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Browse every published article connected to E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond Rock, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
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Browse every published article connected to E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond Rock, or search within this exact expert archive.
"Now King, I'll ease your curiosity a bit. Listen closely. The Great Weapons you will master through this inner work are three: A concentrated mind, an investigative mind, and an insightful mind. Concentration is your sword. Investigation is the skill of wielding the sword. Insight is the ...
Although meditation is thousands of years old, it is relatively new in the west. Here in America, new ideas seem to introduce themselves at three levels. First, a new idea is viewed as threatening and it is feared. Later, it is made fun of, ridiculed and laughed at. And finally, it is accepted ...
When we hit our mid-forties, our bodies stop fooling around and become serious about disintegrating! It can seem at times as if we age 20 years in the span of one or two years, which can be quite a shock if we have been so caught up with life that we haven't noticed the subtle, almost invisible ...
Counting calories, ordering special diet meals, measuring out portions - these are indications that we remain mesmerized and captivated by food - food has taken over our entire lives with no escape; food is an addiction no different from heroin, and maybe more dangerous because we think that ...
We go to war to defend our religion. It has happened throughout history and is happening now. Once we label ourselves as a Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Jew, we feel that this label must be defended. This is a separation, where those who don't believe as we believe become the enemy, and ...
Suddenly, I found myself in a mist, and through the mist, I dimly made out what appeared to be a cave. As I moved closer, my perfected insight revealed exactly what it was – the den of the Great Dragon of Atta. Three of the dragon's guards lie dead and decomposing at the entrance, obviously ...
No, it's not to make babies! Although making babies is a very important consideration regarding the propagation of our species, especially in Europe and the United States where the birth rate is plummeting, it's not the prime purpose. And it's not to keep you company. Or make you financially or ...
I was lying on the floor of my little hut in Thailand suffering from one of the many tropical fevers to which I seemed to succumb, and I saw, for the first time in my life, that nothing truly mattered. I found myself directly in the moment. Given the fact that as a Buddhist forest monk I was not ...
Humanity has always looked to the transcendent, a human trait pursued in many ways. And who can really say which way is right or wrong regarding an inherent desire to transcend this earthly life when our time is up. The religious insist that they are right, and spiritual seekers say likewise. So in order to solve this spiritual conundrum, I came up with thirty distinguishing features (and counting) of both groups, so that you may make a judgment. Please do not infer that these features are all right or all wrong, they are only different ways to approach a most interesting subject.
Have you noticed the interest being generated in the ranks of our young people by the political races? It reminds me of the sixties when young people took a hard turn left. Many of the kids raised after this, however, took a decidedly turn right, ala Reaganites. It seem that these shifts occur ...
Hold her tight, tonight. Let her dream of what her life will be, her fairytales of love and happiness. Hold her tight, tonight. Hold her tight tonight, so that monster truth can’t steal her dreams, not this night. This night, let truth not meet time, not yet . . . please not yet. Hold her ...
The way we live is key to describing what we are, which can be quite different from our lofty ideals of what we are. And if we consider what we should be, what the loftiest ideal for a human being would be, perhaps what Thomas Kelly suggests (as off the wall as it appears) is the answer: "The ...
A machine does what it is programmed to do until it eventually breaks down. Until then, it repeats its limited, repetitive actions endlessly. As human beings we are programmed as well, by our culture, our traditions, our education, but most importantly by our minds. There is usually very little that is unique about any of us. Some of us raise families, some live alone. Some will kill, others will heal.
Conqueror limped stiffly but was always eager to begin a new journey, loving the spontaneity of adventure as much as I did. Occasional wafts of warm air greeted us as we made our way down the mountain persuading me to take off my fur wrap and tie it to the horse. I wasn't sure where we were ...
Once upon a time, in a magical land far across the sea, there lived together a donkey and an elephant. This was very difficult, because they both had such different ways. The elephant loved to trample trees and make a lot of noise, while the donkey nibbled on lowly grasses and said almost ...
From the Bible, we learn all kinds of things about God. What we don’t know about God, however, are things like; what does He do on Sunday afte oons? Since we are created in His likeness, He must like the same things we do. Doesn’t that make sense? So, He must like football games! Go Packers!nn ...
