This suffering BS is real. “Life is difficult, the Buddha said, for everyone. Suffering, he taught, is the demand that experience be different from what it is. Of course we do what we can to address pain. Sometimes illnesses are cured. Sometimes relationships are mended. Sometimes losses are recouped. Sometimes, though, nothing can be done. The Buddha’sContinue reading “Reading: Hard Lessons”
Category Archives: Quotes
Reading: More from WTFA
Building on the previous reading on awareness balanced by loving-kindness vs. knee-jerk tendencies towards judgement: “The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently…The ground of not causing harm is mindfulness, aContinue reading “Reading: More from WTFA”
Reading: Maitri
“The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves…It is said that we can’t attain enlightenment, let alone feel contentment and joy, without seeing who we are and what we do, without seeing our patterns and our habits. This is called maitri – developing loving-kindness and an unconditional friendship withContinue reading “Reading: Maitri”
Reading: Intention
“It matters less what we do in practice than how we do it and why we do it. The same posture, the same sequence, the same meditation with a different intention takes on an entirely new meaning and will have entirely different outcomes.” — Donna Farhi
Reading: Inner Listening
From Eric Shiffmann’s book Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness: “Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who you are. The practice of yoga is the practice of meditation — or inner listening — in the poses and meditations, as well as all dayContinue reading “Reading: Inner Listening”
Reading: Identity Shift
“At some point, we need to stop identifying with our weaknesses and shift our allegiance to our basic goodness. It’s highly beneficial to understand that our limitations are not absolute and monolithic, but relative and removable. The wisdom of buddha nature is available to us at any time.” — Pema Chödrön
Reading: more from Pema’s WTFA:HADT
“There is nobody on the planet, neither those whom we see as the oppressed nor those whom we see as the oppressor, who doesn’t have what it takes to wake up. We all need support and encouragement to be aware of what we think, what we say, and what we do. Notice your opinions. IfContinue reading “Reading: more from Pema’s WTFA:HADT”
Reading: Fear is Good
Thanks to my good friend Andrea, I have been reading this relatable and inspiring book The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. I’m just a third through and have found the following passage useful in explaining the fears I have around teaching. Within a few days ofContinue reading “Reading: Fear is Good”
Reading: Being Tested by Pema Chödron
“We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all ofContinue reading “Reading: Being Tested by Pema Chödron”
Reading from Class: School of Life by Pema Chödrön
“Life is a good teacher and a good friend. Things are always in transition, if we could only realize it. Nothing ever sums itself up in the way that we like to dream about. The off-center, in-between state is an ideal situation, a situation in which we don’t get caught and we can open ourContinue reading “Reading from Class: School of Life by Pema Chödrön”