This is the talk of Thay from the Day of Mindfulness at the European Institute of Applied Buddhism on the 22nd of May, 2011. Thay speaks about calming and healing the body and mind, and about the art of bringing about happiness and reconciliation in our relationships. Towards the end of the talk he offers an orientation on the practice of walking meditation.
One of the best known and most respected Zen masters in the world today, poet, and peace and human rights activist, Thich Nhat Hanh (called Thây by his students) has led an extraordinary life. Born in central Vietnam in 1926 he joined the monkshood at the age of sixteen. The Vietnam War confronted the monasteries with the question of whether to adhere to the contemplative life and remain meditating in the monasteries, or to help the villagers suffering under bombings and other devastation of the war. Nhat Hanh was one of those who chose to do both, helping to found the “engaged Buddhism” movement. His life has since been dedicated to the work of inner transformation for the benefit of individuals and society.
Altruism is selfless concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions, though the concept of ‘others’ toward whom concern should be directed can vary among religions. Altruism is the opposite of selfishness.
Altruism can be distinguished from feelings of loyalty and duty. Altruism focuses on a motivation to help others or a want to do good without reward, while duty focuses on a moral obligation towards a specific individual (for example, a god, a king), a specific organization (for example, a government), or an abstract concept (for example, patriotism etc.). Some individuals may feel both altruism and duty, while others may not. Pure altruism is giving without regard to reward or the benefits that recognition of the giving may bring.
The term altruism may also refer to an ethical doctrine that claims that individuals are morally obliged to benefit others. Used in this sense, it is the opposite of egoism.
Buddhism
Buddha and the Monkey
Altruism figures prominently in Buddhism. Love and compassion are components of all forms of Buddhism, and both are focused on all beings equally: the wish that all beings be happy (love) and the wish that all beings be free from suffering (compassion). “Many illnesses can be cured by the one medicine of love and compassion. These qualities are the ultimate source of human happiness, and the need for them lies at the very core of our being” (Dalai Lama).[14]
Since “all beings” includes the individual, love and compassion in Buddhism are outside the opposition between self and other. It is even said that the very distinction between self and other is part of the root cause of our suffering. In practical terms, however, because of the spontaneous self-centeredness of most of us, Buddhism encourages us to focus love and compassion on others, and thus can be characterized as “altruistic.” Many would agree with the Dalai Lama that Buddhism as a religion is kindness toward others.
Still, the very notion of altruism is modified in such a world-view, since the belief is that such a practice promotes our own happiness: “The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes” (Dalai Lama[14]).
What is altruism?
ALTRUISM IN NATURE
What is your opinion about the videos above? Please write a comment…
True, news stories of malice and greed abound. But all around us we see evidence of human beings sacrificing themselves and doing good for others. Remember Wesley Autrey? On Jan. 2, 2007, Mr. Autrey jumped down onto the tracks of a New York City subway platform as a train was approaching to save a man who had suffered a seizure and fallen. A few months later the Virginia Tech professor Liviu Librescu blocked the door to his classroom so his students could escape the bullets of Seung-Hui Cho, who was on a rampage that would leave 32 students and faculty members dead. In so doing, Mr. Librescu gave his life.
Nachdem die kunterbunten REM-Bilder bei Pix-Mix gezeigt wurden, ist dies der zehnte von insgesamt 16 Beiträgen mit REM-Bildern, die von Dieter Telfser überarbeitet wurden. Zu jedem Bild wird auch ein Gedicht von Stefan Meichtry publiziert.
Nein. Die Bilder können noch nicht gekauft werden. Erst nach der Austellung werden Sie grossformatig in limitierter Auflage erhältlich sein. Der Erlös des Verkaufs dieser Bilder wird vollumfänglich an www.newTree.org gespendet.
The only thing i wanted was a fusion! And what did I get? Just a con-fusion! Is real Love really just an illusion? Are we meant to find, loose and move on?
Hey, please Come-on! This can not be the solution! Aren’t we meant to find, stay and walk together? Well, I think this sounds much better!
But there is something we’ve got to understand however, if we want to find the key we need to spend a huge amount of energy and if the only thing in your hand is sand
there is missing the moisture for the plant which can only grow when there is enough Love pure LOVE and nothing but LOVE the energy who takes you both off and you’ll never land
You’ll probably land somewhere in the never-land but is there someone who can understand that fusion really works! It works in the sun! Hello you stupid jerks! Come-on!
Fusion works and not only in the sun souls can also melt together and for those who are always on the run: Fun is not just glue nor a little feather
that makes you giggle from time to time and if you read this and you still have no clue you need to know that everything will be fine when you’re in love with someone who is laughing with you…
What Matters to You // Me?
If you don’t want to laugh, why don’t you give it a try with a smile
If the whole world would smile together we would not need the militaries!
In our hyperlinked world, we can know anything, anytime. And this mass enlightenment, says Buddhist scholar Bob Thurman, is our first step toward Buddha nature.
