Philosophy 04 (Jan 25 - Dec 26)

[winston]

Self-Acceptance as Love

The truth is, everybody is not going to love you or accept you.

You have to have enough love and acceptance for yourself.

And when you keep building on just that, acceptance overflows and spills onto those who deserve it and those who don’t.

- Pannavati, “Encourage Others by Overcoming Your Own Suffering”

[winston]

Antidote to Nihilism

I have repeatedly heard from my teachers that emptiness does not mean nothing matters.

Since everything is empty, everything matters.

- Michael Lobsang Tenpa, “Sealing Our Queer Life”

[winston]

Opening Up to Grief

Healing isn’t about closure. It is about openness.

It is about a profound vulnerability that releases us from the need to hide from anything and that ultimately leads us to freedom.

- Bonnie O’Brien Jonsson, “Opening Up to Grief ”

[winston]

Trusting in Awareness

Awareness embraces the feeling of excitement or sadness but it does not get excited or sad.

So it’s a matter of learning to trust in that awareness rather than just endlessly struggling with whatever feelings might be arising.

- Ajahn Sumedho, “Trusting in Simplicity”

[winston]

Do Good Now

Whatever goodness we’re capable of doing, we should do now, when we have the opportunity because the opportunity won’t always be there.

- Thanissaro, “Heedfulness Is Auspicious”

[winston]

Awakening to Perfection

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”

[winston]

The Interconnectedness of All Beings

We rely on gifts from the universe to live (air, water, food).

We live together with all things. Why is it necessary to think we’re superior?

This is like our stomach thinking it’s more valuable than other parts of our bodies.

- Shohaku Okumura, “Education and Work”

[winston]

The Emptiness of Roles

If the self is only conventionally and fundamentally empty at the core, then the same goes for our social roles.

The streams of identity change over time; they deepen, dry out or carve up a different path but in the ocean of emptiness, none of those distinctions exist.

- Kurt Spellmeyer, “Embracing Fluidity”

[winston]

Spiritual Friends

Practicing in the company of a spiritual community, with friends of like-minded values, makes a great difference in supporting this ongoing spiritual, emotional and moral growth.

It is far more difficult to do it on your own.

- Geoff Dawson, “Moral Philosophy and Zen”

[winston]

Openheartedness

The Tibetan word that gets translated as “faith” (dad pa) does not mainly mean belief; more significantly, it suggests receptivity, openheartedness and the capacity for taking delight in what inspires you.

- Anne C. Klein, “Revisiting Ritual”