When a person cannot find a deep sense of meaning
they distract themselves with pleasure
Viktor Frankl
Meaning
Month: May 2024
A broken gong
If you can keep yourself calm and quiet like a broken gong which does not resonate, you have realized Nibbana. There is no quarrelling in you.
Dhammapada Verse 134
The Buddha says, ideally, you want to make your mind like a broken gong. People can hit it but there is no reverberation
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Never satisfied
According to Buddhism, the root of suffering is neither the feeling of pain nor of sadness nor even of meaninglessness. Rather, the real root of suffering is this never-ending and pointless pursuit of ephemeral feelings, which causes us to be in a constant state of tension, restlessness and dissatisfaction. Due to this pursuit, the mind is never satisfied. Even when experiencing pleasure, it is not content, because it fears this feeling might soon disappear, and craves that this feeling should stay and intensify. People are liberated from suffering not when they experience this or that fleeting pleasure, but rather when they understand the impermanent nature of all their feelings, and stop craving them.
Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Remember
We are never really in control.
We just think we are when things happen to be going our way.
Byron Katie
What life is like
Our life is becoming more and more inundated with TV shows, movies, videos, magazines and newspaper articles that seem to show and tell us what life is like. And then the inevitable comparisons arise: “My life isn’t like that” or “I wish it were” or “It is exactly like that”. The moment we notice sad and painful feelings arising, from thoughts like “I’m unloved; I feel separate and isolated” can we immediately stop, look and listen instead of going on weaving fancy narratives about ourselves? Can we stop and ask, “Where is this feeling coming from? ” Right now. Asking right this moment. Becoming more transparent to the thoughts and images that evoke these feelings and then deepen, embellish and propagate them. Becoming aware, let us taste directly how stories run our lives.
Toni Parker, The Silent Question.
The beauty of contentment
Restlessness arises because we do not appreciate the beauty of contentment.
We do not acknowledge the sheer pleasure of doing nothing.
We have a fault-finding mind rather than a mind that appreciates what’s already there.
Ajahn Brahm, Kindfulness
Mindfulbalance 