“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
(These verses apparently added by Mother Theresa)
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and Spirit. It was never between you and them anyway
Rather than feeling discouraged by laziness, we could get to know laziness profoundly. This very moment of laziness becomes our personal teacher.
Traditionally, laziness is taught as one of the obstacles to awakening. There are different kinds of laziness. First, there’s the laziness of comfort orientation, we just try to stay comfortable and cozy. Then there’s the laziness of loss of heart, a kind of deep discouragement, a feeling of giving up on ourselves, of hopelessness. There’s also the laziness of couldn’t care less. That’s when we harden into resignation and bitterness and just close down.
Comfort Orientation
Comfort orientation comes in a variety of forms. Sogyal Rinpoche writes that in the East, for example, laziness often manifests as flopping down in the sun with one’s cronies, drinking tea, and letting the days pass by. In the West, he observes, laziness frequently manifests as speed. People rush from one thing to another, from the gym to the office to the bar to the mountains to the meditation class to the kitchen sink, the backyard, the club. We rush around seeking, seeking, seeking comfort and ease.
Whether we flop or rush, and wherever on the globe we happen to be, the comfort-orientation brand of laziness is characterized by a profound ignoring. We look for oblivion: a life that doesn’t hurt, a refuge from difficulty or self-doubt or edginess. We want a break from being ourselves, a break from the life that happens to be ours. So through laziness we look for spaciousness and relief; but finding what we seek is like drinking salt water, because our thirst for comfort and ease is never satisfied.
- Find the courage to really open your heart to someone; self-confidence is deeply related to trusting others. Our deepest secrets are often not as hidden to others as we may think, or simply so common in the experience of others, that there is actually nothing special about them. We often consider ourselves very special, and forget that all the others around us are just as human as we ourselves are.
- Try reality checks with others, and do not tell yourself that, "he/she is lying when saying that I am a nice person" - this is actually quite a negative attitude to people, as you assume they are lying...
- Practice compassion and loving-kindness to others, also if they do not immediately react positive.
- Analyse reality to discover that "life is not perfect, I am not perfect (yet), and neither are other people".
- Try hard to give up unrealistic expectations of needing to be perfect right now, then forgiving and having compassion for yourself becomes possible.
- Be realistic: I am just as much a human than others (equanimity), are they really that much better?
- Study and meditate on the Noble Truth of Suffering, realising that if you do not take any action, nothing will ever improve.
- To overcome frustration afterwards, try to act when negative situations can be changed, better to have no success than never having tried. What is there to loose, really?
- Meditate on your potential; unveiling your Buddha nature
- Meditate on purification; this may make your potential clear.
- Meditate on impermanence: everything changes, even my bad "I" will change for the better!
- Meditate on karma: the only way that things will get better is to do something positive.
- Meditate on emptiness; the ultimate antidote to all delusions.
- Try taking some precepts/vows to build your self-esteem, or simply any positive commitment to yourself which you are certain you will manage to keep.
- Dare to laugh at yourself and the world!
" Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
but for the patience to win my freedom." Shantideva
A few thoughts as examples of what you could reflect upon during a meditation session on self-confidence:
- If I cannot accept myself as being human, how can I ever accept and trust others? If I cannot accept and trust others, how can I respect and love them? If I cannot respect and love others, how can they respect and love me?
- Spirituality is going beyond our self and self-interested focussing, it requires courage, independence, faith in our own potential as a human being, even our potential to become a Buddha, and peace of mind. Note that these aspects all refer in some way to self-confidence and self acceptance.
- By falling over and getting up many times, children learn that walking is possible. In judo, falling many times teaches you to fall without pain; we cannot always avoid falling, but we can often learn to avoid the pain!
- Self-confidence comes from being challenged to one's limits, meeting them and then setting new limits.
- If I let the fear of making mistakes control my life, I could not do anything at all but lead a completely useless life, is that not something to be very afraid of?
- Perhaps the following prayer can be a powerful motivation as well as dedication for any (meditation) practice:
"May I become at all times, both now and forever
A protector for those without protection
A guide for those who have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter
And a servant to all in need." His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Laziness: (in Buddhism defined as "being attached to temporary pleasure, not wanting to do virtue or only little".) The reason for this kind of laziness could be based on the fear responsibility or making mistakes, based on the unrealistic:"I should be perfect and not make mistakes, so I better do nothing at all".
