What does Buddhism teach? Don't worry, I won't give you a history of Buddhism. There are many dull accounts of this history and a few not-so-dull ones. For now, let's get right to the living center of Buddhism: what the Buddha saw, felt, and taught to his disciples.
Next to the chair where I sit in meditation is my puja table, where I keep various items of spiritual significance to me -- including a stone-carved Buddha. Buddha is sitting in a relaxed, yet contemplative position and there is a big smile on his face.
What is karma? What is its purpose? How do you create it and how do you resolve it? The more you know about karma, the greater your ability to complete it and reduce its control over your life.
Surrendering doesn't mean you don't have to make plans. You do. I call this doing my homework -- I do my best to look at the situation, then I make one or two or three plans, and then I wait to see what the Divine has to say about all this.
Simply by meditating, people have been able to reduce the amount of stress they feel in their lives, alleviate physical pain, deepen awareness, relax muscle tension, improve mind-body coordination, achieve a sense of peace and joy, see more possibilities, and even reduce biological age.
Saudi Arabia has effectively canceled the hajj for most of the world’s Muslims, saying the obligatory pilgrimage to Mecca will be “very limited” this year due to the coronavirus.
We can travel a long way and do many different things, but our deepest happiness is not born from accumulating new experiences. It is born from letting go of what is unnecessary, and knowing ourselves to be always at home. True happiness may not be at all far away, but it requires a radical change of view as to where to find it.
The Buddha's teaching of simple mindfulness or awareness as a way to enlightenment is particularly suitable for people today. The whole secret of mindfulness can be summed up in the two words: "Remember" and "Awareness."
When you practice mindful breathing, you become truly present. Mindful eating is very pleasant and is a very deep practice. Mindful walking is healing and transformational. Mindfulness brings healing to past and future generations as well as to our own selves. All of us can do it. By the third or fourth day, you will have seen the difference.
Waking up to the first faint suggestion of light, I don’t want to leave my bed. And so I don’t. I just let myself lie there under the warmth of the thick covers and turn my attention to my breath. I become aware of it. I start feeling it. I start letting go to it.
It takes some training to equate complete letting go with comfort. But in fact, 'nothing to hold on to' is the root of happiness. There's a sense of freedom when we accept that we're not in control. By not knowing, not hoping to know, and not acting like we know what's happening, we begin to access our inner strength.
I was born in 1960 and my formative years were spent worrying about the Vietnam War, race riots, and the nuclear threat. My earliest memory is John F. Kennedy's assassination. Sadly, my daughter was about the same age on September 11, 2001 as I was on the day JFK died. Will she be haunted by the continuous Technicolor loop of doom and destruction...
Hindus in India have had a helping hand – several in fact – when it comes to fighting deadly contagions like COVID-19: multi-armed goddesses co-opted to help contain and kill pestilence.
While speaking to a friend who has recently 'lost' a dear one to death, I was reminded that we sometimes don't feel comfortable around such situations. The thoughts come up: 'What do I say? How can I make her feel better? Is it better to speak or to be silent?'
Fears are the biggest blocks that keep people from achieving the level of mastery they desire. The subconscious mind draws to us whatever we think about. Fear is a very strongly energized thought and has a lot of power to create undesirable conditions in our lives. "Like attracts like" and if you are always thinking of fearful things, the very things you fear will be attracted to you.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released what it calls “general considerations” on safe actions for reopening houses of worship, but worship communities can accept or reject those considerations.
‘Despite all our medical advances,’ my friend Jason used to quip, ‘the mortality rate has remained constant – one per person.’
One of the most difficult and rewarding things you will ever learn is how to live in the moment. Quite simply, if you are to have power to create the reality you want you must learn how to live in the moment.
In shamanic cultures it’s the task of the shaman to travel out of body to other worlds, experience new realities, and then bring knowledge back to the tribe in order to heal and restore balance. To experience a different reality and remain silent about it is simply not an option.
When I began to study Huna in 1982, the first subject we dealt with was forgiveness, for good reason: it cleared the way for a larger current of energy to flow through us. It takes effort to hold on to old guilt, grief, and pain, just as grudges and gripes contribute to stress. Forgiveness is releasing rather than accepting. It frees up energy that has been holding stressful...,
The first time I actually saw a rainbow, its quiet beauty struck my heart with such awe that it touched something deep within me. Just seeing a rainbow catches you quite off guard and somehow just makes you stop and look ... and wonder.
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