Confronting Fear

Mental health realignment

Relationship Realignment

Align the compass of our physical body

The purpose of practicing

The reality

60 seconds back to oneself

Respect 尊重

Life as a practice

Anticipate to have a better physical body condition or 

to get rid of all sorts of bodily pain

through the Dharma Practicing,

is a very common misconception.

Never forget:

birth, old-aged, illnesses and death,

are parts of life, living and even themes of cultivation.

生命即修行

期待透過修行

讓身體變好或沒有痛苦，

是對修行的錯見。

切記：生老病死——

是過程，是生活、也是修行的所緣。

To bridle or to discern

Never try to control, 

the unmanageable circumstances.

Why not recognize thoroughly,

everything is just in continual transformation?

控制？識別？

決不試圖支配，

無法控制的情況。

何不徹底認識，

一切都在不斷變革中？

Cope with Uncertainty

There is no choice to meet with the uncertainty of life,

but react wholesomely should always be our preference.

應對無常

面對生命中的無常，

我們別無選擇；

惟務必確保地是：

良善應對之。

Maintain a healthy mind

What are you fueling up at this very moment?

Mindfulness or mindlessness?

Right understanding or mistaken view?

此時此刻，您供給自己什麼？

正念還是失念？

正知還是錯見？

Meteorological observer

A meteorologist

observed the wind, clouds, rainfall etc.,

and records all the changes thoroughly.

A meditation practitioner 

perceives the mind-body matters 

and logs all the mental and physical phenomenon genuinely.

氣象觀測員

氣象學家

認真入微地觀察和紀錄

風雲雨等氣象變化

禪修行者

真切如實地覺照與紀錄

來自身心的一切現象

Skillful Sherlock

Knowing and observing all the arising and ceasing phenomena of the mind-body,

with a simple mind that does not fall into regular custom nor rush for results,

just like a dedicated, meticulous, trustworthy detective.

熟練的偵探

如沈穩、細心、不求名利的偵探，

以不依循慣例、不急求收穫的平常心，

去覺知、觀照身心生滅的一切現象。

Rely on Dharma but not person

Follow the provided instruction of practice wisely,

but not pursue the teacher, the method and the experience of others blindly.

依法不依人

明智地依循所提供的修行指導，

而非盲目追求老師、方法和他人的經驗。

Is time to back to an art you interested

Buddhist Thank-You Cards

By Carolyn Gregoire

Finding a bridge to pass through our tragedy to the land of understanding and compassion.

Excerptions :

“No mud, no lotus” ......it is from suffering that we learn compassion, from loss that we learn understanding, and from overcoming struggles that we come to discover our own strength and beauty.

The phenomenon of post-traumatic growth has now been observed in more than 300 scientific studies, and research has found that up to 70 percent of trauma survivors report some positive psychological growth.

Art seeks to make sense of everything from life’s smallest moments of sadness to its most earthshattering tragedies......And last, art can be a vehicle for the development of compassion.

......

Click here to read the article: Buddhist Thank-You Cards

Yes or No reaction modes

Ask yourself these questions before saying “yes” or “no” to anything

By Lisa Evans

Do we always reply “yes” or “no” out of fear? Fear of being rejected by others, we become Mr/s Yes; fear of failure, we become Mr/s No. 

What are the questions that we have to introspect before we say “Yes” or “No”?

Perhaps this article will help us out of the tags of “Yes” or “No” person.

Excerptions :

When you say yes to something that doesn’t align with your goals or interests, you are saying that someone else’s goals are more important than your own.

......saying “no” too often can cause some backlash. People may stop offering opportunities......

......

Click here to read the article: Ask yourself these questions before saying “yes” or “no” to anything

Mindful Breathing (2018/08)

Event : 30 mins Mindful Breathing
@ your own place
@ your own time

活動：30分鐘 正念呼吸
@ 在您的所在地
@ 於您方便的時間點

The Progress of Practice 修學進展

Keep track of your practice. 靜修蹤跡。

For those who has participated the retreat events @ your own place and time.
提供給「隨順自己時地因緣」靜修活動的參與者。

Metta @ your own place

Event : 30 mins Loving Kindness 

@ your own place 

@ your own time (proposed time : 8:00-8:30 pm)

Thanks for joining us 

in maintaining the energy of

Mindfulness & Compassion 

Don’t miss the up coming July’s events:

22nd

29th

Enroll, share and more info (click here)

May you be well and happy.

Experiencing Emotions

Meditating with Emotions

By Pema Chödrön

This article mainly features the usage of emotions as a tool for spiritual practice and growth.

Excerptions :

Buddhanature and the natural state are not just made up of happy, sweet emotions; buddhanature includes everything.

Emotions, in essence, are just pure energy, but because of dualistic perception we identify the emotion as “me,” and it gets very locked in.

Fundamentally, the reason emotions are discomforting, painful, frustrating is that our relationship to the emotions is not quite clear.

This is to say that energy itself is not a problem. We always associate our emotions with thoughts—we’re scared of something, or we’re angry at somebody, or we’re feeling lonely or ashamed or lustful in relationship with either ourselves or somebody else.

Our emotions have a lot of mental conversation......

If there is a way that you can interrupt the conversation through your meditation training, even for a few moments, then you can have an actual experience of dread—a nonverbal experience.

