[AnamCaraZenBuddhistChurchOfEnlightenment's Blog]

Come Light A Candle For Tibet

2008-07-26

Hi,

Do you, like me, care about freedom and want to have a say about it?

Please unite with more than 100,000,000 people in the Biggest Light Protest on Earth for a Free Tibet.

Light a candle on August 7th at 9:00 p.m. (At your home, or in public)
Join and enjoy special light actions on the same night.
Drive with you car's headlights on during August 8 2008.
Watch "Sad Smoky Mountains" teams paint the sky with red smoke.
Watch those attending the opening ceremony in Beijing light candles, flashlights, cell phones and lighters. All for a FREE TIBET.

Please join us

Love,
Candle for Tibet
http://www.candle4tibet.org/

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Come Light A Candle For Tibet

2008-07-26

Hi,

Do you, like me, care about freedom and want to have a say about it?

Please unite with more than 100,000,000 people in the Biggest Light Protest on Earth for a Free Tibet.

Light a candle on August 7th at 9:00 p.m. (At your home, or in public)
Join and enjoy special light actions on the same night.
Drive with you car's headlights on during August 8 2008.
Watch "Sad Smoky Mountains" teams paint the sky with red smoke.
Watch those attending the opening ceremony in Beijing light candles, flashlights, cell phones and lighters. All for a FREE TIBET.

Please join us

Love,
Candle for Tibet
http://www.candle4tibet.org/

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Come Light A Candle For Tibet

2008-07-26

Hi,

Do you, like me, care about freedom and want to have a say about it?

Please unite with more than 100,000,000 people in the Biggest Light Protest on Earth for a Free Tibet.

Light a candle on August 7th at 9:00 p.m. (At your home, or in public)
Join and enjoy special light actions on the same night.
Drive with you car's headlights on during August 8 2008.
Watch "Sad Smoky Mountains" teams paint the sky with red smoke.
Watch those attending the opening ceremony in Beijing light candles, flashlights, cell phones and lighters. All for a FREE TIBET.

Please join us

Love,
Candle for Tibet
http://www.candle4tibet.org/

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Tricycle's Daily Dharma July 25, 2008 Not-Unusual Partnership

2008-07-25

July 25, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

Not-Unusual Partnership

The Buddha compared faith to a blind giant who meets up with a very sharp-eyed cripple, called wisdom. The blind giant, called faith, says to the sharp-eyed cripple, "I am very strong, but I can't see; you are very weak, but you have sharp eyes. Come and ride on my shoulders. Together we will go far." The Buddha never supported blind faith, but a balance between heart and mind, between wisdom and faith. The two together will go far. The saying that blind faith can move mountains unfortunately omits the fact that, being blind, faith doesn't know which mountain needs moving. That's where wisdom is essential, which means that a thorough understanding of the teaching is crucial.

-- Ayya Khema, When the Iron Eagle Flies
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

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DailyOM: Under The Hood - Importance Of Looking Deeper

2008-07-11

July 11, 2008
Under The Hood
Importance Of Looking Deeper

It's easy to get caught up in examining our actions instead of really deeply examining ourselves. This can be deceiving because our actions may be very spiritual-we meditate, are nice to people, take care of ourselves and others-and yet, we may not be penetrating to the issues below the surface. It's as if we've washed and shined the surface of our car without taking the time to check under the hood. We may appear to be in great shape, but if we aren't engaging in the deep, inner work of self-examination, the chances are good that we are not deeply aware of the real substance of our lives.

We live in a very appearance-oriented, externally focused world, so it makes sense that we place a lot of value on how our lives look, sometimes to the detriment of noticing how our lives really feel. When we get too caught up in what we are doing and lose track of our core, we sometimes begin to feel dissociated, as if we are not fully awake, alive, and grounded. This is a sure sign that it's time to engage in the hard work of going deep within to rediscover the foundation of our lives. Without the substance that comes from looking at ourselves deeply, and working through the difficult things we find, our spiritual lives can start to feel hollow or shallow, as if there's nothing at the center holding it all together.