Laziness comes in many forms, all of which result in procrastination, putting off practice to another time. Sometimes laziness is a matter of being distracted from meditation by morally neutral activities, like sewing or considering how to drive from one place to another; this type of laziness can be especially pernicious because these thoughts and activities are not usually recognized as problems.
At other times, laziness manifests as distraction to thinking about nonvirtuous activities, such as an object of lust or how to pay an enemy back. Another type of laziness is the sense that you are inadequate to the task of meditation, feeling inferior and discouraged: "How could someone like me ever achieve this!" In this case you are failing to recognize the great potential of the human mind and the power of gradual training.
All of these forms of laziness involve being unenthusiastic about meditation. How can they be overcome? Contemplation of the advantages of attaining mental and physical flexibility will generate enthusiasm for meditation and counteract laziness. Once you have developed the meditative joy and bliss of mental and physical flexibility, you will be able to stay in meditation for as long as you want. At that time your mind will be completely trained so you can direct it to any virtuous activity; all dysfunctions of body and mind will have been cleared away.
If we can control our body and mind in a way that we help others instead of doing them harm, and generating wisdom in our own mind, we can end our suffering and problems.
The Buddha summarised the correct attitude and actions in the Eight-fold Noble Path:
(The first 3 are avoiding the 10 non-virtues of mind, speech and body:)
Correct thought: avoiding covetousness, the wish to harm others and wrong views (like thinking: actions have no consequences, I never have any problems, there are no ways to end suffering etc.)
Correct speech: avoid lying, divisive and harsh speech and idle gossip.
Correct actions: avoid killing, stealing and sexual misconduct
Correct livelihood: try to make a living with the above attitude of thought, speech and actions.
Correct understanding: developing genuine wisdom. (The last three aspects refer mainly to the practice of meditation:)
Correct effort: after the first real step we need joyful perseverance to continue.
Correct mindfulness: try to be aware of the "here and now", instead of dreaming in the "there and then".
Correct concentration: to keep a steady, calm and attentive state of mind.
The Buddha explained that we can use the Four Yardsticks to assess if we are practicing the correct way:
one should feel happiness, compassion, love and joyous effort when practicing.
"Hundreds of stupid flies gather
On a piece of rotten meat,
Enjoying, they think, a delicious feast.
This image fits with the song
Of the myriads of foolish living beings
Who seek happiness in superficial pleasures;
In countless ways they try,
Yet I have never seen them satisfied."
"Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
but for the patience to win my freedom."
To be without a reference point is the ultimate loneliness. It is also called enlightenment.
In the middle way, there is no reference point. The mind with no reference point does not resolve itself, does not fixate or grasp. How could we possibly have no reference point? To have no reference point would be to change a deep-seated habitual response to the world: wanting to make it work out one way or the other. If I can't go left or right, I will die! When we don't go left or right, we feel like we are in a detox center. We're alone, cold turkey with all the edginess that we've been trying to avoid by going left or right. That edginess can feel pretty heavy.
However, years and years of going to the left or right, going to yes or no, going to right or wrong has never really changed anything. Scrambling for security has never brought anything but momentary joy. It's like changing the position of our legs in meditation. Our legs hurt from sitting cross-legged, so we move them. And then we feel, "Phew! What a relief!" But two and a half minutes later, we want to move them again. We keep moving around seeking pleasure, seeking comfort, and the satisfaction that we get is very short-lived.
We hear a lot about the pain of samsara, and we also hear about liberation. But we don't hear much about how painful it is to go from being completely stuck to becoming unstuck. The process of becoming unstuck requires tremendous bravery, because basically we are completely changing our way of perceiving reality, like changing our DNA. We are undoing a pattern that is not just our pattern. It's the human pattern: we project onto the world a zillion possibilities of attaining resolution. We can have whiter teeth, a weed-free lawn, a strife-free life, a world without embarrassment. We can live happily every after. This pattern keeps us dissatisfied and causes us a lot of suffering.
As human beings, not only do we seek resolution, but we also feel that we deserve resolution. However, not only do we not deserve resolution, we suffer from resolution.
Feelings of anger and hatred arise from a mind that is troubled by dissatisfaction and discontent. So you can prepare to deal with such occasions by constantly working to build inner contentment and by cultivating kindness and compassion. This brings about a certain calmness of mind that can help prevent anger from arising in the first place.
Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both.
Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction.
On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person. When you are feeling a lot of grief, you can look right into somebody's eyes because you feel you haven't got anything to lose--you're just there. The wretchedness humbles us and softens us, but if we were only wretched, we would all just go down the tubes. We'd be so depressed, discouraged, and hopeless that we wouldn't have enough energy to eat an apple.
Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together.
"During times of uncertainty and trepidation our minds imagine the worst case scenario and we begin to live like its really happening. Remember, the Universe is ALWAYS conspiring to help us. Expect good things to happen knowing the Universe always aligns itself with our intentions - even when we don't want or understand our current circumstances, they are for our benefit."
OSHO -First: Religion is a complicated joke. If you don’t laugh at all you have missed the point; if you only laugh, you have missed the point again. It is a very complicated joke. And the whole life is a great cosmic joke. It is not a serious phenomenon – take it seriously and you will go on missing it. It is understood only through laughter.
Have you not observed that man is the only animal who laughs? Aristotle says man is the rational animal. That may not be true – because ants are very rational and bees are very rational. In fact, compared to ants, man looks almost irrational. And a computer is very rational – compared to a computer, man is very irrational.
My definition of man is that man is the laughing animal. No computer laughs, no ant laughs, no bee laughs. If you come across a dog laughing you will be so scared! Or a buffalo suddenly laughs: you may have a heart attack. It is only man who can laugh; it is the highest peak of growth. And it is through laughter that you will reach to God – because it is only through the highest that is in you that you can reach the ultimate. Laughter has to become the bridge.
Laugh your way to God. I don’t say pray your way to God, I say laugh your way to God! If you can laugh you will be able to love. If you can laugh you will be able to relax. Laughter relaxes like nothing else.
So all jokes to me are prayers – that’s why I tell them.
And you ask: “Why don’t you laugh at your own jokes?”
Because I have heard them before.
"You are drunk!" shouts the barman of the Groggy Doggie Pub, at Paddy, who just has slipped slowly onto the floor again.
"I'm not drunk at all!" insists Paddy, picking himself up. "In fact, I'm not even drunk a little bit, and I'll prove it to you. Now, you see that cat just coming in the door? Well, it has only got one eye."
"You're drunker than I thought," says the barman. "That cat is going out!"
“In the days, weeks, months and sometimes years following an argument, all we're left with is the sting of how we chose to behave or the comfort in the remembering of who we chose to be in that moment.”
Yes, when you see for the first time, a great laughter arises in you - the laughter about the whole ridiculousness of your misery, the laughter about the whole foolishness of your problems, the laughter about the whole absurdity of your suffering. - Osho
“Many times the best thing to do is nothing. Things tend to work themselves out as needed. If we allow them to unfold in their own way as we stay focused on ourselves and our integrity, we usually find that we end up exactly where we intend. it requires too much effort to push the river and it doesn’t help anyway”.
As I wipe the fog of unconsciousness from my eyes I see more and more clearly a world of egos beating their chests both individually and collectively. This world seems to be one big argument. Even the benevolent succumb to the allure of the ego under the pretense of righteousness. I myself have participated in the very same insanity. Our own government demonstrates clearly the dilapidated state of our individual and collective consciousness. Aside from a few small pockets of adolescent consciousness and rare few of the truly wise, the rest of us seem doomed to a life of being upset over the most insignificant of things. Our true nature seems to remain a mystery ... Over thousands of years ... Care about the person next to you as if they were your grandmother and daughter rolled up into one and forget about the guy that cut you off on the highway as quickly as you can and I promise you that the next time you open your eyes you will see heaven.
I feel that the moment you adopt a sense of caring for others, it brings you inner strength. Inner strength brings inner tranquility, greater self-confidence. Because of such attitudes, even when things going on around you seem hostile and negative, you can still sustain your peace of mind.
~ Dalai Lama
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.
"Love is innocent when there is no motive in it. Love is innocent when it is nothing but a sharing of your energy. You have too much, so you share... you want to share.
And whosoever shares with you, you feel grateful to him or her, because you were like a cloud - too full of rainwater - and somebody helped you to unburden.Or you were like a flower, full of fragrance, and the wind came and unloaded you. Or you had a song to sing, and somebody listened attentively... so attentively that he allowed you space to sing it. So to whomsoever helps you to overflow in love, feel grateful.
Imbibe that spirit of sharing, let that become your very style of life: to be capable of giving without any idea of getting, to be capable of giving without any conditions attached to it, to be capable of giving just out of your abundance." Osho
"If you have peace of mind, when you meet with problems and difficulties they won’t disturb your inner peace. You’ll be able to employ your human intelligence more effectively. But, if your mental state is disturbed, full of emotion, it is very difficult to cope with problems, because the mind that is full of emotion is biased, unable to see reality. So whatever you do will be unrealistic and naturally fail."
