Today’s Recommendation: Developing a Buddha Brain

Just One Thing:
Developing a Buddha Brain
One Simple Practice at a Time
by Rick Hanson
★★★★ 1/2

You've heard the expression, “It’s the little things that count.” It's more than a simple platitude. Research has shown that integrating little daily practices into your life can actually change the way your brain works.

This guide offers simple things you can do routinely, mainly inside your mind, that will support and increase your sense of security and worth, resilience, effectiveness, well-being, insight, and inner peace. For example, they include: taking in the good, protecting your brain, feeling safer, relaxing anxiety about imperfection, not knowing, enjoying your hands, taking refuge, and filling the hole in your heart. At first glance, you may be tempted to underestimate the power of these seemingly simple practices. But they will gradually change your brain through what’s called experience-dependent neuroplasticity.

Moment to moment, whatever you're aware of—sounds, sensations, thoughts, or your most heartfelt longings—is based on underlying neural activities. This book offers simple brain training practices you can do every day to protect against stress, lift your mood, and find greater emotional resilience.

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Today’s Recommendation: Jesus and Buddha

Jesus and Buddha:
The Parallel Sayings
by Jack Kornfield and Marcus Borg
★★★★ 1/2

Jesus and Buddha were separated by five hundred years, three thousand miles, and two drastically different cultures. Yet this trade paper edition of the highly acclaimed hardback juxtaposes passages from the New Testament and ancient Buddhist scriptures to illuminate the striking similarity between their lives, deeds, and teachings.

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Today’s Recommendation: The Wisdom of the Buddha

The Wisdom of the Buddha:
Heart Teachings in His Own Words
by Anne Bancroft
★★★★

A treasury of teachings, stories, and sayings in the words of the Buddha himself.

In their essence, the Buddha’s teachings are concerned with a clear-eyed understanding of the reality of our suffering and pointing the way to freedom from that suffering. Here in all their power, as memorized word-for-word by his disciples and written down a millennium and a half ago, are the core teachings of the Buddha in his own words. These selections deal with the search for truth, the way of contemplation, life and death, living in community, and many other topics, serving as an excellent introduction to the Buddhist path. Clear, uplifting, and potent, the Buddha’s teachings are as freshly relevant today as they were when first presented.

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Today’s Recommendation: Under the Bodhi Tree

Under the Bodhi Tree:
A Story of the Buddha
by Deborah Hopkinson
★★★★★

Once upon a time in ancient India, a prince was born. His name was Siddhartha, and one day he would inherit a powerful kingdom. His father tried to protect him from the suffering and hardship beyond the palace walls, but just like children everywhere, the prince longed to see the world.

Under the Bodhi Tree is the story of a boy and his journey for understanding that eventually led him to the path of peace. Told in lyrical language, this excellent introduction to the story of the Buddha is beautifully illustrated and perfect for children who are curious about the real people who made history.

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Today’s Recommendation: The Life of the Buddha

The Life of the Buddha
by Heather Sanche
★★★★★

“In the full bloom of spring, in a beautiful garden, in a place called Lumbini, a prince was born.”

So begins the extraordinary story of the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the prince who would become the enlightened Buddha, the Awakened One. This classic tale follows Prince Siddhartha’s journey of truth-seeking and discovery, including his life-altering encounters with human suffering and his realization of the Four Noble Truths. Today, millions of people all over the world follow the Buddha’s teachings on meditation, selflessness, and compassion. Rendered here in exquisite original watercolor illustrations, this inspiring story is brought to life for young readers curious about one of history’s most monumental and influential figures.

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Today’s Recommendation: The Wisdom of the Buddha

The Wisdom of the Buddha:
Heart Teachings in His Own Words
by Anne Bancroft
★★★★

A treasury of teachings, stories, and sayings in the words of the Buddha himself.

In their essence, the Buddha’s teachings are concerned with a clear-eyed understanding of the reality of our suffering and pointing the way to freedom from that suffering. Here in all their power, as memorized word-for-word by his disciples and written down a millennium and a half ago, are the core teachings of the Buddha in his own words. These selections deal with the search for truth, the way of contemplation, life and death, living in community, and many other topics, serving as an excellent introduction to the Buddhist path. Clear, uplifting, and potent, the Buddha’s teachings are as freshly relevant today as they were when first presented.

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Today’s Recommendation: The Buddha's Guide to Gratitude by Becca Anderson

The Buddha's Guide to Gratitude:
The Life-changing Power of
Every Day Mindfulness
by Becca Anderson
★★★★★

The four keys to the Gate of Heaven: As it turns out, Buddha had quite a lot to say on the subject of gratitude, including citing it as one of the four keys to the Gate of Heaven. Why is this? Perhaps the sheer simplicity of gratefulness is a key, as it is available to all of us at any time. Even in the midst of over-busyness, stress, and chaos, we can find plenty to be glad about, and The Buddha’s Guide to Gratitude will start your journey towards Zen and gratefulness.

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Today’s Recommendation: Sayings of the Buddha

Sayings of the Buddha:
New translations from the Pali Nikayas
by Rupert Gethin
★★★★ 1/2

"'As if someone were to hold up a lamp in the dark so that those with eyes could see - in exactly the same way Gotama has made the truth clear in various ways.'

Gotama the Buddha, who lived the life of a wandering ascetic in northern India during the fifth century BCE, is looked to as the founder of one of the world's major religions. One of the main sources for knowledge of his teachings is the four Pali Nikayas or 'collections' of his sayings. Written in Pali, an ancient Indian language closely related to Sanskrit, the Nikayas are among the oldest Buddhist texs and consist of more than one and a half million words. This new translation offers a selection of the Buddha's most important sayings reflecting the full variety of material contained in the Nikayas: the central themes of the Buddha's teaching (his biography, philosophical discourse, instruction on morality, meditation, and the spiritual life) and the range of literary style (myth, dialogue, narrative, short sayings, verse).”

