Interdependence on a global level

The modern world is such that the interests of a particular country or community can no longer be considered to lie within the confines of its own boundaries. Cultivating contentment is therefore crucial to maintaining peaceful coexistence because discontent breeds a sense of acquisitiveness that can never be satisfied. ~ His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama, 15 Oct 10

 

The Power of Failure

Everybody, even the best of us, will sometimes behave ingloriously, and to think otherwise is to be hemmed in by vanity. As sad sinners wandering through samsara, one of the few things we can count on is that we are on occasion going to screw up miserably. For those of us who are exceptionally reliable in this regard, it is nothing less than a saving grace, is it not, that in our guise as bodhisattvas, falling down on the job is the biggest part of the job, and sometimes, somehow, failure, if allowed to do its work, can actually be surprisingly emancipatory. It can even help make us whole. We have to try to be better—wiser, kinder, more generous—people, but mostly there’s no getting away from our embarrassing, maddening, harebrained selves.  ~ Andrew Cooper, “The Debacle”

Overcoming the Tug of Desire

Mindfulness practice offers the restraint necessary to overcome the tug of desire upon the senses. As we notice the mind wandering off to explore a gratifying train of thought, or as we notice the body’s urging to nudge ourselves into a more comfortable position, we gently abandon the impulse and return attention to the primary object of awareness. We do this again and again until the mind becomes content with being fully present with what is manifesting here and now in the field of experience, rather than rushing off for some other form of stimulation. As the mind settles down, it becomes considerably more powerful, and thus more empowered. ~  Andrew Olendzki, “The Ties that Unbind”