Of course, the peace that comes with meditation and spiritual practice is an essential part of the whole picture of our development, but it serves us best in conjunction with the less settling, more chaotic work of digging around below the surface to see what needs to be healed, owned, or released. Then our actions are more than just an attempt to keep everything in control, looking pretty and nice. Fueled by the energy of a life in transformation, they become powerful expressions of courage and faith, further inspiring our own inner work and that of those around us.

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Something to Ponder

2008-07-06

http://danu9.tblog.com/post/1970000947

Or go to http://anamcarazenbuddhistchurchenlightnment.blogspot.com/ and read the "An Interesting Vid" blog entry

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Something To Ponder

2008-07-06

http://danu9.tblog.com/post/1970000947

Or go to http://anamcarazenbuddhistchurchenlightnment.blogspot.com/ and read the "An Interesting Vid" blog entry

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A Very Interesting VId

2008-07-06

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aW2N46vf4Q

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A Very Interesting Vid

2008-07-06

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aW2N46vf4Q

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A Lesson A Day - Day 93 - Admonishing The Speaker

2008-07-06

A Lesson A Day

4 Tammuz, 5768 / July 7, 2008

SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM

Day 93 - Admonishing the Speaker

The commandment, you shall reprove your fellow (Vayikra 19:17), requires a Jew to inform a sinner that his behavior is improper, and attempt to convince him to mend his ways. In voicing his disapproval, one must be prepared to endure embarrassment and insult and should continue to protest. Only in a case where one knows that his reproof would cause the sinner to react by committing more serious offenses is he to refrain from speaking up.

(Reproof must be administered with respect and understanding, and should be done in private whenever possible - see Rashi to Vayikra 19:17).

Generally speaking, one is required to interrupt and reprove the speaker of loshon hora, and do his best to ensure that he put a halt to his sinful speech. As mentioned, this does not apply when the speaker would likely react by expressing yet greater negativity towards the person he was speaking about, as a way of defending his sinful talk.

Another situation where reproof would be out of place is when:

The speaker does not realize that the information he is conveying is loshon hora, or is totally unaware that loshon hora is prohibited by the Torah; and

it is obvious that the speaker will continue speaking loshon hora even after being told that this is forbidden.

In such a case, reproof would transform the speaker from an inadvertent sinner into one who sins intentionally. Hence, it is better not to reprove him.

SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON

Choose Your Company

One should avoid association with a given group unless he knows that its members are careful to avoid forbidden speech. If circumstances demand such association, one should limit it to a minimum, and maintain silence whenever possible. Even one sinner can ruin an entire group and make it necessary to avoid being in its company.

Sefer Rosh HaGivah writes:

Be alert, my son, regarding that which King Shlomo said: "In the ears of a fool do not speak, lest he disparage the wisdom of your words" (Mishlei 23:9). Beware of a gathering of one hundred men among whom is found even one scoffer or fool, and certainly if [one of the fools] is a wise man in his own eyes, for he is the quintessential fool ...1 Strengthen yourself to sit in silence at such a gathering, do not discuss anything at all. Even if you will speak all sorts of wisdom, they [the scoffers and fools] will best you and grant you disgrace, as it is written,"Iniquity appears and disgrace follows" (ibid. 11:2).

If you wish to converse [at such a gathering] with a man like yourself, be careful that your words not reach their [the scoffers'] ears. Thus does Scripture advise:"In the ears of a fool do not speak,'' rather than, "Do not speak with a fool.''

See Mishlei 26:12. A fool who considers himself wise has no hope of acquiring wisdom, and thus is the greatest fool of all (Metzudos ad loc.).

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Tricycle's Daily Dharma - July 6, 2008 - The Responsibility Of Kindness

2008-07-06

July 6, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

The Responsibility of Kindness

Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboring communities, and so on. When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. And there are ways in which we can consciously work to develop feelings of love and kindness. For some of us, the most effective way to do so is through religious practice. For others it may be non-religious practices. What is important is that we each make a sincere effort to take seriously our responsibility for each other and for the natural environment.

