Suffering

Friday, March 25th, 2022

‘The patriarchal heart, the reptilian brain, myst dominate and subjugate, at least until it undergoes a conversation experience.’ -Matthew Fox

Still waiting.

Business Insider

‘Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in her final op-ed before her death Wednesday recalled her unease after her first meeting with Vladimir Putin when he took power 20 years ago. 

In the piece published in the New York Times on February 23, the day before Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, Albright recalled her first impressions of the new Russian leader after meeting him in 2000.

He had just taken over from Boris Yeltsin as Russia’s leader, and was acting president. At the time, Albright was President Bill Clinton’s secretary of state.

“Sitting across a small table from him in the Kremlin, I was immediately struck by the contrast between Mr. Putin and his bombastic predecessor, Boris Yeltsin,” recalled Albright. 

“Flying home, I recorded my impressions. ‘Putin is small and pale,’ I wrote, ‘so cold as to be almost reptilian.'”

In the essay, Albright went on to warn that if Russia invaded Ukraine it would be “an historic error,” and described the consequences Russia would likely face, including a determined Ukrainian resistance, crippling economic sanctions, and a galvanized NATO alliance.

https://www.businessinsider.com/albright-described-putin-as-almost-reptilian-in-final-op-ed-2022-3

‘Julian (of Norwich) is a truth-teller who shines a bright light on the need for feminine wisdom.’

#DissolveThePatriarchy

“Suffering and death are everywhere, from roadkill to mass shootings to tsunamis: We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now, and not only creation, but we ourselves . . .” (Romans 8:22–23). Labor pains implies that suffering is woven into the process of creation from the very start, and it continues through the birth of the new creation.”

-Father Richard Rohr

P

E

A

C

E

In

U

K

R

A

I

N

E

🕊

January 26th, 2022

‘Now I’m wondering: is there a way to disentangle the story from the information? Yes, we need to take care of ourselves and each other. Yes, we need to stay aware and intentional, particularly considering the most vulnerable among us. But is there a way to do it with less ego and more observing tenderness?

It turns out, the interpretation of life is relentless. The suspension of interpretation, while brief and groundless, can be a sweet relief. I want less ego-building exercises and more compassion experiments in my life moving forward. I want less roller coasters and more clouds. I want less fear and more love’ -Courtney Martin

Courtney E. Martin is an American feminist, author, speaker, and social and political activist.

Thich

Nhat

Hahn

The Four Elements of Right Speech

‘Loving, truthful speech can bring a lot of joy and peace to people. But producing loving speech takes practice because we aren’t used to it. When we hear so much speech that causes craving, insecurity, and anger, we get accustomed to speaking that way. Truthful, loving speech is something we need to train ourselves in.

In Buddhism there’s a practice called the Ten Bodhisattva Trainings. Four of these 10 relate to Right Speech. A bodhisattva is an enlightened being who has dedicated his or her life to alleviating the suffering of all living beings.

A bodhisattva is someone who can speak with gentle, loving speech and who can listen with compassion.

The four bodhisattva guidelines of the Ten Bodhisattva Trainings for Right Speech:

1. Tell the truth. Don’t lie or turn truth upside down.
2. Don’t exaggerate.
3. Be consistent. This means no double-talk: speaking about something in one way to one person and in an opposite way to another for selfish or manipulative reasons.
4. Use peaceful language. Don’t use insulting or violent words, cruel speech, verbal abuse, or condemnation.

When we don’t, repercussions are brutal and, sometimes, irreparable. -dayle

‘Our suffering has been trying to communicate with us, to let us know it is there, but we have spent a lot of time and energy ignoring it.

We know that the suffering inside us contains the suffering of our fathers, our mothers, and our ancestors. 

Our suffering reflects the suffering of the world. Discrimination, exploitation, poverty, and fear cause a lot of suffering in those around us. Our suffering also reflects the suffering of others. 

If we understand our own suffering it will become much easier for us to understand the suffering of others and the of the world. 

But unless we can listen to and acknowledge our own suffering, we will not really be able to help.’

On Being.

Remembering Thich Nhat Hanh, Brother Thay

‘The Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, revered Zen master, teacher, and poet, died on January 22, 2022, in his native Vietnam. Brother Thay, as he was known by his community and students, transmuted what he had experienced of chaos and bloodshed in his country and his life into an ability to speak with equal measures directness and compassion to the many conflicts and bewilderments of contemporary life. Martin Luther King Jr. nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. He was a great teacher of the wonderful practice of “walking meditation.” He taught a way of living to face suffering, fear, and violence inside and beyond ourselves and yet to become “fresh, solid, and free.” Krista sat with him for this rare conversation in the early years of this show, and it has touched many. It is astonishing to re-experience the deep, enduring wisdom this monk leaves for our world now.”

