The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism
Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth. Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow minded and bound to present views. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. Do not avoid suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not maintain anger or hatred. Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party. Do not kill. Possess nothing that should belong to others.
30 Challenges for 30 Days
Did you know that it takes 30 days to form a new habit? The first few days are similar as to how you would imagine the birth of a new river. Full of enthusiasm it gushes forth, only to be met by strong obstacles. So, take a moment to reflect on the question ‘Who do I want to be in 5 years?’ Check out this short TED talk first to get inspired: Now pick one or more challenges and stick with them! However, be cautioned, picking too many challenges at the same time can easily result in a failure of all of them. #1 Write a I-Like-This-About-You note/text/email each day for someone (Easy) This is the perfect way to let someone else know you care. #2 Talk to one stranger each day (Hard) This is a great one to cure approaching anxiety. #3 Take one picture each day (Hard) This one gets harder nearing the end of the challenge because at one point you will run out of the easy shots. #4 Re-evaluate one long-held belief each day (Intermediate) #5 Take a 30 minute walk each day (Easy) We recommend:
compassion for an enemy
re original post I hear you. Getting attacked by ignorance is never an easy thing. In the moment of it happening, the best I can usually do is exercise some self-control, force myself to wait until the experience is over. At the time, my emotions may be of anger and etc., but I at least try to control my external behavior (does not always work!!!). Anyway, then, after the incident, I try to wait until my anger calms down. One of things I do is try to find some way to sympathize with the other person. I don't identify them as the "thing" which attacked me, I identify them as their spirituality within, that is being blocked by the clouds of ignorance. So, I try and feel sorry, that they are so blocked. I live in NJ. It is really like they have some kind of subconscious recognition that they are cursed. It took me awhile to recognize it. I knew a young guy who was a "gopher" for them...the lowest rung on the ladder.
Work Ethic 2.0: Attention Control
The industrial revolution didn't arise out of nowhere, and it didn't arise everywhere. It was made possible by the emergence of a set of personal values that came to be known as the "work ethic." The idea behind this meme -- inconceivable 400 years ago -- is that hard work is good for its own sake. This industrial-age work ethic has its variants, including the "Protestant work ethic," the "American work ethic," and the "Asian work ethic" to name a few. When the "information age" started replacing the "industrial age," hard work seemed more important than ever. But since the turn of the new millennium, the nature of work has evolved to the point where hard work is becoming less important to a successful work ethic than another, more useful value: attention. The New Work Ethic But why is that truer now than ten or twenty years ago? Distractions mask the toll they take on productivity. It's time we upgraded our work ethic for the age we're living in, not our grandparents' age.
Global One TV - Inward Revolution Creates Outward Revolution
An Interview With The Dalai Lama | BlogLife | MyLifeWall
By Zubek Currimbhoy Your Holiness, may I begin at the very beginning. What are your earliest memories? My granduncle was a monk. My elder brother who was a higher Lama was taught by my granduncle and so I sometimes ventured in their path. I must have been just about two years old and one day I was crawling on the floor and I crawled right over the scriptures. Your Holiness, Tibetan Buddhism has captured the imagination of people across the globe. Yes, Tibetan Buddhism has a great role to play in the future. You mentioned God, your Holiness. We were in fact discussing the mind and its responses. Is the world in a spiritual vacuum? My main interest is without talking of faith or religion, I should speak of compassion of caring in order to create a fuller human being. Your Holiness, peace and conflict are two sides of the same coin. [He looks closely at me and smiles] I think peaceful. How do you react to conflict and terror? I have a strange view on this. Thank you so much, Your Holiness.
Subliminal Relaxation : Killhoula
abandoning all self views
Steve Goodheart Essay Who am I? What am I? How am I? We’ve all asked these questions. Interestingly, the Buddha does not offer a final metaphysical view on self. Look deeply and skillfully into phenomena, the Buddha said, and you’ll find there’s no real self to cling to or be attached to. The Buddha saw that if we pin our quest for happiness on our personal self, a savior self, or a cosmic self, this only leads to suffering. In any event, the “not-selfness” of all things isn’t a metaphysical idea we adopt. The Buddha had one very practical and down-to-earth goal: the end of suffering. When asked about metaphysical ideas about Self, and God, eternity, and infinity, the Buddha remained silent, refusing to answer because to him, these were the wrong questions! Seeing for ourselves the “not selfness” of any form or state of consciousness or being is simply one of the tools the Buddha offers on path to the end of suffering. The Buddha makes the freedom from “self views” so clear: Like this:
