What inspires you from your faith?

[mudwhistle]

Precept Dedication Prayer

by Shantideva, revised by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

May all beings everywhere,
Plagued by sufferings of body and mind,
Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy
By virtue of my merits.
May no living creature suffer,
Commit evil or ever fall ill.
May no one be afraid or belittled,
With a mind weighed down by depression.

May the blind see forms,
And the deaf hear sounds.
May those whose bodies are worn with toil
Be restored on finding repose.

May the naked find clothing,
The hungry find food.
May the thirsty find water
And delicious drinks.

May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy.
May the forlorn find hope,
Constant happiness and prosperity.

May there be timely rains
And bountiful harvests.
May all medicines be effective
And wholesome prayers bear fruit.

May all who are sick and ill
Quickly be freed from their ailments.
Whatever diseases there are in the world,
May they never occur again.

May the frightened cease to be afraid
And those bound be freed.
May the powerless find power
And may people think of benefiting each other.




This one does it for me. I've been battling a severe depression and this one really helps.

Do you have a condition or is your depression systemic to the political climate?

 

[Sky Dancer]

Silence


A day of Silence

Can be a pilgrimage in itself.



A day of Silence

Can help you listen

To the Soul play

Its marvellous lute and drum.



Is not most talking

A crazed defence of a crumbling fort?



I thought we came here

To surrender in Silence,



To yield to Light and Happiness,



To Dance within

In celebration of Love’s Victory!



Hafiz, Sufi Master and Poet, born one hundred years after Rumi

 

[Sky Dancer]

"Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look."
— Pema Chödrön (When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times)

 

[Sky Dancer]

"When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity to not be afraid. You're able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. And you notice when you get caught up in prejudice, bias, and aggression. You develop an enthusiasm for no longer watering those negative seeds, from now until the day you die. And, you begin to think of your life as offering endless opportunities to start to do things differently."
— Pema Chödrön (Practicing Peace in Times of War)

 

[Sky Dancer]

We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot of people. A lot of people turn to something that they hope will liberate them without their having to face themselves. That is impossible. We can't do that. We have to be honest with ourselves. We have to see our gut, our excrement, our most undesirable parts. We have to see them. That is the foundation of warriorship, basically speaking. Whatever is there, we have to face it, we have to look at it, study it, work with it and practice meditation with it.

Chogyam Trungpa

 

[Sky Dancer]

Idiot compassion is the highly conceptualized idea that you want to do good....Of course, [according to the mahayana teachings of Buddhism] you should do everything for everybody; there is no selection involved at all. But that doesn't mean to say that you have to be gentle all the time. Your gentleness should have heart, strength. In order that your compassion doesn't become idiot compassion, you have to use your intelligence. Otherwise, there could be self-indulgence of thinking that you are creating a compassionate situation when in fact you are feeding the other person's aggression. If you go to a shop and the shopkeeper cheats you and you go back and let him cheat you again, that doesn't seem to be a very healthy thing to do for others.

Chogyam Trungpa

 

[Sky Dancer]

Sometimes

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,
but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.



- Thich Nhat Hhan

 

[Sky Dancer]

The Sermon on the Mount
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:



“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.



“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.



Matthew 5