overflow » Buddhism

the ‘mount’

ames — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:12:06 +0000

Two and half hours South of Auckland is Mount Maunganui. Growing up in Hamilton the ‘Mount’ was the summer pilgrimage for two-weeks. We would hire a bach with 60′s and 70′s furniture and store up on Vitamin D for the year. A couple of years ago my parents finally achieved their dream; a bach at the Mount. Not long after they purchased it I moved to the UK, so now I am back at the bottom of the earth it is time to take the opportunity to spend time at this stunning place. The beach is well… the most beautiful in the world that I am sure. In 2008 I went to the official ’9th’ best beach in the world in Fiji. It didn’t rate anywhere near the Mount hence my proclamation as ‘the best.’

On this occasion I was to be at a meeting 3-hours South of Auckland at 9am so I drove 2.5 hours to the Mount and stayed the night there before enjoying a morning on the beach to sooth my soul before my meeting. As the Buddha said, “if you open your eyes and see what you are looking at, in that moment, there is as much Dharma in the leaf of a tree as there is in a scripture.”

the path

ames — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:24:18 +0000

“I learn’t the truth of the Zen saying that if you are willing to travel around the world to meet a teacher, one will appear next door.”

- Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography

responsibility

ames — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:20:21 +0000

“In short, she said, we are all ultimately responsible for our lives and as such can actively influence the future.”

- Tenzin Palmo, Cave in the Snow

At the moment I am reading the story of how a Londoner (Tenzin Palmo) went to India very young and became a Buddhist Nun, meditating in a cave for many years. A remarkable woman. What strikes me most is her path was so clear to her. I know it strikes me most as I am utterly jealous of her clear direction which is utterly ironic given the quote above.

pain

ames — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:28:53 +0000

“…the exhaustion that pain brings arises because we resist it. The thing is to learn to go with pain, to ride it.”

- Tenzin Palmo, Cave in the Snow

oneself

ames — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:20:14 +0000

“For someone to develop genuine compassion towards others, first he or she must have a basis upon which to cultivate compassion, and that basis is the ability to connect to one’s own feelings and to care for one’s own welfare. If one is not capable of doing that, how can one reach out to others and feel concern for them? Caring for others requires caring for oneself.”

- The Dalai Lama’s Book of Transformation

magnetism

ames — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:59:40 +0000

“The nature of human thoughts and emotions is such that the more you engage in them, and the more you develop them, the more powerful they become.”

- The Dalai Lama’s Book of Transformation

a drive and a podcast

ames — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:09:20 +0000

When I drive long distances for work I listen to podcasts. On this day I listened to Ratnaguna’s talk about the The Art of Reflection (based on his book). If you have a spare hour, do listen. It is amazing.

So many ends

ames — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:47:00 +0000

“Intelligence and understanding, in the real sense, are not necessarily correlated with technological or material sophistication.”

- Tibetan Buddhism: By Sangharakshita

Process vs outcome

ames — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:45:18 +0000

“The end is the extreme of the means. If you devote yourself whole heartedly to the means, then almost without noticing, you gain the end.”

Mahatma Gandhi, in - Tibetan Buddhism: By Sangharakshita

Meditation

ames — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:44:23 +0000

“If you prepare for meditation properly then you are already meditating.”

- Tibetan Buddhism: By Sangharakshita