Published on
The Buddhist approach (to problems) is quite unique with respect to other religions because the emphasis is on the way out of suffering through wisdom, freedom from all delusion, rather than the attainment of some blissful state or union with the Ultimate. - Ajahn Sumedho
Published on
Indra Devi, the "mother" of yoga in the West observed that a "harmonious combination of a healthy body and balanced mind should be he natural state, not the exception."     Here are the top ten signs your body and mind need yoga:

1.  You find it hard to get along with other people.
2.  Other people find it hard to get along with you.
3.  Irritation and anger are your lead emotions.
4.  You don't have any spiritual friends.
5.  Your body is tight, inflexible.
6.  Your mind is inflexible, rigid.
7.  Your life feels unbalanced.
8.  You have zero patience.
9.  You are concerned about your physical, mental and spiritual health.
10.  Stressed, anxious, worried are the words which best describe you just now.


(feel free to re-post and/or link to your social media)

Published on


When someone is negative,
we should be positive.
When someone is angry,
we should try to be kind.
When someone is impatient,
we should be patient.
- Hsing Yun


Published on
A Shanghai gym was ordered to pay one of its members $28,000 after she snapped her thigh bone and was permanently injured trying to follow her yoga instructor’s directions in a class, according to a Chinese media report.

The 55-year-old client, a woman identified only as Hong, first sued the unnamed gym in February last year, three months after she broke the bone as the instructor corrected her in a seated pose called baddha konasana or cobbler pose.

Hong spent six days in hospital being treated for the injury.
In its defense in the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court, the gym said Hong should have told the instructor to stop when she felt pain, the report said.

Yoga has become increasingly popular, with millions of Chinese having turned to the discipline for both fitness and mediation since the 1970s, when yoga was first introduced in China.

There are at least 10,800 yoga schools across the country, with some reporting thousands of members, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In defense of yoga and that yoga instructor, cobbler pose is quite harmless and easy to do. However, if a woman has osteoporosis - bone weakness - then she has a high risk of breaking a bone while doing any activity.

(source:  South China Morning Post)



Published on
Chuck Norris is well known as a martial artist, actor, and author. His life appears to be one success after another.   While that’s true, there is another aspect to his life, one of deep grief.

Norris’ younger brother, Wieland, was killed in Vietnam in June of 1970. It was a devastating loss for Norris who was both an older brother and a father figure to Wieland.

Growing up, the Norris’ family struggled to get by. The father was largely absent and it meant his mother worked full time forced to leave Chuck Norris in charge of his two siblings. “Since we couldn’t afford a baby sitter and my mother and to work, I had to rush home from school every day to look after my two younger brothers.”

So, when Norris received the phone call informing him that Wieland was dead, it was a crushing blow. In his book The Secret Power Within, Norris writes: “I had nothing of greater value than my brother. I would have given anything not to lose him, and there was nothing I could do to get him back. That sunny June day was the saddest day of my life.”

With the passing of time, with support from family and friends, with grief work, Norris emerged from the tight grip of loss. He describes his grief journey this way:

“Consolation comes in many forms, all of them meaningful and helpful to a degree, and families, even small ones, can generate enormous amounts of power support to deal with such a terrible loss. The first piercing grief eventually becomes a kind of ever-present sorrow that doesn’t seem to want to go away ever, but then it does; or, rather it grows into something else, something you know you can live with, although at the same time you know you’ll never forget.”

In spite of this pain, Norris has lived a remarkable, fulfilling life. He is an inspiring example of this truth: the power of grief to disable us is temporary. There is within the human spirit a greater power, one that is able to overcome the troubles and trials of life.



(please feel free to re-post and/or link to your social media)
Published on
You have a problem? Great. More grist for the mill. Rejoice, dive in, and investigate.
- Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Published on
A Buddhist center in Columbus, Ohio that was destroyed by arson fire in January 2016 has raised $1.5 million dollars toward its $2.3 million goal to rebuild, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

The Columbus Karma Thegsum Choling temple originally set their fundraising goal to $1.5 million, which was raised through a successful GoFundMe campaign, their local community, insurance proceeds, and donors around the world.

However, after reaching their initial goal, the congregation discovered they will need more funds due to inflation and growing construction costs. The congregation is now seeking another $800,000 — totaling $2.3 million — before construction can begin


The new building will be 10,000 square feet, with a 100-person meditation hall, classrooms, offices, and an area for children.
The congregation has existed in Columbus for 40 years, offering public meditation to the Columbus community for three decades. While waiting to rebuild, they have continued to meet in a local Jewish synagogue and hosted their weekly meditation at an Episcopal church.
(source: lionsroar.com)

Published on
Do not live in the past, nor should you allow your mind to be involved in expectations for the future. Learn to live in the present moment. - Swami Jyotirmayananda

Published on
You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. - Walt Disney
Published on
  1. Meditation is natural. It's not an exotic import from the East and the cultural values of the East.
  2. Meditation is about mind, body, and spirit as one continuous whole, not three separate things.
  3. The benefits of meditation probably go deeper than we imagine. At the very least, genetic activity responds very quickly and substantially to meditation.
  4. Meditation uncovers the true self that lies at the core of every person.
  5. The state of pure awareness that is reached through meditation is the ground state of everything.

(source:  https://chopra.com/articles/5-things-i-wish-i-had-known-when-i-began-meditating)

Victor M. Parachin ... 

a Vedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Sadly, Victor passed away in August 2025, but his blog continues. Janet Parachin, his partner of 45 years, shares quotes from his books and articles each week. 

Archives

Categories