Tricycle Daily Dharma June 30, 2013

On Having Fun The frustrating thing about our life is that there is no control over our emotions. That’s why there’s no fun. The whole purpose of Buddhism is to have fun, isn’t it? And in order to have fun you have to have control. If someone else has control over you, that’s it: there’s no fun. - Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, "Do Nothing"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 29, 2013

Vision and Routine The key to development along the Buddhist path is repetitive routine guided by inspirational vision. It is the insight into final freedom—the peace and purity of a liberated mind—that uplifts us and impels us to overcome our limits. But it is by repetition—the methodical cultivation of wholesome practices—that we cover the distance separating us from the goal and draw ever closer to awakening. - Bhikkhu Bodhi, "Vision and Routine"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 28, 2013

Undoing Desire Buddhism teaches us that desire, for all the agony and ecstasy, is no match for the truth. - Joan Duncan Oliver, "Drink And A Man"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 27, 2013

Facing Injustice The doctrine of karma is founded on the premise that the world is a just place, but I am afraid unjust suffering stares us in the face. I think we should struggle against injustice, but we have to accept that it persists and that we shall never eliminate it. - Richard Gombrich, "What the Buddha Thought"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 26, 2013

Allegiance to Life Feeling alarm or devastation can guide us to a deep sanity, reminding us of who we are and what we need. It can remind us that we belong to this larger body and that we care for it. Our power to act, our power to take part in the healing of our world, our power to bring things back into balance, comes from the same source as that devastation. Our pain for the world, and our power to take part in the healing of our world, both come from the same place.  - Joanna Macy, "Allegiance to Life"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 25, 2013

Gradual Transformation The movement from ordinary states of self-concern to selfless giving always involves a gradual transformation of character, not a sudden leap. Like any form of strength, generosity needs to be intentionally cultivated over time, and everyone must begin in whatever state of mind they already happen to be. - Dale S. Wright, “The Bodhisattva’s Gift”

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 23, 2013

What Nature Teaches Nature teaches us simplicity and contentment, because in its presence we realize we need very little to be happy. - Mark Coleman, "A Breath of Fresh Air"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 22, 2013

Imagination vs Fantasy Imagination confronts desire directly, in all its discomfort and intensity, deepening the world right where we are. Fantasy and reality are opposing forces, but imagination and reality are not in opposition: Imagination goes toward reality, shapes and evokes it. - Norman Fischer, "Saved from Freezing"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 21, 2013

When There's Still Time Stop fighting with your family members, spouse, or friends. Start appreciating. Enjoy each other. Stop looking at the other’s faults. Start to appreciate each other’s qualities. Life is short. Even if you live one hundred years, how long will you live with all your faculties intact? The period we have to appreciate each other is quite limited. - Gehlek Rimpoche, "An Interview with Gehlek Rimpoche"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 20, 2013

The Path of Engagement The starting point is overcoming ignorance. That’s where the Buddha said we should start. We have to make it part of our daily discipline to become better informed about the world we live in. We need to be able to distinguish between truth and falsity such as misinformation from our governments and from mainstream news media. We also have to learn to deal steadfastly and intelligently with suffering. - Richard Reoch, "The Path of Complete Engagement"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 19, 2013

How to Give An act of giving is of most benefit when one gives something of value, carefully, with one’s own hand, while showing respect, and with a view that something wholesome will come of it. - Andrew Olendzki, “Dana: The Practice of Giving"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 18, 2013

Respecting the Practice When people use spiritual practice to try to compensate for feelings of alienation and low self-esteem, they corrupt the true nature of spiritual practice. Instead of loosening the manipulative ego that tries to control its experience, they strengthen it, and their spiritual practice remains unintegrated with the rest of their life. - John Welwood, “The Psychology of Awakening”

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 17, 2013

The Greater Joy The scriptures say that when the mind indulges in sensual objects, it becomes agitated. This is the usual state of affairs in the world, as we can observe. In their quest for happiness, people mistake excitement of the mind for real happiness. They never have the chance to experience greater joy that comes with peace and tranquility. - Sayadaw U Pandita, "A Perfect Balance"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 16, 2013

A Peaceful Mind A hallmark of a genuine Buddhist practitioner is a truly peaceful mind. Advocating peace is not enough. One must have a mind that remains unflustered and nonaggressive even in extreme circumstances, including when one is provoked. - Rita M. Gross, "Buddhism and Religious Diversity"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 15, 2013

Do You If you want to be such a person, as you are such you must do such. You must do this person that you are, then you will be this person that you are. Instead, often we try to do something else, and then we wonder why we are not who we are. - Elihu Genmyo Smith, "No Need to Do Zazen, Therefore Must Do Zazen"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 14, 2013

The Truth about Suffering I once thought Buddhism would save me from suffering. That was before I started to grow older and wiser. And it isn’t so much the wisdom that changed my mind about the end of suffering as it is the aging. - Wes Nisker, “The Question”

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 13, 2013

The Virtue of Great Compassion Just as when you want to win people’s hearts you first love their children, the Buddhas and bodhisattvas consider all living beings their children, so if you love all living beings equally, all the Buddhas will be moved to respond. - Zen Master Torei, "Great Compassion"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 12, 2013

Not About Being Good Just as Buddhist shila [ethical conduct] refers not to some imaginary static state of virtue but to an ongoing test of volition, so too is this true of enlightenment. Since there is no abiding personhood in any of us, rather than speaking of an enlightened person, let’s speak of enlightened conduct. - Bodhin Kjolhede, "Pain, Passion, and the Precepts"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 11, 2013

A New Approach What disintegrates in periods of rapid transformation is not the self, but its defenses and assumptions. Self-protection restricts vision and movement like a suit of armor, making it harder to adapt. Going to pieces, however uncomfortable, can open us up to new perceptions, new data, and new responses. - Joanna Macy, "The Greatest Danger"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 10, 2013

Here and Now Heaven and hell are not some places I’m going to go to later on. Heaven and hell are here right now, and I create them for myself with my own choices. - Hae Doh Gary Schwocho, "Beneath Belief"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 9, 2013

Nowhere to Stay Pleasure isn’t a place for you to stay. Pain isn’t a place for you to stay. Pain wears away. Pleasure wears away. Our foremost Teacher said that all fabrications are inconstant. - Ajahn Chah, “The Last Gift”

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 7, 2013

The Lotus in the Mud Think of the wonderful teaching of the lotus in the mud: It grows from the muck below and blossoms as a beautiful, pristine flower above. All of us have our feet in the stinking mud, and yet there is an opportunity to offer our lives, however imperfect they are, to others. - Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara, "Practice First"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 6, 2013

In the Smallest Act The bodhisattva ideal begins with the smallest acts motivated by concern for others. This feeling, this wish to be more kind and helpful, is the beginning of the bodhisattva path itself, and the treading of this path—for most of us, for most of our practice-lives—will mainly consist of small acts of kindness and concern, brief moments of putting others before ourselves. - Majushra, "An Everyday Aspiration"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 5, 2013

Not Judging our Emotions 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. - Robert Augustus Masters, "From Spiritual Bypassing"

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 4, 2013

Suffering Guaranteed Of course we need to practice compassion in individual thoughts and acts—these are the bread and butter of practice, the real test. But where we see political and economic systems guaranteed to generate tragedy and despair, we must also respond to transform and humanize those systems. - David Edwards, "Life Or Death"