If you are interested in the work and activities of Amida Trust and would like to join the associated social network do check out this site and join. Once a member, there are a number of groups you can join, including Buddhist counselling and psychotherapy, Travel, Buddhist arts, Multi-faith discussion. The membership is world-wide and growing...
Distractions come in all sizes, shapes, and flavors. Buddhist philosophy has organized them into categories. One of them is the category of hindrances. They are called hindrances because they block your development of both components of meditation, mindfulness and concentration. A bit of caution on this term: The word "hindrances" carries a negative connotation and indeed these are states of mind we want to eradicate. . . That does not mean, however, that they are to be repressed, avoided or condemned. Let's use greed as an example. We wish to avoid prolonging any state of greed that arises, because a continuation of that state leads to bondage and sorrow. That does not mean to toss the thought out of the mind when it appears. We simply refuse to encourage it to stay. We let it come, and we let go.
~ Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English
Dalai Lama envoy upbeat on China talks
An envoy of the Dalai Lama said on Tuesday that one-day talks with China on the unrest in Tibet had been "a good first step" and that the two sides would meet again after he reports back to the exiled spiritual leader......
Despite some skepticism among analysts over whether the recent diplomatic overture would yield any substantive breakthrough given the failure of previous talks, the two Tibetan envoys struck a positive note following the meeting with Chinese negotiators they've known for years.
"We had very candid discussions ... we have a good rapport, so that is always very helpful," Lodi Gyari told Reuters at Hong Kong airport as he prepared to board a flight for India, home of the Tibet government-in-exile.
..... because it looks as though Hillary will go to any lengths - nuclear, rewriting the rules, virulent criticism, and those latter two are against her 'own side'.
Wondering how the voting will go today and hoping against hope that sinking to the depths won't win the day...indeed, win the race. Is the brutal reality that, in order to be electable, you have to become the sort of person I couldn't bring myself to vote for? (This is theoretical in this instance, for me, in that I'm not American.) I've been so enthused by the vision of hope and freshness that Barack Obama seems to hold out...will that be enough? Or am I just being naïve?
..............................................................
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
[W]hen we realize that we are forced to change positions because of pain, we should question further to find out if there are other reasons. If the answer is that we change because we want to be comfortable, this is incorrect. It is incorrect because it is a distortion of happiness. The correct answer is that we change in order to "cure" the pain. We do not change to acquire happiness. The wrong answer comes from misunderstanding, and if we do not have the right comprehension when we change positions, defilements can and will spring up. Changing positions to "cure" pain indicates that we have to remedy the situation at all times. We should not misjudge and think that the reason is to attain happiness, since the curing of pain all the time is the same as having to take medicines constantly. It is like nursing a continuous sickness. Thus, we should not look upon nursing sickness and curing pain as being happiness at all.
~ Achaan Naeb, in Jack Kornfield's Living Dharma
I'm just settling down in bed with Marina Lewycka's 'Two Caravans'. I loved her 'A. Short History of Tractors in Ukraine' and I'm in the mood for something amusing after a busy week and an especially intense couple of days - nothing like a breath of fresh air for the brain.
..............................................................
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
What are you most looking forward to this weekend?
Plenty of fresh Cumbrian air and new perspectives
VATICAN CITY, 29 APR 2008 (VIS) - Made public today was the annual Message to Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh, issued by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the council.
Vesakh, the main Buddhist festivity, marks three fundamental moments in the life of Gautama Buddha. It is held during the full moon of the month of May because, according to tradition, Buddha was born, achieved enlightenment and passed away in that period.
This year's message - published in English, French and Italian - is entitled "Christians and Buddhists: Caring for the Planet Earth". It indicates that:
"Preservation of the environment, promotion of sustainable development and particular attention to climate change are matters of grave concern for everyone. Many governments, NGOs, multi-national companies, and research and tertiary institutes, in recognising the ethical implications present in all economic and social development, are investing financial resources as well as sharing expertise on bio-diversity, climate change, environmental protection and conservation.
"Religious leaders too", the message adds, "are contributing to the public debate. This contribution is of course not just a reaction to the more recent pressing threats associated with global warming. Christianity and Buddhism have always upheld a great respect for nature and taught that we should be grateful stewards of the earth. Indeed it is only through a profound reflection on the relationship between the divine Creator, creation and creatures that attempts to address environmental concerns will not be marred by individual greed or hampered by the interests of particular groups.
"On a practical level can we Christians and Buddhists not do more to collaborate in projects which confirm the responsibility that falls to each and everyone of us? Recycling, energy conservation, the prevention of indiscriminate destruction of plant and animal life, and the protection of waterways all speak of careful stewardship and indeed foster goodwill and promote cordial relations among peoples. In this way Christians and Buddhists together can be harbingers of hope for a clean, safe and harmonious world".
The message concludes by expressing the hope that such ideas may be promoted "within our respective communities through public education and our good example in respecting nature and acting responsibly towards our one common planet Earth".
::read moreChina doesn’t care what you think:
China has stepped up persecution of Buddhist monks with mass detentions, Tibet activists said Wednesday, as China prepares to take the Olympic torch to the top of Mount Everest.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - ::link Envoys of the Dalai Lama will travel to China to meet the government over the crisis in Tibet, the government-in-exile said on Friday.
"During this brief visit, the envoys will take up the urgent issue of the current crisis in the Tibetan areas," the government-in-exile said in a statement on its Web site.
After a crackdown on protests against Chinese rule in Tibet, an international diplomatic chorus earlier this year urged dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Beijing abruptly announced in late April that it intended to meet his aides.
The envoys are due to arrive in China on Saturday for what the Tibetan side called "informal talks".
