Spirituality-Buddhism

Be mindful, grateful, positive, true and kind

Comment October 15, 2022

Ananda with Maha Thera Siripanno Sophon Thon at H.H. Maha Ghosananda’s International Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks Center (ICKBM) on October 15, 2022.

“Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.” ― Roy T. Bennett

“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.” – Kahlil Gibran Continue reading →
Sunrise and a sunset every single day

Comment October 15, 2022

Jendhamuni in the backyard on November 21, 2021.

“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they’re absolutely free. Don’t miss so many of them.” ~ Jo Walton
“Let every sunrise adorn your mind with the power of hope. Let it paint your life with the colors of the morning sky.” ~ Debasish Mridha

“One grateful thought is a ray of sunshine. A hundred such thoughts paint a sunrise. A thousand will rival the glaring sky at noonday – for gratitude is light against the darkness.” ~ Richelle E. Goodrich Continue reading →
Nature unfolds her treasure

Comment October 15, 2022

“Nature unfolds her treasure at the first ray of sunrise.” ~ Kishore Bansal

“It was sunsets that taught me that beauty sometimes only lasts for a couple of moments, and it was sunrises that showed me that all it takes is patience to experience it all over again.” ~ A.J. Lawless
Stressing and complaining will change nothing

Comment October 14, 2022

Jendhamuni at the Peace Meditation Center during meditation retreats on June 30, 2022

“Happiness comes a lot easier when you stop complaining about your problems and you start being grateful for all the problems you don’t have.”
“Happy are they who take life day by day, complain very little and are thankful for the little things in life.”
“Complaining is a complete waste of one’s energy. Those who complain the most accomplish the least.”
“As you breathe right now, another takes his last. So stop complaining and learn to live with what you have.”

~ Anonymous Continue reading →
Anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness

5 January 20, 2022

Jendhamuni at home on December 17, 2021

Anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness mark the in-between state. It’s the kind of place we usually want to avoid. The challenge is to stay in the middle rather than buy into struggle and complaint. The challenge is to let it soften us rather than make us more rigid and afraid. Becoming intimate with the queasy feeling of being in the middle of nowhere only makes our hearts more tender. When we are brave enough to stay in the middle, compassion arises spontaneously. By not knowing, not hoping to know, and not acting like we know what’s happening, we begin to access our inner strength. ~ Pema Chödron
How you perceive the situation

1 January 19, 2022

Nothing is intrinsically or ultimately bad. Any situation that arises is only relatively good or bad based on many factors, including — most significantly — how you perceive the situation and how you respond to it. ~ 17th Karmapa

Ananda at Wat Kiryvongsa Bopharam on November 8, 2021.
We should not say bad things about anyone

5 November 17, 2021

Jendhamuni at Kiryvongsa Bopharam temple on November 7, 2021

We should not say bad things about anyone, whether or not they are bodhisattvas. It is not the same thing, however, if we know that pointing out someone’s mistakes will help them to change. Generally speaking, since it is not easy to change another person, we should avoid criticism. Other people do not like to hear it and, further, laying out their faults will create problems and troubles for us. We who are supposed to be practicing the dharma should be trying to do whatever brings happiness to ourselves and others. Since faultfinding does not bring any benefit, we should carefully avoid it.

If we really want to help someone, perhaps we can say something once in a pleasant way so that the person can readily understand, “Oh yes, this is something I need to change.” However, it is better not to repeat our comments, because if we keep mentioning faults, not only will it not truly help, it will disturb others to no good effect. Therefore not mentioning the faults of others is the practice of bodhisattvas. ~ 17th Karmapa

Jendhamuni at Kiryvongsa Bopharam temple on November 7, 2021

Jendhamuni at Kiryvongsa Bopharam temple on November 7, 2021
Be original

3 October 26, 2021

Be different. Be original. Nobody will remember a specific flower in a garden filled with thousands of the same yellow flower, but they will remember the one that managed to change its color to purple. — Suzy Kassem

Jendhamuni at Wat Kiryvongsa Bopharam, Buddhist Peace Meditation Center on October 24, 2021.
Smell the fresh air

3 September 1, 2021

Being able to smell the fresh air and disconnect from the news and your phone—there’s nothing like it. — Jason Ward

Jendhamuni on July 28, 2021.

Birds have always had the ability to bring me out of a dark space and provide relief in bad times. — Jason Ward

Jendhamuni on July 28, 2021.
The importance of human life

Comment August 31, 2021

Novice Ananda at Wat Kiryvongsa Bopharam

If we realize, “I am a human being. A human being can do anything,” this determination, courage, and self-confidence are important sources of victory and success. Without will power and determination, even something that you might have achieved easily cannot be achieved. If you have will power and reasonable courage — not blind courage but courage without pride — even things that seemed impossible at a certain stage turn into being possible because of continuing effort inspired by that courage. Thus, determination is important.

How can this be developed? Not through machines, not by money, but by our own inner strength based on clear realization of the value of human beings, of human dignity. For, once we realize that a human being is much more than just material, much more than just money, we can feel the importance of human life, from which we can feel the importance of compassion and kindness. ~ 14th Dalai Lama