Jendhamuni - Buddhism and inspiring quotes

Mindfulness practice should be enjoyable

Comment April 3, 2015

Meditating Buddha

Mindfulness is the energy that helps us recognize the conditions of happiness that are already present in our lives. You don’t have to wait ten years to experience this happiness. It is present in every moment of your daily life. There are those of us who are alive but don’t know it. But when you breathe in, and you are aware of your in-breath, you touch the miracle of being alive. That is why mindfulness is a source of happiness and joy.

Most people are forgetful; they are not really there a lot of the time. Their mind is caught in their worries, their fears, their anger, and their regrets, and they are not mindful of being there. That state of being is called forgetfulness—you are there but you are not there. You are caught in the past or in the future. You are not there in the present moment, living your life deeply. That is forgetfulness.

The opposite of forgetfulness is mindfulness. Mindfulness is when you are truly there, mind and body together. You breathe in and out mindfully, you bring your mind back to your body, and you are there. When your mind is there with your body, you are established in the present moment. Then you can recognize the many conditions of happiness that are in you and around you, and happiness just comes naturally.

Mindfulness practice should be enjoyable, not work or effort. Do you have to make an effort to breath in? You don’t need to make an effort. To breathe in, you just breathe in. Suppose you are with a group of people contemplating a beautiful sunset. Do you have to make an effort to enjoy the beautiful sunset? No, you don’t have to make any effort. You just enjoy it. Continue reading →
Understanding the nature of life

Comment April 3, 2015

By Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda

Most people dislike facing the true facts of life and prefer to lull themselves into a false sense of security by sweet dreaming and imagining. They mistake the shadow for the substance. They fail to realise that life is uncertain, but that death is certain. One way of understanding life is to face and understand death which is nothing more than a temporary end to a temporary existence. But many people do not like even to hear of the word ‘ death’. They forget that death will come, whether they like it or not. Recollections on death with the right mental attitude can give a person courage and calmness as well as an insight into the nature of existence.

Besides understanding death, we need a better understanding of our life. We are living a life that does not always proceed as smoothly as we would like it to. Very often, we face problems and difficulties. We should not be afraid of them because the penetration into the very nature of these problems and difficulties can provide us with a deeper insight into life. The worldly happiness in wealth, luxury, respectable positions in life which most people seek is an illusion. The fact that the sale of sleeping pills and tranquillizers, admissions to mental hospitals and suicide rates have increased in relation to modern material progress is enough testimony that we have to go beyond worldly, material pleasure to seek for real happiness.

ស្ថានភាពរស់នៅក្នុងខ្ទមកម្សត់របស់កុមារ ៣ នាក់បងប្អូនដែលត្រូវបានឪពុកម្ដាយបោះបង់ចោល។ រូបថត ហ្វេសប៊ុក
Every day we are engaged in a miracle

Comment April 3, 2015

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Autumn in Rundle Park. Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt
True friendship cannot be measured

Comment April 3, 2015

I have learned how precious silver is
I have been told how costly gold is
I sure know how beautiful diamond is
But true friendship cannot be described
or measured, it’s worth more…

Giant Tulip. This tulip, wide open, is about 12 inches in diameter! Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt
The gentle footprints of kindness

Comment April 3, 2015

The gentle footprints of kindness that you leave behind makes a lifetime of soft imprints in the hearts of others that will never wash away. No matter how badly someone might have treated you, give them love, kindness and forgiveness in return. ~Unknown

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.” ~George Washington Carver

Hiding from snow – April 8, 2015.
Cats Love with Bunting

Comment April 3, 2015

When a cat cheek-rubs you, head-bumps your face, or pushes against you, he leaves his scented signature. These behaviors, termed bunting, are expressions of affection cats display to other cats, dogs-and their most favorite people. ~Amy Shojai
Cat Playing

Comment April 2, 2015

Cats Love with Playing. Kittens play out of pure enjoyment, and many never outgrow playtime. Some cats may actually control the interaction of petting by moving just out of reach—so YOU must go to THEM. Their most favorite playmate typically is a trusted, beloved companion. ~Amy Shojai
Be like the nature

Comment April 2, 2015

Nothing in the nature lives for itself
Rivers don’t drink their own water
Trees don’t eat their own fruits
Sun doesn’t give heat for itself
Moon doesn’t ever go on honeymoon
Flowers don’t spread fragrance for themselves.

~sms4smile
Promise me…

Comment April 2, 2015

Promise me,
promise me this day,
promise me now,
while the sun is overhead
exactly at the zenith,
promise me:

Even as they
strike you down
with a mountain of hatred and violence;
even as they step on you and crush you
like a worm,
even as they dismember and disembowel you,
remember, brother,
remember:
man is not our enemy.

The only thing worthy of you is compassion –
invincible, limitless, unconditional.
Hatred will never let you face
the beast in man.

One day, when you face this beast alone,
with your courage intact, your eyes kind,
untroubled
(even as no one sees them),
out of your smile
will bloom a flower.
And those who love you
will behold you
across ten thousand worlds of birth and dying.

Alone again,
I will go on with bent head,
knowing that love has become eternal.
On the long, rough road,
the sun and the moon
will continue to shine.

Recommendation
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Virtuous deeds and merit

Comment April 2, 2015

All the virtuous deeds and merit,
Such as giving and making offerings,
That we have accumulated over thousands of aeons
Can be destroyed by just one moment of anger.

There is no evil greater than anger,
And no virtue greater than patience.
Therefore, I should strive in various ways
To become familiar with the practice of patience.

If I harbor painful thoughts of anger,
I shall not experience mental peace,
I shall find no joy or happiness,
And I shall be unsettled and unable to sleep.

—Shantideva (687-763 C.E.)

«305 306 307 308 309 »

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.