Business ethics are quickly becoming meaningless. As a matter of fact, ethics can actually become roadblocks to maintaining the almighty bottom line. We have seen this lately in the mortgage markets where dishonest loans lined pockets on Wall Street while ruining many common people's lives. ...
Lack of adequate guidance Lack of resolve or faith Lack of confidence Lack of courage DistractionsnLaziness Anger Lack of adequate guidance: According to the Buddha, who is arguably the quintessential expert on enlightenment, in order to become enlightened we must understand how to ...
1. Confusing the real purpose of a relationship. Relationship is a mirror in which you can see yourself in reflection. You may think that you are a certain way, but relationship will reveal the true you every time. Therefore, the real purpose of relationship is to understand yourself. Once you ...
The Buddha would have made a great CEO. He was all bottom line, and the bottom line was freedom, or enlightenment. If something didn't contribute to this directly, then he didn't teach it. One day he was in a forest with his monks, and he said to them, "Which is more, monks, the few leaves ...
These seven areas are not necessarily the ones we think of or connect to when discussing the spiritual life. They are not only unusual, but authentic measuring sticks if we truly want to determine what progress we have made. Some of the terms may be unfamiliar, but their strangeness doesn't mean ...
1. Misunderstanding what a relationship is all about. A relationship is an opportunity to give, rather than take. If one or both partners have plastered on their forehead, "What's in this for me," things will get dicey. The key to a successful relationship is always uncompromising trust, and ...
Sex … Money … Power … Fame … Good Looks … Ambition … Successnn If any of these Seven become tangled up in the Seven Deadly Sins (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride), look out! Otherwise, they are simply to be enjoyed, but not to bet the farm on - it's only when we begin to ...
Have you ever considered the flower? It doesn’t live long, but while it does, it displays itself so beautifully. It doesn’t conce itself with tomorrow, or yesterday; only this one precious moment is important as it unfolds its petals. It positions itself so that it doesn’t crowd the other ...
On my way up the mountain carrying some roofing materials I stopped to catch my breath, and as I unconsciously gazed at a scrub cedar tree that I had trimmed a month before to make the trail, an insight popped up. They happen at random like this, and seldom have anything to do with the thinking mind, they just come from another place. If I happened to die at the foot of this tree, the 70 % water that this body consists of and the remaining ash that's left over would quickly sink into the soil at the base of this tree and disappear.
Being born again is a great start, but if you are finally ready to complete this "work in progress," here are seven areas to monitor: nn · Is there any lingering ill-will toward others that may not agree with you?nn· Are you self-righteous? (I'm right; you're wrong!)nn· ...
It's not easy to find something to believe in these days. There is so much information on the internet that whatever we believe in can be very effectively debunked in a heartbeat, leaving us with doubts at best, and at worst; total disbelief. But we can't seem to function as human beings ...
Thomas Merton, famous Catholic monk belonging to the cloistered Trappist tradition (Order of Cistercians of the strict observance), once said that he wanted, "to become as good a Buddhist as I can." Before he converted to Catholicism at age twenty-three, he read about Christian mysticism. He ...
"You learn that if you sit down in the woods and wait, something happens."nn- Henry David Thoreau. Deepening what you know about your spirituality, and deepening your spirituality per se, are two different things. Deepening what you know about spirituality is relatively easy; just read ...
We have all foolhardily said, at one time or another, that if we only had so and so, we would be happy forever. I remember saying it when I was a little tyke and wanted a two-wheeler, and later when I was a young man and wanted a house, three kids, and two cars! I think we set ourselves up when ...
People of all religions and spiritual persuasions are attempting to get at the root of their faiths. They are doing this by deepening their awareness and examining religious beliefs instead of just reading more books. They are searching for real answers this time to their deepest questions - ...
WASHINGTON (AP) People who tend to the elderly, change diapers, and serve up food and drinks have the highest rates of depression among U.S. workers. Overall, 7 percent of full-time workers battled depression in the past year, according to a government report . . . When we work with old people, ...
When we begin meditation, we might begin with a mantra, or a word, or perhaps concentration on the breath. We do this to replace the never ending cycle of thoughts and emotions that circle round us day and night. We replace our everyday thoughts with one new thought so that we can break this ...
Endless enticements overwhelm us. They make their way into to every nook and cranny of our lives - but their allure is waning. No matter how good it gets; it's only so much, and only now are we beginning to wake up to what St. John of the Cross knew; that true happiness can only be found within, ...
