For those of us who happen to trust in the presence of the absolute, there always remains a conundrum. The knowledge that there is presence and design is difficult to bear. How do we come to terms with our pain and distress while there is design that is all inclusive and complete? That we are …
We choose to assume that the objects we chance upon will fulfill some want or desire. It is doubtful that such a mental state is very wholesome. That is because with expectancy, there is the development of the hope for gain or reward. We might question why such a thing is detrimental to our wellbeing. …
The means to freedom can become available to us. Part of this endowment is realizing that our state, while not permanent is established. We cannot escape where we are and what there is. Envisioning freedom includes accepting this hard fact. If we invest our being in ceaselessly moving towards this freedom then our cages themselves …
We can choose to think that nothing will go wrong. Or we can choose to learn that when things are painful, we are meant to look at how pain and distress hasten us along the path to setting our sights upon immense magnitude. What does this mean? It means that in approaching immensity of an …
We are built to assess and interpret. The circumstances we find ourselves in often provide the chance to modulate how we do this. If we are swayed by appearances, we fail to estimate the value that any happenstance can confer upon us. If we measure whatever is happening from the viewpoint of the self, our …
Every moment that we are aware, we view person’s and phenomena from the perspective of the self. Such a perspective is not freeing. Even though we might think that it is up to us to do things and acquire comfort or resolution, there is a basic flaw inherent in this sort of lens. For resolution …
We choose to assume that what we do and are is centrally important. All our thoughts, actions and endeavors arise with ourselves in mind. Even helping others could be seen as a self serving act. Perhaps it is reasonable to state that helping others is being less self-centered. However, how much do we help? Is …
Even when we are lucky enough to get what we want, we continue to seek sensorial gratification. The reason for this might be the ingrained association between our environment and what we deem as ourselves. The generation of needs thus stems mainly from our senses which connects our being with what is around and within …
We go about our lives sensing things and assessing relevance, importance and benefit. In order to do this, unfortunately, there has to be something against which to measure stimulus. Even more unfortunately, for most of us, this something is ourselves. Buddhist teachings talk about a way to circumvent this emphasis on ourselves which is obviously …
What I see has no hold over me What I hear has no hold over me What I smell has no hold over me What I touch has no hold over me What I taste has no hold over me What I think has no hold over me There is suffering. That is the first …
