HE Sogyal Rinpoche arrives to speak about Buddhism, Seattle, Washington, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
What we have to learn, in both meditation and in life, is to be free of attachment to the good experiences, and free of aversion to the negative ones. – Sogyal Rinpoche in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.
Just yesterday I was thinking of how to help the ever changing world…i.e.more famines…more riots…more violence for violence’s sake.
I thought…What can I do? (not in order)
1. Feed the sentient beings as I can, locally.
2. Pray and do mantra practice
3. Meditate.
4. Smile to all even if they do not smile in return.
5. Drive mindfully and safely
6. Look people in the eyes and see them for them
7. Volunteer at the Local Food Bank
8. Travel the Middle Path
9. Speak only those words that should be spoken
10. Repeat and add more.
I know this is a simple and incomplete list. And we all do these things with out referring to the list. But sometimes it helps to write down what we can do to help ourselves and all sentient beings. It removes anger (frustration)…apathy due to being overwhelmed…it highlights the ripple effect (what we do, feel, not do, not feel..ripples throughout the worlds)
The first turning of the Wheel of Dharma.
For seven weeks after his enlightenment, Buddha did not teach. Finally, encouragement by Indra and Brahma, he turned the Wheel of Dharma for the first time, at Sarnath, teaching the Four Noble Truths. On this day the effects of positive or negative actions are multiplied ten million times.
When the Buddha taught, he didn’t say that we were bad people or that there was some sin that we had committed—original or otherwise—that made us more ignorant than clear, more harsh than gentle, more closed than open. He taught that there is a kind of innocent misunderstanding that we all share, something that can be turned around, corrected, and seen through, as if we were in a dark room and someone showed us where the light switch was. It isn’t a sin that we are in a dark room. It’s just an innocent situation, but how fortunate that someone shows us where the light switch is. It brightens up our life considerably. We can start to read books, to see one another’s faces, to discover the colors of the walls, to enjoy the little animals that creep in and out of the room. ~ Pema Chodron
from The Wisdom of No Escape by Pema Chodron
OPINION ~ The New York Times ~ The Future Doesn’t Hurt. Yet (click to read) By MATTHIEU RICARD
Click on the above image to read another article about the disappearing glaciers ( from The Guardian UK)
A Buddhist's Journey 