlife. The abbot of the monastery, Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, had said of the plan: “I will do anything to request and persuade these people not to bring firing ranges and shoot animals close to Samyé Ling.
Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery and Centre for World Peace and Health was founded southwestern Scotland in 1967 by Tibetan lamas and refugees Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Akong Tulku Rinpoche, who named the complex after first monastery established in Tibet. The site now includes the largest Buddhist temple in western Europe and is home to some 60 resident monastics and lay volunteers.
(source: www.buddhistdoor.net)
Monastics at Kagyu Samyé Ling had earlier called on the public to help support their bid to block plans for a military shooting range near their rural religious sanctuary. The plans would have seen a weapons training facility for US Air Force special forces operating just two kilometers from the retreat center.*
The Buddhist community at Kagyu Samyé Ling and local residents had voiced concerns that the firing range would shatter the tranquility of the village of Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway, and pose a threat to local wildlife. The abbot of the monastery, Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, had said of the plan: “I will do anything to request and persuade these people not to bring firing ranges and shoot animals close to Samyé Ling.
Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery and Centre for World Peace and Health was founded southwestern Scotland in 1967 by Tibetan lamas and refugees Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Akong Tulku Rinpoche, who named the complex after first monastery established in Tibet. The site now includes the largest Buddhist temple in western Europe and is home to some 60 resident monastics and lay volunteers.
(source: www.buddhistdoor.net)
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Fundamentalists are not friends of democracy. And that includes your fundamentalists in the United States. - Karen Armstrong