Philosophy 05 (Aug 25 - Dec 26)

[winston]

Be Curious, Not Furious

Skillfully engaging in the practice “be curious, not furious”, means to feel and act with a sense of greater safety instead of scanning for threats.

It means to feel more satisfied instead of focusing on what is lacking or needed.

- Marc Lesser, “How to Deal with Difficult People”

[winston]

A Higher Purpose

A higher purpose sets your priorities for how you choose to act in the world daily.

For example, a higher purpose may simply be “I will be compassionate.” It doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.

- Hersch Wilson, “Choosing Compassion”

[winston]

The Past Has Left Us

May we know we’ve been abandoned by the past, that the past has left us and moved on.

So, too, have previous versions of our bodies left us, so, too, have previous iterations of the earth and its ecology left us.

- Leora Fridman, “Notes on Abandon”

[winston]

Knowing Our Suffering

Suffering—know it; the cause — relinquish it; cessation, nibbana — realize it; the path — develop it.

All these four tasks are performed at once.

We complete them all at once, in the one moment.

- Ajahn Pramote, “The Task in Relation to Suffering”

[winston]

Empty Awareness

In any instruction to rest in awareness, we need to understand that awareness implies recognizing its empty nature as well as its lucid aspect — and not getting attached to emptiness is equally important.

- Joseph Goldstein, “Liberation Through Non-clinging”

[winston]

Compassionate Activism

Activism is compassionate, no matter what.

It’s because you love something so much that your heart is breaking if you don’t get involved.

What happens is that sometimes we forget because on the flip side of that, is anger.

- Konda Mason, “Compassionate Activism”

[winston]

The Fiction of Separateness

The profound reality of suffering, is an invitation to step out of the fiction of separateness, grasping at what is called the “small sense of self” or the “body of fear,” where we are frightened or selfish or self-centered or cut off.

- Jack Kornfield, “An Invitation to Freedom”

[winston]

Love Transcends Self

Ego can’t imagine how vast and intelligent, how much penetrating wisdom and love there is that transcends self, how much love there is that loves all — it can’t imagine any of this is possible because the ego is bound.

- Sunisa Manning, “The Generosity of Offering the Body”

[winston]

Always Falling Down

Falling down is what we humans do.

If we can acknowledge that fact, judgment softens and we allow the world to be as it is, forgiving ourselves and others for our humanity.

- Lin Jensen, “An Ear to the Ground”

[winston]

Choose What You Make

Life lays out the same materials for everyone and it’s up to us if we want to make misery or a pizza with a touch of surprise.

- Wang Ping, “Riprap”