QUOTE OF THE DAY - MARCH 31ST

If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, 
if your house is on fire, then you got a problem.  
Everything else is inconvenience.  - Robert Fulgum

YOUR GREATEST ASSET IS . . . . A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Your quality of living is not determined by what life sends your way
   but by the attitude you bring to what life presents.
Your quality of living is not determined by what happens to you
   but by the attitude you take toward what has happened.
Your quality of living is not determined by injustice, unfairness, mistreatment
   but by the attitude and mindset you adopt toward those difficulties.
It's true that the changes and challenges which come your way can color and flavor your life but you can use your mind to choose what the color and flavor will be.

Your greatest asset is always a positive, hopeful, optimistic, upbeat, and affirmative attitude. 

Today consider these words of wisdom from author William Arthur Ward:
"Real optimism is aware of problems but recognizes the solutions, knows about difficulties but believes they can be overcome, sees the negatives but accentuates the positives, is exposed to the worst but expects the best, has reason to complain but chooses to smile."

TRY SAYING 'OF COURSE'

Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness, have few desires. - Lao Tzu

Buddhism frowns on attachment because attachment is like an addiction. When Buddhists talks about attachment, they refer to the way we cling to ideas, things and people under the illusion they are unchanging. Unwittingly we attach ourselves to moods, emotions and feelings under the false notion they will be permanent and constant. That explains why most people experience change as something negative and frightening often leaving them feeling hopeless when life changes become more difficult. 

So, the Buddha taught detachment: don't become overly invested when things are good nor when they are bad. Detachment is the only way to remain balanced and philosophical about life.

An interesting example comes via a highly respected Buddhist teacher who, in the perception of his students, appeared to be greatly attached his tea mug. It was constantly by his side. Thus, a student asked: “You have taught us that being overly attached and invested in anything can cause us to suffer. Though you are clearly a monk of the highest caliber you appear to be very attached to your tea mug.”

Their teacher offered this explanation and teaching lesson about detachment. “It is true that I like, very much, this mug. I like the way it retains heat keeping my tea warm for long periods of time. I admire the way the sun shines from it creating tiny rainbows. It is, without doubt, important to me. However, I do not cling to it because in my mind this glass is already broken. It is in my possession only temporarily. While I enjoy it as long as it lasts, I know the day will come when I mAy accidentally drop it causing it to break into pieces. When that happens I will say 'of course'.

The important words in his explanation are 'of course'. When changes come our way it's worth remembering his words 'of course'. . . .

Of course.....mugs break.

Of course.....a person get sick.

Of course.....people lose jobs.

Of course.....there comes a diagnosis of terminal illness.

Of course.....a friendship disappoints.

Of course.....we get old.

Of course.....loved ones die.

 

Saying 'of course' liberates us to embrace change with all of it's difficulties and find the potential within it.

DON'T VACILLATE!

A monk was out begging from house to house in a village. One door was opened by a beautiful woman who was the wife of a wealthy villager. She decided to see if the monk could be tempted to break any of his vows so she invited him into her home under the pretense of being a spiritual seeker. There she engaged him in conversation. After some time had passed, the monk said he needed to be on his way, excused himself and went to the door discovering it was locked.

 

“Please open the door,” he asked the woman.

“Not just yet,” was her response. “I will let you out of this room only if you do one of the following: Kill the goat who is tied up outside the back door; have sex with me; or drink this jug of wine.”

He was in a dilemma. As a Buddhist he could not resort to violence by fighting with the woman to get out of her house. Furthermore, her three conditions all violated the vows he took to become a Buddhist monk. Slaughtering the goat would mean breaking the precept against killing. Having sex would be breaking his vow of celibacy. Drinking from the jug would violate the precept of avoiding intoxicating drinks. Eventually, the troubled monk decided that the least offensive thing he could do would be to drink he wine which would harm no one but himself.

Because he wasn't used to drinking liquor of any kind, the monk got drunk. Because he was drunk, his resolve was weakened and he became mindless and careless. Furthermore, the liquor made him hungry so he killed the goat. While it was cooking he had sex with the woman.

