Posts Tagged ‘Dharma Talks’
The military government in Burma is receiving an outpouring of emergency aid offers from the international community. The death toll from Saturday’s cyclone continues to rise. Foreign aid workers were told they could enter the country to assess needs and distribute supplies but now a full week after the devastating cyclone, the humanitarian aid workers are still waiting for visas. We must ask ourselves where is the effort by the government itself in helping the people of Burma. The delay in allowing foreign aid workers damages the already tarnished reputation of the Burmese government and its supporters the Chinese government…
(Read More) Tags: Burma, chinese, Dharma Talks, hatred, metta, monks, noble eightfold path, non-violence, peace, prayer, Thailand, tyranny
Houston, TX. April 25, 2008
All of us can feel anger. Likewise all of us can feel fear. We fear death. But death is inevitable. What is not inevitable is anger. Anger is the single most definable detriment to living beings everywhere. Anger and violence are branches of the same tree. They are like fire. Engage the anger and violence and you yourself are consumed.
The Buddha spoke of compassion and forgiveness, and how even words can be hurtful. We must ask ourselves what path we take. What are we to do with the emotions, fears, and anger we feel with regards to the people and monks of Tibet and Burma …
(Read More) Tags: anger, Burma, chinese, compassion, Current Events, Dharma Talks, fear, forgiveness, human rights, Tibet, violence
December 12th, 2007 · 1 Comment
For over 20 years, all denominations of the Buddhist religion have experienced an unparalleled growth in the United States of America. From the years 1990 to 2007, Buddhism grew 190% and transformed itself into the 4th most practiced religion in America. Today it is estimated that there are over 6.5 million believers in the Buddhist faith.
Although Buddhism spread throughout Asia it remained virtually unknown in the West until modern times.
Knowledge of Buddhism has come through three main channels: Western scholars; the work of philosophers, writers and artists; and the arrival of Asian immigrants who have brought various …
(Read More) Tags: Dharma Talks, western buddhism
September 23rd, 2007 · 4 Comments
Is Buddhism a religion? What is meant by religion? The word, as it is well known is not really found in other languages not related to our own, and the actual derivation is uncertain. Cicero wrote In 65 BC that religion was a combination of terms.
Marcus Tullius Cicero January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and philosopher. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome’s greatest orators and prose stylists.
Cicero is generally seen as one of the most versatile minds of Roman culture and his writing the paragon of Classical …
(Read More) Tags: Dharma Events, Dharma Talks
Part of the Eight Fold Path to end suffering in our lives is called Right Thought, or Right Thinking, Right Intention. In Pali we use the term (Samma Sankappo). Right Thought along with Right Understanding helps to dispel what the Buddha calls the three great poisons of greed, hatred and ignorance.
Right Thought is comprised of three individual parts; renunciation, loving kindness and compassion. It is important that we cultivate each of these elements. Let us first take a look at renunciation.
Renunciation is the antidote for greed and its symptom craving. Greed has a habit of leading down paths …
(Read More) Tags: Dharma Talks, right thought
