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Post by t-bob on Feb 23, 2020 10:58:40 GMT -5
There Is Nothing You Need to Fix
Take the attitude that there is nothing in your experience that you need to control or fix, and you’ll be available to experience the perfection that is always there, the truth that everything you need to awaken is with you right now.
—Kate Johnson, “Calming the Not Now Mind”
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Post by t-bob on Feb 24, 2020 10:54:01 GMT -5
The Awareness Already Within Us
To be fully awake is the normal human condition. It expresses the deepest truth of our nature, our oneness with the energy of the universe. We meditate and study and practice to penetrate into, or relax into, this awareness.
—Sandy Boucher, “We Are in Training to Be Nobody Special”
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Post by t-bob on Feb 25, 2020 10:35:52 GMT -5
What about Attachment to Family?
Too often Buddhist “nonattachment” is misconstrued as “non-loving.” The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to “renounce” our families or community, but to shed habits of self-protective clinging that prevent us from loving them more unconditionally, powerfully, enjoyably.
—Lama John Makransky, “Family Practice”
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Post by t-bob on Feb 26, 2020 11:18:24 GMT -5
Opening Our Hearts Amidst Difficulty
Meditation and dharma practice give us straightforward and powerful trainings to balance our mind and open our hearts amidst all difficulties, using mindfulness, loving-kindness, equanimity, and compassion.
—Jack Kornfield, “Truth and Reconciliation Begins with Us”
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Post by t-bob on Feb 27, 2020 9:28:26 GMT -5
Your Calm Mind Helps Others
Your body reflects your mind. When you feel love for all beings, it shows on your face. Seeing your honest, relaxed face, others will gravitate toward you and enjoy being around you.
—Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, “11 Benefits of Loving-Friendliness Meditation”
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Post by t-bob on Feb 28, 2020 9:49:43 GMT -5
Benefits of a Spacious Mind
The spacious mind has room for everything. It is like the space in a room, which is never harmed by what goes in and out of it.
—Ajahn Sumedho, “Noticing Space”
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Post by t-bob on Feb 29, 2020 9:38:17 GMT -5
Train Yourself Toward Compassion
With mindfulness, we see that the heart is the ground from which our speech grows. We learn to restrain our speech in moments of anger, hostility, or confusion, and over time, to train the heart to more frequently incline towards wholesome states such as love, kindness and empathy.
—Beth Roth, “Right Speech Reconsidered”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 2, 2020 9:28:30 GMT -5
Focus on Kindness
When our minds become convinced that we’ve been the recipients of a tremendous amount of kindness in our lives, the wish to speak ill of others vanishes.
—Ven. Thubten Chodron, “The Truth About Gossip”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 3, 2020 9:10:54 GMT -5
Making Space to Respond with Intention
If we cultivate awareness enough to step back a bit from simply reacting, we can insert a gap or a pause before being carried away. In that little gap there is the freedom to respond in a fresh way, less predetermined.
—Judy Lief, “Train Your Mind: Don’t Be So Predictable”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 4, 2020 9:19:44 GMT -5
Interconnection All Around Us
When we just say, “I am,” and open our eyes around us, we intuitively see that others are also included in “I am.”
—Ruben L. F. Habito, “Be Still & Know”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 5, 2020 9:11:47 GMT -5
What Makes an Enlightened Life?
If I had to summarize the entirety of an enlightened person’s life in a few words, it would be complete acceptance of what is. As we accept what is, our minds are relaxed and composed while the world changes rapidly around us.
—Haemin Sunim, “The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 6, 2020 9:12:26 GMT -5
Paying Attention Changes the World
Attention changes what kind of a thing comes into being for us: in that way it changes the world.
—Iain McGilchrist, “Examining Attention”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 7, 2020 9:38:05 GMT -5
Take Destiny into Your Own Hands
The events and circumstances of our lives do not happen by accident; rather they are the result of certain causes and conditions. When we understand the conditions necessary for something to happen, we can begin to take destiny into our own hands.
—Joseph Goldstein, “The Evolution of Happiness”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 8, 2020 9:28:22 GMT -5
Working with Anger
We can try, in a spirit of simple curiosity, to get so close to our anger that we no longer know or feel it as anger. Cause and object, the self being angry, and the anger itself all drop away, and all that remains is the precious energy, freed at last.
—Roshi Nancy Mujo Baker, “Precious Energy”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 9, 2020 9:01:44 GMT -5
Meaning Is Relative
Meaning is relative and always in flux, part of a chain of reference that never comes to an end.
—David Loy, “The Dharma of Deconstruction”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 11, 2020 8:15:27 GMT -5
How to Cultivate Relationships with Obstacles
When challenges or obstacles arise for us, we don’t have to get so intimidated; we can say, “Yes, it’s an obstacle, but it is not intrinsically bad; it’s not going to destroy me.” To create a relationship with the obstacle, learn about it, and finally overcome it … gives us a chance to cultivate wisdom and skillful means.
—Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, “Old Relationships, New Possibilities”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 12, 2020 8:21:18 GMT -5
How Mindfulness Leads to Autonomy
Mindfulness is not only about paying attention and being aware but also about deciding where we want to put our attention.
—Interview with Gina Biegel by Wendy Joan Biddlecombe Agsar, “How to Support Your Teen’s Meditation Practice”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 13, 2020 8:44:26 GMT -5
Your Practice Is Always Present
We are not separate from our practice, and so no matter what, our practice is present.
—Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, “Like a Dragon in Water”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 14, 2020 9:03:18 GMT -5
Be Aware of Becoming Unaware
Every time you recognize that you have lost awareness, be happy. The fact that you have recognized that you lost awareness means that you are now aware.
—Sayadaw U Tejaniya, “The Art of Investigation”
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Post by t-bob on Mar 16, 2020 8:19:53 GMT -5
Where Fear Should Be Felt
We should not be afraid of suffering. We should be afraid of only one thing, and that is not knowing how to deal with our suffering.
—Thich Nhat Hanh, “Why We Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Suffering”
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