Compassion is traveling into your neighborhood

The Dalai Lama’s continuous travel around the world to talk about compassion is amazing. The awareness he has generated permeates so much in our Western world today, and it is growing. This is not specifically about continuting a Tibetan view but more about infusing the generic concepts of Buddhism into everyday culture and practices.

You can follow the Dalai Lama on Facebook. He says this week: “When we wish and seek to help others, our attitude is more positive and relationships become easier. We are less afraid and have less anxiety. Otherwise we remain shy and hesitant, and feel the need to take a thousand precautions before we approach people. When our intentions are good, we have greater self-confidence and are stronger. This is how we learn to understand how precious and valuable kindness is.”

Also note, “It is clear that inner peace is the principal cause of happiness. We can observe this in our daily lives. On days when we are calm and happy, even if difficulties arise or we fall victim to a mishap, we take it well, it doesn’t bother us unduly. But on days when we feel sad or have lost our usual calmness, the least little annoyance will take on enormous proportions and be deeply upsetting to us.”

Following a path: taking the long view

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

I admire Thich Nhat Hanh for his perseverance from a young age in Viet Nam to his current devotion to the path of Buddhism. He says that there may be obstacles to traveling to understanding truth, and don’t think that you will get it down pat anyway.

He has been quoted saying:

“We must not be attached to a view or a doctrine, even a Buddhist one. The Buddha said that if in a certain moment or place you adopt something as the absolute truth, and you attach to that, then you will no longer have any chance to reach the truth. Even when the truth comes and knocks on your door, and asks you to open the door, you won’t recognize it. So you must not be too attached to dogma–to what you believe, and to what you perceive.” [in an interview with Diane Wolkstein featured in Parabola Vol 30 No 4]. More from Wolkstein.

Traveling a Buddhist path can seem like a riddle at times, but the more you settle into the study and listen to those who provide insights the more you start to understand. Learn more abut Thich Nhat Hanh.

Following the life of Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh

One of the most impressive persons in the world today is Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese-born Buddhist monk now living in France at Plum Village. Tap into his ideas via Facebook, if you are using this site.

According to his web site, Thich Nhat Hanh is not only a monk, but also a poet, a scholar, and a peace activist. He founded the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon and the School for Youths of Social Services in Vietnam. When not travelling the world to teach “The Art of Mindful Living”, he teaches, writes, and gardens in Plum Village, France, a Buddhist monastery for monks and nuns and a mindfulness practice center for lay people.”

This description on the web site does not do justice to how important he is to the Buddhist world, and it is better said at Shambala Sun in this month’s issue, but you will have to buy the publication because only a short interview is available on the web site.

A good summary can be found on Wikipeidia. “He traveled to the U.S. to study at Princeton University, and later to lecture at Cornell University and Columbia University. His focus at the time, was to urge the U.S. government to withdraw from Vietnam. He urged Martin Luther King, Jr. to publicly oppose the Vietnam War; King nominated Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize in January 1967.  He created the (non-Zen) Order of Interbeing in 1966, establishing monastic and practice centers around the world. In 1973, the Vietnamese government denied Nhat Hanh permission to return to Vietnam and he went into exile in France. From 1976-1977 he led efforts to rescue Vietnamese boat people in the Gulf of Siam. Nhat Hanh has become an important influence in the development of Western Buddhism.  His teachings and practices aim to appeal to people from various religious, spiritual, and political backgrounds, intending to offer mindfulness practices for more Western sensibilities.”

World Cup and soccer players’ patience

Soccer ball

I have been watching a lot of soccer this week with the World Cup games.

Watching the players patiently apply their skills, forward thinking, but applying an amazing moment to moment concentration makes me think about some of the practice in Buddhist meditation where essentially a person is patiently concentrating and staying in the moment.

Wikipedia says patience “the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.”

“In Buddhism, patience is one of the “perfections” that a bodhisattva trains in and practices to realize perfect enlightenment. In both Hinduism and Buddhism there is a particular emphasis on meditation, aspects of which lead to a natural state of mindfulness that is conducive to patient, effective and well-organised thought.”

So, I am enjoying watching the practive of patience of the World Cup players [of course you also see the frustrations some players will experience] as they work to achieve their goals.

Life with the glass half full

I like to find ways to practice optimism and happened across this cool web site called SuccessConciousness.com.

On a web site page devoted to the power of a positive attitude, Remez Sasson provides good words for applying a positive approach including: constructive thinking, creative thinking and expecting success. Visit this page for more ideas.

Lotus flower

Sasson says, … inner work, concentration, meditation and spiritual growth, as well as self-improvement and creative visualization can be practiced everywhere, not only in secluded and quiet places.” No doubt this fits into the practice of Buddhism and other approaches to compassion in the world.

You can find a lot out there about thinking positively, so find something you can connect with and go for it!