Michael Forbus's Blog – January 2010 Archive (10)

A touching commentary on the Bat Nha petition:







13,059:

11:58 pm PST, Jan 27, Linh Vuong, Texas

My first encounter with Bat Nha community happened in Northern Vietnam. My trip coincided with Thay Thich Nhat Hanh. I heard he was at a gathering not too far from Hanoi, helping to heal wounds from the war. Yes the war happen more than 20 years ago. Before taking part in this occasion, I knew about… Continue

"I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It is the ultimate source of success in life."



- His Holiness the Dalai Lama



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Just… Continue

Precious Silence



Those who are fond of retreats—writers, ecstatics, parents with young children—often comment on the silence such time away allows. Silence becomes something present, almost palpable. The task shifts from keeping the world at a safe decible distance to letting more of the world in. Thomas Aquinas said that beauty arrests motion. He meant, I think, that in the presence of something gorgeous or sublime, we stop our nervous natterings, our foot twitchings and restless… Continue

“May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being. May you walk through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.”



-APACHE BLESSING

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Love rests on no foundation. It is an endless ocean, with no beginning or… Continue

"If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world."



-Chinese Proverb



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You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and… Continue

The Metta Prayer



The Buddha gave a beautiful teaching on the development of lovingkindness called the Metta Sutta (also known as the Karaniya Metta Sutta). I’ve adapted the words of the sutta to formulate them as an aspiration that can be repeated in a prayer-like way.



In order that I may be skilled in discerning what is good, in order that I may understand the path to peace,



Let me be able, upright, and… Continue

Dear my beloved friends, this is the most beautiful site. Full of lovely photographs and sweetness, the scent of sandlewood, the words ob Buddha, the poetry of Rumi, the laughing faces of my dear friends. I am in a paradise where there is no conflict, only love amongst our fellow beings. How can I think of the differences between any of us. We are the same, my heart is yours and yours is mine. Our thoughts are of beauty and kindness. You have all changed my live, you have made me a better man… Continue

My heart is soaring like an Eagle filled with love for all my dear friends and one especially who lives in my heart. Bless you all and Namaste, stay warm and full of peace. Miguel



Mind the Gaps



If you start really paying attention to your own thought process—I’m talking here about the process itself and not just the contents of the individual thoughts that make it up—you’ll notice that thoughts don’t just go on and on… Continue

January 8, 2010

Transforming Anger to Light

Give Your Anger to the Earth



As humans, we all have anger, sometimes more than others. A healthy way of purging our anger from our bodies is to give it to Mother Earth. We can imagine ourselves being grounded as the electrical energy passes from us into Mother Earth below. We can see that energy go straight to the earth’s core where it becomes part of the… Continue

January 7, 2010

Understanding Oneness

Level of Consciousness



Sometimes we look at the actions of others and find it difficult to understand what motivates them. But we are all doing the best we can with the information we currently have. We have all been taught how to see the world from the examples of those around us and by our experiences. Keeping this in mind, we can accept the choices made by others while seeking ways to increase the world’s level of consciousness as a… Continue