pretensions

Consistent orientation towards death, which breaks the pretensions of everything which claims attention, my own pretensions above all, without any slackening of responsibility and energy in choosing and fulfilling the possibilities that are open on each occasion, that alone is the mode of existence of the enlightened and resolved human being.



HJ Blackham on Heidegger
Six Existentialist Thinkers

Thich Nhat Hanh's Letter

Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
Washington DC, USA

Plum Village
Le Pey 24240
Thenac, France

Dear Mr President

Last night, I saw my brother (who died two weeks ago in the USA) coming back to me in a dream. He was with all his children. He told me, "Let's go home together." After a millisecond of hesitation, I told him joyfully, "Ok, let's go."

Waking up from that dream at 5 am this morning, I thought of the situation in the Middle East; and for the first time, I was able to cry. I cried for a long time, and I felt much better after about one hour. Then I went to the kitchen and made some tea. While making tea, I realized that what my brother had said is true: our home is large enough for all of us. Let us go home as brothers and sisters.

Mr. President, I think that if you could allow yourself to cry like I did this morning, you will also feel much better. It is our brothers that we kill over there. They are our brothers, God tells us so, and we also know it. They may not see us as brothers because of their anger, their misunderstanding, and their discrimination. But with some awakening, we can see things in a different way, and this will allow us to respond differently to the situation. I trust God in you; I trust Buddha nature in you.

Thank you for reading.

In gratitude and with brotherhood,
Thich Nhat Hanh
Plum Village

Plum Village

Canon

Canon like you've never heard before.

walking away

...... how selfhood begins with a walking away,
And love is proved in the letting go.





C. Day Lewis,
Walking Away

just walk

There is no problem so great
that it cannot be solved by walking.

Kierkegaard

I never am

Personal existence is self-projecting,
it is not what it is
but what it will be,
because it is not formed and finished
but has an open future.

I never am
but always will be.


HJ Blackham
Six Existentialist Thinkers

lone kayak

The serious problems in life are never fully solved.
The meaning and the purpose of a problem seem not to lie in its solution but in our working at it incessantly.
This alone preserves us from stultification and petrifaction.


Carl Jung

the meaning you have given

The phenomenal world has no meaning
beyond the meaning given to it
by our own interpretation.


Treasury of Truth

Remembering Mother Teresa 5 Sept 1997

“Mother Teresa,” Sr Nirmala added, “respected people of all faiths. Devotion to her is spreading across religious boundaries, and she is surely watching over us all, praying that universal brotherhood and love may encompass all humankind.”


To read full article, goto:
Sr Nirmala Remembers

changing hues

Gain, loss, neglect and attention
Insult, praise, pleasure and pain
These unstable human experiences
Are transient changing vissisitudes of life

Knowing this, the mind of sage
Closely observes the changing experience
His mind not lured by pleasing experience
What is not pleasing, he does not hate


Treasury of Truth

Mastering Your Own Mind

From Psychology Today, Mastering Your Own Mind:

As Kabat-Zinn says: "Awareness gives you your life back. You can then decide what to do with it."


For full article, goto:
Mastering Your Own Mind Article

mirror mirror

Do not worry about what others do or not do.
Rather, look within yourself,
And consider what you yourself have done
or left undone.


Treasury of Truth

Billy Kilson

Certainly, one of the best drummers ever.

Watch him here:
Billy Kilson Video Clip
Billy Kilson Home Page

I am, am I not?

"I am, am I not?
but what am I?
What is this elusive self
that is always elsewhere
whenever I try to grasp it?
And this familiar world -
why is it silent
when I ask the reason for my existence here?"


Clearing the Path

Ven Dr K Sri Dhammananda 1919-2006

The Chief monk of Malaysia and Singapore, Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda Maha Nayaka Thera passed away peacefully at 12.42 pm today. He was 87.

Buddhist Channel
Webcast Life & Works