Archive for January 20, 2012

Kindness Daily: Helping a Girl Get Married

January 20, 2012
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Helping a Girl Get Married January 20, 2012 – Posted by RMB333
A few years back during the time that my aged mother was bedridden, her attendant happened to be a young woman. She was caring and kind, though not trained in her profession. When we heard her personal story our hearts sank.

She was to get married to her fiance in the near future and according to their custom the bride had to wear a valuable, colorful saree with gold accessories. In addition, she had to give away 12 sarees plus matching jackets. This all would cost her a lot.

Seeing how my parents had helped the people who worked for us when we were kids, a flash of lightning struck me. I though if we don’t help her, who would? A couple of months passed by and her mind was only on the "big" problem and in another four months she would have to get married, only with the six months salary she had collected from us.

Now it was only three months before her marriage. I had resigned from my office some months back. All accounts had been settled yet a letter arrived from my former office and I was wondering what it was. Low and behold, it was a check for a substantial sum with a letter of apology saying there had been a miscalculation, hence, this check. The sum was enough to fulfill the girl’s wedding wish.

After having lunch, my mother’s attendent returned to help my mother and I told her that she did not need to worry at all because her needs would be met in addition to her six months salary bonus. She just couldn’t fathom what was going on. Her facial expression was amazing.

She was laughing and crying at the same moment. Her eyes were sparkling. When I took her shopping, she spent a few hours choosing her bridal saree and the other twelve sarees. From a part of her salary she bought good clothes for her parents and her grandmother. For the gold accessories, her aunt had wanted to help by taking the girl to their jewelry shop. So, with great happiness I donated the complete balance.

At the end of the month her parents came to collect her. The whole family left with broad smiles. The wedding was held and the following year we received a telephone call to inform us that she had become a mother. She had just given birth to a baby girl.

I was full of smiles then and now when I think back.

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Video of the Week: “Life is Easy”

January 20, 2012
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Video of the Week

Jan 20, 2012

“Life is Easy”

“Life is easy” says Jon Jandai. “Why do we have to make it so difficult?” After pursuing “success” in Bangkok for several years, Jo dropped out of university to return to village life. There, he went back to the life he knew as a child, working 2 months of the year to grow rice (with an additional 15 minutes a day to grow vegetables), dug a couple of fish ponds, built his own homes using earthen bricks, and gave up buying clothes (he has so many clothes from friends and visitors that he has to give them away). Jo contends that to be happy, we cannot just rely on money; we have to reconnect with each other.
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A Cookie Giving Experiment in New York City

January 20, 2012

Our love is sooo big. It has room for everybody. — Cari Tuna

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
“At around 12:30 AM Thursday morning, I began my expedition to give out cookies to strangers in NYC. I first offered a cookie to the front desk security guard; he looked in the bag and took the biggest cookie he could find and said thank you. I thought, “Well that’s the biggest cookie in the bag, that’s a bit selfish.” Nonetheless, I smiled and was happy to give him a cookie. Lesson 1: I noticed my mind is on autopilot! Even when I was trying to give out a bag of cookies, I was judging the receivers! Although, I was happy to give the cookie, I still had expectations: What cookie will they take? A big one? A small one? A couple? How will they respond? With gratitude? Indifference? Skepticism?” A real world story of experiments (and reflections) in anonymous kindness.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A38BF:C3009629A010612CE0396E73141022DBB4B847859706E37D&

~~~~
Be The Change:
We are frequently giving and receiving. Today, expand your circle to include someone new.

**Share A Reflection**
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16A38C0:C3009629A010612CE0396E73141022DBB4B847859706E37D&

Dharma Quote from Snow Lion Publications

January 20, 2012
Snow Lion Publication

Dharma Quote of the Week

Buddha means one who is fully enlightened. In other words, a buddha has fully awakened from the sleep of delusion. He is free from all obscurations, both gross and subtle, and has revealed the two intrinsic wisdom awarenesses. Buddhahood is the spontaneously established, uncompounded nature that does not depend on any other conditions. A buddha has perfect wisdom, has perfectly accomplished the nature of compassion, and has every ability to manifest all excellent activities.

There are many buddhas in the past, present, and future. In fact, there are as many buddhas as there are particles of dust. Basically, the term buddha refers to anyone whose mind is fully awakened and who is free from all suffering and its causes. When we point to Buddha Shakyamuni as a buddha, he is an example of this. A buddha has four forms, all of which emanate from the dharmakaya:

  1. Nirmanakaya is a buddha who has emanated in a physical form. A nirmanakaya can emanate anywhere as anything animate or inanimate–as a human being, an animal, or even a bridge, if necessary…
  2. Sambhogakaya is the expression of the complete, perfect manifestation of the Buddha’s excellent, infinite qualities, called the enjoyment body–splendid and glorious. All the buddhas appear and manifest in the limitless buddha fields in this form…
  3. Dharmakaya is one’s own perfection, fully free from all delusion and suffering. It is infinite and transcends all boundaries…
  4. Svabhavikakaya is the indivisible nature of the other three forms.(p.165)

–from A Complete Guide to the Buddhist Path by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen, edited by Khenmo Trinlay Chodron, published by Snow Lion Publications

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