Michael Forbus's Blog (39)

Golden Metta

The Heart of Metta

Metta, or lovingkindness, is one of the most important Buddhist practices. Simply stated, metta is the heartfelt wish for the well-being of oneself and others. When describing metta, the Buddha used the analogy of the care a mother gives her only child. Lovingkindness is also understood as the innate friendliness of an open heart. Its close connection to friendship is reflected in its similarity to the Pali… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on February 2, 2010 at 9:22pm — No Comments

TO REVISIT A BEGINNING IN BUDDHISM

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

Added by Michael Forbus on January 30, 2010 at 2:28am — No Comments

Finding Peace

"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

--------------------------------

Just… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on January 29, 2010 at 3:13pm — No Comments

PRECIOUS SILENCE

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

Added by Michael Forbus on January 23, 2010 at 2:03pm — 1 Comment

Today I pray for the samll island of great people Haiti and beg for you to do the same. With Metta

“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

------------------------------------

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

Added by Michael Forbus on January 15, 2010 at 3:16pm — No Comments

My love to all and solidarity for those in Haiti and much support and prayers. Love, with Metta, Miguel

"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

----------------------------------------

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

Added by Michael Forbus on January 14, 2010 at 6:59pm — No Comments

Metta Prayer

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

Added by Michael Forbus on January 12, 2010 at 7:46pm — No Comments

This is the most beautiful site. Peace and the most lovely photography

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

Added by Michael Forbus on January 12, 2010 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Sayings about our Buddhist Nature

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

Added by Michael Forbus on January 11, 2010 at 1:51am — 1 Comment

A Little Dharma for the Weekend, bless you all dear Friends. Namaste, Miguel

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

Added by Michael Forbus on January 11, 2010 at 1:29am — No Comments

DAILY OM

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

Added by Michael Forbus on January 8, 2010 at 8:31pm — No Comments

Twins

Twins

He wondered at night as he looked at the blackness of the mountain sky

if she was looking at the same stars as he.

He wondered when he thought of her if she ever had

the same thoughts as he.

After all, he thought they were twins.

He thought that their two hearts were sewn together from

the same silken threads.

As he looked at the stars that shimmered and gleamed as a bush full of

fireflies, he wondered where she had gone,

and… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on December 19, 2009 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Love is a many splendid thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love! ~ from the movie Moulin Rouge ~ Other men said they have seen angels, But I have seen thee And thou art enough.…

Love is a many splendid thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love!

~ from the movie Moulin Rouge ~

Other men said they have seen angels,

But I have seen thee

And thou art enough.

~ by G. Moore ~

I would fly you to the moon and back if you'll be . . . if you'll be my baby.

~ From a song by Savage Garden ~

I love you - those three words have my life in them.

~ by Alexandrea to Nicholas III ~

What lies… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on December 18, 2009 at 11:35pm — No Comments

Dedicated to His Holiness, Buddha and The Love of My Life, Tashi Delek, Miguel

The Possibility of Kindness

We must realize, if tomorrow is going to look any better than today, that the currency for compassion isn’t what someone else does, right or wrong—it is the very fact that that person exists. Commitment to the possibility of kindness cannot be discarded as foolish or irrelevant, even in troubling times when we often can’t find easy answers. If we abandon the force of kindness as we confront cruelty, we won’t learn anything to take into tomorrow—not from… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on December 15, 2009 at 3:21pm — No Comments

My love flows to you all like a sacred river of Devotion. Blessings and Happy Holidays. Namaste, Miguel

Day-to-Day

Perhaps we'd much rather focus on a great transcendent state of consciousness out there somewhere, waiting for us to achieve it. But it is in how we live day-to-day that an authentic spirituality is made manifest.

- Sharon Salzberg, The Force of Kindness

----------------------------------

Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them.

Feel the artistry moving through, and be… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on December 14, 2009 at 5:37pm — No Comments

Generous Words from Wise Men to you from Miguel

The Revolution Within

As the first line of the Dhammapada says, "All that we are is the result of what we have thought." Thus, the transformation of sociological and psychological structures must take place initially in our own minds—and those of others—if we truly hope to address the root cause of social suffering. The Four Noble Truths, the five precepts observed by laity and monks alike, the Eightfold Path, and the ten paramitas… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on December 11, 2009 at 4:48pm — 2 Comments

TODAY I FEEL YOU ALL ENTERING THE WINDOW OF MY SOUL AND LAYING YOUR GARLANDS OF FRAGRANT LOVE OFFERINGS TO ME. IT IS DELIGHTFUL, BLESS YOU ALL, NAMASTE, MIGUEL

You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?

-Rumi

----------------------------------------

According to Buddhism, individuals are masters of their own destiny. And all living beings are believed to possess the nature of the Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra, the potential or seed of enlightenment, within them. So our future is in our own hands. What greater free will do we need?

~The… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on December 9, 2009 at 5:35am — No Comments

TODAY MY SPIRIT FLIES WITH YOURS AND OUR SOULS INTERMINGLE AND ARE CONNECTED AS IS ALL WATER. NAMASTE, MIGUEL

Accepting Imperfection

Any time we want life to be different than it is, we are caught in impatience. We lose our sense of humor; and self-pity, despair, and blame seep into the heart. Gentle forbearance includes the spirit of forgiveness. When we feel conflict with others, understanding their suffering is the first step in being able to communicate, forgive, and begin again. The practice of forgiveness happens when we are able… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on December 4, 2009 at 5:26pm — No Comments

A Fine Mist of Joy Envelopes your Face and makes your Heart Soar, Namaste, Miguel

We need a little more compassion, and if we cannot have it then no politician or even a magician can save the planet.

~The Dalai Lama

-----------------------------------------

Change is Inevitable

As Buddhists, we work to accept the impermanence and inevitable decay of the physical body. But it’s not enough to accept it as a fact; we can believe in this and still not want it in plain sight. Nagarjuna said, “Change makes all things possible.” It is… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on December 4, 2009 at 12:05am — No Comments

For Karen and Family with my most devoted love. Namaste, Miguel

"Myself"

Of all the words we use to disguise the hollowness of the human condition, none is more influential than “myself.” It consists of a collage of still images—name, gender, nationality, profession, enthusiasms, relationships—that are renovated from time to time, but otherwise are each a relic from one particular experience or another. The defining teaching of the Buddhist tradition, that of non-self, is merely pointing out the limitations of this reflexive view we hold of… Continue

Added by Michael Forbus on December 1, 2009 at 5:41am — No Comments