Life 41 (Oct 21 - Jan 22)

[winston]

Meeting Discomfort

Dharma practice is not an escape: it’s an intimate meeting with the discomfort and suffering of the first noble truth. Life contains suffering.

— Sarah Conover, “Lost at Sea”

[behappyalways]

Chinese father makes own medicine in desperate bid to treat son’s fatal genetic disease
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQQQ5p7Sum0

[winston]

What is most essential for progress and the establishment of morality in society?

What we need today are noble, high-minded men and women. Nations will be prosperous only when there are such persons with noble minds and hearts.

Such persons will emerge in society only when there’s purity of mind and morality in society. Only a society with a moral foundation can foster such noble persons.

Spirituality is the means for redemption. Morality and integrity are based upon spiritual consciousness.

Spirituality alone will take man to the sacred path leading to his destiny. Spirituality alone can elevate man and raise him to higher levels. It’s the means to real national progress and prosperity.

World peace can be secured only through spirituality. It‘s the means for the redemption of mankind.

Forgetting spirituality, man is leading an artificial life based on worldly pleasures.

Education should be used for promoting the nation's welfare. Knowledge gained through education should be used selflessly for promoting the welfare of humanity.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 22, 1992.

Whatever knowledge one may acquire, one should use it for the well-being of all.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Apply Your Knowledge

It’s not enough just to know the definition of bodhisattva.

What’s much more important is to study the actions of a bodhisattva and then to behave like one yourself.

— Kosho Uchiyama, “What Is a Bodhisattva?”

[winston]

Apply Your Knowledge

It’s not enough just to know the definition of bodhisattva.

What’s much more important is to study the actions of a bodhisattva and then to behave like one yourself.

— Kosho Uchiyama, “What Is a Bodhisattva?”

[winston]

What precious lesson can we learn from a child which is fond of its toys?

The Scriptures teach the path of devotion and surrender. They ask that man should do every deed in a spirit of dedication.

Allow the wind of doubt or the sun of despair, to affect the pot of Ananda (bliss) you have filled, and it will evaporate quickly.

But keep the pot in the cool waters of good company and good deeds; it can be preserved undiminished forever.

Bliss too grows when you dwell on it in silence and recapitulate the circumstances which yielded it. That is why manana (recapitulation) is held so important as a part of spiritual effort.

Like the child which throws off its toys and starts crying, you too must realise the paltriness of the toys of fame and fortune and call out for the Mother.

The child feels that all else is trash before the love of the Mother and the blessedness of her presence. One should not aspire for anything less.

- Divine Discourse, Jul 02, 1966.

Be vigilant. When cleverness degenerates into conceit, it makes a man forget
the Divine, who is the inner motivator.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Becoming Genuine

[The Buddhist path] is a balance of awareness, insight and action, working harmoniously together.

In that way, our energy is no longer divided or scattered but we are fully present in whatever we do.

That is what it means to be a genuine human being.

— Judy Lief, “Meditation Alone Is Not Enough”

[winston]

In matters of faith or spiritual practices, how should we resolve conflicts?

In spiritual matters, faith is the basic requisite for progress. That faith had to be guarded carefully.

Yield to the Divine, who is more kin to you than your own parents; yield to no other.

Do not allow your faith to falter with every passing gust of wind. Believe that all the three worlds cannot unseat Truth; all the fourteen worlds (lokas) cannot seat falsehood on the throne.

Your duty is to carry on spiritual practices (sadhana) undisturbed by what others may say, holding fast to the certitude of your own experience.

Bear with others with patience and understanding, and practise Sahana (fortitude) and sympathy.

Try to discover points of contact, not of conflicts.

Spread brotherliness and deepen kindness through knowledge. Then, life becomes worthwhile!

- Divine Discourse, May 23, 1966.

Sahana or endurance gives peace, and removes hatred and anger. Sahana is the richest treasure of man.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

You Are Compassion

Our whole life and all parts of it, every moment of it, and all of existence is nothing but compassion and love.

We don’t need to produce compassion. We already are compassion.

— Norman Fischer, “We Are Our Relationships”

[winston]

You Are Compassion

Our whole life and all parts of it, every moment of it, and all of existence is nothing but compassion and love.

We don’t need to produce compassion. We already are compassion.

— Norman Fischer, “We Are Our Relationships”