Surprises of humanity

BE HAPPY RIGHT NOW! The Dalai Lama by Dr. Richard Davidson

Published on Jan 29, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiY7qOPF_-U

A Buddhist triad

A Buddhist triad depicting, left to right, a Kushan, the future buddha Maitreya, Gautama Buddha, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and a Buddhist monk. 2nd—3rd century

The Happiest Year Ever

DHAMMA REFLECTION

     
The word happiness is perhaps the most beautiful word in any language. Everybody wants happiness and tries to get it by any means. Some think that happiness comes from wealth, others believe that it comes from beauty, and still there are others who think that power and position can create happiness. But experience has shown us that true happiness does not come from these things, because they are fraught with dangers like worry and anxiety. So, if we cannot find happiness in wealth, beauty, power and others, we must find it somewhere else.

Lessons From a Tibetan Buddhist Monk

by Adrien Field, The Huffington Post, Feb 9, 2016

Sikkim, India -- When I first met Lama Paljor in person, night had already fallen over the Kalimpong monastery and I was weary from the past nine hours of travel to reach the remote village in the Himalayan foothills.

I bent to touch his feet, as is customary when meeting elders and spiritual masters in India. He stopped me, laughing and embraced me in a hug instead. This simple gesture of warmth spoke grandly about the man with whom I was to spend the next three days.

I was introduced to Lama Paljor through TRAS, The Trans-Himalayan Aid Society, when I started my business Tibetan Socks one year ago and was looking for a children's education program to sponsor. Lama Paljor, through his private school, provides a free primary education to over a hundred children from the poorest families of his village in Sikkim.

How Sharon Salzberg Found Real Happiness

BY LINDSAY KYTE| FEBRUARY 5, 2016

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Facing her suffering head-on has made Sharon Salzberg one of today’s most relatable Buddhist teachers. Lindsay Kyte talks to Salzberg about her difficult life’s journey, establishing loving-kindness as a key practice in American Buddhism, and how we can all find real happiness.

Photo:Fabio Fillippi

Sharon Salzberg knows suffering. At age nine, she was dressed in her Halloween ballerina costume, watching Nat King Cole on television, when something went horribly wrong. Her mother started bleeding violently and was whisked away amid the panic of flashing ambulance lights. That was the last time Salzberg saw her mother, who died two weeks later.

Salzberg was sent to live with her grandparents, and when she was eleven her estranged father appeared—a troubled, dishevelled stranger who told her, “You have to be tough to survive life.” Six weeks later, he overdosed on sleeping pills, and for the second time, Salzberg watched her parent being rushed away by ambulance. Her father was never to function outside of the mental health system again.

The adults in her life never talked about loss or grief, and Salzberg learned that silence meant safety. Little did Salzberg know that someday, plunging into the heart of her suffering would be her greatest teacher—and make her the renowned Buddhist teacher she is today.

Leshan Giant Buddha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Leshan Giant Buddha (simplified Chinese: 乐山大佛; traditional Chinese: 樂山大佛; pinyin: Lèshān Dàfó) is a 71-metre (233 ft) tall stone statue, built during the Tang Dynasty. It is carved out of a cliff face that lies at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near the city of Leshan. The stone sculpture faces Mount Emei, with the rivers flowing below his feet. It is the largest stone Buddha in the world and it is by far the tallest pre-modern statue in the world.

The Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.