Archive for ‘giving’

A human being is part of the whole, called by us “Universe”

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

A human being is part of the whole, called by us “Universe”; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely but striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.

- Albert Einstein

link: buddhism-online.net

Bodhisattva

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Giving up is a good thing

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

The practice of seeing clearly is what finally moves us toward kindness. Seeing, again and again, the infinite variety of traps we create for seducing the mind into struggle, seeing the endless rounds of meaningless suffering over lusts and aversions (which, although seemingly urgent, are essentially empty), we feel compassion for ourselves. And then, quite naturally, we feel compassion for everyone else. We know as we have never known before that we are stuck, all of us, with bodies and minds and instincts and impulses, all in a tug-of-war with our basic heart nature that yearns to relax into love. Then we surrender. We love. We laugh. We appreciate.

link: Sylvia Boorstein, from “On the Cushion,” Tricycle, Summer 2002

Tibetan Nuns Project

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

In 1987 the Tibetan Nuns Project was founded to provide education and humanitarian aid to refugee nuns from Tibet and the Himalayan regions of India. Food, clothing, housing, and basic medical care were organized. A sponsorship program was set up which allows donors from around the world to contribute to the effort. Now nuns in six different nunneries, which represent all of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, receive support through the Project.

link: tnp.org