Thich Nhat Hanh explains that sangha is more than a community, it’s a deep spiritual practice.
Reprinted from Friends on the Path: Living Spiritual Communities (2002) by Thich Nhat Hanh with permission of Parallax Press, Berkeley, California, www.parallax.org.
“Love is our true nature, but it is often covered over by a protective layer of fear. Buddhist practices unearth the gold beneath the clay, and return us to our natural goodness. The Buddhist path also uses systematic trainings to cultivate this love. These trainings are found throughout the Buddhist world. They strengthen our capacity for love, compassion, joy and peace. The practices that develop these qualities combine repeated thoughts, visualization and feelings.”
Read entire article, an excerpt taken from Jack Kornfield’s book “The Wise Heart.”
“To commit to another person is to embark on an adventurous journey,” says Thich Nhat Hanh. “You must be wise and patient to keep your love alive so it will last for a long time.” In his introduction to the book, Love’s Garden: A Guide to Mindful Relationships, Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how we can use loving relationships to cultivate the seeds of buddhahood inside us.
Venerable Hung I introduces various schools of Buddhism, focusing on Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.
T
he Buddha said, “I teach one thing and one thing only: suffering and the end of suffering.” Ten teachers — including Pema Chödrön, Norman Fischer, and Sharon Salzberg — explain why that isn’t a condemnation, but a joyous opportunity. Read on.
Wanting What’s Right
From the perspective of Buddhist psychology, compassion is natural. It derives from our interconnection, which Buddhism calls “interdependence.” This can be readily seen in the physical world. In the womb, every child is interdependent with its mother’s body. If either of them is sick, the other is affected. In the same way we are interdependent with the body of the earth. The minerals of the soil make up our wheat and bones, the storm clouds become our drinks and our blood, the oxygen from the trees and forests breathe with us, interdependent with our own life. Read on. This excerpt is taken from the book, The Wise Heart.
The Spirit Rock Mediation Center in Woodacre, California shared a lovely post this December:
“During this season of gift giving, reflect on how you might practice generosity throughout the year. There are many ways to cultivate an attitude of generosity in daily life.
Here are just a few that can be quite powerful:”
“Loving-kindness can be practiced anywhere—traffic jams, in buses, and on airplanes. As you silently practice this among people, you will come to feel a wonderful connection with them – the power of lovingkindness. It will calm your mind and keep you connected to your heart.”
Follow Jack Kornfield as he explains the beauty of loving-kindness (metta) meditation which helps us to plant the seeds of loving wishes over and over in our heart.
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche explains how one becomes a Buddhist by taking refuge; “we are committing ourselves to freedom.”
See full article on the meaning of Taking Refuge in The Buddha, The Dharma and The Sangha
