Philosophy 02 (Nov 15 - Dec 24)

[winston]

Suffer Less, Find Clarity

When we suffer less, we are less prone to cause harm to others. We are less consumed by our suffering.

When we are not as consumed by suffering, we can connect with our natural capacity for empathy and compassion.

This compassion is founded on clarity and realization of our interconnectedness.

- Rebecca Li, “Remembering as an Act of Cultivating Clear Awareness”

[winston]

Power Past Expectations

Part of the power of meditation practice, is seeing the ways we set ourselves up to suffer precisely because of our skewed expectations.

- Alex Tzelnic, “Are We Having Fun Yet?”

[winston]

Looking in on Life

Looking into life as we generally live it — carefully examining our habits and our patterns — encourages us to examine the whole world differently.

- Helen Liebenson, “Practice Questioning”

[winston]

Work with the Mind

To cultivate a steady mind independent of circumstances, we must work with the mind itself.

Working directly with the mind uncovers the inherent quality of meditative awareness.

- Yongey Mingyur, “The Good Shepherd”

[winston]

Love and Loss

To love is to experience loss.

- Olivia Q. Pintair

[winston]

Standing in the Stream

It is good to stand in the middle of the stream and live rather than stand on the bank and witness things from afar.

To have both a sense of participation and also a sense of wise detachment because one knows the reality of things.

- Amitava Kumar, “The Reality of Things”

[winston]

The Generosity of Saying No

There can be a compassionate way of saying no.

Saying no can actually be a generous gesture in the sense of not continuing with an unworkable relationship or situation.

- Laura Bridgman, “Ending Relationships with Wisdom”

[winston]

Go on the Path Alone

It’s your life. No one can do this for you.

Your teacher can set you in a particular direction but you have to go on the path alone.

- Jakusho Kwong, “Emptying into Spaciousness”

[winston]

Grief Is an Ancestor

Grief is an ancestor who teaches us to exercise constant and immense gratitude.

- Mimi Zhu, “Grief Is an Ancestor”

[winston]

Letting Go Completely

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace.

If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.

And if you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

- Ajahn Chah, “Lovingkindness for Control Freaks”