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NagoyaSea
424 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 16 2007 : 2:24:28 PM
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I was struck by the simple beauty of this prayer:
Shantideva’s prayer:
"As long as the sky exists
And as long as there are sentient beings
May I remain to help
Relieve them of all of their pain"
Buddha had two sayings:
"If possible, you should help others.
If that is not possible, at least you should do no harm."
From the Dalai Lama:
"Develop a strong desire to refrain from harming others either physically or verbally, no matter whether you are embarrassed, insulted, reviled, pushed or hit."
I think these behaviors grow in us as we transform from within...
Kathy
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Richard
United Kingdom
857 Posts |
Posted - Jun 16 2007 : 3:10:48 PM
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quote:
From the Dalai Lama:
"Develop a strong desire to refrain from harming others either physically or verbally, no matter whether you are embarrassed, insulted, reviled, pushed or hit."
This is something we all need to remember...thanks Kathy  |
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yogani
USA
5201 Posts |
Posted - Jun 18 2007 : 09:53:46 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by NagoyaSea
From the Dalai Lama:
"Develop a strong desire to refrain from harming others either physically or verbally, no matter whether you are embarrassed, insulted, reviled, pushed or hit."
Hi Kathy and All:
Regarding conduct, I have often said that practices will elevate our conduct over time due to the rise of inner silence. It is true. But before that can happen, we have to want it.
Bhakti (spiritual desire) is the prerequisite for success in spiritual practices, even deep meditation. It is in the AYP lessons. If we are obsessively focused on contracted attitudes and conduct, expansion will be very difficult, even with spiritual practices in the picture. The habit of contraction cannot be broken until we make a choice for expansion. If we can shift our obsession to that, then expansion will happen much faster from within, and spiritual practices will be much more powerful.
Obsession is not a bad thing, if pointed in the direction of expansion. That is what bhakti is.
It has been said that people can't change, and it is true for those who don't want to change. Nothing much will happen until a conscious choice for something more is made, and acted upon.
On the other hand, people who really want to change can, and are readily expandable to infinite abiding inner silence, ecstatic bliss and outpouring divine love. That is what AYP and these forums are about. If we can bring a sincere desire to the table, and are willing to apply proven methods to assist us in letting go of our contractions, then AYP can help a lot. An outright obsession for inner expansion (flowing out) is even better, with self-pacing applied as needed, of course. 
It is our choice. We can raise the bar of our bhakti whenever we decide, which will lead to the full time habit of favoring expansion over contraction. Then it will show up in our conduct in many ways.
All the best!
The guru is in you.
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do no harm and prayer--
