Soul of all souls, life of life – you are That
Seen and unseen, moving and unmoving – you are That
The road that leads to the City is endless;
Go without head or feet
And you’ll already be there.
What else could you be? – you are That. ~ Rumi
beings
Awakening from the Illusion
Buddhism is really about awakening from the illusion about ourselves and the world, and realizing reality – who we are and what is real and how things are interconnected through karma and causation and so on. In a Dzogchen text, it says, “From the beginning, we are all Buddhas by nature, we only have to realize that fact.” So in Dzogchen the whole practice of what we call the view, meditation, and action is about awakening to – not just our momentary personality – “self” with a small s – but our true Buddha nature, our original nature.
-Lama Surya Das, “Old Wine, New Bottles” (Tricycle Interview)
Metta for the Homeless
This is a comment I posted to another group about sharing Metta with the Homeless….
“Metta is for all sentient beings whether they be weak or strong. It is also my belief that metta is for sentient beings with homes and those without homes. Metta to all and for all. Namaste.”
If I were to withhold Metta from ‘this’ person/group or ‘that’ person/group then do I truly have Metta for myself? No, I am them and they are me.
Being interdependent means when I give I receive….when I receive I give… thereby when I give to another sentient being, I receive from another sentient being.
Saying a homeless sentient being is worth less than a sentient being with a home…is not Metta.
Namaste
Dedication Prayer: Dakorma
By the virtues collected in the three times
By myself and all beings in samsara and nirvana
And by the innate root of virtue,
May I and all sentient beings quickly attain
Unsurpassed, perfect complete, precious Enlightenment.
~ Dedication Prayer: Dakorma
Daily Four Immeasurable Prayer: Say three times
May all mother sentient beings, boundless, as the sky, have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May they be liberated from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May they never be separated from the happiness which is free from sorrow.
May they rest in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.
~ Daily Four Immeasurable Prayer
Refuge prayer: Say three times
In the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha most excellent.
I take refuge until enlightenment is reached.
By the merit of generosity and other good deeds,
May I attain Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings!
~ Refuge Prayer
The Swivet [Colleen Lindsay]: When compassion dies, we’re all lessened as human beings: why we need gay marriage now more than ever.
I am passing Colleen’s blog post on… so you can be aware, be compassionate, be kind, be mindful of how we treat others is a reflection of how we treat ourselves.
It is not okay to treat beings in a ‘less than’ way. To do so is to deny our Supreme Being in what ever we perceive her/him/them.
Read her post….read the essay….and do as your Heart requires. The Swivet [Collen Lindsey]
Namaste,
Talon
