Tricycle Daily Dharma June 30, 2012 ~ True Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 30, 2012

True Dharma

Dharma is not about credentials. It’s not about how many practices you’ve done, or how peaceful you can make your mind. It’s not about being in a community where you feel safe or enjoying the cachet of being a 'Buddhist.' It’s not even about accumulating teachings, empowerments, or 'spiritual accomplishments.' It’s about how naked you’re willing to be with your own life, and how much you’re willing to let go of your masks and your armor and live as a completely exposed, undefended, and open human person.
 
- Reginald Ray, "Blazing with Wakefulness"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ Extra

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Greater in battle than the man who would conquer a thousand-thousand men, is he who would conquer just one-- himself. - Dhammapada, 8, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/29/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	When you see a truck bearing down on you, by all means jump out of the way. But spend some time in meditation, too. Learning to deal with discomfort is the only way you'll be ready to handle the truck you didn't see. - Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 29, 2012 ~ Enjoying the Silence

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 29, 2012

Enjoying the Silence

Silence doesn’t mean not talking and not doing things; it means that you are not disturbed inside. If you’re truly silent, then no matter what situation you find yourself in you can enjoy the silence.
 
- Thich Nhat Hanh, "The Heart of the Matter"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 28, 2012 ~ Suffering's Lessons

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 28, 2012

Suffering's Lessons

It is because of pain and suffering that we first want to practice. And it’s because of pain and suffering that we attain enlightenment. Regard suffering as a teacher, and an inspiration.
 
- Mingyur Rinpoche, "The Easy Middle"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/27/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Even if for a lifetime the fool stays with the wise, he knows nothing of the Dhamma-- as the ladle, the taste of the soup. Even if for a moment, the perceptive person stays with the wise, he immediately knows the Dhamma-- as the tongue, the taste of the soup. - Dhammapada, 5, translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 27, 2012 ~ Sex as Sacred Energy

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 27, 2012

Sex as Sacred Energy

Much of the language around sexuality has to do with fire: 'in the heat of passion'; 'a burning desire'; 'she has a new flame.' This is the fire of creation. It’s not just my sacred energy I need to be in touch with and aware of, it is the fire of all creation from moment to moment to moment.
 
- Nancy Baker, "Sexual Misconduct"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/26/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Having applied himself to what was not his own task, and not having applied himself to what was, having disregarded the goal to grasp at what he held dear, he now envies those who kept after themselves, took themselves to task. - Dhammapada, 16, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 26, 2012 ~ What Nonattachment Is Not

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 26, 2012

What Nonattachment Is Not

Unfortunately, we can easily confuse nonattachment with avoidance of attachment. Avoidance of attachment, however, is not freedom from attachment. It’s another form of clinging—clinging to the denial of your human attachment needs, out of distrust that love is reliable.
 
- John Welwood, "Human Nature, Buddha Nature"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/25/2012

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Don't ask about caste or riches but instead ask about conduct. Look at the flames of a fire. Where do they come from? From a piece of woodand it doesn't matter what wood. In the same way, a wise person can come from wood of any sort. It is through firmness and restraint and a sense of truth that one becomes noble, not through caste. - Sutta Nipata

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 25, 2012 ~ Bowing to Life

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 25, 2012

Bowing to Life

To bow is to no longer hold ourselves apart from the unpredictable nature of all of our lives; it is to cultivate a heart that can unconditionally welcome all things. We bow to what is, to all of life.
 
- Christina Feldman, "Long Journey to a Bow"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 24, 2012 ~ Searching for Self

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 24, 2012

Searching for Self

When we question ego-mind directly, it is exposed for what it is: the absence of everything we believe it to be.
 
- Dzigar Kongtrül Rinpoche, "Searching for Self"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/23/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	It is not by the amount that giving is productive of reward but rather by the generous impulse behind it. Therefore even so little as a handful of rice flour given with a pure heart becomes something that will bring great reward. - Vimana Vatthu

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 23, 2012 ~ Creating Better Karma

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 23, 2012

Creating Better Karma

Your thoughts, your words, and your deeds all create karma. And so through practice, you learn how to create better karma, and then everything about your life changes.
 
- Myokei Caine-Barrett, Shonin, "A Right to the Dharma"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 22, 2012 ~ Birth and Death

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 22, 2012

Birth and Death

Just understand that birth-and-death is itself nirvana. There is nothing such as birth and death to be avoided; there is nothing such as nirvana to be sought. Only when you realize this are you free from birth and death.
 