Maitri is translated in a lot of ways, maybe most commonly aslove,but the way Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche translated it wasunconditional friendlinessand in particularunconditional friendliness to oneself. So I teach about maitri a lot. In fact, sometimes I think it's the only thing I teach. I also teach about compassion a lot, but actually compassion is a form of maitri so this unconditional friendliness to oneself, it seems to be what most of us do not have. This is very interesting because there was a conference in Dharamsala with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and it was with Western Buddhist teachers. Sharon Salzburg, who's a teacher of western insight meditation, was talking to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and explaining how in teaching in the West one of the things that teachers always encountered was how widespread it was that people were very hard on themselves. That when the teachings were taught in a traditional way, sometimes they simply didn't communicate because we were so good as a group of people at taking whatever we heard and turning it against ourselves. For instance, there could be some excellent teaching on the difficulty, the pain that comes from ego clinging and that teaching could be taught in a very traditional way and then people could hear it, and somehow people could come out feeling bad about themselves. Instead of feeling inspired or uplifted to heal themselves, they'd come out feeling bad about themselves.
Hell is not a place that we go ... It's a place we create in our minds and live like it is real. In every moment, when we are willing to allow it there is peace - regardless of what we have, don't have, who we're with, who we're not with, if we have no money or an abundance of wealth or any circumstances of our lives. Life is as it needs to be. We need not judge it. The Universe knows what it's doing. We must stay focused on our intentions and watch in awe as they manifest before our very eyes.
The current breakdown of our system of government is not a breakdown of government per se but a reflection of the consciousness or lack there of in our country today. When we as Americans realize the fundamental truth that our individual success is directly linked to our neighbors success and that our nature is giving and it is what makes us the most happy then, and only then will our government reflect that collective state of mind. So, one could say that by helping to ensure our neighbors success (or at least not hindering that success) and giving to others we have ensured our own success and happiness.
Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard claims you can practice your way to happiness, and he should know: After MRI scans showed that he experienced extreme levels of positive emotions and few negative ones, he became known as "the happiest man in the world." Trained as a cell biologist in France, Ricard moved to the Himalayas in 1972 to study Buddhism. He's now a translator, a photographer and the Dalai Lama's French interpreter. His books -- the proceeds of which go to 41 humanitarian projects in the remote Himalayas -- include "The Monk and the Philosopher" (a dialogue with his father, a famed philosopher), "Happiness: a Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill," and, most recently, "Why Meditate?" AOL Health spoke with Ricard about the cultivation of happiness, the benefits of altruism and how 30 silent minutes a day can change your life.
Do you think you're the happiest man in the world?
It's better than the unhappiest person in the world. It was a cover line on a Buddhist independent journal. Of course it's cute, but it doesn't rest on scientific evidence. I took part in some ongoing studies on compassion. It's a jump to say my results mean that.
What is happiness?
Happiness is a way of being rather than an endless search for experiences.
"Self-realization means that we have been consciously connected with our source of being. Once we have made this connection, then nothing can go wrong..." - Swami Paramananda
No-Thought for the Day: Only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core into the other person, without possessing the other, without becoming dependent on the other, without creating "the other," reducing the other into a thing, and without becoming addicted with the other. They allow the other absolute freedom, because they know if the other leaves, they will be as happy as they are now. Their happiness cannot be taken by the other, because it is not given by the other.
Buddhism is the most profound and wholesome education directed by the Buddha towards all people. Five precepts are the curriculum of Buddhist teaching, which are embraced in the moral code of Buddhism. By observing precepts, not only do you cultivate your moral strength, but you also perform the highest service to your fellow beings. The Five Precepts are:
1. Do not kill
2. Do not steal
3. Do not indulge in sexual misconduct
4. Do not make false speech
5. Do not take intoxicants
These are the basic precepts that all people should practice and abide by. As a result, you will live in Three Good Paths (Gods, Demigods & Human), not in Three Evil Paths (Hell, Hungry Ghosts & Animals), enjoy all the blessings, happiness and freedom in Human and Deva Realm.
1. Do not Kill
One must not deliberately kill any living creatures, either by committing the act oneself, instructing others to kill, or approving of or participating in act of killing. It is a respect to others' lives.