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Daily Insight: Jack Kornfield: Suppose the Buddha .

. .

“Suppose the Buddha gave similarly detailed instructions for using parenting as practice. It would be a nearly identical teaching. We would be instructed to be as mindful of our children’s bodies as we are of our own. To be aware as they walk and eat and go to the bathroom. Then, instead of sitting up all night in meditation, we can sit up mindfully all night when our children are sick. We can be mindful when they’re afraid and when it’s time to hold them or comfort them with loving-kindness and compassion. We can practice patience and surrender. We can become aware of our own reactions and grasping. We can learn to let go over and over and over again as our children age. This is giving generously to the garden of the next generation, for giving and awareness is the path of awakening.”

― Jack Kornfield, Bringing Home the Dharma:
Awakening Right Where You Are

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Words of Wisdom for Dec. 13, 2019: Uprooting War from Ourselves

“We often think of peace as the absence of war, that if powerful countries would reduce their weapon arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds- our own prejudices, fears and ignorance. Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of bombs are still there, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we will make new bombs. To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women. To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration, and fear that will be passed on for generations to come.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ

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Words of Wisdom for Dec. 6, 2019: Pema Chödrön: The Best Use of Our Lives

"We have two alternatives: either we question our beliefs – or we don't. Either we accept our fixed versions of reality – or we begin to challenge them. In Buddha's opinion, to train in staying open and curious – to train in dissolving our assumptions and beliefs – is the best use of our human lives."

— Pema Chödrön, The Pocket Pema Chödrön

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Words of Wisdom for Nov. 6, 2019: Bodhidharma on Mind and Nature

“Our nature is the mind. and the mind is our nature. This nature is the same as the mind of all Buddhas. Buddhas of the past and future only transmit this mind. beyond this mind there’s no Buddha anywhere. But deluded people don’t realize that their own mind is the Buddha. They keep searching outside.they never stop invoking Buddhas or worshipping Buddhas and wondering where is the Buddha? Don’t indulge in such illusions. just know your mind. Beyond your mind there’s no other Buddha. The sutras say, "everything that has form is an illusion." They also say, "wherever you are, there’s a Buddha." Your mind is the Buddha. don’t use a Buddha to worship a Buddha.”

― Bodhidharma,
The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

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Words of Wisdom for Nov. 5, 2019: Three Treasures: Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

“Three Treasures: the Buddha, which refers to the world of oneness; the Dharma, which is the world of form; and the Sangha, or the relationship that says the two are really the same thing. We begin such study the simple way, by seeing the world of oneness, of emptiness.”

― Bernie Glassman,
Infinite Circle:
Teachings in Zen

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Words of Wisdom for Oct. 18, 2019: Ajahn Chah:The Wrong View of Ourselves

“Buddha once saw a jackal, a wild dog, run out of the forest where he was staying. It stood still for a while, then it ran into the underbrush, and then out again. Then it ran into a tree hollow, then out again. Then it went into a cave, only to run out again. One minute it stood, the next it ran, then it lay down, then it jumped up. The jackal had the mange. When it stood, the mange would eat into its skin, so it would run. Running, it was still uncomfortable, so it would stop. Standing, it was still uncomfortable, so it would lie down. Then it would jump up again, running to the underbrush, the tree hollow, never staying still.

The Buddha said, “Monks, did you see that jackal this afternoon? Standing, it suffered. Running, it suffered. Sitting, it suffered. Lying down, it suffered. It blamed standing for its discomfort. It blamed sitting. It blamed running and lying down. It blamed the tree, the underbrush, and the cave. In fact, the problem was with none of those things. The problem was with his mange.”

We are just the same as that jackal. Our discontent is due to wrong view. Because we don’t exercise sense restraint, we blame our suffering on externals. Whether we live in Thailand, America or England, we aren’t satisfied. Why not? Because we still have wrong view. Just that!

So wherever we go, we aren’t content. But just as that jackal would be content wherever it went as soon as its mange was cured, so would we be content wherever we went once we rid ourselves of wrong view.”

― Ajahn Chah,
Being Dharma:
The Essence of the Buddha's Teachings

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Daily Dharma July 15, 2019 Lama Surya Das

“By meditating, we´re learning to disengage ourselves from habitual clinging and disperse the defilements and obscurations that hinder our capacity to serve others, such as illusory feelings of scarcity and fears of deprivation. We gradually learn to be more conscious and make better choices. We develop simplicity instead of comlexity, open-mindedness instead of narrow-mindedness, flexibility rather than rigidity. We feel ourselves to be more available to others and to give more generously of ourselves.”

― Lama Surya Das
Buddha Is as Buddha Does:
The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living

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The Virtue of Kindness

Aristotle, Nietzsche, Gandhi, the Buddha, and Jesus Christ these are just a few who have extolled the virtue of kindness.

Meher Baba considered God to be synonymous with kindness.

Mark Twain called "kindness [a] language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

Robert Louis Stevenson said kindness was "the essence of love."

Judaism teaches that "the world is built on kindness."

The 14th Dahli Lama famously declared "My religion is simple. My religion is kindness."

So what is your religion? Is it kindness? Is it something you think about from time to time? Or is is something you make a concerted effort to integrate into your every waking moment?

I wish I could answer that last question in the affirmative, but like most people, I know I could always be kinder than I am. I work on it, but not every waking moment. It’s not something I devote my life to, even though I admire those who do.

— Boz