Tricycle Daily Dharma December 31, 2012

Deeper than Thought It is undeniable that others and the larger world, so beleaguered at this moment in history, need everything that we have to give. But what to give is the problem. It seems finally clear that we cannot find out what to do simply by thinking about it. We need to gain our inspiration and our direction from much deeper sources. - Reginald Ray, “Looking Inward, Seeing Outward”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 30, 2012

Self-arising Happiness The more clearly we see the lack of worth in mental and physical sensations, the less desire we'll have for them until, thoroughly disenchanted, craving will be snuffed out automatically. As soon as that occurs, pure happiness will arise by itself. - Cynthia Thatcher, "What's So Great About Now?"

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 29, 2012

Do Not Seek Anything Else There is a simple way to become a buddha: When you refrain from unwholesome actions, are not attached to birth and death, and are compassionate toward all sentient beings, respectful to seniors and kind to juniors, not excluding or desiring anything, with no designing thoughts or worries, you will be called a buddha. Do not seek anything else. - Eihei Dogen, “Birth and Death”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 28, 2012

The Equality of Praise and Blame If we really stop to think about praise and criticism, we will see they do not have the least importance. Whether we receive praise or criticism is of no account. The only important thing is that we have a pure motivation, and let the law of cause and effect be our witness. - H.H. the Dalai Lama, “Bad Reputation”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 27, 2012

Confidence in Truth From the habit of speaking truthfully confidence is acquired, since there is no need then to dissemble or conceal the truth. Moreover, the speaker of truth inspires confidence in others who come to know that they may rely implicitly on his words. - Hammalawa Saddatissa, “Right Speech”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 26, 2012

Alive and Happy We cannot enjoy life if we spend our time and energy worrying about what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. If we’re afraid all the time, we miss out on the wonderful fact that we’re alive and can be happy right now. - Thich Nhat Hanh, “Free From Fear”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 24, 2012

Joy in Giving Because generosity is characterized by the inner quality of letting go or relinquishing, it reverses the forces that create suffering. It is a profound antidote to the strong habits of clinging, grasping, guarding, and attachment that lead to so much pain and suffering. Generosity brings happiness at every stage of its expression: we experience joy in forming the intention to give, we experience joy in the action of giving, and we experience joy in remembering that we have given. - Beth Roth, “Family Dharma: The Joy of Generosity”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 23, 2012

The Purpose of Precepts The Buddhist precepts are not intended to force us into a particular way of behaving but to encourage us to reflect on our motivations and actions. Since the aim of a Buddhist life is to diminish suffering, Buddhist ethics are rooted in compassion and wisdom. We attend to our own suffering and the suffering of others, and we understand that our intentions and actions have consequences. - Martine Batchelor, “The Buddhist Precepts: An Introduction”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 22, 2012

With a Little Help from my Friends If you really want to become skillful in your thoughts, words, and deeds, you need a trustworthy friend to point out your blind spots. And because those spots are blindest around your unskillful habits, the primary duty of a trustworthy friend is to point out your faults—for only when you see your faults can you correct them; only when you correct them are you benefiting from your friend’s compassion in pointing them out. - Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “The Power of Judgment”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 21, 2012

A Giving of One’s Self An act of generosity entails giving more than is required, customary, or expected relative to one’s resources and circumstances. Certainly it involves relinquishment of stinginess, clinging, and greed. In addition, generosity entails relinquishing some aspects of one’s self-interest, and thus is a giving of one’s self. - Gil Fronsdal, “The Joy of Giving”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 20, 2012

Living in a Cosmic Democracy Living in harmony with all beings is flexibility. It is a kind of cosmic democracy. Each of us has a role in the situation and gets one vote. You cast your vote by being here like a great unmoving mountain. Please cast your vote completely: that is your job. Then listen to all other beings, especially foreigners, especially strangers, and especially enemies. - Reb Anderson, “In It Together”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 19, 2012

An Honest Look Simply doing good deeds, or even being a devoted meditator, doesn’t mean anything without the painful honesty that’s required to look at what we’re doing. We must take our heads out of the ground and look at all of the ways we get in our own way—fooling ourselves and obstructing the possibility of living a more open and genuine life. - Ezra Bayda, “The ‘Helper’ Syndrome”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 18, 2012