-The Dalai Lama, "Nobel Peace Prize Lecture," in The Dalai Lama: A Policy of Kindness, edited by Sidney Piburn

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Elder's Meditation - July 6, 2008

2008-07-06

Elder's Meditation of the Day July 6
*"Silence is the cornerstone of character."*
--Charles Alexander Eastman, OHIYESA SANTEE SIOUX
Be still and know. Anyone can verbally attack another. Anyone can be a smart aleck. Anyone can be angry and tell other people things that will hurt them. Anyone can be sarcastic, devaluating and belittling. It takes a Warrior to be silent. Silence is so powerful. Silence can be so loving.

My Creator, if I get into a situation today that needs me to respond with silence, help me to use my silence in a good and sacred way. In my silence, let me be talking to You and You talking to me. Silence is the way of the warrior.

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Canaan Online - Jewish Gifts - Gifts Made In Isreal

2008-07-06

Your Destination for Extraordinary Handcrafted Judaica and Israeli
Gifts.

Sometimes the ordinary simply won't do. That's why Canaan-Online
offers a stunning, hand-picked selection of unusual Judaica and
distinctive Israeli gifts for all occasions, including exclusive items
you won't find anywhere else.

All Items Made In Israel

http://www.idevaffiliate.com/31223/idevaffiliate.php?id=108

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Canaan Online - Jewish Gifts - Gifts Made In Isreal

2008-07-06

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Canaan Online - Jewish Gifts - Gifts Made In Isreal

2008-07-06

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Canaan Online - Jewish Gifts - Gifts Made In Isreal

2008-07-06

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Tricycle's Daily Dharma - 7/2 - Your Brain Is Not The Only Part Of Your Mind WIth Ripples

2008-07-05

July 2, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

Your Brain is not the Only Part of Your Mind with Ripples

That everything is included within your mind is the essence of mind. To experience this is to have religious feeling. Even though waves arise, the essence of your mind is pure; it is just like clear water with a few waves. Actually water always has waves. Waves are the practice of the water. To speak of waves apart from water or water apart from waves is a delusion. Water and waves are one. Big mind and small mind are one. When you understand your mind in this way, you have some security in your feeling. As your mind does not expect anything from outside, it is always filled. A mind with waves in it is not a disturbed mind, but actually an amplified one. Whatever you experience is an expression of big mind.

The activity of big mind is to amplify itself through various experiences. In one sense our experiences coming one by one are always fresh and new, but in another sense they are nothing but a continuous or repeated unfolding of the one big mind.

-Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

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Tricycle's Daily Dharma - July 1st - An Undesireable Thing

2008-07-05

July 1, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

An Undesirable Thing

If the basic project of mainstream Buddhist practice is to unmask the ego illusion for what it is, one of the main prongs of attack is directed against desire. Desire gets a very bad press in the Buddhist scriptures. It is a poison, a disease, a madness. There is no living in a body that is subject to desire, for it is like a blazing house.

Now, desire lives and grows by being indulged. When not indulged by the application of ethical restraint and awareness, on the other hand, it stabilizes and begins to diminish, though this is not an easy or comfortable process, for the old urges clamor for satisfaction for a long time.

This kind of practice cut directly against the main currents of modern consumer society, where desire is energetically encouraged and refined to new pitches and variations by the powerful agencies of marketing and publicity. But it also cuts against the more moderate desires - for family, wealth, sense pleasures and so on sanctioned in simpler, more traditional societies, including the one into which the Buddha was born. We can never be at peace while desire is nagging at us.

John Snelling, Elements of Buddhism

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The 48 Ways To Wisdom - Way #50 - Rewards Of Gratitude

2008-07-05

Way #50 Rewards of Gratitude
by Rabbi Noah Weinberg

Acknowledge your gifts and be grateful to the source. Because if you know from whom you're receiving, you can always go back for more.

