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Not every obstacle is
meant to be overcome.
May be it's there to make
you change direction or
become stronger,
smarter, more humble.
- Victor M. Parachin
meant to be overcome.
May be it's there to make
you change direction or
become stronger,
smarter, more humble.
- Victor M. Parachin
- Published on
When it comes to a new year, Buddhism encourages people to challenge themselves and the Buddhist way to approach a new year is to look back at your life for the past year and ask these types of questions:
- What went well?
- What didn't go well?
- Did you notice any patterns?
Based on that self-reflection, begin to shape your intentions for a new year with that in mind. This is the Buddhist style for moving into the New Year with awareness and wisdom.
(please feel free to re-post and/or share on your social media)
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Most of what we think about ourselves is negative and if you really face those thoughts, you will realize that they are wrong. Challenge the thoughts you have about yourself. - Alice D. Domar
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Sheng Yen was a Modern Chinese Buddhist Zen Master and founder of Taiwan’s Institute of Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies and Dharma Drum Mountain. In one of his teachings he addressed the question of why so many people around the planet feel stress and anxiety. His answer is worthy of more thought -
"What are people nowadays concerned about the most? About themselves! How do they show their concern for themselves? By being defensive, guarding against any harm or loss that may be brought about by the people they encounter. When they’re not doing this, they themselves contrive to reap gains and benefit from others. In this way, we live in stress. We approach the people we meet as thieves and enemies. We frighten ourselves, which adds only more stress."
"What are people nowadays concerned about the most? About themselves! How do they show their concern for themselves? By being defensive, guarding against any harm or loss that may be brought about by the people they encounter. When they’re not doing this, they themselves contrive to reap gains and benefit from others. In this way, we live in stress. We approach the people we meet as thieves and enemies. We frighten ourselves, which adds only more stress."
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When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through spae with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty. - John Muir
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This time of year is tough - very tough - for many people. Only last week there was a heartbreaking incident near my home where a person was perched on the ledge of a major highway overpass. The person was despondent over the holidays. Fortunately, officials were able to console and persuade the person to come down and receive assistance.
Here are three suggestions for enjoying your holiday.....the Buddhist way:
1. Work to enjoy the holiday you’re having, not the one you were hoping for. Try releasing expectations shaped by the past. This is a different time, you, your family and friends are different people.
2. Don't compare yourself with others. Yes, others may look happier, wealthier, more successful, etc, etc, etc. But all of that is very deceptive. Many people are just like you, all feeling the pressures and stresses of the holiday season in their own way.
3. Manage the holiday, don't let it manage you. The real meaning of the holiday revolves around kindness, compassion, generosity, spiritual friendship. Those are qualities you inherently have. Begin to share and sow those seeds with those around and your holiday will be more meaningful and uplifting for you.
(Please feel free to repost and/or share on your social media)
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According to the website www.buddhistdoor.com, health officials in Thailand have urged the country’s monastic sangha to take better care of their health as unhealthy diets and sedentary lives are leading to a crisis in the Buddhist community, characterized an increase in obesity and a greater incidence of lifestyle-related diseases.
Part of the problem stems from the tradition of offering alms to Buddhist monks, which is widely practiced in Thailand as way of demonstrating respect for monastics and as a means of earning karmic merit. In the early hours of the morning, across the country, monks walk through their local communities to collect offerings of food provided by lay Buddhists. Unfortunately, many of the offerings on which the monks subsist are loaded with sugar, fat, and oil, compounding the growing health crisis.
This is where tradition does not serve Buddhism. Today's dietary offerings are very compared to the food offerings made in the Buddha's time when food was more locally grown and consumed with added refined products. A more update practice of "gathering" can be seen via Chinese Buddhist monks who carry begging bowls but, instead of depositing food items, supporters give money.
Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country, with 93.2 per cent of the nation’s population of 69 million identifying as Buddhists, according to 2010 data from the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center. The country has more than 40,000 Buddhist temples and some 300,000 monks.
Part of the problem stems from the tradition of offering alms to Buddhist monks, which is widely practiced in Thailand as way of demonstrating respect for monastics and as a means of earning karmic merit. In the early hours of the morning, across the country, monks walk through their local communities to collect offerings of food provided by lay Buddhists. Unfortunately, many of the offerings on which the monks subsist are loaded with sugar, fat, and oil, compounding the growing health crisis.
This is where tradition does not serve Buddhism. Today's dietary offerings are very compared to the food offerings made in the Buddha's time when food was more locally grown and consumed with added refined products. A more update practice of "gathering" can be seen via Chinese Buddhist monks who carry begging bowls but, instead of depositing food items, supporters give money.
Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country, with 93.2 per cent of the nation’s population of 69 million identifying as Buddhists, according to 2010 data from the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center. The country has more than 40,000 Buddhist temples and some 300,000 monks.
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Life doesn't tend to get easier but you get stronger. You learn to show up more, cope better and be more conscious. - Brendon Burchard
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Meditator and author James Porter writes about his understanding of a meditation retreat: "One of my meditation teachers, author and Harvard Professor, Ron Siegel, said that going on a meditation retreat is kind of like being stuck in a phone booth with a crazy person. That crazy person of course is you. Mindfulness meditators refer to this craziness - that occurs when you start to meditate - as “monkey mind.” Your mind jumps from one thought to another like a monkey jumps from branch to branch in a tree."
That's an interesting take. Porter also adds his own observation and experience with meditation saying it's "enormously helpful. As author and meditation expert, Jon Kabat Zinn likes to say: “there’s no such thing as a bad meditation.” Experts often say meditation is like doing weight-training reps at the gym. The more repetitions you do, the stronger you get."
That's an interesting take. Porter also adds his own observation and experience with meditation saying it's "enormously helpful. As author and meditation expert, Jon Kabat Zinn likes to say: “there’s no such thing as a bad meditation.” Experts often say meditation is like doing weight-training reps at the gym. The more repetitions you do, the stronger you get."
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- Louis Pasteur, scientist
- Marlene Dietrich, actor
- Cokie Roberts, newscaster
- Lori DeLozier, my good friend
- Mike Heron, Rock musician
- Pieter de Swart, Dutch architect
- Val Parachin, my mother
- Pope Pius VI, Catholic priest
- Jane Wilde, Irish poet
- Mackenzie Bowell, Canadian Prime Minister