Host Krista Tippett.

Remembering Thich Nhat Hanh, Brother Thay

Darrell Lee Ohlau

22 years.

Ho’oponopono

‘And if I go,

while you’re still here…

know that I live on,

vibrating to a different measure,

behind a thin veil you cannot see through.

You will not see me,

so you must have faith.

I wait for the time when we can soar together again,

both aware of each other.

Until then, live your lie to its fullest.

And when you need me,

just whisper my name in your heart,

…I will be there.

‘Ascension’

by Colleen Corah

~

Stephen Colbert to guest Keanu Reeves:

“What do you think happens to us when we die Keanu Reeves?”

Pause…

“I know the ones who love us will miss us.”

Always.

jai

~

The Greek tragedian Aeschylus wrote:

God, whose law it is that he who learns must suffer.

And even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget,

falls drop by drop upon the heart,

and in our despair, against our will,

come wisdom through the awful grace of God.

♡

Beauty unadorned.

The wound, which causes us to suffer now, will be revealed to us later as the place where God intimated new creation.

—Henri J. M. Nouwen

Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian. His interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and community.

Remember.

❥

Four things I know are true but have to remember to remember:

1. santosha (the joy is there, I just have to scan for the good)
2. impermanence (everything I love will someday disappear)
3. karma (what I give is what I get)
4. dukkah (suffering is wanting things to be different than they are)

-Abby Falik, Global Citizen Academy

https://www.globalcitizenyear.org

The world will always be broken.

“Hard, awful things happen in this broken world. Nothing we can do will change that fact. Bad things happen, and they will happen to good people we love, or to us.” [Forward Day by Day]

“Those who love us will miss us.” -Keanu Reeves

“Identification with suffering might just be non-dual thinking in its most active and proactive form and why nonviolence demands such a high level of transformation. Our resistance to suffering is an entire industry now, perhaps symbolized by the total power of the gun lobby and the permanent war economy in America, the fear of any profit sharing with the poor, or the need to be constantly entertained. Maybe that is why some have said that the foundational virtue underlying al others is courage (“cor-agere” = an action of the heart). It takes immense courage to walk in solidarity with the suffering of there’s, and even our own.” -Fr. Richard Rohr

As an inlet cannot close itself to the sea that shapes it, the heart can only wear itself open.

“One of the hardest blessings to accept about the heart is that in the image of life itself, it will not stop emerging through experience. No matter how we try to preserve or relieve what has already happened, the heart will not stop being shaped. It knows that the only way to truly remember or stay whole is to take the best and worst into its tissue.

Despite all our intentions not be hurt again, the heart keeps us going by moving us ever forward into health. Though we walk around thinking we can direct it, our heart is endlessly shaped like the land, often against our will.” -Mark Nepo

The ‘I’ Challenge

Former President Jimmy Carter was asked recently what word he would eliminate from his vocabulary, if he could.  His response?  ‘I.’

Monk Kelsang Dorku:

“I and MY (represent) our self-cherishing ego (and) will lead to suffering.”

From the classic ’80’s film The Big Chill in the scene between Michael and Sam:

Michael: I don’t know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They’re more important than sex. 

Sam Weber: Ah, come on. Nothing’s more important than sex. 

Michael: Oh yeah? Ever gone a week without a rationalization?

The Challenge:  Can we go through a day without using the word, ‘I?’

Suffering…

UPAYA CENTER:

“If we truly want to meet each other, that mysterious junction of suffering and love could well be the most truthful and potent place.”

“Life begins with love, is maintained with love, and ends with love. Right now, while we’re alive, is the time to practice and express love. So please take care of your love. Love is capable of reaching so many people.”

—Tsoknyi Rinpoche

https://www.upaya.org/2015/05/the-mysterious-junction-of-suffering-and-love-sharon-salzberg/

On Being…

“Violence is what happens when we don’t know what else to do with our suffering.” But, Parker J. Palmer wonders, how do we turn the power of suffering toward new life? It depends on our willingness to exercise our hearts so that when suffering strikes, they are suppler and more able to break open to new life.

http://www.onbeing.org/blog/heartbreak-violence-and-hope-for-new-life/7476