One should not deprive others (animals not excluded) of the right to live. If one is hurt or killed, one's family, relatives, friends will suffer. It is the cause of rebirth in Three Evil Paths. The effect of killing to the performer are brevity of life, ill health, handicapped and fear.
In observing the first precept, one tries to protect life whenever possible. Furthermore, one cultivates the attitude of loving kindness to all beings by wishing that they may be happy and free from harm.
You can play the game You can act out the part But you know it wasn't written for you
Tell me how do you stand there With your broken heart Ashamed of playing the fool
One thing can lead to another It doesn't take any sacrifice Oh mother and father, sister and brother If it feels nice, don't think twice
Shower the people you love with love Show them the way that you feel Things are gonna be just fine If we only will What I mean to say is
Shower the people you love with love Show them the way that you feel Things are gonna be much better If we only will
You can run But you cannot hide This is widely known
And what you plan to do with your foolish pride When you're all by yourself alone? Once you tell somebody the way that you feel You can feel it beginning to ease I think it's true what they say about the squeaky wheel Always getting the grease
Shower the people you love with love Show them the way that you feel Things are gonna be just fine If we only will, do as I say
Shower the people you love with love Show them the way that you feel Things are gonna be much better If we only will
Shower the people you love with love Show them the way that you feel (repeat)
The Grand Illusion lyrics
Songwriters: De Young, Dennis;
Welcome to the grand illusion
Come on in and see what's happening
Pay the price, get your tickets for the show
The stage is set, the band starts playing
Suddenly your heart is pounding
You're wishing secretly you were a star
But don't be fooled by the radio
The TV or the magazines
They'll show you photographs of how your life should be
But they're just someone else's fantasies
So if you think your life is complete confusion
'Cause you never win the game
Just remember that it's a grand illusion
And deep inside we're all the same
We're all the same
So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because your neighbor's got it made
Just remember that it's a grand illusion
And deep inside we're all the same
America spells competition
Join us in our blind ambition
Get yourself a brand new motorcar
Someday soon we'll stop to ponder
What on earth's this spell we're under
We made the grade and still we wonder
Who the hell we are
Now if you're feelin' kinda low 'bout the dues you've been paying
Future's coming much too slow
And you wanna run but somehow you just keep on stayin'
Can't decide on which way to go
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind. (yea
Now you're climbin' to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn't take too long
Can'tcha see there'll come a day when it won't matter
Come a day when you'll be gone
I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind.
Take a look ahead, take a look ahead, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...woa!
Now everybody's got advice they just keep on givin'
Doesn't mean too much to me
Lot's of people out to make-believe they're livin'
Can't decide who they should be.
I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind.
(Placido Domingo)
Perhaps love is like a resting place
A shelter from the storm
It exists to give you comfort
It is there to keep you warm
And in those times of trouble
When you are most alone
The memory of love will bring you home
(John Denver)
Perhaps love is like a window
Perhaps an open door
It invites you to come closer
It wants to show you more
And even if you lose yourself
And don't know what to do
The memory of love will see you through
(Placido Domingo)
Oh, Love to some is like a cloud
To some as strong as steel
(John Denver)
For some a way of living
For some a way to feel
(Placido Domingo)
And some say love is holding on
And some say letting go
And some say love is everything
And some say they don't know
(John starts joined by Placido)
Perhaps love is like the ocean
Full of conflict, full of change
Like a fire when it's cold outside
Thunder when it rains
If I should live forever
And all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you
(Placido Domingo)
And some say love is holding on
And some say letting go
(John Denver)
And some say love is everything
Some say they don't know
(John starts joined by Placido)
Perhaps love is like the ocean
Full of conflict, full of change
Like a fire when it's cold outside
Or thunder when it rains
If I should live forever
And all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you
“The pain and sadness we sometimes feel in our gut is one thing - fear. When we shine the light of our consciousness upon it, it evaporates like a puddle on a warm summers day. As we remember that we are always safe within ourselves, the pain goes away and we smile.”
Maitri is translated in a lot of ways, maybe most commonly aslove, but the way Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche translated it wasunconditional friendliness and in particular unconditional friendliness to oneself. 
Hell is not a place that we go ... It's a place we create in our minds and live like it is real. In every moment, when we are willing to allow it there is peace - regardless of what we have, don't have, who we're with, who we're not with, if we have no money or an abundance of wealth or any circumstances of our lives. Life is as it needs to be. We need not judge it. The Universe knows what it's doing. We must stay focused on our intentions and watch in awe as they manifest before our very eyes.