A direct experience of spiritual insight will change your life, a fact which is irrefutable and well documented.
When the hunter spit in my face, I felt the familiar rush that always preceded my deadly encounters. But this time, for Maradin's sake, I maintained my composure. "Wait a minute my friend," I said, as I put my hand up in a gesture of amity, "you have it all wrong. I only stopped by to help her ...
Ask anyone that's enjoying good luck and engaged in a full, rewarding life how they are doing, and they will more than likely reply that they are having a ball! Their glass is not only half-full, it is overflowing! Then, when I clumsily come along and say that the Buddha proclaimed that we must ...
Suddenly, I found myself in a mist, and through the mist I dimly made out what appeared to be a cave. As I moved closer, my perfected insight revealed exactly what it was – the den of the Great Dragon of Self. Three of the dragon’s guards lie dead and decomposing at the entrance, obviously ...
When I was just a little tyke, way before spin-cast type fishing reels, we had to put up with basket type reels. Instead of the line freely flowing from the end of the spining reel as it does now, it would unwind mechanically, a very inefficient method for bait casting though still used for ...
Hello, God? Are you there? HellOOoo. Are you listening? I know; you have a gazillion other things to do and billions of people to keep happy just here on earth, let alone all the people on all the planets around all the billions of stars in just our small galaxy. And then how about the billions of galaxies, all with their billions of suns and billions of planets full of people? Whew. But you are a miracle worker so I guess you can handle it all. All I want is a Blackberry for Christmas. Is that okay? That's not asking for much, is it?
The new Christianity will include unselfish prayer, followed by not worrying whether or not the prayers will be answered. And God will be described as providing our building blocks, but it is up to us after that. And Christians will begin facing and accepting their destiny, and then taking ...
Good looking, intelligent, personable, self-assured, these are important, but if the most important thing is missing, the relationship could be doomed. Usually we are attracted by physical attributes, the most obvious being gender, but build, height, hair color – all of these count too. Then we ...
Score your answers as follows: Strongly agree -- 1 Agree -- 2 Disagree -- 3 Strongly disagree -- 4 At the end of the quiz, add up your score and check the results. Good luck! 1. My God is the only true God. 2. I would defend my religion to the death. 3. Only my faith insures salvation; ...
Who has time to consider such lofty questions, even though the answer to this question is the answer to all of your stress. Yet we refuse to look at what we are. We think that continuing to do what we are doing will somehow magically relieve our stress someday. How is that working? The question is not ‘Who’ are you, but ‘What’ are you? Who you are simply reveals your habit patterns. Maybe you are friendly, Catholic, nice, compassionate, good looking, intelligent, successful. Or maybe you are the opposite of all these qualities. It doesn‘t matter; life is short.
We know when it's not working; it's like a slap in the face. We thought that it was working but then something happens to remind us that nothing has fundamentally changed at all, and we find ourselves back at square one after all these years. We were smug for awhile, even bragging to friends about what we found and how wonderful it was, but now we see that it was only an act and we were actually better off before we became so smug and self assured.
The sound of pacing reverberated throughout the high spire, echoing along the halls of the upper chambers. I stopped pacing long enough to gaze longingly at the valley below, slowly, from one end to the other, this precious kingdom that would be mine someday. Everyone looked small and ...
I began as a normal type article, pretty laid back and entertaining, but then, suddenly. I found myself in hell! Well, I can tell you, hell is no place for a nice article like me, and I certainly did nothing to deserve it (hmm). At any rate, there I was, in the middle of Hades, and it was a . . ...
3. Dying peacefully nn(From a talk by Ajahn Jagaro, the abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat when Janet and I trained in Thailand as a Buddhist monk and nun in 1981) "Having considered all of this, if dying becomes no longer a contemplation but an actual experience, we can face it without fear. Not only ...
If you had a computer, but no internet connection, you would be limited to only what is stored on your hard drive. You could access your documents and compose some stuff, but if you wanted to reach out and touch the world, that couldn’t happen. In the same way, we can describe the part of our ...
Of all the things in the world that we can think of, kindness is the one that cuts through all barriers. Since Barack Obama has been running for office, people of color have begun feeling good about themselves, and white people have begun feeling good about people of color. Maybe soon, people of ...