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  Deeper and meaningful expeiences are found within oneself, never to be found outside of oneself. Suffering (or unhappiness) is caused by the Three Posions,  greed, ignorance and hatred .  Enjoy the video... it speaks truth.

 

A Buddhist Thanksgiving: Understanding Gratitude in Buddhism By  Alan Peto Teaser below left.

  Why 'Why Buddhism Is True' Is True An article by Adam Frank. Here is one thing author  Robert Wright  and I agree on when it comes to Buddhist meditation: It's really, really boring. At least, it's boring in the beginning. But there is another thing we agree on, too. That  initial  meditative boredom is actually a door. It's an opening that can lead us to something essential, and essentially true, that Buddhism has to teach us about being human. Wright's insight on this point is just one of the many truths in his delightfully personal, yet broadly important, new book  Why Buddhism Is True . The "true" in Wright's title doesn't refer to the traditional kinds of scriptural truths we think of when we think of religions and truth. Wright is explicitly not interested in the traditional aspects of Buddhism as a religion. The book, for example, makes no claims about reincarnation or Tibetan rainbow bodies or the like. Instead, Wright wants to focus ...

  Mindfulness, Love, Letting Go, Wisdom, and Transmutation... Five practices that lead to liberation and enlightenment. To find out out more follow the link to Lion's Roar . The trip will be well worth it! Here's the teaser to whet yer  appetite . I think what makes Buddhism unique — what makes it Buddhism — is its diagnosis of what causes suffering, which is called the second noble truth. Looking at the other noble truths, most religions acknowledge the pervasive reality of suffering, that it can end (if not in this life, then after), and that wisdom, compassion, and ethical living are a path to less suffering. But why do we suffer at all? This is where Buddhism stands alone, offering a real-world explanation that is simple, testable, and, to my mind, irrefutable. What is it like to detox our mind of ego and these three poisons? We already know. According to Buddhism, the fundamental cause of suffering is ignorance, our mistaken view of reality. The Buddha taught that everyth...

  Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John shares how to free ourselves from deep-rooted habitual patterns. Watch your thoughts; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become stories. Watch your stories; they become excuses. Watch your excuses; they become relapses. Watch your relapses; they become dis-eases. Watch your dis-eases; they become vicious cycles. Watch your vicious cycles; they become your wheel of life. We meditate to uproot what the Buddhist teachings call  samskaras . These are the mental impressions and recollections that have been psychologically imprinted in our minds by early childhood trauma. We also meditate to loosen what the Buddha called the seven  anusayas , which are obsessions or underlying habitual tendencies. If we really want to break deep-rooted habits, every one of us needs to become aware of the obsessions of sensual passion, resistance, views, uncertainty, conceit, ignorance, and the passion of becoming. Every time we habitually react, the pa...

  Buddhaimonia   ... Buddhism holds within it a treasure trove of wisdom, not to mention wisdom easily applicable in one's everyday life and by all people of various backgrounds, beliefs, and preferences. Thich Nhat Hanh has said, "Buddhism is made up of all non-Buddhist elements." And this couldn't be truer. When it comes down to it, Buddhism is really just a collection of methods and ways of realizing the ultimate truths of this life, and the path to discovering true peace and happiness. Whether Buddhist, a collector of universal wisdom, or just someone interested in finding practical ways to improve their life, this list presents 12 powerful and potentially transformative pieces of Buddhist wisdom which you can benefit from. 12 Pieces of Buddhist Wisdom That Will Transform Your Life 1. Live with compassion Compassion is one of the most revered qualities in Buddhism and great compassion is a sign of a highly realized human being. Compassion doesn't just help the...

  na tena hoti dhammaṭṭho, yenatthaṃ sāhasā naye. yo ca atthaṃ anatthañca, ubho niccheyya paṇḍito. asāhasena dhammena, samena nayatī pare. dhammassa gutto medhāvī, 'dhammaṭṭho'ti pavuccati. Not by passing arbitrary judgments does a man become just; a wise man is he who investigates both right and wrong. He who does not judge others arbitrarily, but passes judgment impartially according to the truth, that sagacious man is a guardian of law and is called just. Is there a nation today that has actually lived up to this idealized notion of just? The evidence is clear methinks. Maybe Tibet.  T hat proud and once sovereign nation that the Communist Chinese annexed and took illegitimate control of in 1959. With the full and docile compliance of the rest of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  On this, another Veterans' Day, try thinking of things that will ease suffering and make life for all sentient beings better. Then ACT on those thoughts.

  Lion's Roar - Nine months ago, the Burmese military staged a coup in the predominately Buddhist country of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). The military continues to enact horrendous violence and human rights abuses against the citizens of Myanmar, and many of our fellow practitioners are suffering. The attempted coup in Myanmar began on February 1, 2021 when the Tatmadaw military detained many of the country’s democratically elected officials. The country responded with a national strike as millions of healthcare workers, civil servants, teachers, truck drivers, and others refused to work. Railways and highways were shut down as part of the Civil Disobedience Movement, and the streets of major cities and small towns flooded with people. We should see it as our karmic responsibility to support the people suffering in Myanmar. The military junta responded to this Spring Revolution with extreme violence. State-sanctioned security forces opened fire on unarmed crowds. The milita...

Have you ever watched your mind? I mean really watched your mind???  If you have you no doubt found it a very active place. A non stop procession of  random unrelated thoughts, ideas, and stories run through your mind like a rolling river during heavy rains. No wonder life can seem so confusing. Right? The mind never ever stops. But a lot of  folks probably don't pay a lot of attention to the mind. I suppose that's because the mind simply runs on auto pilot accumulating experiences and building stories based on ones life experiences. And when one considers all of the societal conditioning we all experience in life and add that to all the stories we tell ourselves (to support what we want to believe of course) it's reasonable to think perhaps reality is not what we've always believed it to be. When one sits down to meditate (with right intentions) they do so to calm the mind while focusing on the breath and the present moment. After all the present moment is the ...