If we use our emotions as the object of meditation, as our friend and support, it’s like standing on the bank of the river and observing.

......

Click here to read the article: Meditating with Emotions

Restoration

Inspiration from a walk at Bastrop State Park

Click here to read more about: How forest fire benefits living things

Transferring Wellness

We are in the era of editing and programming and even transferring DNA. 
However, never left behind the task of  refining and cultivating our mental and moral qualities, for the sake of humanity and dignity.

Old age and death

How to Grow Old: Bertrand Russell on What Makes a Fulfilling Life

By Maria Popova

Thanks to Maria Popova whose article provided us so many life fulfilling references regarding the topic of old age and death.

Regarding that, certain ideas in the article worth reflecting, for instance: falling in love again and again, forgive and forget, the dissolution of the personal ego into something larger etc.

Excerptions :

An individual human existence should be like a river — small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past rocks and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea.....

I should wish to die while still at work, knowing that others will carry on what I can no longer do and content in the thought that what was possible has been done.

......

Click here to read the article: How to Grow Old: Bertrand Russell on What Makes a Fulfilling Life

Metta @ your place

Events : 30 mins Loving Kindness @ your own place

Thanks for joining us 

in maintaining the energy of

Mindfulness & Compassion 

Don’t miss the up coming July’s events:

15th

22nd

29th

Enroll, share and more info (Click here): 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/30-mins-loving-kindness-your-own-place-tickets-47732173215#

May you be well and happy.

Upholding the name of Avalokiteśvara

Cultivate compassion by upholding the name of Avalokiteśvara

2018/07/08

JBT English Dharma Group

by Ven. Ekāyana

Think about :

Buddha forgave Devadatta and considered him as Good friend 

who assisted Him for accumulating His Paramitas.

Someone might hurt us in the past......

would we allow that unpleasant experience ruins our whole life?

Life is too short to waste 

Dwelling in the past is as equal as

wasting our beautiful and precious present moments

Imprison ourself in negative emotions by not forgiving

is as similar as

ruining our amazing and blissful future potential

So, pick a practice ......

Carry on for 15–30 minutes a day

Turn our REACTION mode to AWARENESS mode

Join me in the WHOLESOME CYCLE

for the good of oneself and all beings.

Click here to download PDF PRESENTATION

Click here to download AUDIO TALK

Worry or Angry ?

Don’t Worry, Be Angry

By Thanissara

Angry again? Let see how the author share with us the ideas of make good use on the energy of anger.

Excerptions :

Looking on at the mindless destruction of the planet, how can we not feel outraged?

Anger burns us up, injures others, or, when we repress it, collapses us into depression.

Anger is a warning that something is invading and overwhelming us. If we don’t take heed, disorder and destruction will follow.

This energy, when distilled into clarity and wisdom, burns away the dross of self-seeking desires and fears.

Anger as a healthy response to injustice has a different quality. It is clarifying. 

If we prematurely condemn or repress anger because we think it unworthy to feel, then we will fail to transform it.

......

Click here to read the article: Don’t Worry, Be Angry

Compassion Meditation

Family Dharma: Leaning into Suffering

By Beth Roth

A great exploring on the topic of Compassion Meditation with wide range of subjects and author’s personal experience.

Excerptions :

The Four Divine Abodes are natural states of the human mind and heart, yet they are often obscured by our conditioning, habits, and difficult emotions. 

Although the Pali word dukkha is most often translated into English as “suffering,” other common translations point to the comprehensive meaning of dukkha:  illness, unhappiness, neuroses, discomfort, pervasive unsatisfactoriness, or perhaps most simply, stress. 

The Pali word karuna, which translates into English as “compassion,” literally means “the trembling or quivering of the heart in response to a being’s pain.”

The second part of the definition of karuna, “in response to a being’s pain,” means that since every person is a being, we are called upon to meet not only another’s suffering with love, but also our own.

When we are suffering, we are as much in need of our compassion as is any other being, and we are equally deserving of it.

To recognize our suffering and respond to it with compassion is a gradual process, and it must be done with sensitivity and care.  As we develop our internal resources, we may also need reliable external support – a good friend, an experienced meditation partner or teacher, a skilled therapist.  This is not a path we need to walk alone......

If freedom from pain and sorrow seems impossible because of physical illness or other circumstances, we may need to experiment to find more resonant phrases.  For example, “May I care for my body just as it is,” or “May I meet this suffering with tenderness and love.”

......

Click here to read the article: Family Dharma: Leaning into Suffering

Healing thru writing

On Writing Letters to Famous Strangers

By A. M. Home

Came across this article unexpectedly.

Love reading it.

Share with me your thoughts, if you read.

Excerptions :

As a teenager, I wrote letters to strangers.

I didn’t write to strangers because they were famous. I didn’t want an autographed eight-by-ten. I wanted to tell them about my life, my day at school. I wanted to drive a wedge between my childhood and the larger world that I hoped I might join one day. I wanted a way out. 

We are all in more communication with each other than ever before: email, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. But when you think about communicating, think about reaching beyond what is familiar. You can reach into the lives of others. You can reach into the heart of the world.

Click here to read the article: On Writing Letters to Famous Strangers