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The power for creating a better future is contained in the present moment: You create a good future by creating a good present. Eckhart Tolle
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(public domain image from www.pixabay.com)
Generally, paintings and statues of the Buddha (and other great Buddhist figures) are not meant to represent a historical figure literally, as the statue of a president or general might. They are intended to symbolize the spirit of the Buddha—his realization and attainment as an ideal to be sought after—and often include features similar to the halos and other signs of spiritual power seen in Christian iconography.
The protuberance at the top of the Buddha’s head is known as the ushnisha, literally “turban.” This is one of the traditional thirty-two marks of the physical body of a buddha (some of which, if taken literally, would make him look pretty monstrous). The ushnisha appears as round, conical, pointed, or flamelike, depending on the sculptural tradition. Most commentators see it is a kind of crown, depicting regalness and the supreme power of the Buddha’s enlightenment. When it’s a flame, it is said to represent spiritual energy. As for the historical Buddha, as far as we can determine he had a round, shaven, and quite normal head.
(source: Lion's Roar Magazine)
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It is good for us to remember that the guru, the spiritual teacher is in every one of us. The outer teacher makes us aware of the teacher within. - Eknath Easwaran
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Here's a fabulous insight for people who keep trying to fit in, be like everyone else. It's from Eknath Easwaran, a Vedic meditation teacher and author. It's from his book Meditation: An Eight Point Program:
When we stop trying to live up to an artificial image of ourselves, our real personality burst forth - vivid, appealing, unique. Look at the lives of the great mystics - Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, Sri Ramakrishna, Mahatma Gandhi. These are not drab figures stamped from the same mold; never has human personality been more dynamic, more spontaneous, more joyful, more strikingly individual.
When we stop trying to live up to an artificial image of ourselves, our real personality burst forth - vivid, appealing, unique. Look at the lives of the great mystics - Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, Sri Ramakrishna, Mahatma Gandhi. These are not drab figures stamped from the same mold; never has human personality been more dynamic, more spontaneous, more joyful, more strikingly individual.
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Swami Sivaya Subramuniya, a highly evolved contemporary spiritual master, has this simple, effective way of curing yourself of anger forever:
"Anger can eventually be controlled by putting a sum of money – five dollars for example – in a jar each time one becomes angry and then donating that money to an orphanage. It soon gets too expensive to get angry. However, for devotees who are wealthy, that doesn’t work. For them, I’ve found the penance of fasting for the next meal after they get angry works.”
"Anger can eventually be controlled by putting a sum of money – five dollars for example – in a jar each time one becomes angry and then donating that money to an orphanage. It soon gets too expensive to get angry. However, for devotees who are wealthy, that doesn’t work. For them, I’ve found the penance of fasting for the next meal after they get angry works.”
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Stillness is a great treasure. Being still allows you to perceive the greatness of the Universe. It is through stillness that you can feel your oneness with All-That-Is. Be still. - Wu Wei
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Zen master Guo Jun was a resident of Singapore when he became seriously interested in Buddhism. At age 14 he went on his first seven day retreat. A few years later he was ordained as a Buddhist monk and engaged in a variety of meditation styles and retreats. Upon learning that the Korean Zen tradition offered one of the most rigorous 3 month retreat programs, Guo signed up for two of them: three months in the winter and then three months in the summer. In his book, Essential Chan Buddhism, Guo outlines the daily schedule for the three months: (he says it was "brutal")
Here's the point: you may not want to do that kind of meditation retreat but . . . . surely you could sit once a day for 20 minutes!
- We woke at 3:00 am and finished at 11:00 pm
- We had only fifteen minutes each for breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Toilet breaks were five minutes, but the toilet was far from the meditation hall so we just went outside
- For ninety days we did not take a shower but had a basin of water that was filled from a bamboo pipe that ran down the mountain. We used a towel to scrub ourselves clean.
- There were no break times
- Most meditators weren't even assigned a room but given a folded up cushion to sit on which could be opened for a bed.
- They slept in the meditation room
- Each sitting was at least an hour and we had to sit in full lotus
- No movement was tolerated. If monitors, who were senior monks, saw us move an inch, they'd hit us with the incense stick
- After every morning walk we had to do 108 prostrations in only ten minutes. Up and down, up and down,. It looked like we were doing jumping jacks.
- Then there is pain, so much pain. Tears foll down from your eyes as you come out of full lotus. There is so much pain that you don't know where the pain is coming from.
- The food was kimchi all the time, kimchi and white rice. The kimchi smelled like rotten eggs. It was repulsive, almost unbearable. It made me gag.
- In the middle of the retreat the practice was intensified for seven days: we were ot allowed to lie down. Twenty four hours of continuous sitting practice for seven straight days. We learned how to sleep while sitting, but when you were caught dozing, you were hit. You learned to sleep without moving.
Here's the point: you may not want to do that kind of meditation retreat but . . . . surely you could sit once a day for 20 minutes!
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Move on from success to greater success, from joy to greater joy, from peace to more abundant peace. Do not be satisfied with degrees of perfection. Move on to the endless expansions of the soul. - Swami Jyotirmayananda
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A debate over yoga pants is making a comeback at high schools in the Kenosha, Wisconsin school district. The district ended its five-year ban on yoga pants at the schools last spring after a group of parents and students convinced administrators to change their minds.
But the ACLU of Wisconsin claims it's still being selectively enforced after a girl was sent home twice from summer school for wearing the attire. "We can talk about items of clothing and we can talk about decency and all that, but the bigger picture is that girls are being pulled out of class and losing access to education at a rate that boys aren't. And that's a bigger problem," said Asma Kadri Keeler with the ACLU of Wisconsin.
What I'm wondering: why is it that women's bodies are so often subject to criticism, discipline, censure? Where does that come from? Likely suspects: conservative Christian groups who want to "keep women in their place". Thank you, ACLU.
But the ACLU of Wisconsin claims it's still being selectively enforced after a girl was sent home twice from summer school for wearing the attire. "We can talk about items of clothing and we can talk about decency and all that, but the bigger picture is that girls are being pulled out of class and losing access to education at a rate that boys aren't. And that's a bigger problem," said Asma Kadri Keeler with the ACLU of Wisconsin.
What I'm wondering: why is it that women's bodies are so often subject to criticism, discipline, censure? Where does that come from? Likely suspects: conservative Christian groups who want to "keep women in their place". Thank you, ACLU.
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In monastic settings, the cooks in the kitchen begin meal preparation with this chant, something all of us who prepare meals can and should do:
“How fortunate we are to have the opportunity to prepare and cook this food. The food will nourish their bodies, and the love we put into preparing it will nourish their hearts.”
“How fortunate we are to have the opportunity to prepare and cook this food. The food will nourish their bodies, and the love we put into preparing it will nourish their hearts.”