After hearing a good story, joke, or idea, we're anxious to repeat it to others. But in doing so, the tendency is to present it as our own original invention.

Ha'omer davar bi'shaim omro literally means "say it in the name of the one who said it." Whenever quoting something, you should always acknowledge the source. In other words, "don't steal credit."

The Talmud, the classical book of wisdom, goes to great lengths to trace the intellectual lineage of an idea: "So-and-so said in the name of So-and-so, who said in the name of So-and-so."

So next time you're ready to share a juicy one, don't forget to mention: Where did you get it from?

THE GIFT OF WISDOM

In order to properly appreciate anything, we need to assess its value. That's why when someone gives us a material gift, we usually have no problem showing gratitude.

The 48 Ways says: Acknowledge spiritual gifts, too. Wisdom is certainly more valuable than gold, and the secret of happiness is more precious than a diamond!

As an exercise, make a list of the ideas you regularly espouse, along with the original sources you heard them from. Think of people who gave you wisdom for living. Did a friend set you straight on something? Your brother saved you from doing some stupid things? An employer gave you good career advice?

Acknowledge that you received the gift. If someone took the blinders off your eyes, it's fantastic, it's a different life. Say to yourself: "I am now aware of something very important that I wasn't paying attention to." Say it out loud. That alone will make you feel genuine appreciation.

Now, let the source know how much you appreciate it. Consider as if the "thank you" is payment for the good idea. Enjoy paying this debt, don't loathe paying it. The pleasure that you'll give the other person is small payback for such an enormous gift!

A good place to start is with your parents. Make a list of all the gifts they've given you, both materially and ethically -- your sense of honesty, discipline, desire for truth, kindness toward people. Appreciate how valuable each one of these is. Come on, what did you get from your parents? Find out.

Next, write your parents a letter, thanking them for these gifts. It sounds a bit corny, but it is awesomely powerful. Do you understand what enormous pleasure you'll give them? Plus what pleasure you'll have in giving them that pleasure?!

VALUE THE SOURCE

When you acknowledge the source, you don't lose, you win. You will never be able to appreciate a piece of wisdom, an insight into living, unless you are willing to acknowledge the gift. Because by denying the gift, you downgrade its value. Therefore you won't apply it seriously -- because to you it doesn't have value.

Furthermore, if you are consciously aware of where your wisdom is coming from, then you're much more likely to go get more.

Direct others to the source as well. Let everybody know. When somebody else is happy, it doesn't steal any happiness from you. Actually, the more people who are happy, the easier it is for you to be happy.

When there's more wisdom around, the greater life becomes for us all.

WARNING SIGNS

Why do people have a hard time acknowledging someone else as the source of an idea?

The reality is that people crave independence, and are grappling for status and one-upmanship. Debts to others seem to threaten that stature. We don't like to imagine that we weren't smart enough to "figure it out for ourselves."

In truth, independence means that you pay your debts.

What does this tell us? Whenever you feel the need to take credit for someone else's work, alarm bells should ring. It's a warning sign of insecurity. Because even though it may "make us look good," it's actually a cheap substitute for legitimate self-improvement.

If you want credit for a good idea, think of one yourself!

Beyond this, if others find out about your "theft," then you've lost credibility in their eyes. And even if no one else finds out, you've damaged your self-respect. These are hard commodities to get back.

Give credit where credit is due. People will respect you for it, and you'll feel good about yourself -- even better than if you'd taken the credit!

TRACK DOWN OPINIONS

There is a more subtle dynamic at play here. Sometimes we pick up prevalent ideas in society, and walk around presenting them as our own conclusions.

Make a list of your opinions on subjects like free will, absolute truth, evolution, abortion, etc. Track down the source of each. Are they your original ideas? If not, where did they come from? Did you read a magazine article, or a friend impressed you? How did you reach your conclusion?

Don't fool yourself. Recognize that once your ego is invested, you're not looking at the evidence, pro and con. You're just "defending your conclusion." And the inherent danger is obvious: Deep down, we're not sure whether or not we believe it.

