The Buddha teaches us about the cycle of samsara, a cycle in which the same suffering repeats itself. If we don’t practice, we won’t be able to step out of it. With mindful breathing, mindful walking, and mindful dwelling in the present moment, we don’t need to consume and run after objects of craving in order to be happy.

The same is true for me, for you, and for the Buddha. The Buddha has to inter-be with everything. Interbeing and nonself are the objects of our contemplation. We have to train ourselves so that in our daily lives we can touch the truth of interbeing and nonself in every moment. You are in touch with the clouds, with the rain, with the children, with the trees, with the rivers, with your planet, and that contact reveals the true nature of reality, the nature of impermanence, nonself, interdependence, and interbeing. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Winter BULL. Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt

The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt

Tea is an act complete in its simplicity.
When I drink tea, there is only me and the tea.
The rest of the world dissolves.
There are no worries about the future.
No dwelling on past mistakes.
Tea is simple: loose-leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup.
I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.
I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.
I am informed by the tea, changed.
This is the act of life, in one pure moment, and in this act the truth of the world suddenly becomes revealed: all the complexity, pain, drama of life is a pretense, invented in our minds for no good purpose.
There is only the tea, and me, converging. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt

A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise. ~Buddha, The Dhammapada

Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt

I wish my eyes could
Speak what my heart
Feels for you,
Cause
My lips can lie on what
Is true, but
My eyes couldn’t
Cause
Even if I close them
I could still see you.

~sms4smile

A cat has five toes on his front paws, and four on the back, unless he’s a polydactyl. Your cat recognizes your voice but just acts too cool to care (probably because they are). Cats have free-floating clavicle bones that attach their shoulders to their forelimbs, which allows them to squeeze through very small spaces. Cats have inferior daytime sight, but during the night they need seven times less light than humans to see. Source: BuzzFeed

Cats can change their meow to manipulate a human. They often imitate a human baby when they need food, for example. Hearing is the strongest of cat’s senses: They can hear sounds as high as 64 kHz — compared with humans, who can hear only as high as 20 kHz. Cats can move their ears 180 degrees. They can also move their ears separately. Source: BuzzFeed