Rational Nation USA

 

 

 

 

 

From the soil of loving-kindness grows the beautiful bloom of compassion, watered with tears of empathic joy, under the cool shade of the tree of equanimity. — Longchenpa

  Respect and develop pure perception and devotion toward those who are practicing Dharma as the noble sangha. If you see faults in others, think that they’re the reflections of your own delusions. If you see good qualities in others, meditate on rejoicing over them. Disclose and expel your own faults. Generate virtuous qualities and act with astonishing perseverance . Be with holy people and abandon evil friends. Stay in solitary places and promise to pursue meditation. Make sure that whatever you do is consonant with Dharma practice. — Longchenpa

 

    Verse 256: He is not just if he decides a case arbitrarily; the wise man should decide after considering both what is right and what is wrong.   Verse 257: The wise man who decides not arbitrarily but in accordance with the law is one who safeguards the law; he is to be called 'one who abides by the law (dhammattho)'. 258: He is not a wise man just because he talks much; only he who is peaceful, free from enmity, and does no harm to others, is to be called 'a wise man'. 259: He is not "one versed in the Dhamma (Dhammadhara)" just because he talks much. He who hears only a little but comprehends the Dhamma, and is not unmindful is, indeed, "one versed in the Dhamma". 260: He is not a thera just because his head is grey; he who is ripe only in years is called "one grown old in vain".   261: Only a wise man who comprehends the Four Noble Truths and the Dhamma, who is harmless and virtuous, who restrains his senses and has rid himself of mo...

  Happy Thanksgiving to all!  May the nation find a way to be thankful for all that it is blessed with, and also a way to heal the deep political, economic, and cultural wounds that have been metastasizing for years. We are all interconnected in profoundly deep and spiritual ways. Tapping into this interconnectedness can and will bring profound joy and contentment. Isn't it time to stop "othering" those who look and talk differently or think differently than we do? We are a nation supposedly united. Isn't it time we started acting like it once again?

  H/T: Progressesive Eruptions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Once we are determined to be free of our problems and their causes, we transfer our concern to others and, with compassion, develop the wish for them likewise to be free. Dr. Alexander Berzin, Matt Lindén Study Buddhism · Feeling Compassion

  PALM BEACH, Fla. — Donald Trump, the twice-impeached former president who refused to concede defeat and inspired a failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election culminating in a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, officially declared on Tuesday night that he is running to retake the White House in 2024. The announcement at his Florida Mar-a-Lago Club came in a moment of political vulnerability for Trump as voters  resoundingly rejected  his endorsed candidates in last week’s midterm elections. Since then, elected Republicans have been unusually forthright in  blaming Trump for the party’s underperformance  and potential rivals are already openly plotting  challenging Trump for the nomination . So, the highly narcissistic former failed president who fomented an insurrection attempt against the duly elected government of the United States in 2020 has announced his third bid for the office he does not deserve to hold ever again. We were only able to listen to ...

Buddhist yogi Drukpa Kunley is the embodiment of crazy wisdom. And while the stories of his behavior seem crazy to us, Drukpa Kunley’s outrageousness comes from a place of insight. From his point of view, we’re the crazy ones—trapped in our thoughts about reality and unable to see things as they actually are. In this episode, Lama Liz Monson joins Kate and Alex to discuss the Tibetan roots of crazy wisdom. She introduces us to fifteenth-century Tibetan yogi Drukpa Kunley, describing his commitment to exposing religious hypocrisy and leveraging outrageous behavior to wake people up. Listen in to understand how crazy wisdom is misunderstood in the West and learn how the bawdy stories of Drukpa Kunley can lead us to a spiritual awakening. Lama Liz Monson is the Spiritual Co-Director of the Natural Dharma Fellowship, a Dharma organization based in the New England area and the Managing Teacher at Wonderwell Mountain Refuge, a Buddhist meditation retreat center in Springfield, NH. Sh...

  With 4 loses in as many years we can't help but wonder why any republican with even a touch of reality based thinking would ever support this mega loser again. As we await Trump's "big announcement this evening.