Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/30/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	A man approached the Blessed One and wanted to have all his philosophical questions answered before he would practice. In response, the Buddha said, It is as if a man had been wounded by a poisoned arrow and when attended to by a physician were to say, I will not allow you to remove this arrow until I have learned the caste, the age, the occupation, the birthplace, and the motivation of the person who wounded me. That man would die before having learned all this. In exactly the same way, anyone who should say, I will not follow the teaching of the Blessed One until the Blessed One has explained all the multiform truths of the world-that person would die before the Buddha had explained all this. - from the Majjhima Nikaya

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 30, 2012 ~ Every Situation, An Opportunity

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 30, 2012

Every Situation, An Opportunity

Spiritual practitioners thrive in unpredictable conditions, testing and refining the inner qualities of heart and mind. Every situation becomes an opportunity to abandon judgment and opinions and to simply give complete attention to what is.
 
- Shaila Catherine, "Equanimity in Every Bite"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/insights/equanimity-every-bite

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 29, 2012 ~ Inexhaustible Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 29, 2012

Inexhaustible Dharma

Some people think by giving everything away, you end up with nothing. But the Dharma is an inexhaustible well. However much you give of it, you can always go back for more, because in this well the more you take from it, the higher the water will rise.
 
- Master Sheng Yen, "Rich Generosity"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/insights/rich-generosity

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 28, 2012 ~ The Moving Force of Gratitude

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 28, 2012

The Moving Force of Gratitude

Gratitude is a way of undercutting your ego—that is, it is a way of being Buddhist. There is an awareness that we get now and then about what we owe to others, and Shinran feels that that should become the moving force of one’s life. That awakening, that awareness, transforms your way of dealing with life, with people, and with all things.
 
- Rev. Dr. Alfred Bloom, "Beyond Religion"

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

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 27, 2012 ~ An Investigation of the Mind

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 27, 2012

An Investigation of the Mind

We really must verify for ourselves that whatever thought comes into our mind has never acquired any true existence: thoughts are never born, they never dwell as something truly existing, and they have nowhere to go when they disappear from our mind.
 
- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, "An Investigation of the Mind"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/feature/investigation-mind?page=0,0

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 26, 2012 ~ Allowing Some Space

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 26, 2012

Allowing Some Space

If we can allow some space within our awareness and rest there, we can respect our troubling thoughts and emotions, allow them to come, and let them go. Our lives may be complicated on the outside, but we remain simple, easy, and open on the inside.
 
- Tsoknyi Rinpoche, "Allow for Space"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/brief-teachings/allow-space

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/25/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Explaining many profound dharmas is easy; living them yourself is hard. - Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 25, 2012 ~ Eliminating Suffering

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 25, 2012

Eliminating Suffering

The practice is to make the non-arising of grasping and clinging absolute, final, and eternally void, so that no grasping and clinging can ever return. Just that is enough. There is nothing else to do.
 
- Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, "A Single Handful"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/dharma-talk/single-handful

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 24, 2012 ~ The Adventure of Not-Knowing

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 24, 2012

The Adventure of Not-Knowing

If, as I believe, meditation is simply awareness, then any past knowledge I have about it is not only useless, but slops over into my immediate experience. Knowing is antithetical to openness, and it's the adventure of not knowing that's the genius of meditation.
 
- Barry Evans, "The Myth of the Experienced Meditator"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/-cushion/myth-experienced-meditator

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/23/2012

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 April 23, 2012 ~ The Koans of Life

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 23, 2012

The Koans of Life

Something appears sometimes to be good or bad or right or wrong or long or short or big or small—but what is it overall? The same thing with our life. We must see what it is beyond duality. Our life literally comes down to right now. Now! Here! What is it?
 
- Maezumi Roshi, "Appreciate Your Life"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/dharma-talk/appreciate-your-life

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 22, 2012 ~ The Reality of Liberation

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 22, 2012

The Reality of Liberation

Nirvana manifests as ease, as love, as connectedness, as generosity, as clarity, as unshakable freedom. This isn’t watering down nirvana. This is the reality of liberation that we can experience, sometimes in a moment and sometimes in transformative ways that change our entire life.
 
- Jack Kornfield, "The Wise Heart"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/interview/wise-heart

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 21, 2012 ~ The End of Your World

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 21, 2012

The End of Your World

The process of finding the truth may not be a process by which we feel increasingly better and better. It may be a process by which we look at things honestly, sincerely, truthfully, and that may or may not be an easy thing to do.
 
