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Vegetarianism is a natural and obvious way to live with a minimum of hurt to other beings. - Sivaya Subramuniya
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During the early 1920’s England a diphtheria epidemic swept England. This was before the availability of penicillin so many children died from the virus. At age 11, a girl named Freda came down with it and was close to death. Recognizing this, her mother took Fred to a nearby physician to see if there was anything at all which could be done. That physician made one recommendation: That the family set up a tent and cot in their yard and place their daughter there 24/7. Curiously, the rather unorthodox “prescription” worked and Fred recovered from diphtheria. Later she would say: “He must have been a genius doctor because, under the beech tree and the by laburnum tree, I was soon on my way to recovery.” The doctor was a “genius” only in that he was aware of and respected the healing power of nature.
The little girl, Freda Bedi, would grow up, move to India and, in 1966, become the first Western woman to become a fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist Nun. The friend of Gandhi and later the Dalai Lama, she helped the Tibetan leader in exile to establish schools for Tibetan refugees. Because of her selfless service, many Tibetans regard Fred as a living Buddha.
Nature heals and people would feel better and, likely be better persons, if they spent more time outside. Science verifies nature's healing powers. Some examples:
The little girl, Freda Bedi, would grow up, move to India and, in 1966, become the first Western woman to become a fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist Nun. The friend of Gandhi and later the Dalai Lama, she helped the Tibetan leader in exile to establish schools for Tibetan refugees. Because of her selfless service, many Tibetans regard Fred as a living Buddha.
Nature heals and people would feel better and, likely be better persons, if they spent more time outside. Science verifies nature's healing powers. Some examples:
- One recent study tested over 1,200 elderly adults. Those who had not engaged in outdoor recreation in the past year were the most prone to major depression. Those who spent time outside four or more times a week suffered the least depression.
- Another study, published in 2003, found that health increased with the amount of greenspace in one’s living environment.
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Compassion enhances immune response, activates the pleasure centers in the brain, enhances longevity and the sense of moral integrity. When people see others being compassionate, they feel uplifted themselves, so it can be positively contagious. There is no downside. - Roshi Joan Halifax
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Visualize within yourself a lotus. Have you ever seen a lotus flower? I am sure you have. Now visualize this lotus flower centered right within the center of your chest, right within your heart. You have read in the Hindu scriptures that the Self God dwells in the lotus within the heart. Let's think about that. We all know what the heart is, and we know what happens when the heart stops. Try to mentally feel and see the heart as a lotus flower right within you. Within the center of the lotus, try to see a small light. Doubtless you have read in the Hindu scriptures that the Self God within the heart looks like a brilliant light about the size of your thumb--just a small light. This light we shall call an emanation of your effulgent being. We could also call it your atomic power, the power that motivates, permeates, makes the mind self-luminous. It is dwelling right within. The Self God is deeper than that. The lotus is within the heart, and the Self God dwells deep within that lotus of light.
- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
- Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
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Advances in technology were designed to make life easier, and therefore happier. Sadly, people are not happier than they were before. - Pat Allwright
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The world always
tries to make you
be someone else.
Be yourself!
The world
will adjust.
- Victor M. Parachin
tries to make you
be someone else.
Be yourself!
The world
will adjust.
- Victor M. Parachin
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With the start of a new year for Buddhists, the Russian President offered a happy new year message which reads, in part:“The tradition of celebrating Sagaalgan (Buddhist New Year) has deep historical roots and for many centuries has united peoples that follow Buddhism. It is important that the Russian Buddhist community carefully preserves the priceless spiritual and moral heritage of their ancestors, their indigenous traditions and pays constant attention to the educational, awareness-raising and charitable work, cares about strengthening family values, upbringing of younger generation and contributes to the development of interfaith and interethnic dialogue, strengthens peace and concord in society.”
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Roshi Joan Halifax, a Buddhist teacher who heads the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, NM., wanted to educate herself about American racism so she volunteered to to work as a chaplain in the US prison system, specifically death row. Here's what she discovered:
"As a white person, you’re not even aware that you’re swimming in the waters of racism. You have to step out, do what the Zen Buddhist Roshi Bernie Glassman calls, “taking a plunge.” You’ve got to put yourself in environments where the kind of suffering that you’re not even aware of becomes obvious to you. That was one of the reasons why I went into the prison system and worked as a volunteer on death row. I’d never thought much about our prison industrial system, but soon recognized that actually it’s a class and caste system based on race and economic factors. It’s unlikely you’d find many rich white men in these systems because they can buy their way out. Going into that system, you recognize how much rage there is—no matter what side of the equation you are looking at—but you also recognize how the roots of the rage are based on our social perspectives, values, and institutions."
"As a white person, you’re not even aware that you’re swimming in the waters of racism. You have to step out, do what the Zen Buddhist Roshi Bernie Glassman calls, “taking a plunge.” You’ve got to put yourself in environments where the kind of suffering that you’re not even aware of becomes obvious to you. That was one of the reasons why I went into the prison system and worked as a volunteer on death row. I’d never thought much about our prison industrial system, but soon recognized that actually it’s a class and caste system based on race and economic factors. It’s unlikely you’d find many rich white men in these systems because they can buy their way out. Going into that system, you recognize how much rage there is—no matter what side of the equation you are looking at—but you also recognize how the roots of the rage are based on our social perspectives, values, and institutions."
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This year, the first day of the Lunar New Year falls on Friday, Feb. 16, and is the Year of the Dog which lasts through Feb. 4, 2019. Previous Years of the Dog were 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006; the next is 2030.
If you were born in a Dog year, here are some character traits which you'll likely recognize in yourself or someone you know who was born in the Year of the Dog:
On the negative side, Dog year people can tend to resist change. Once they've made a commitment, they stick with it even if it no longer serves them. Adapting to changing circumstances is a challenge for them.
Lori Read, author of Chinese Horoscopes, summarizes the character of Dog Year individuals this way: "Of all the animals in the Chinese Zodiac (there are 12 of them), Dogs are the least materialistic for they are unselfish individuals who care more about people than they do about money or success."
If you were born in a Dog year, here are some character traits which you'll likely recognize in yourself or someone you know who was born in the Year of the Dog:
- Fiercely loyal
- Compassionate
- Givers prepared to sacrifice their self-interest to help others
- Seek to address injustices
- Promote equality for all
- Feminist
- Voice for the voiceless in society
On the negative side, Dog year people can tend to resist change. Once they've made a commitment, they stick with it even if it no longer serves them. Adapting to changing circumstances is a challenge for them.
Lori Read, author of Chinese Horoscopes, summarizes the character of Dog Year individuals this way: "Of all the animals in the Chinese Zodiac (there are 12 of them), Dogs are the least materialistic for they are unselfish individuals who care more about people than they do about money or success."
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Karma is like seeds planted in our unconscious mind where it can hibernate, hidden in us. Eventually, karma blossoms in its consequences, for good or ill. Karma can take the form of physical symptoms, emotions, or memories. - Tulku Thondop