Philosophy 06 (May 26 - Dec 27)

[winston]

Honoring Things

You don’t have to feel love or attachment to something, to honor it.
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- Hannah Tennant-Moore, “Not Our Bodies, Not Ourselves”

[winston]

Observing Pressure

When the mind learns to simply observe pressure, without immediate reaction, something begins to change.

The impulses may still arise but they lose their power.

Pressure appears but it no longer automatically leads to action.
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- Primoz Korelc Hiriko, “Pressure in the Mind”

[winston]

How to Let Go

Letting go is not about loosening a rope — it is about realizing the rope was smoke all along.

The error was never in failing to untie it but in mistaking it for something solid.
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- Ronald E. Purser, “The Paradox of Letting Go”

[winston]

The Grip of Jealousy

Once jealousy loosens its grip on the self, human love can attain a wider dimension of embodiment in our lives, that may naturally lead to the mindful cultivation of more inclusive intimate connections.
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- Jorge Ferrer, “What’s the Opposite of Jealousy?”

[winston]

Turn Your Light Within

If you allow everything to drop away, realization may occur.

It is usually not earth-shattering at all, however, just great simplicity in turning your light to shine within.
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- Jakusho Kwong-roshi, “Emptying into Spaciousness”

[winston]

Irrational Breakthroughs

Rational explanations have their place but irrational breakthroughs, like those that come out of practice, are invigorating because they alert us to capacities we do not know we have.
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- Mark Epstein

[winston]

Self-Pity versus Self-Compassion

Self-pity is not the same thing as self-compassion.

Self-compassion says, “May you be well,” and it reduces our suffering.

Self-pity says, “Poor me, this is terrible,” and increases our suffering.

- Bodhipaksa, “How to Sit When You Are Sick”

[winston]

The Importance of Intention

Like music, intention can influence our mood, thoughts and feelings — setting an intention in the morning, we set the tone for the day.

- Thupten Jinpa, “Two Exercises for Turning Intention into Motivation”

[winston]

Foolishness and Compassion

The more we become aware of our foolishness, the greater will be the illumination of boundless compassion;

The deeper we go into the ocean of boundless compassion, the more we realize how we have been drowning in our own foolishness.
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- Mark Unno

[winston]

Fuel for Awakening

We cannot ignore cause and effect.

We cannot ignore this life, especially the painful, embarrassing and frustrating parts of it.

But through practice, we can transform these experiences into fuel for awakening.

- River Shannon, “My Foxy Body”