'Do not speak- unless it improves on silence'

I was blown away by this Buddhist quote today. Why is it so hard to remember in class, though? More practice, more patience...

On new beginnings...

'The most sacred place dwells within our heart, where dreams are born and secrets sleep, a mystical refuge of darkness and light, fear and conquest, adventure and discovery, challenge and transformation. Our heart speaks for our soul every moment while we are alive. Listen... as the whispering beat repeats: be...gin, be...gin, be...gin...'

Royce Addington

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I'm utterly delighted for the new beginnings of a dear friend, thankful for the shining beam of light at the end of what's been a long tunnel for him and pray that these new beginnings be blessed generously.

On death and detachment...

An evening out to watch a movie triggered much reflection on death and attachment to life and all things mortal. There was nothing unusual about many aspects of the plot- (I hardly expect readers of this blog to be upset about a movie spoiler, so I will proceed to spoil)- the protagonist (let's call him M) discovers in the course of some routine medical test that he is terminally ill. And this turns his world upside down. A chance encounter with a child whose playfulness was still intact and who appeared untouched by grief or fury upon the death of his father, serves as an eyeopener to M. It is M's sole purpose in life thereafter to live every moment to the fullest, to be a source of service and joy to everyone he meets and to make a difference in any way he can.

All this seemed wonderful, except for one nagging detail. M had run away from his wife, unable to bear the grief his condition was causing her; his attachment to her was so immense, that he could not cope with the stress of seeing her wilt with every passing day as she counted down to his demise. At any rate, the movie ends after M makes an attempt to return home, and is once again seized by the same feeling of losing control of everything he loves and knows. In the end, he decides to stay away.

I suppose I just could not accept his decision as being either rational or necessarily considerate. Particularly, in light of the revelation he'd had with the child, his final action seemed at odds with the rest. It also begs the question: does being detached mean shunning the source of attachment? I invite you to share your thoughts.

Just as I was pondering these questions, I received the weekly email from InnerNet Weekly, addressing just the topic on top of my mind! A godsend :) Hence, I share...

Death is an important ally for appreciating life. I am not referring to a morbid preoccupation with death. Rather, I mean the felt awareness of our finitude as physical beings -- an honest recognition of the short time we have to love and to learn on this earth. The knowledge that our bodies will inevitably die burns through our attachments to the dignified madness of our socially constructed existence. Death is a friend that helps us to release our clinging to social position and material possessions as a source of ultimate security and identity. An awareness of death forces us to confront the purpose and meaning of our existence, here and now.
Those who have had near-death experiences confirm that awareness of death can be an uncompromising friend, putting us back in touch with what is most important. A common sentiment expressed by many near-death survivors is a decreased emphasis on money and material things and a heightened appreciation for nature and loving other people. Dr. Kenneth Ring, a researcher of near-death experiences, quotes a young man who had a near-death experience after a serious automobile accident. As a result the young man found that he developed an "awareness that something more was going on in life than just the physical part of it... It was just a total awareness of not just the material and how much we can buy -- in the way of cars and stuff, or food or anything. There's more than just consuming life. There's a point where you have to give to it and that's real important."

Gandhi once said, "Just as one must learn the art of killing in the training for violence, so one must learn the art of dying in the training for non-violence." If we are to lead nonviolent and loving lives, then we can begin by coming to terms with our own death. An appreciation that we must die awakens us from our social sleep and to the reality of our situation. Death is an unyielding partner in life -- an inescapable certainty to push against as we sort out the significant from the trivial in our daily lives. In this regard, consider the words of Nadine Stair of Louisville, Kentucky, who was 85-years-old when she wrote, "If I Had My Life to Live Over":

"I'd like to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. . . . I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have."

We cannot hide from death. Its embrace will consume our social existence entirely. Job titles, social position, material possessions, sexual roles and images--all must yield to death. This does not mean that we should abandon our material and social existence. Rather, it means that in consciously honoring the fact of our physical death, we are thereby empowered to penetrate through the social pretense, ostentation, and confusion that normally obscure our sense of what is truly significant. An awareness of death is an ally for infusing our lives with a sense of immediacy, perspective, and proportion. In acknowledging the reality of death, we can more fully appreciate our gift of life.

If you were to choose death as an ally (as a reminder of the preciousness of each moment), and if you were to choose the universe as your home (as a reminder of the awesome dimensions of our existence), would a quality of aliveness, immediacy, and poignancy naturally infuse your moment-to-moment living? If you knew that you would die within several hours or days, would the simplest things acquire a luminous and penetrating significance? Would each moment become precious beyond all previous measure? Would each flower, each person, each crack in the sidewalk, each tree become a fleeting and never-to-be-repeated miracle? Simplicity of living helps brings this kind of clarity and appreciation into our lives

--Duane Elgin, in Make Death Your Ally

'I view science as nothing more than an understanding of the way the world is and why it is that way. At any givem time our scientific knowledge is simply the current state of the art of our understanding. I do not believe in absolute truths. I fear such beliefs because they block the search for better understanding. Whenever we think we have final answers progress, science, and better understanding ceases. Understanding of our world is not something to be pursued for its own sake, however. Knowledge should be pursued, I believe, to make our world better- to make life more fulfilling.'
- Taken from the Introduction to the 'The Goal' by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

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This seems to be as true of religion as it of science :)

Holiday saying of the day:

'Give to give, not to get.'

Yep, that's selfless giving in a nutshell :) Happy holidays, my dears!

On being thankful

Yesterday, I heard for the first time the proclamation made by President Lincoln declaring Thanksgiving an official US holiday. In these troubled economic times, when uncertainty prevails and an undercurrent of hostility and suspicion rife among many nations, his speech seems as relevant today as it was the day it was written. Indeed, there is much to be thankful for: this earth we inhabit, the air we breathe; food, clothing and shelter; education and fruitful employment; the love of family and friends. For those of us who live in relative comfort, shielded away from the ravages of war and poverty, comforted by friends and family, able in health and vigor, the bounties that we ought be thankful for are innumerable. I shall not attempt to list them all, for I know I will fail to call upon every blessing that has been accorded us. But I will offer my heartfelt thanks.

I am immensely grateful. I am grateful for all the love in my life, all the wonderful people who make it worth living for. For all the good fortune that has come our way this year. And for all the tests that have, too. As N rightly said, we must also give thanks for those tough times that gave us valuable lessons and strengthened our resolve; the trying moments that taught us to be patient and the hurdles that forced us to persevere. And for being here after all has been said and done. I am thankful. And hence, I share:

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders similar to this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution."

Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale's request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey's Lady's Book.

The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

The Central Dogma...of Karma?

A very interesting read on free will and deteminism...:)