Ten Thousand: Comments and the Accumulated Wisdom

(Note: My thanks to Cardozo, for promoting the idea for today's entry, and for putting it all together--and for his constant vigilance over the site--PaL)

Recently, The Buddha Diaries received its 10,000th visit since it morphed out of the carcass of The Bush Diaries in January of this year. To commemorate this benchmark, we thought it appropriate to resurrect a few representative insights shared by Buddha Diaries readers over these past months.

My thanks to everyone who reads and shares their insights in The Buddha Diaries! Your participation is that on which our daily labors thrive. And now...the quotes:



By Jane, on British Accents:

"I remember walking around Charing Cross on one of my first evenings living in London and hearing two young women talking to each other. I was so impressed; thought they must be royalty, at the very least--and wasn't the palace somewhere around here? Now I know better; they were probably hookers, and Cockney ones at that." - in response to This Bloody Cold...

Carly, on Life:

"Once I turned my talents to the buoyancy of a great idea, I was free to 'ebb away all movement' in the act of painting the idea." - in response to Viva Voce

Cynthia, on public speaking:

"...I find the nervousness to speak is like a fire that makes the event brighter inside and out." - in response to A Dream: the Fear of Public Speaking

DP on Profanity:

"Peter, I think even the Buddha would use his share of expletives if he were stuck in traffic on the 405." - in response to ****s (Four-Letter Words)

Dr. Steve on the United States of America:

"Our country has cancer...Cancer invades, dominates, communicates in secrecy and consumes resources endangering the survival of the community." -in response to Who are We?

Eli, on Christianity and Buddhism:

"I love Buddha's philosophy that there's no need to fret about unknowables, and wish so much that my Christian compatriots spent more time in the midst of God rather than observing from a distance." -in response to Creation...and The End of the World

Fred, on Karma:

"...the world's karmic engine works "perfectly." Things are as they are as the result of the accumulated actions of all of us..." - in response to A Perfect World--and the Insanity Donut

khengsiong on Meditation:

"I had a co-worker. He didn't meditate, yet he was happier than me. The reason: he was an easily contented person, while I had too much to desire." - in response to STRESS....! and Meditation

Lindsey in Lawrence on Meditation and Mindfulness:

"I'm no good at sitting meditation. I haven't yet learned to clear my "monkey mind" enough to benefit.

So instead I practice mindfulness. It might sound silly but during finals...I'd make a mindful peanut butter sandwich. (I'm laughing at myself right now, I must admit.) I would make myself a sandwich, but while I was constructing it I would focus my energy into completely being in the moment with that sandwich. I would listen to the sound the lid made as it was unscrewed from the jar of the peanut butter. I would listen to every sound, feel every feeling and remember to be alive in every moment. I would breathe and be thankful for every breath.

After that moment spent in mindfulness, the world would seem to slow down and I could focus." - in response to STRESS....! and Meditation

Mark on Mother Teresa:

"[The] notion, that people need help and love no matter whose name it is or for what reason, is more of the example Mother Teresa set for us all than her faith in the divine, in my young opinion." - in response to God... and Two Teresas

Mikhael on Buddhism and Faith:

"Buddhism does require faith; a faith that inner peace is possible." - in response to Is Religion Necessary?

PK, on Meditation:

"I really don't want to go into my tomorrow with yesterday dwelling in there." - in response to Creation...and The End of the World

Robin, on Metta:

"To promote one's own interest is a primordial motivation of human nature. When this urge is transformed into the desire to promote the interest and happiness of others, not only is the basic urge of self-seeking overcome, but the mind becomes universal by identifying its own interest with the interest of all." - in response to About Those Crack Dealers...

Robin Andrea on Atheism:

"I think the need for religion exited my cells a hundred generations ago..." - in response to Is Religion Necessary? (The Answer)

The Mindtaker on the Environment:

"If only we could...take the democratic voice away from lobbyists and [give it] back to the people, maybe we could stop the lumbering beast of capitalism and start restoring the consummate beauty of our little blue planet." - in response to Live Earth

They call him James Ure on Buddhism and Masturbation:

"I do not find masturbation to be 'Un-Buddhist' in the least. Perhaps if you've become a monk, but then again look at all the problems the Catholic church has faced over clamping off a very natural human urge." - in response to Sex... and The Buddha Gets a Face Job

Tom, on Racism:

"Growth can come from growing weary of the judgmental, hateful buffoon you find yourself to be and a desire to emulate something more compassionate." - in response to Racist Words: Another Perspective