I sometimes write these entries to remind myself of what I’m capable of. I think the world does a good enough job of reminding me of my weaknesses, so it’s up to me to remind myself of the other stuff.“Imperturbable rest” is basically the same as undisturbable rest, but I think imperturbable is more grammatically …
I’ve been running into a lot of heated arguments lately, and realized that I’m happier getting to the truth than winning the arguments. Here are some things I’ve been trying: Just as the argument begins, I let my opponent know that I’m a shortsighted, close-minded filthy human being and that all my opinions stem from …
If we carefully observe our experience, we can discover exactly what role mental afflictions play in our day-to-day lives. In observing our experience, we might think to ourselves, “Today I felt very peaceful and happy,” or “Today I felt extremely restless and unhappy.” The difference between these two cases is that in the first our …
You knew that if you didn’t stay on top of the beatthe beat would have its way with you.Your prayer of music wouldn’t be as sincereif you had followed someone else’s prayer. Your sound, almost indecipherablebut we can hear your unrelenting effort, your patiencecarved as a psalm for us, right nowtranscending our pettiness and frailtymaking …
When I was a kid, I thought that Earth’s gravity was caused by its spinning molten core, like an electric magnet spinning to generate gravity. The real answer is gravity is caused by the MASS of an object; the larger the mass of the object, the greater the force of its gravity. Even we humans …
My friends and I have had this ongoing discussion for years. It’s about how God, Love, and Atoms are tied together. We would talk about God. What is God? Why is God everywhere? Why does God control everything? Why does God make everything happen? As a Catholic kid, I was taught that God is this …
Disclaimer: this is my blog, my interpretation. I suggest you read what others have written about the Four Noble Truths. With that being said, let’s go. A friend of mine asked me about the phrase “Life is suffering”. You’ve probably heard this phrase said in movies or from friends during yoga class. “Life is suffering” …
Two quiz links from my cousins: From What’s Your Ideal Career?http://www.blogthings.com/idealcareerquiz/ My result: ***Your Career Type: Investigative*** You are precise, scientific, and intellectual.Your talents lie in understanding and solving math and science problems. You would make an excellent: Architect – Biologist – Chemist – Dentist – Electrical Technician – Mathematician – Medical Technician – Meteorologist …
GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) is a term in computer programming, where the quality of the product will only be as good/effective as the inputted code. It’s the same with Buddhism, where Karma is the evolutionary result of an intentional act. Positive intentions and positive acts will yield positive results. On the other hand, negative …
From the Wikipedia page on Siddhartha Gautama:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha “Then he remembered a moment in childhood in which he had been watching his father start the season’s plowing, and he had fallen into a naturally concentrated and focused state in which time seemed to stand still, and which was blissful and refreshing.” Why are moments of revelation …
Something I noticed about Christianity as compared to Buddhism: In Christianity, a person can never, ever, ever, never, ever, be 100% good. We can be, like, 99.999% good, but not all the way. We (Christians and Catholics) are taught from birth that we have that Original Sin, that we’re inherently flawed, and we just gotta …
From The Four Noble Truths DVD with the Dalai Lama Question from audience: “Could you advise a layperson with a home, family and work demands how to develop a systematic pattern of practice?” Dalai Lama: “To a serious practitioner, the most serious effort is very necessary. Without that, just a short prayer, some chanting, or …
Is it that hard to be a decent human being? Where can I get some water? Why did you buy that? Elbow pads and a helmet? Can’t we just go get a ball, go into the street and play right now? I just want to write a letter. How can I just write a letter? …
There are many definitions for “karma” on the Internet, many of them very confusing. Here’s the easiest to understand for me, from the DVD Four Noble Truths with the Dalai Lama. “Karma is mistakenly understood in the west as almost identical to the western notion of destiny or fate. Most people think it’s responsible for …
Yet one more supportive reason why I hate the hell out of ignorance: misknowledge (In Sanskrit avidya) Ignorance as active wrong knowing ‘misperception or misconception’ rather than mere failure to know. Such deliberate ignorance is the root of the samsaric life cycle the primary cause of all suffering. http://www.asiasource.org/reference/display.cfm?wordid=1664 Here’s a passage from the book …
I was waiting to turn left at an intersection, waiting for a car coming in the opposite direction, toward me, to pass me. And then I thought about the dimension of time, the equation for calculating distance (velocity multiplied by time), and electrons as described in quantum theory. Electrons are damn hard to measure, and …
I’m watching one of David Blaine’s TV specials. He’s that popular “Street Magic” guy. In one trick, he steals a woman’s watch without her knowing it, sticks the watch inside a storefront window display, then seemingly shoves his hand through the window and retrieves the watch for the woman. The nice thing about the Internet …
Nobody reads books anymore. Heck, nobody even burns books anymore! I remember what Laura Bush said on Oprah: “People read books to help them fall asleep.” After seeing the Fight Club movie, as the writer of the Fight Club book, I felt like a bride at her wedding, surrounded by the most gorgeous bridesmaids wearing …
There is something about the quiet in your wordsthat only time can create, a hushlike the clear wind that dries laundry,like the sun on a baseball afternoon. An ease of fit, like a working boot,a marmalade bite, a lemonade gulp,the slow path of water to thirsty soil,the sound of earth as it drinks. I find …
I saw Ambler Tamblyn’s interview on Jay Leno tonight and was very impressed. She’s Joan of Arcadia, has a new movie in the theaters (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), daughter of Russ Tamblyn. Here’s her web site: http://www.amtam.com/. She has great advice for would-be actors (5% of screen actor guild members actually work), and has …