Bhante Gunaratana, abbot of the Bhavana Society, a Theravada Buddhist monastery and retreat center in Hampshire County WV, will lead an online virtual retreat from 8:30 a.m., to 5 p.m., Sunday, March 28. He will be joined in leading the day-long retreat by Bhante Saddhajeewa and Bhante Rahula.
The theme of the retreat is “The Threefold Training.” No registration is required. To join the retreat:
CLICK THIS LINK: Meeting I.D.: 668 674 778
USE THE PASSWORD: metta
Here is the retreat schedule:
Then spring now autumn,
the four seasons revolve.
Then young now old,
you see the hair turn white.
Then wealthy and nobility,
now a long dream.
Years and months go by,
Carrying ten thousand pecks of sorrow.
In the path of suffering,
The wheel of rebirth rolls endlessly.
In the river of passion,
We swim like bubbles
forming and popping.
Now coming to the right place
To learn the Way,
Why don’t you touch your nose?
See that this is your very good
Chance of a million lifetimes.
~ Tue Trung Thuong Si (1230-1291)
Knowing others is understanding;
Knowing self is wisdom.
Force can master others;
But only strength can master self.
~ Lao Tzu
“To cook or fix some food, is not preparation; it is practice … Whatever we do, it should be an expression of the same deep activity. We should appreciate what we are doing. There is no preparation for something else.”
~ Dogen (1200-1252)
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PHOTO: Chinh Le Duc, unsplash.com
One day Ajahn Chah held up a beautiful Chinese tea cup:
“To me this cup is already broken. Because I know its fate, I can enjoy it fully here and now. And when it’s gone, it’s gone.” When we understand the truth of uncertainty and relax, we become free. The broken cup helps us see beyond our illusion of control.
~ From “The Wisdom of Uncertainty” by Jack Kornfield
“It is by diminishing ego, letting go of arrogance, and abandoning conceit that one becomes a better Buddhist, no matter what tradition one may follow.”
~ Bhikkhu Analayo, “Superiority Conceit in Buddhist Traditions”
“Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed, do not squander your life.”
~ Dōgen
“So, don’t be in a hurry and try to push or rush your practice. Do your meditation gently and gradually, step-by-step. In regard to peacefulness, if you become peaceful, then accept it; if you don’t become peaceful, then accept that also. That’s the nature of the mind. We must find our own practice and persistently keep at it.”
~ Ajahn Chah (from the book “Bodhinyana”)
“If we have presence of mind then whatever work we do will be the very tool which enables us to know right and wrong continually. There is plenty of time to meditate, we just don’t fully understand the practice, that’s all. While sleeping we breathe, eating we breathe, don’t we? Why don’t we have time to meditate? Wherever we are we breathe. If we think like this, then our life has as much value as our breath, and wherever we are we have time.”
– Ajahn Chah, from “A Taste of Freedom”
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IMAGE: @graesmagazine from unsplash.com
“When we practice, we observe how much peace, happiness, and lightness we already have. We notice whether we are anxious about accidents or misfortunes, and how much anger, irritation, fear, anxiety, or worry are already in us. As we become aware of the feelings in us, our self-understanding will deepen. We will see how our fears and lack of peace contribute to our unhappiness, and we will see the value of loving ourselves and cultivating a heart of compassion.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh⠀| Quote and image courtesy Tricycle
Advising People to Enter the Way
Then spring now autumn,
the four seasons revolve.
Then young now old,
you see the hair turn white. Then wealthy and nobility,
now a long dream.
Years and months go by,
Carrying ten thousand pecks of sorrow.
In the path of suffering,
The wheel of rebirth rolls endlessly.
In the river of passion,
We swim like bubbles
forming and popping.
Now coming to the right place
To learn the Way,
Why don’t you touch your nose?
See that this is your very good
Chance of a million lifetimes.
~ Tue Trung Thuong Si (1230-1291)
from DailyZen.com for nov17.2020
