Tricycle Daily Dharma July 12, 2013

Not Self-Help Buddhism asks us to go beyond the self, not to perfect the self. - Dharmavidya David Brazier, “Living Buddhism”

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 11, 2013

The In-between State Anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness mark the in-between state. It's the kind of place we usually want to avoid. The challenge is to stay in the middle rather than buy into struggle and complaint. The challenge is to let it soften us rather than make us more rigid and afraid. - Pema Chodron, “The In-between State”

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 10, 2013

No Return The solution does not lie in ‘returning to nature.’ We cannot return to nature, because we have never left it. - David Loy, “Healing Ecology”

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 9, 2013

Giving Up Getting We need to give up something. We can’t have it all. We can’t try to layer wisdom on top of confusion. The spiritual path is about what we give up, not what we get. - Tim Olmsted, “The Great Experiment”

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 8, 2013

Using Technology Wisely Technology’s value is the value we give it as a society and as individuals, in millions of large and small decisions that are made every day. It reshapes our world into something that can seem unfamiliar and even strange. But we are still in human territory—territory we can navigate with human wisdom and insight, should we choose to do so. - Richard Eskow, "My Technology, My Self"

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 7, 2013

Distinguishing Genuine Dharma We reassure ourselves that the changes we’ve made in Buddhism are all for the best—that Buddhism has always adapted itself to every culture it enters, and we can trust it to adapt wisely to the West. But this treats Buddhism as if it were a conscious agent—a wise amoebic force that knows how to adapt to its environment in order to survive. Actually, Buddhism isn’t an agent, and it doesn’t adapt. It gets adapted—sometimes by people who know what they’re doing, sometimes by people who don’t. Just because a particular adaptation survives and prevails doesn’t mean that it’s genuine dharma. It may simply appeal to the desires and fears of its target audience. - Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “Lost in Quotation”

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 6, 2013

The Power of Presence Presence has no measurable product except positive feelings, feelings of support, intimacy, and happiness. When we stop being busy and productive and switch to just being still and aware, we ourselves will also feel support, intimacy, and happiness, even if no one else is around. - Jan Chozen Bays, “The Gift of Waiting”