Tricycle Daily Dharma August 14, 2013

A Moral Politics Given that government, in theory at least, is our common will, representing us as a people, how do we define ourselves? Will we come to the aid of those among us struggling to get by or will we throw the needy back upon their own meager resources? Is the prevailing philosophy of governance one of mutual concern and collective help, or one of stark individualism in which everyone has to fend for themselves, or at best rely on charity? This is not so much a political question as a moral one, a question pertaining to the moral basis of our common life. Much depends on how we answer it. - Bhikkhu Bodhi, "A Moral Politics"

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 13, 2013

Cutting Out Attachments The purpose of Buddhism is to cut down anger, hatred, and jealousy. The way you do it is very simple. If you cannot handle an attachment, then you completely cut out whatever helps the attachment grow. - Gelek Rinpoche, "A Lama For All Seasons"

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 12, 2013

The Gate of Not-Okay The only thing that can make us uncomfortable with being alone is not liking who we are. That’s what we do when we face the wall: we face who we are. Being okay with however that arises is the most compassion and the most honesty you can ever offer yourself—to just accept yourself as you are. Even if you don’t like it, that’s okay, because not-okay is always a practice gate. We can always include what we don’t like in ourselves. But letting go of worrying about having to become perfect: that’s a gift that we give to ourselves. - Merle Kodo Boyd, "Okay As It Is, Okay As You Are"

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 11, 2013

Not Clinging to Pleasant States We like pleasant meditative states. There's no problem with the pleasantness of them; it's part of our life experience. The problem is that we often devote our life energy to the getting, sustaining, accumulation, and repeating of these pleasant experiences. But, as we all know, these pleasant experiences don't last, so they don't really have the capacity to bring us happiness, to bring us completion, to bring us fulfillment. We're always seeking more—that's samsara, the endless wheel of becoming, fueled by wanting. - Joseph Goldstein, “One Dharma”

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 10, 2013

Regarding Doubt We feel that if we have doubts, it means that we are denying the teachings and that we should really have unquestioning faith. Now in certain religions, unquestioning faith is considered a desirable quality. But in the Buddha-dharma, this is not necessarily so. Referring to the dharma, the Buddha said, 'ehi passiko,' which means 'come and see,' or 'come and investigate,' not 'come and believe.' - Ani Tenzin Palmo, “Necessary Doubt”

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 9, 2013

Continuous Mind If we believe that mind is continuous, our love for others becomes continuous. If we recognize this continuity, we do not trust temporary, tangible circumstances or take them too seriously. - Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, "Continuous Mind"

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 8, 2013

On Gender There’s a strong streak of anti-essentialism in feminism, just as there is in Buddhism. It is the understanding that something like gender is not fixed or absolute, that not all women or men have some masculine or feminine essence that defines us. To put it in Buddhist terms, gender has no 'self-nature.' - Nancy Baker, "Of Samurai and Sisterhood"