The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is… Wherever you are, be there totally. — Eckhart Tolle
It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had. – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Novices Calvin and Ananda
According to Buddhism for a man to be perfect there are two qualities that he should develop equally: compassion on one side, and wisdom on the other. Here compassion represents love, charity, kindness, tolerance and such noble qualities on the emotional side, or qualities of the heart, while wisdom would stand for the intellectual side or the qualities of the mind. If one develops only the emotional neglecting the intellectual, one may become a good-hearted fool; while to develop only the intellectual side neglecting the emotional may turn one into a hardheaded intellect without feeling for others. Therefore, to be perfect one has to develop both equally. That is the aim of the Buddhist way of life: in it wisdom and compassion are inseparably linked together.
— Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught
1. Faith and Determination, Loving Kindness and Compassion, Wisdom
The philosophy expounded by the Buddha is very profound and broad. It is so broad and profound that sometimes ordinary people have difficulties in finding a right entrance into it. They do not know where to start. However, this does not imply that the Buddha’s Teachings are confusing or disorganised. On the contrary, Buddhism has very logical, well-reasoned and practical principles.
Wise men in the past commented that all the methods taught by the Buddha, whether the expedient or ultimate paths, serve the sole purpose of leading one to Buddhahood. Whether it is the path that leads one away from evil, and towards the right aspirations (the principle of the Five Vehicles)or the path that leads to disentanglement from worldly desires and to freedom (the principle of the Three Vehicles);or the path that turns one away from the practice of the Sravaka and Pratyeka-buddhas and redirects one to Mahayana thought (the principle of the one Vehicle);
the Buddha explained the paths to enlightenment in all these various ways for the benefit of sentient beings in all their corresponding variety. It is for this great reason that the Buddha appeared in this world.
From the stand point of one who wants to learn about Buddhism, it is important to understand that all the methods taught by the Buddha are in fact processes in the Bodhisattva’s practice. They are the Bodhi paths that lead to Buddhahood. Due to the differing conditions, causes, times and places into which we were born, the best ways towards Bodhi (Enlightenment) may differ for each of us. But if we try to seek the truth of nature through the various methods we will realise that there are no great differences in the teachings of the Buddha. Three themes characterize all the teachings and encompass them as one coherent whole. These themes are as applicable to the practice of “One Vehicle” as they are to the “Three vehicles” and “Five vehicles”. Thus, we call these themes the “The Three Essentials in Practising the Teaching of the Buddha”. Continue reading
Living 24 hours with mindfulness is more worthwhile than living 100 years without it. – The Buddha
Birds teach a great life lesson. All you have to do is listen to their song. — Unknown
A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. — Maya Angelou
Relationships are like birds. If you hold tightly, they die. If you hold loosely, they fly. But if you hold with care, they remain with you forever. — Unknown
The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation. — Unknown
Jendhamuni at the Wachusett Mountain on a rainy and foggy day on November 26, 2020.
I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.
Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white…
Human Family
Maya Angelou
Source: Familyfriendpoems
Nurture your soul with positive thoughts and internal happiness will blossom before your eyes. — Melanie Koulouris
As I noticed feelings and thoughts appear and disappear, it became increasingly clear that they were just coming and going on their own. . . . There was no sense of a self owning them. – Tara Brach
Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t). – James Baraz
Living 24 hours with mindfulness is more worthwhile than living 100 years without it. – The Buddha
Each step along the Buddha’s path to happiness requires practising mindfulness until it becomes part of your daily life. – Henepola Gunaratana
Meditate … do not delay, lest you later regret it. – The Buddha
Ardently do today what must be done. Who knows? Tomorrow, death comes. – The Buddha
Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it. – Sylvia Boorstein Continue reading
