Buddhism: A Path for Everyone.

Buddha said that different beings have different capacities for understanding, different ways of thinking, different personalities and mentalities and cultural attitudes; and that teachings should be in accordance with this. The essence of Buddhism is lovingkindness and compassion and understanding emptiness. And all these different approaches are just many ways of allowing these real, innate qualities to manifest.

When we teach, any example that is understood by the teacher and the student can be used. Also, sometimes with people in the West, when they try meditation, they try too hard. They become very tight, their bodies become tense. Everything becomes blocked and difficult. Then they need to learn to relax and to rest the mind - with awareness but not so much tightness.

-Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, "Trust through Reason" (Summer 2007)

James: This quote is courtesy of Philip Ryan at Tricycle Magazine.

~Peace to all beings~

Don't Obsess About Enlightenment.

"Rather than worry or obsess about enlightenment, why not be honest and accept that we will have our good days and our bad? We will have some enlightened moments of loving-kindness, as well as some dull ones. This encourages all of us to stay real and experience the moment as it is—not how we want it to be."

–Donald Altman, from Living Kindness.

James: I think this is a very important point to remember along our path because I know that I have a tendency sometimes to obsess over moments where I don't feel so "enlightened." I start getting down on myself for having repeated the same mistakes over and over again but then I remember that we can't progress without making "mistakes!!" None of us here in this life is perfect, which is why we are are here in samsara the first place!! So that should give us hope and give us cause to relax and just do our best within each moment that we experience.

I see "mistakes" as rough drafts in the process of bringing forth the sacred text within us all that is our enlightenment.

PHOTO CREDIT: Beautiful photo by Laurent G.

~Peace to all beings~