- Adyashanti, "Bliss is a By-Product"

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 20, 2012 ~ Cutting the Roots of Craving

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 20, 2012

Cutting the Roots of Craving

The misguided man in whom the thirty-six currents of craving strongly rush toward pleasurable objects, is swept away by the flood of his passionate thoughts. Everywhere these currents flow, and the creeper (of craving) sprouts and grows. Seeing that the creeper has sprung up, cut off its root with wisdom.
 
- The Buddha, "From the Canon: Thirst"

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http://www.tricycle.com/brief-teachings/canon-thirst

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/20/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Get rid of the tendency to judge yourself above, below, or equal to others. A nun who has self-possession and integrity will find the peace that nourishes and never causes surfeit. - Therigatha, translated by Susan Murcott

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/19/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	When we fall on the ground it hurts us, but we also need to rely on the ground to get back up. - Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 19, 2012 ~ No Negative Emotion

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 19, 2012

No Negative Emotion

There isn’t any such thing as a negative emotion. There are negative things that we do with our emotions, but our emotions themselves are neither negative nor positive. They simply are.
 
- Robert Augustus Masters, "From Spiritual Bypassing"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/brief-teachings/spiritual-bypassing

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 18, 2012 ~ The Relief of Impermanence

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 18, 2012

The Relief of Impermanence

When our thoughts believe that an entity is permanent, that is a mistake, and that mistake causes us to suffer. Because when we believe an entity that makes us happy is permanent, we suffer when that entity ceases to exist. And when we believe an entity that makes us suffer is permanent, we deny ourselves the relief of knowing that it is impermanent and will therefore not cause us suffering forever, or even close to it!
 
- Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso, "The Path of Faith and the Path of Reasoning"

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http://www.tricycle.com/feature/path-faith-and-path-reasoning?page=0,0

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/18/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	If you students of the Way wish to become Buddhas, you need study no doctrines whatever, but learn only how to avoid seeking for and attaching yourselves to anything. - Huang Po, Zen Teaching of Huang Po

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/17/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	There is no evil like hatred. And no fortitude like patience. - Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 17, 2012 ~ Awakening Day by Day

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 17, 2012

Awakening Day by Day

Enlightenment is not a peak experience. It’s a permanent shift in paradigm that deepens day by day.
 
- Shinzen Young, "The Point of Contact"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/interview/point-contact

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/16/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Sitting peacefully on a cushion day and night seeking to attain Buddhahood, rejecting life and death in hopes of realizing enlightenment, is all like a monkey grasping at the moon reflected in the water. - Shoitsu

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 16, 2012 ~ The Pivotal Point

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 16, 2012

The Pivotal Point

To willingly reside in our distress, no longer resisting what is, is the real key to transformation. As painful as it may be to face our deepest fears, we do reach the point where it's more painful not to face them.
 
- Ezra Bayda, "Bursting the Bubble of Fear"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/practice/bursting-bubble-fear

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 15, 2012 ~ Living the Life You Wish to Live

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 15, 2012

Living the Life You Wish to Live

The beauty of the practice is that we can evaluate our lives even before we are on our deathbed. If we are not living the life we wish to live, how can we change that now, while there is still time?
 
- Ondrea Levine, "Living the Life You Wish to Live"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/give-take/living-life-you-wish-live

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 14, 2012 ~ The Gift That Cannot Be Given

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 14, 2012

The Gift That Cannot Be Given

The Buddha taught ‘kingly or queenly giving,’ which means giving the best of what we have, instinctively and graciously, even if none remains for ourselves. We are only temporary caretakers of all that is provided; essentially, we own nothing. As this understanding takes root in us, there is no getting, possessing, and giving; there is just the spaciousness that allows all things to remain in the natural flow of life.
 
- Marcia Rose, "The Gift That Cannot Be Given"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/-practice/dana-practice-giving?page=0,2

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 13, 2012 ~ Every Time a Good Time

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 13, 2012

Every Time a Good Time

The priest Wumen once wrote, 'A hundred flowers blossom in spring, the moon shines in autumn, there is a fresh breeze in summer, and there is snow in winter. If your mind isn’t occupied with trivial matters, every time is a good time.'
 
- Harada Sekkei Roshi, "Zen Basics"

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http://www.tricycle.com/give-take/zen-basics

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 12, 2012 ~ The Best of Our Potential

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 12, 2012

The Best of Our Potential

We have the potential to be more kind, to practice mindfulness, and to experience well-being, but we only use a small fraction of the potential we have. So that’s what meditation is about: to cultivate the qualities that we have the potential for but that remain dormant, latent, unused, and to develop them to the best of our own potential.
 
- Matthieu Ricard, "Why Meditate?"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/meditation-buddhist-practices/calm-abiding-shamatha/why-meditate?page=0,0

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 11, 2012 ~ The Whole of the Path

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 11, 2012

The Whole of the Path

I like to think that the Eightfold Path starts and ends with wise understanding and wise aspiration. When anyone asks me, 'How has practice changed you?' I reply, ‘I am kinder and happier. And I am confident that this is a universal path.’
 