For example, you may believe "there is no absolute truth." Instead, try rephrasing it: "People say there is no absolute truth." This way, you're free to investigate the idea objectively, without being locked into a position.

Now shift the question a bit deeper: Why did you choose to identify with these particular ideas in the first place?

Next time you hear a discussion of a controversial topic, resist the temptation to accept an idea just to feel that you've "settled the issues of living." Defer a conclusion until you've heard all the evidence. Otherwise it's pretending, play-acting, not really living.

Can you ever be sure of a conclusion? Yes! The 48 Ways says: Learn the dynamics of clarity and study how the dimension of knowledge works. Then you'll feel the surety when it comes.

GRATITUDE TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE

Make a list of society's treasures -- monotheism, justice for all, universal education, dignity of the individual, preciousness of life. These core values of the civilized world are all from the Torah.

Before the Torah was given, people built their lives on a subjective concept of right and wrong. Then at Mount Sinai, human history underwent a dynamic shift. People understood that there is one God who has moral expectations. You can't just live as you please; there is a higher authority you are accountable to.

Despite the fact that Jews were never more than a tiny fraction of the world's population, these ideas became the basis for the civilized world. For example, do you know the source of the idea "Love your neighbor as yourself"?

It's in the Five Books of Moses -- Leviticus 19:18.

The Jewish people are an eminent firm, 3,500 years old. We are no fly-by-night. The world uses our products under different brand names and takes it for granted. Consider what humanity owes to the Jewish people.

If you are living with Jewish wisdom, know it, quote it, and give credit.

GRATITUDE TO THE ALMIGHTY

More than all, give credit to the Almighty. He gave us a brain to understand and appreciate wisdom. Other teachers enlighten us, but the original teacher is God. He implanted within us the intuition to discover all there is to know about living.

God is showering us with gifts all the time. Food, air, eyes, teeth. Life itself. He programmed us with an antenna for wisdom. Nothing is possible without God.

The problem is that we don't want to be indebted to Him, so we deny the gifts. We refuse to believe that He loves us.

It's like the son who doesn't want to acknowledge the gift of a new Porsche. He's going to say it's the wrong color, it has a dent, it guzzles gas. He'll find something wrong with it because he doesn't want to acknowledge the debt.

In order to connect with God, you have to learn to appreciate all the good He has done for you. That means giving up the illusion that you alone are responsible for your achievements. It's all a gift from God. Just as every stroke of Picasso's brush has his signature on it, everything in this world has God's signature on it. We have to learn to appreciate it.

If you make the effort to appreciate the gifts God has bestowed upon you, then you'll have such a keen awareness of God's presence that everything you do is accompanied by a sense of His love and guidance. You'll be overwhelmed above and beyond any other pleasure possible.

That's why gratitude is the ultimate appreciation, the 50th Way to Wisdom. This is the step that unifies all the others. So start loving God. Acknowledge His great and many gifts.

WHY IS "REWARDS OF GRATITUDE" AN INGREDIENT IN WISDOM?

Make a list of things that you quote. Know where you got them, and give credit.
If you downgrade the source of your wisdom, you downgrade the value of the wisdom.
Tools for living are more valuable than any car, stereo, or trip around the world. Acknowledge the debt.
When gratitude to others breaks down, then so does society as a whole.
Turn the tables: If it was your idea, wouldn't you want credit?

Author Biography:
Rabbi Noah Weinberg is the dean and founder of Aish HaTorah International. Over the last 40 years, his visionary educational programs have brought hundreds of thousands of Jews closer to their heritage.

This article can also be read at: http://www.aish.com/spirituality/48ways/Way_50_Rewards_of_Gratitude.asp

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Elder's Meditation = July 4th

2008-07-04

Elder's Meditation of the Day July 4
"That is not our way, to set yourself apart and talk about who you are and what you've done. You let your life speak for you. With the Mohawk people, wisdom is how you live and how you interpret what your mother and father, what your grandmothers and grandfathers have told you about this world - and then how you interpret that into the fact of living every day."
--Tom Porter, MOHAWK
It is said, how you live your life makes so much noise that people can't hear what you are saying anyway. It is so easy to see people who do not walk the talk.