- Eihei Dogen, "Birth and Death"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/21/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	When facing the end, generally beautiful scenes appear. According to your mental inclinations, the most impressive are experienced first. If you do not do bad things right now, then there will be no unpleasant scenes when you face death. Even if there are some unpleasant scenes, they too will change into pleasant scenes. - Pai-chang

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 21, 2012 ~ This is Buddha Life

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 21, 2012

This is Buddha Life

Buddha is revealed through mountains, valleys, trees, and grasses, through a multitude of phenomena. The heart that can be revered in whatever form we see, in whatever direction we look, this is the true heart of Buddhism, this is Buddha life.
 
- Soko Morinaga Roshi, "One Chance, One Encounter"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/20/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Leave the mind in its natural, undisturbed state. Don't follow thoughts of "This is a problem, that is a problem!" Without labeling difficulties as problems, leave your mind in its natural state. In this way, you will stop seeing miserable conditions as problems." - Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Transforming Problems Into Happiness"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 20, 2012 ~ Transforming Pain Into Joy

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 20, 2012

Transforming Pain Into Joy

Fundamental darkness, or ignorance, causes us to experience the cycles of birth and death as suffering. When we call forth and base ourselves on the magnificent enlightened life that exists within each of us without exception, however, even the most fundamental, inescapable sufferings of life and death need not be experienced as pain. Rather, they can be transformed into a life embodying the virtues of eternity, joy, true self, and purity.
 
- Daisaku Ikeda, "Faith in Revolution"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/19/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	The ultimate way is without difficulty; those who seek it make their own hardship. The true mind is originally pure; those who exercise it make their own defilement. - Hui-k'ung

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 19, 2012 ~ Feathers in the Wind

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 19, 2012

Feathers in the Wind

Instead of focusing on some thoughts and feelings and pushing away others, just look at them as feathers flying in the wind. The wind is your awareness, your inborn openness and clarity.
 
- Tsoknyi Rinpoche, "Feathers are Harmless"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/18/2012

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	'I have sons, I have wealth'-- the fool torments himself. When even he himself doesn't belong to himself, how then sons? How wealth? A fool with a sense of his foolishness is--at least to that extent--wise. But a fool who thinks himself wise really deserves to be called a fool. - Dhammapada, 5, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 18, 2012 ~ Divine People

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 18, 2012

Divine People

People are mysterious, unfathomable—like divinities: natural objects for reverence. But our habits of thought turn the people around us into objects, the means for our self-protection.
 
- Lama John Makransky, "Family Practice"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 17, 2012 ~ Father's Day Metta

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 17, 2012

Father's Day Metta

The Buddha encouraged us to think of the good things done for us by our parents, by our teachers, friends, whomever; and to do this intentionally, to cultivate it, rather than just letting it happen accidentally.
 
- Ajahn Sumedho, "The Gift of Gratitude"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 16, 2012 ~ Attending to the Small Things

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 16, 2012

Attending to the Small Things

The subtle suffering in our lives may seem unimportant. But if we attend to the small ways that we suffer, we create a context of greater ease, peace, and responsibility, which can make it easier to deal with the bigger difficulties when they arise.
 
- Gil Fronsdal, "Living Two Traditions"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/15/2012

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves. - Shunryu Suzuki, "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 15, 2012 ~ The Mind of No-Clinging

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 15, 2012

The Mind of No-Clinging

There’s no school that says, 'Cling.' Liberation is about cutting, or dissolving, or letting go of, or seeing through the attachment to anything. The description of the mind of no-clinging may be different in the different schools, but the experience of the mind of no-clinging is the same. How could it be different?
 
- Joseph Goldstein, "How Amazing!"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/14/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Unless there is loving-kindness in our speech, it's going to come out wrong. - Ayyan Khema, "Be an Island"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 14, 2012 ~ Thriving with No-Self

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 14, 2012

Thriving with No-Self

People think 'no-self' means there's no one home. That's wrong. Free of fixed self, a living being thrives.
 
- Robert Thurman, "The Politics of Enlightenment"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/13/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Real Love is not based on attachment, but on altruism. In this case, your compassion will remain as a humane response to suffering as long as beings continue to suffer. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 13, 2012 ~ Balanced Compassion

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 13, 2012

Balanced Compassion

Compassion doesn’t always mean being nice to people. Sometimes the best thing you can do in a situation is to be rough with someone. We have to be balanced in accord with each situation.
 
- Gerry Shishin Wick Sensei, "Zen in the Workplace: Approaches to Mindful Management"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ Dhammapada 13-14

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Even as rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, So lust breaks through an ill-trained mind. Even as rain breaks not through a well-thatched house, So lust breaks not through a well-trained mind. - Dhammapada 13-14

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 12, 2012 ~ Washing Your Divine Body

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 12, 2012

Washing Your Divine Body

When you wash, imagine that you are washing your divine body with blissful energy instead of washing your mundane, suffering body with water. Then dress your divine body with blissful, divine robes instead of ordinary clothes. If you start your morning like that, the rest of your day will be much easier.
 
