The Dalai Lama Redefines Religion with just 29 Words.
It is hard to imagine a more powerful use of 29 words.
However, the Dalai Lama also owns the record for the most effective use of 66 words. Click here to read.
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So simple, yet so perfect!
brain "and" heart, and with kindness, yes
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Thank you for sharing, dear Ben.
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sounds good. we just have to remember that our brain cheats. Don't believe everything you think makes sense.
Great share.
To put it in haiku form:
No need for temples.
Our hearts and brains are temples.
Simply share kindness.
I like the sentiment, but he is a leader of a religion with thousands of temples and centuries of complicated philosophy. Somehow it seems a little disingenuous.
I have to agree with you somewhat, in that I understand how certain "structures" support "dynamic activity". It cannot all be "dynamic activity" because then you end up with chaos. Furthermore, "structures" come in different forms, both physical and administrative or disciplinary. Without some structure there can be no support for growth. At the same time, too much structure can also become a growth inhibitor. There has to be a proper balance and that is not always easy to maintain.
Well, see, he is a genuine leader. We are not used to those.
The only problem with relying only on your own "heart" and "brain" – especially the brain – is that there is, ultimately, no real Accountability. That is where the Spiritual Master and the community of practitioners come into play and serve a critical purpose if they are functioning effectively. The ego will persist in "self-guruing" if there is no profound surrender to the Spiritual Master and Spiritual Community and some acceptance of outside authority to hold one accountable for all of the "games" one tends to play to avoid relationship, to avoid real self-surrender and self-transcendence.
You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can‘t solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth – inside, not outside. Knowing yourself is most important.
- Ajahn Chah
Worth thinking (deeply) about IMO.
I agree with the DL – the problem is, this is preaching to the choir.
Question is – how does one get this message across to those who need most to hear it? A story I first heard from Jack Kornfield recalled a young woman who had become a Buddhist, which caused some conflict with her family. She reflected that while her family didn't like that she was a Buddhist – they loved it when she was a Buddha.
In other words, ya gotta walk the talk.
For example, how kind are we when interacting with, say, members of the Religious Right? Or for that matter with people who simply disagree with us or rub us the wrong way?
Hopefully, quotes like this one come to mind when we find ourselves in those places where kindness is simultaneously hardest to practice and most necessary.
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