This story is well known in Buddhist circles where it is often referred to as the Tale of The Hapless Monk. It is a reminder to us that our commitments, promises, vows are interlinked. Compromising in one area can create a domino effect where we find ourselves sliding deeper and deeper in a quagmire. To keep that from happening bring to mind the slogan: Don't vacillate. Remember your principles. Stay on track even when distractions, obstacles and temptations present themselves.

For further reflection:

Just as a rock o one solid mass remains unshaken

by the wind, even so neither visible forms, nor

sounds, no scents, nor tastes nor bodily impressions,

neither he desired nor the undesired, can cause such a

one to waver. Steadfast is his mind, gained is deliverance.

- Pali Canon

SPEAKING OF DEATH.....

According to the Buddhist way of thinking, death,

far from being a subject to be shunned and avoided,

is the key that unlocks the seeming mystery of life.

It is by understanding death that we understand life.

- V.F. Gunaratna

   

 Actually, we human beings don't like to speak of death. 

 

The topic is far too depressing, way too dark.

So why do Buddhists like to make us think about death. They're so into thinking about death and dying that part of Buddhist monastic training is to spend a night of meditation in a cemetery.

And why does a Buddhist teacher say that “it is by understanding death that we understand life”?

Here's one way thinking about death can help us understand life. Simply consider this thought: you could have died last night. Many people die in the night. They die from a heart attack, an automobile accident, illness, suicide, murder. To deepen your appreciate of the new day you could further consider the fact that other people on the planet died last night. That has happened to men and women, young and old, babies and teenagers.

Thus, upon waking up every morning our first thought should that of gratitude: How marvelous that I am still alive. How wonderful that I am receiving the gift of one more day. In fact, when we wake up every morning it is perfectly appropriate to remind ourselves: How glorious that I'm alive. I really could have died last night but here I am!

Thinking this way about death is a powerful reminder that life is fragile. Thinking this way about death is a also a powerful reminder that every new day is a gift with endless possibilities for spiritual expansion and evolution.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

Today's wisdom is from the Tao te Ching . . .

I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source o being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.

DO GOOD.....AND DO IT NOW!

Doing good should not be simply an ideal. Rather it is something done immediately and in the present, moment by moment.

That's what poet William Blake had in mind when he wrote:

"If one is to do good, it must be done in the minute particulars. General good is the pleas of the hypocrite, the scoundrel, and the flatterer."

For sure, do good and do it now, today, this very moment if opportunity presents itself.

Do good to your family, your friends, your colleagues, to children, to strangers to animals and birds, to plants and herbs, to the great trees of the forests.

WISDOM FROM A SWAMI - MEDICAL DOCTOR

Swami Sivananda was born in India, (1887- 1963) graduated as a medical doctor and practiced medicine in Malaysia where he was also a hospital administrator. He often treated the poor without charge. After ten years, he returned to India because he felt the need to spend more time healing the soul rather than healing the body. Swami Sivananda moved to a small Himalayan village where he spent a decade in meditation and spiritual study. Toward the end of that period, people began coming to Swami Sivananda seeking out his wisdom and inspiration. Because so many visitors arrived, he started to write books, all by hand, eventually publishing more than 200. He is the founder of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers. Here are some gems of wisdom from this great and humble spiritual teacher.

 

Facing life’s challenges:

Do not be troubled by difficulties, adversities and sorrows. They instill mercy in your heart. They help you to develop your will and power of endurance. They make you wise and help you in your evolution. Be courageous. Never despair. Get strength from within. Move forward.

 

Live in the present moment:

Concern yourself with the present only. Do not look back upon the past or worry about the future. Then alone will you be really happy.

 

Eliminate negative thinking:

I have no such words as “cannot,” “difficult,” “impossible,” and “weakness” in my dictionary. Those who are attempting to strengthen their will-force should remove these words from their dictionary. These are the expressions of a weakling.

 

Endurance pays off:

The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. Self-realization demands very great struggle.

  

Choose your friends carefully:

Keep company with evolved souls who tread the path of Truth.

Pay attention to details of your life:

A mountain is composed of tiny grains of earth. The ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. Even so, life is but an endless series of little details, actions, speeches and thoughts the consequences o even the leas of them is far-reaching.