- Published on
Suffering can motivate us to transform ourselves like nothing else. It forces us to be humble and to ask for help. This openness is a fertile ground for healing. - Sister Ocean
- Published on
Our body is a small universe, a microcosm, and it tends to reflect the great universe, the macrocosm. - Sheng Yen
- Published on
Peace of mind comes piece by piece!
- Published on
"The chance of a practitioner getting the Buddha mind depends on his developing a 'great ball of doubt' which drives him to diligent and energetic practice. During retreat the master tries to bring each student to this state of great doubt, for only then is it possible to create an opening through which the Buddha mind can enter. The master will use different methods to do this, according to the student's state of mind, personality and accomplishment." - Master Sheng Yen
- Published on
Self' is another word for 'God'. This is the God who is the Absolute, immutable, without qualities, pure Awareness, without beginning or end. - Richard Hittleman
- Published on
When all else fails, just exhale. - Victor M. Parachin
- Published on
Namaste is a gesture done with hands and palms together in the prayer position and placed in front of the heart or the forehead. In India it is the common way to greet people and bid them farewell. Namaste comes from the root nam, to bow, and te to you. It is often interpreted as “the divine in me bows and acknowledges the divine in you.” This form of greeting differs deeply from the traditional Western style of shaking hands.
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, editor of Hinduism Today magazinje explains: “As a test of how these two greetings differ, imagine you are magically confronted with the Divine. God walks up to you on the street. What do you do? Reach out to shake His/Her hand? Probably not. Though suitable between man and man, it’s an unseemly expression between man and God. We never shake hands with God. I mean, what if your palms are sweating? So, you namaste instead. The reason it feels natural to namaste before God is that it is, in its very essence, a spiritual gesture, not a worldly one. For these and other reasons, Popes never shake hands. Kings never shake hands. Even mothers don’t shake hands with their own children.”
In addition, Satgurur Veylanswami notes: “Namaste is cosmically different. Kings do namaste. Satgurus namaste and mothers namaste to their own family. We all namaste before God, a holy man or holy place. The namaste gesture bespeaks our inner valuing of the sacredness of all. It betokens our intuition that all souls are divine. It reminds us in quite a graphic manner, and with insistent repetition, that we can see God everywhere and in every human being we meet. It is saying, silently, ‘I see the Deity in us both, and bow before It.’ ”
Namaste is frequently used before or after a group yoga class where yogis are invited to bring the palms together, turn to another person and say “namaste”.
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, editor of Hinduism Today magazinje explains: “As a test of how these two greetings differ, imagine you are magically confronted with the Divine. God walks up to you on the street. What do you do? Reach out to shake His/Her hand? Probably not. Though suitable between man and man, it’s an unseemly expression between man and God. We never shake hands with God. I mean, what if your palms are sweating? So, you namaste instead. The reason it feels natural to namaste before God is that it is, in its very essence, a spiritual gesture, not a worldly one. For these and other reasons, Popes never shake hands. Kings never shake hands. Even mothers don’t shake hands with their own children.”
In addition, Satgurur Veylanswami notes: “Namaste is cosmically different. Kings do namaste. Satgurus namaste and mothers namaste to their own family. We all namaste before God, a holy man or holy place. The namaste gesture bespeaks our inner valuing of the sacredness of all. It betokens our intuition that all souls are divine. It reminds us in quite a graphic manner, and with insistent repetition, that we can see God everywhere and in every human being we meet. It is saying, silently, ‘I see the Deity in us both, and bow before It.’ ”
Namaste is frequently used before or after a group yoga class where yogis are invited to bring the palms together, turn to another person and say “namaste”.
- Published on
Some of us strive too hard in working and studying, and become burnt out. While the intention can feel noble, it easily becomes too much and the excess effort gets in the way of the awakening that we seek. - Sister Ocean
- Published on
Ease is more beautiful than striving; it is also more enjoyable and thus applies to all of life.
- Sister Ocean
- Sister Ocean
- Published on
Breath is a good topic no matter your religious background. The breath doesn’t belong to Buddhism or Christianity or anyone at all. It’s common property that anyone can meditate on. - Thanissaro Bhikkhu