- Sylvia Boorstein, “The Whole of the Path”

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/online-retreats/whole-path

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/10/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	The king said: 'Venerable Nagasena, where does wisdom dwell?' 'Nowhere, O king.' 'Then, Sir, there is no such thing as wisdom.' 'Where does the wind dwell, O king?' 'Not anywhere, Sir.' 'So there is no such thing as wind.' 'Well answered, Nagasena!' - Milindapanha 77

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 10, 2012 ~ What Love Says

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 10, 2012

What Love Says

Attachment is the very opposite of love. Love says, 'I want you to be happy.' Attachment says, 'I want you to make me happy.'
 
- Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, "No Excuses”

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/feature/no-excuses?page=0,0

If we raise prayer flags... ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche

"If we raise prayer flags, they bless the elements that touch the mantras, for example, the wind. Then, animals and insects who feel this wind are purified of their negative karma, and it transfers their consciousnesses to higher realms. Also, when rain and water touches the flags, it blesses worms and other creatures in the ground and liberates them from the lower realms."  
~Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 9, 2012 ~ Polishing Our Buddhanature

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 9, 2012

Polishing Our Buddhanature

Selfless service brings balance to your practice. Since it engages the body, it balances the tendency we have to think and theorize rather than act. By channeling your energy into acts of service, you transform the ideal into the real. So cleaning the inside of a temple, or picking up trash at a public park, not only cleans the space used by others (this is where the selfless part comes in); it figuratively polishes your buddhanature. It’s palpable in the joy and satisfaction you feel.
 
- Shinso Ito, “Unconditional Service”

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/interview/unconditional-service

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/9/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	I believe in justice and truth, without which there would be no basis for human hope. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 4, 2012 ~ There's No Such Thing as Perfection

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 4, 2012

There's No Such Thing as Perfection

We all want to idealize our teachers, and we want to idealize enlightenment, and ourselves. What happens is we set things up so that there is enlightenment, and there’s this teacher who’s going to give it to us, and that teacher has to be perfect and we have to be perfect. And of course, it makes it impossible for us to practice, and to have compassion for ourselves and for others. The fact is, we’re all human. And enlightenment does not bestow perfection. There’s no such thing as perfection.
 
- Sensei Enkyo O'Hara, "Practice First"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/interview/practice-first

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/3/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening. - Dogen, "Actualizing the Fundamental Point"

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 3, 2012 ~ Freedom from Reaction

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 3, 2012

Freedom from Reaction

Freedom means being able to choose how we respond to things. When wisdom is not well developed, it can be easily obscured by the provocations of others. In such cases we may as well be animals or robots. If there is no space between an insulting stimulus and its immediate conditioned response—anger—then we are in fact under the control of others. Mindfulness opens up such a space, and when wisdom is there to fill it one is capable of responding with forbearance.
 
- Andrew Olendzki, "Calm in the Face of Anger"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/thus-have-i-heard/calm-face-anger

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/2/2012

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	[The] defilements are like a cat. If you feed it, it will keep coming around. Stop feeding it, and eventually it will not bother to come around anymore. - Ajahn Chah, "Still Forest Pool"

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 2, 2012 ~ Bad Meditation? No Such Thing!

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 2, 2012

Bad Meditation? No Such Thing!

The mind can do wonderful and unexpected things. Meditators who are having a difficult time achieving a peaceful state of mind sometimes start thinking, 'Here we go again, another hour of frustration.' But often something strange happens; although they are anticipating failure, they reach a very peaceful meditative state. My first meditation teacher told me that there is no such thing as a bad meditation. He was right. During the difficult meditations you build up your strength, which creates meditation for peace.
 
- Ajahn Brahm, "Stepping Towards Enlightenment"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/-practice/stepping-towards-enlightenment

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 1, 2012 ~ The Secret of the Spiritual Path

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 1, 2012

The Secret of the Spiritual Path

On the spiritual path, there's nothing to get, and everything to get rid of. Obviously, the first thing to let go of is trying to 'get' love, and instead to give it. That's the secret of the spiritual path. How can we give ourselves? By not holding back. By not wanting for ourselves. If we want to be loved, we are looking for a support system. If we want to love, we are looking for spiritual growth.
 
- Ayya Khema, "What Love Is"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
http://www.tricycle.com/dharma-talk/what-love

Daily Buddhist Wisdom ~ 4/1/12

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Although wishing to be rid of misery, They run toward misery itself. Although wishing to have happiness, Like an enemy they ignorantly destroy it. - Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"