Jendhamuni - Buddhism and inspiring quotes

The energy of mindfulness

Comment June 13, 2015

Anger is… energy number one. By practicing mindful breathing or mindful walking, we generate the energy number two: the energy of mindfulness. We call it in Buddhist terms: mindfulness of anger. Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something. When you drink your water mindfully, that is called mindfulness of drinking. When you eat mindfully, that is called mindfulness of eating. When you breathe mindfully, in and out, that is called mindfulness of breathing. When you walk mindfully, it is called mindfulness of walking.

So, when you recognize your anger, embrace your anger tenderly with that energy of mindfulness, it is called mindfulness of anger, mindfulness of despair, mindfulness of fear. We should be able to learn and help the young people to learn how to do it. It’s very important.

The Buddha offers us very concrete and simple exercises in order to become mindful. The first exercise on mindful breathing is: Breathing in–I know I am breathing in. Breathing out–I know I am breathing out. You can reduce the length of the sentence to one word. In. Out. While you are breathing in, you just recognize that this is your in breath, and you use the word, in. And you are wholly concentrated on your in breath. Nothing else.

You become your in breath. You’re not thinking of anything. You’re not thinking of the past, of the future, of your projects. You release everything. You just follow your in breath, and you become one with your in breath. And the energy of mindfulness is generated together with the energy of concentration. ~Thich Nhat Hanh
Nobody is responsible except you

Comment June 13, 2015

You feel good, you feel bad, and these feelings are bubbling from your own
unconsciousness, from your own past. Nobody is responsible except you.
Nobody can make you angry, and nobody can make you happy. ~Osho

Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt
How much I miss you…

Comment June 13, 2015

If you want to know how much I miss you,
try to catch rain drops.
The ones you catch is how much you miss me,
and the ones you miss is how much I miss you.

Source: lovelysms
Dogs have a look of Love

Comment June 13, 2015

When your dog locks eyes with you, it may genuinely be a look of love, and not simply a form of begging. Dogs can develop this atypical behavior with close human companions — while between dogs or with a strange person, a direct stare is a threat. Of course not every glance from Fido is loving — he may simply want your dinner. Or, if his body is tense and ears flattened, he may be telling you to back off. Source: WebMD
The light of the day…

Comment June 13, 2015

Let the light of the day rise in your heart.
Let the joy of the morning be seen in your smile.
And God’s graces be your today and everyday.

~Santabanta sms
We can do something for peace every day

Comment June 13, 2015

Peace is not something we can only hope for. Peace is something we can contemplate in our daily life by our practice of mindful breathing, mindful walking, embracing our fear, our anger, producing the energy of understanding and compassion. And with that element of peace in us, we should be able to support our government, our Congress.

And let us remember that peace is in our hands. We can do something for peace every day. Let us practice as individuals. Let us practice as communities, as Sanghas, and let us give peace a chance. ~Thich Nhat Hanh
Compassionate listening

Comment June 13, 2015

Buddha in Tushita Heaven

By Thich Nhat Hanh

Listening to our own suffering, our own fear, our own anger is the first thing we have to do as a person and as a community. After that, when we have some insight about the roots of our fear, our anger, our despair, then we can listen to other groups of people.

While listening, you have to practice mindful breathing in order to keep calm, to maintain compassion in you, because that practice of deep listening is also called the practice of compassionate listening.

Compassionate listening means to listen with one purpose: helping the other side, the other person to express himself or herself and to get relief. You don’t listen to criticize. You just listen in order to give the other person a chance to empty his heart; to empty her heart in order to get relief.

When you can listen like that for one hour to the other person, he or she will get relief. During the whole time of listening, you keep your practice of mindful breathing, in order to maintain compassion. If these two things do not exist during the time of listening, your listening will not have a good effect.

Even if the other side says things that are full of wrong perceptions, blaming and judgment, you are still capable of listening with compassion. This is extremely important. And that is possible only with the practice of mindful breathing and the maintaining of compassion during the whole time of listening. We have to train ourselves for at least one week in order to be able to do it and to help our beloved one get relief.

When you are the person who speaks, you practice gentle speech, loving speech. You have the right, and you have a duty to tell the other group of people, the other person, what is in your heart. But you have to use the kind of language that can convey your feelings, that can convey your insights, your suffering to the other person; namely, the language of love and kindness.

If you do not use the language of love and kindness, then you touch off the energy of anger and hatred in the other person, and he or she will not be able to listen to you. That is why it is very important to practice loving speech, gentle speech.
Kitties love it

Comment June 13, 2015

Cats May Love Too Much:
Behavior experts confirm that some cats really do experience separation anxiety when apart from a favorite person — and that’s one reason a sweet kitty may pee on your clothes when you’re at work. Other signs: the cat paces, vocalizes, or blocks the owner’s path to the door. Left alone, she may vomit or be too worried to eat. For cats who love too much, behavior therapy can help — along with anti-anxiety medications for severely affected cats. Source: WebMD
In just one day…

Comment June 13, 2015

We are born in one day.
We die in one day.
We can change in one day.
And we can fall in love in one day.
Anything can happen in just one day.

~Santabanta sms
Kitty sneaks out to play

Comment June 13, 2015

Your kitty will flash you their tummy: Like most animals, cats do not show their stomachs to just anyone. If your cat rolls over on its back to give you a flash of that fuzzy belly, this is an indication that they feel comfortable around you. And not only this, but they feel loved and protected by you, rendering themselves defenseless while on their backs. Cats are prideful animals, so if they do this for you they have no concerns letting their guard down when in your presence. Source: iheartcats

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Shantidevas’ Bodhisattva vows

Should anyone wish to ridicule me and make me an object of jest and scorn why should I possibly care if I have dedicated myself to others?

Let them do as they wish with me so long as it does not harm them. May no one who encounters me ever have an insignificant contact.

Regardless whether those whom I meet respond towards me with anger or faith, may the mere fact of our meeting contribute to the fulfilment of their wishes.

May the slander, harm and all forms of abuse that anyone should direct towards me act as a cause of their enlightenment.