Letting the Heart Speak If any preoccupation comes in to bother the mind, just say in your heart, ‘Leave me alone. Don’t bother me. You’re no affair of mine.’ If any critical thoughts come up—fear for your life, fear that you’ll die, thinking of this person, thinking of that person—just say in your heart, ‘Don’t bother me. You’re no affair of mine.’ - Ajahn Chah, “The Last Gift”

Tricycle Daily DharmaDecember 17, 2012

Pure Freedom The practice of generosity is the practice of freedom, and it carries with it all the joy and pleasure that are associated with liberation. Indeed, there may be no greater sense of fulfillment in life than the simultaneous feelings of human interconnection and pure freedom that arise from an authentic act of selfless generosity. - Dale S. Wright, “The Bodhisattva’s Gift”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 15, 2012

Removing Hindrances With proper motivation, prayer becomes an important component of our practice because it helps to remove obstacles—counterproductive circumstances, imbalances of the subtle energies in the body, confusion and ignorance in the mind. Even in listening to the teachings, we may mentally edit what we hear, adding more to them than is being said or ignoring certain aspects. Prayer offsets these hindrances. - Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, “Prayer”

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 14, 2012

Giving Without Regret Buddhism praises the value of generosity but warns that you shouldn’t give something away if you’re likely to be upset later and regret giving it away. Similarly, although it’s good to help others, we shouldn’t agree to do something for another person if it will likely lead us to feel exhausted, resentful, and angry at the other person. Each of us has to judge our own capacities and set our boundaries accordingly. - Lorne Ladner, "Taking a Stand"

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 13, 2012

Necessary Closeness It is not sufficient merely to see that sentient beings are suffering. You must also develop a sense of closeness with them, a sense that they are dear. With that combination—seeing that people suffer and thinking of them as dear—you can develop compassion. - Jeffrey Hopkins, "Everyone as a Friend"

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 12, 2012

Accepting the Pain of Relationships Mindfulness can transform all our personal relationships—but only if we are willing to feel the inevitable pain that relationships entail. When we turn away from our distress, we inevitably abandon our loved ones as well as ourselves. But when we mindfully and compassionately incline toward whatever is arising within us, we can be truly present and alive for ourselves and others. - Christopher K. Germer, "Getting Along"

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 11, 2012

Freed from Fixations Our lack of self frees us from the compulsion to secure ourselves within the world. We do not need to become more real by becoming wealthy, or famous, or powerful, or beautiful. We are able to realize our nonduality with the world because we are freed from such fixations. - David Loy, "Healing Ecology"

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 10, 2012

The Gift of Compassion True dana is about giving with no expectation of return. One who receives a gift of compassion is promised nothing more than the emotional boost of knowing good has been done. But as we groan under the weight of our possessions, that in itself can be a priceless gift. Altruism is a proven tonic. - Joan Duncan Oliver, "Gifts that Keep Giving"

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 9, 2012

To Recognize 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. To recognize this emptiness is not to negate things but to glimpse what enables anything to happen at all. - Stephen Batchelor, "Nagarjuna’s Verses from the Center"

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 8, 2012

Participating in Divinity 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"

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 6, 2012

Transforming Anger Perhaps the most important reason for getting to know our anger is that anger is actually a precious energy that becomes anger only when it is caught up in complex egoic patterns. Those patterns include my stories about anger’s cause and object as well as many deluded beliefs, not the least of which is the delusion of separation. This energy needs to be freed and transformed rather than distorted or destroyed. - Nancy Baker, "Precious Energy"

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 5, 2012

Generosity of the Heart Genuine happiness in relationships comes forth naturally when it’s no longer blocked by all the conditions that we normally add—our agendas, our needs, our expectations. When we’re more able to refrain from indulging our self-centered motivations, we no longer look at our relationship in terms of what we will get. Instead, as we move toward the generosity of the heart, we naturally want to give. - Ezra Bayda, "Giving Through Relationships"

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 4, 2012

Valuing the Here and Now Goal-seeking activity is always the enemy of real peace and contentment. The idea that what is here and now is less valuable than what’s over there just past the finish line prevents us from ever being truly content and happy right where we are. No matter what your ultimate goal is, it’s always off in the distance. This goes for any goal at all, even the goal of attaining ultimate inner peace or saving all beings. - Brad Warner, "Goalless Practice"