29 | March | 2012 | Dalai Lama Foundation Study Circle Montreal

Archive for March 29, 2012

The Importance of Imagination

March 29, 2012

Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. — Lewis Carroll

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Inspiration of the Day:
“While growing up, I’d never really considered how important it is to be imaginative. It’s a childhood profession, you could say. It comes naturally. Then we hit an age when we’re presented with a scantron of bubble-in options, a template for a CV that we need to create, and Excel. At that point, our learning has to fit into certain parameters: within that little bubble, within the one page limit, and within a tiny digital graph. So, what happens to our imagination? It seems to fade.” In this reflection, journalist Esha Chhabra shares a reflection on the gentle power of imagination.
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16AA75D:C3009629A010612CB0F157C77A4685F2B4B847859706E37D&

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Be The Change:
Practice imagination today — perhaps even six impossible things before breakfast. 🙂

**Share A Reflection**
http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=16AA75E:C3009629A010612CB0F157C77A4685F2B4B847859706E37D&

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Dharma Quote from Snow Lion Publications

March 29, 2012

Dharma Quote of the Week

Three Meditations

If one does not sow the seed
Of appreciation for a perfect guru,
The tree of spiritual power is not born.
With undivided mind entrust yourself.

Human life is rare and precious,
Yet if not inspired by thoughts of death,
One wastes it on materialism:
Be ready to die at any moment.

All living beings have been our mothers,
Three circles of suffering always binding them.
Ignoble it would be not to repay them,
Not to strive to attain enlightenment. (p.100)

The colophon [inscription] for this poem reads, “Written at the request of Ritropa Samdrub, an Amdo monk from Dechen Monastery, who begged for a short teaching….” The Seventh Dalai Lama advises him to establish three central pillars in his spiritual practice: (1) a disciplined spiritual connection with his teacher; (2) awareness of the preciousness of life, and the uncertainty of the time of death; and (3) the mind of love and compassion for all living beings, coupled with the aspiration to enlightenment as the best means of fulfilling that love and compassion.

–from Meditations to Transform the Mind by The Seventh Dalai Lama, translated, edited, and introduced by Glenn Mullin, published by Snow Lion Publications

Meditations to Transform the Mind • Now at 5O% off!
(Good until April 6th).

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Kindness Daily: To The Airport, With An Unexpected Chauffeur

March 29, 2012

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To The Airport, With An Unexpected Chauffeur March 29, 2012 – Posted by cabbage

My family was going on a trip and usually our neighbor would give us a ride to the airport. This time our neighbor told me she would be working but her partner – who is a recovering alcoholic and the center of a lot of past drama in her life – would be happy to help us.

I mentioned this to my family and they were a bit hesitant. I didn’t have to hear the words to know they were wondering – should we ask someone else? We don’t really want him driving us, do we? Is he really ok now?

But I realized that this was an opportunity to show my friend that we trusted her partner, and an opportunity to make him feel like he was doing something good! So I explained to my family that allowing him to drive us to the airport would be like giving a gift to our neighbour – and they agreed!

He had plenty of stories to tell so the journey to the airport was relaxed and fun. We all thanked him profusely when we reached the airport and we brought him back a little token from our trip.

I see him making progress every day now. Having never been around anyone with this challenge, meeting him has been an inspiration to me! And hopefully has also shown my family that people can change, and that it’s important to reach out to someone whom others might ignore.

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