Creator, I ask you today to help me be humble. Let me spend the day listening. Help me to not brag or gossip. Help me today not to do those things that seek attention or approval from others. I am only accountable to You, Oh Great Spirit. You will tell me the things I need to know. Let me learn the lessons from my Elders. Let me teach the children by example. Today, let me walk the talk.

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What Is Dharma?

2008-07-03

Dharma: all-that-is is questionable, even as a question.

What is Dharma? This question itself has a big problem though. For Dharma is not a what. So, who is Dharma? Well unfortunately Dharma is not a who either. Is there even a way to formulate the question? Not apparently in English. This leaves us with an enormous paradox, for we must maintain this question of Dharma at all times, a question which we cannot frame in our language. Why must we hold this question of questions in our minds at all times? To get the answer of course. No answer with no question! You have to play to win.

Is there any hint, any help for those seeking that which all these films should be about? The term "Dharma" not only stands for that for which we cannot formulate a question, but also for all the expressions of Dharma, the attempts to formulate either a description or a pointing to, or a how-to manual. Well perhaps Dharma can be described, but that description will not elicit Dharma. Very likely the description itself will be a distraction from Dharma itself. Thought itself is a subtle obstruction to Dharma. Yet we revere those who can give us expressions of Dharma, for how is the question of Dharma to arise within us, if no one provides the smoke that suggests the fire? We must see through to the fire of Dharma without being blinded by the smoke or inhaling too much of it. We have all heard of the wonderful adage of Zen that suggests expressions of Dharma are like fingers pointing to the moon.

So the flix of Dharma should be like fingers pointing to the moon. And, in the best of all possible visions, each film might be this way. But most of these films have a humbler function. Buddhism has what are called vehicles, rides to convey one along the path. The vehicles are understood in terms of base, fruit, and path; or where I am now, where I want to go, and how am I to get there. The first vehicle is called Sutra, and likely all of us beginning on the path will begin our sojourn there. The base is where our head should be at, to start the path. Where should our head be at to begin our Buddhist sojourn? Getting the head right is what these films should provide in large measure.

So where should your head be at? You should be suspicious. The base of sutra is suspicion... suspicion. Suspicion about...? The films must be a gate to arousing your suspicion. I don't want to say much here, maybe just a little. You should be suspicious about ... the very nature of Reality itself, or what you take to be Reality itself. For almost all of us, Reality is thought and therefore experienced to be me, and everything around me - the things and people and gods I know and like, don't know and don't like or know or don't know and couldn't care less about. Buddhism basically says that our everyday Reality, as we ordinarily perceive it, is a ship of fools. And we don't even know that we ride on this ship! How foolish is that, if it turns out to be true? No one wants to be a fool and yet cultivating the unpleasant sense that I might be, could be very helpful. But Buddhism also promises that we can escape the ship of fools and by doing so help others escape too. We can begin by cultivating the base of sutra. What is that base?

Suspicion. So many of these films should encourage each of us to be suspicious of the very nature of Reality itself. I take the Matrix film series, notwithstanding all its violence, to be a paradigmatic case of a Dharma film, for taken seriously it should scare the bejeesus out of you. Like Plato's Myth of the Cave, The Matrix should make you suspicious... suspicious of everything...every last thing.

http://www.dharmaflix.com/wiki/What_is_Dharma%3F See the vids on the page

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Grand Opening of my KB Store

2008-07-03

A variety of holistic therapies & vitamins for your pet & family from PetAlive.com, naturaleco.com and nativeremedies.com as well as the ability to buy stocks from one particular company brought to you from oneshare.com (starts on page 7). There is also a mind, body & spirit directory chock full of excellent resources. All this from one convenient . Just use the link below .....

http://www.geocities.com/ldydanu9/My_KB_Store.html

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