dodclark@btinternet.com - BT Yahoo! Mail

The practitioner’s mind is likened to a mountain that the winds can’t shake; he’s neither tormented by the difficulties he may come across nor elated by his successes. But that equanimity is neither apathy nor indifference. It’s accompanied by inner jubilation, and by an openness of mind expressed as unfailing altruism.

- Matthieu Ricard, "One Blood, Two Lineages"

dodclark@btinternet.com - BT Yahoo! Mail

Three Insights about Compassion, Meditation, and the Brain | Greater Good

Three Insights about Compassion, Meditation, and the Brain | Greater Good  
Serious  and growing links between buddhism and neurology

time to practice

Carol Wilson is one of my favorite dharma teachers. She is good humoured  and remarkabbly aware of what is going on.

http://dharmaseed.org/talks/audio_player/39/16075.html

2012-05-06 cc-seashore

The Quiet Life

Perhaps you will ask, what value is there in that quiet and aloof way of life? The monks would ask the same question of you. What value is there in passing your nights in a nightclub? 

- Sokei-An Shigetsu Sasaki, "The Quiet Life"
Tricycle Daily Dharma April 7, 2012

Peaceful in body, peaceful in speech,
The bhikkhu peaceful and well-concentrated
Who has rejected the world's bait
Is called "one at peace."
-The Buddha, Dhammapada 378

Constant Vigilance

"The crucial point is to maintain constant vigilance over and awareness of our mental state so that, at the moment that afflictive emotions rise up, they will not trigger a chain of deluded thoughts. Thus, we neither let desire overwhelm our mind, nor do we repress it while leaving it intact in a hidden corner of the mind. We simply become free from its alienating power."
   

- Matthieu Ricard, “Working with Desire”

Be Mindful | Stress Reduction & Cognitive Therapy Courses in the UK

Be Mindful | Stress Reduction & Cognitive Therapy Courses in the UK

A no nonsense set of stuff about the how and why of mindfulness

Building Unconditional Openness

"Whether we’re seeking inner peace or global peace or a combination of the two, the way to experience it is to build on the foundation of unconditional openness to all that arises.

Peace isn’t an experience free of challenges, free of rough and smooth—it’s an experience that’s expansive enough to include all that arises without feeling threatened.

- Pema Chodron, "Unlimited Friendliness"

Patience of Cultivation

When you plant seeds in the garden, you don’t dig them up every day to see if they have sprouted yet. You simply water them and clear away the weeds; you know that the seeds will grow in time. 

Similarly, just do your daily practice and cultivate a kind heart. Abandon impatience and instead be content creating the causes for goodness; the results will come when they’re ready.

- Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, "Meditator's Toolbox"

http://www.tricycle.com/feature/meditators-toolbox

Mindfulness Bell

Mindfulness Bell