About Robert Thurman
The first American to be ordained a Tibetan Monk by the Dalai Lama, Robert A.F. Thurman is a scholar, author and tireless proponent of peace. Full bio and more links…
BBC – The Life of Buddha (49min)
Siddhartha Gautama, der spätere Buddha, wurde etwa 560 v. Chr. in Lumbini, nahe der Stadt Kapilavastu (im heutigen Nepal) geboren und starb im Alter von 80 Jahren. Er entstammte dem Adelsgeschlecht der Sakyer (daher die Bezeichnung Buddha Sakyamuni) und verbrachte eine unbeschwerte Jugend im materiellen Überfluss, heiratete mit 16 Jahren und hatte einen Sohn.
Mit 29 Jahren verläßt er die Palastanlage seiner Familie und begegnet dabei zum ersten Mal einem Greis, einem Schwerkranken und einem Toten. Nun weiß er, dass Alter, Krankheit und Tod unausweichlich mit dem menschlichen Leben verbunden sind. Die ihm bislang selbstverständlichen Vergnügungen verlieren ihren Reiz und er beschließt, von jetzt an die Grundlage für nicht vergängliches, dauerhaftes Glück zu suchen.
Nach sechs Jahren voll vergeblicher Versuche, dies zu erreichen – ob durch Askese oder die Auseinandersetzung mit den besten Philosophien seiner Zeit -, setzt er sich in der Nähe des heutigen Bodh-Gaya unter einem Feigenbaum nieder und verspricht, nicht wieder aufzustehen, bevor er sein Ziel erreicht hat. Schließlich erkennt er in tiefer Meditation das Wesen des Geistes und wird damit erleuchtet, also ein Buddha, ein “vollkommen Erwachter”.
Von nun an lehrt er 45 Jahre lang, gründet einen Mönchs- und einen Nonnenorden und gewinnt viele Laienanhänger. Er stirbt mit 80 Jahren und empfielt kurz vor dem Tod seinen Anhängern, seiner Lehre nicht blind zu folgen, sondern alles anhand der eigenen Erfahrung zu überprüfen.
Where Science and Buddhism Meet:
Emptiness, Interconnectivity and the Nature of Reality
Thank you for taking the time to watch this! If you enjoy this blog-post and think it would be of some benefit or interest to others please share it! I have nothing but a pure altruistic intention behind this, I’ve made it to share what I have found to be a profound convergence of two way seemingly opposite ways of perceiving and understanding reality. Lots of love!!
If happiness is an inner state, influenced by external conditions but not dependent on them, how can we achieve it? Ricard will examine the inner and outer factors that increase or diminish our sense of well-being, dissect the underlying mechanisms of happiness, and lead us to a way of looking at the mind itself based on his book, Happiness: A Guide to Life’s Most Important Skill and from the research in neuroscience on the effect of mind-training on the brain.
Sometimes called the “happiest man in the world,” Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk, author and photographer.
Why you should listen to him:
After training in biochemistry at the Institute Pasteur, Matthieu Ricard left science behind to move to the Himalayas and become a Buddhist monk — and to pursue happiness, both at a basic human level and as a subject of inquiry. Achieving happiness, he has come to believe, requires the same kind of effort and mind training that any other serious pursuit involves.
“Matthieu Ricard, French translator and right-hand man for the Dalai Lama, has been the subject of intensive clinical tests at the University of Wisconsin, as a result of which he is frequently described as the happiest man in the world.”
This is a teaching on a Tibetan word: shenpa. The usual translation of the word shenpa is attachment. If you were to look it up in a Tibetan dictionary, you would find that the definition was attachment. But the word “attachment” absolutely doesn’t get at what it is. Dzigar Kongtrul said not to use that translation because it’s incomplete, and it doesn’t touch the magnitude of shenpa and the effect that it has on us.
If I were translating shenpa it would be very hard to find a word, but I’m going to give you a few. One word might be hooked. How we get hooked.
Another synonym for shenpa might be that sticky feeling. In terms of last night’s analogy about having scabies, that itch that goes along with that and scratching it, shenpa is the itch and it’s the urge to scratch. So, urge is another word. The urge to smoke that cigarette, the urge to overeat, the urge to have one more drink, or whatever it is where your addiction is.
Here is an everyday example of shenpa. Somebody says a mean word to you and then something in you tightens— that’s the shenpa. Then it starts to spiral into low self-esteem, or blaming them, or anger at them, denigrating yourself. And maybe if you have strong addictions, you just go right for your addiction to cover over the bad feeling that arose when that person said that mean word to you. This is a mean word that gets you, hooks you. Another mean word may not affect you but we’re talking about where it touches that sore place— that’s a shenpa. Someone criticizes you—they criticize your work, they criticize your appearance, they criticize your child— and, shenpa: almost co-arising.
Ani Pema talks about what it means to be hooked:
“Once you begin to see your shenpa, there’s no way to be arrogant.”
This is a teaching on a Tibetan word: 
