Satisfied Buddhist - Domo Geshe Rinpoche

Modern society is so oriented to multitasking that it has caused us to lose the pure joy of just doing what we are doing, but instead producing useless stress. We become trained, for example, to think about three or four different projects while doing dishes, as well as worrying about still another issue. Yesterday, I had so much to do in preparation for a teaching tour to Europe. Stress was increasing but I was able to steady my capacity for joy while mowing the lawn by reminding myself, "only mowing". This returned me to my task and suddenly I could hear the birds singing and hear the whisking of chopped fragrant grass shooting out the side of the mower. My heart lifted and I felt happy. I felt nourished by my task and it was no task at all! I was only mowing! DGR An excerpt from Grand Transitions Institute End of Life Training for caregivers. Part of a section on overcoming impatience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTUTeHg9r9Q

Sometimes we forget to care for our compassion practices because we feel disappointed or too tired to be bothered. Begin fresh; the manure of everyday life is the rich soil in which we can nurture the full flowering of our compassionate nature. The flower blossom is amazingly different than the smell of the manure, the hard and seemingly lifeless seed that needs to be cracked open to grow and change, the water and sun; it is a new invention that is a product of these dissonant elements. Like that, true compassion is difficult to understand because it is amazingly different than the efforts we make to produce it by purification, meditation, reliance on higher being, kindness, and even our ordinary struggle to love others. However, without these efforts, there will never arise true compassion, the life force of higher development. On the other hand, if we attach our life force and mental satisfaction to ordinary results of living a happy life for ourselves alone, we agai...

Virtue takes time to develop. Our bruised and confused root of virtue previously bestowed by the awakened Buddha has become diminished by redirected toward self cherishing for a very long time. Now we wish to use it for its original purpose,a high quality and rapid finalizing of preparation for our own awakening and ... enlightenment. This holy day of full moon Sakya Dawa, the month of celebration of the Buddhas vast activities, is a good opportunity to refresh our resolve to grow in virtue! Blessings and ♥ ♥ ♥ for Sakya Dawa. DGR

Today is the full moon of Saka Dawa, the holy month of celebration of the world teacher, Lord Buddha Shakyamuni. If possible, put fresh offerings on your altar and do many mantras of OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI SOHA, the mantra of Buddha Shakyamuni. Traditionally, it is said that mantra and prayer during this time have ...even more efficacy for purification. What a wonderful idea to get up earlier tomorrow for meditation; many White Conch students already are up at 4AM. They have full days of jobs, child care and activities but still rise early in self respect for their meditation practice! Full moon Tsok tomorrow night... do in group or alone. If you do not have tsok permission yet, do strong practice thinking about the kindness, wisdom and power of Lord Buddha and your great good fortune. DGR

We gain knowledge to achieve closure so that our mind does not whirl and disturb our balance. DGR Albuquerque Balloon Festival and Higher Development A teaching on inner reality of the more advanced meditator. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KflMmBwFjfI

Photo is from Celebrations Church where I have spoken a number of times. I always enjoy the experience of being with the members there and sharing their spiritual rejoicing! Therapy and Spirituality Spirituality in the professional sense means helping others focus on values, search for a personal foundation of deeper values, rather than working on becoming enlightened. Because healers or therapists work with those who are ill and disturbed in many different ways, they need methods to help their client return to personal higher ideals so that they can more easily disregard their difficulties. In other words, a good therapist distracts others from suffering by helping them settle into the joy of thinking about higher values. This is a practical application of spirituality in a clinical setting. "Therapie und Spiritualität Im professionellen Sinn bedeutet Spiritualität nicht, dass man daran arbeitet erleuchtet zu werden, sondern dass man anderen hilft, sich auf Werte einzustimmen ...

People want to either know or be validated to be approved in their perception that what they see around them as well as themselves are real. However, the great sages all affirm reality as interdependence -- everything, both subtle and gross, arises or is manufactured from a conjunction of causes and conditions. That can be from inner or outer causes and conditions. This is not complicated! This is the highest explanation in Buddhism of the nature of both lower and higher reality.. but this is not ultimate reality. Domo Geshe Rinpoche "Die Menschen wollen entweder wissen, dass sie selbst und was sie um sich herum sehen wirklich ist, oder in ihrer Wahrnehmung bestätigt werden. Jedoch bekräftigen alle großen Weisen, dass die Wirklichkeit auf wechselseitiger Abhängigkeit beruht – alles, sowohl feinstoffliches als auch grobes, entsteht aus einer Verbindung von Ursachen und Bedingungen oder wird daraus erzeugt. Dies trifft auf innere und äußere Ursachen und Bedingungen zu. Es ist nicht...

If you are doing dharma service; pulling weeds at your local center, planting, cooking for others, transcription, translation, donating time or money, cleaning, or organizing dharma events, take refuge before activity and dedicate the merit afterward. This is fast method for purification. If you are doing dharma activit y; meditation practice, mantra recitation, teaching, praying for others, or picking up people to take to dharma events, take refuge before and dedicate the merit afterward. This is your obligation, and medium method for purification. If you are caring for yourself, family and daily life by putting dharma realizations into practical application; washing clothes, cooking, job, gardening, entertainments, or driving your car, think about others, try to not arouse self cherishing, take refuge often and pray for time to do dharma service and dharma activity. Domo Geshe Rinpoche Wenn Du Dharmadienst leistest, Unkraut bei Deinem örtlichen Zentrum jätest, pflanzt, f...

Come join the Annual White Conch Summer Retreat ~~~~~~~~~~ 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva ~~~~~~~~~~~ July 31st-August 15th, 2010 -----------> Developing Diamond-like Compassion This years summer retreat will be two weeks. You may attend one session or both. Three delicious vegetarian meals, indoor and tenting accommodations. Daily Buddhist Teaching in the Tibetan tradition, discussion groups, learning sessions on mandala and ritual, chanting and mala stringing. Group meditation and private time for meditation. Meditation practice will be bestowed in each session by Rinpoche. Join in optional sessions of laughter yoga, health Chigong, Alexander technique of body alignment, joyful movement, yoga and evening bonfires. Ionic footbaths and massage available. Domo Geshe Rinpoche, a reincarnate lama of the Geluk Tibetan tradition will again teach for the White Conch Annual Summer Retreat, located at the Hermitage near Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Module 1: July 31st, 4PM - August 7th Mo...

Do you believe that your personality was formed before you received experiences? Buddhism has a large body of insights regarding pre-existing conditions of individualized mind that is present before birth. Western psychology continues to debate nature versus nurture type thinking about the same subject, but without the benefit of supporting insights regarding causes of rebirth found in Buddhism. Viewing this question from a Buddhist viewpoint, we can reason that, because we are individuals, we are born with specific predispositions and karma, the elements of personality that already act as strong influences in our behavior. In addition, we arrive with some intact unique perceptions and elements of personality, which are stimulated to different degrees by conditions that are encountered. In other words, predispositions (karma), inner and outer experiences, and choices that we make will further influence how we might interact with events in life. Out of that develops the individual pers...