- Lama Yeshe, "Visualizations"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 11, 2012 ~ Maintaining Authentic Presence

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 11, 2012

Maintaining Authentic Presence

In lovingkindness, our minds are open and expansive—spacious enough to contain all the pleasures and pains of a life fully lived. Pain, in this context, doesn’t feel like betrayal or an overwhelming force. It is part of the reality of human experience, and an opportunity for us to practice maintaining our authentic presence.
 
- Sharon Salzberg, "Working with Metta"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ from Reflections on Sharing Blessings

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	May I likewise attain the cutting-off of Craving and clinging. Whatever faults I have until I attain Liberation, May they quickly perish. Wherever I Am born, may there be An upright mind, mindfulness Wisdom, austerity and vigor. May harmful influences not weaken my Efforts. The Buddha is the unexcelled Protector, the Dharma is the Supreme protection, Peerless is the Silent Buddha, the Sangha is my true refuge. By the power of these Supreme Ones, May I rise above all ignorance. - from Reflections on Sharing Blessings

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 10, 2012

Mysterious Experience

People who are attached to sutras and a scriptural teaching of words can lack faith in the living, mysterious experience of meditation that leads to a sudden insight.
 
- So Sahn, "The Zen of Confidence"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 9, 2012 ~ Beyond the Self

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 9, 2012

Beyond the Self

Buddhism asks us to go beyond the self, not to perfect the self.
 
- Dharmavidya David Brazier, "Living Buddhism"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 8, 2012 ~ Understanding Emptiness

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 8, 2012

Understanding Emptiness

Every moment of experience is contingent on a vast complex of myriad conditions. Nothing exists in and of itself as 'this' or 'that,' 'self' or 'other.' Everything is what it is only in relation to what it is not.
 
- Stephen Batchelor, "Nagarjuna's Verses from the Center"

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Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/8.2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Remain silent, and you sink into a realm of shadows; speak, and you fall into a deep pit. Try, and youre as far away as sky from earth; give up, and youll never attain. Enormous waves go on and on, foaming breakers flood the skies whos got the bright pearl that calms the oceans? - I Ching

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 7, 2012 ~ Open Understanding

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 7, 2012

Open Understanding

When we make the effort to understand what may seem strange in the religious practices of others, we may find that it opens the door to something beyond the particular case, something quite general: the capacity of humans to participate in divinity.
 
- Robert Bellah, "The R Word"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/7/2012

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Adverse circumstances test our courage, our strength of mind, and the depth of our conviction in the Dharma. There is nothing exceptional about practicing Dharma in a good environment and atmosphere. The true test is if we can maintain our practice in adverse conditions. - Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, "Advice From a Spiritual Friend"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 6, 2012 ~ Moral Health

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 6, 2012

Moral Health

The more we can get the self out of the way, the more clearly we can see the effect of our thoughts, words, and action upon ourselves and others.
 
- Andrew Olendzki, "Moral Health"

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/6/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	And those who have no mental vigilance, Though they may hear the teachings, ponder them or meditate, With minds like water seeping from a leaking jug, Their learning will not settle in their memories. - Sntideva, "Bodhicaryvatra"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 5, 2012 ~ Building Faith, Building Commitment

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 5, 2012

Building Faith, Building Commitment

For Buddhism, faith doesn't mean the blind acceptance of teachings as unquestionable dogmas. Rather, faith suggests a combination of trust in the Buddha as a fully enlightened teacher, confidence in the Buddha and in his guidance, and feelings of devotion and reverence towards the Buddha. This quality of faith is to be strengthened because it's what builds our own commitment to the entire practice.
 
- Bhikkhu Bodhi, "Recollection of the Buddha" (Tricycle Online Retreat, June 2012)

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Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/5/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	As a mother watches over her child, willing to risk her own life to protect her only child, so with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings, suffusing the whole world with unobstructed loving kindness. - Metta Sutta

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 4, 2012 ~ Where Meditation Begins

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 4, 2012

Where Meditation Begins

What it all comes down to is that even if you practice meditation to become a paragon of love and wisdom, all it can do is put you face-to-face with who you are and with what is, which is where all meditation begins.
 
- Stephen Schettini, "What to Expect When You’re Reflecting"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/insights/what-expect-when-you%E2%80%99re-reflecting

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 6/1/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	He who entirely cuts off his craving by drying up its fierce and rapid flow, --such a monk gives up the here and the beyond, just as a serpent sheds its worn-out skin. - Sutta Nipata

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 1, 2012 ~ Nothing to Get

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 1, 2012

Nothing to Get

The spiritual path is about what we give up, not what we get. We seem to always want to get something—spiritual insights or experiences—as a kind of commodity. But don’t these wisdom traditions teach us that, in essence, there’s nothing to get?
 
- Tim Olmsted, "The Great Experiment"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/interview/great-experiment?page=0,0