X-Git-Url: https://feistymeow.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;ds=sidebyside;f=database%2Ffortunes.dat;h=58fc8fd08cbd9379b13dd62ae72e8561e54f125c;hb=c343cafc036452225cafd81bbf8cf8852d37af8e;hp=d7235d959aa1ac4f62be65edb8da96fb67c82163;hpb=0440f1192c88da971402ef893c953b167e0b171b;p=feisty_meow.git

diff --git a/database/fortunes.dat b/database/fortunes.dat
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@@ -39425,3 +39425,72 @@ have a strong feeling of the existence of an independent self that is
 inferior, unlovable, and a failure.  From a Buddhist viewpoint, such an
 independent self does not exist, although a conventional self does.
   --Thubten Chodron, "Buddhism for Beginners"
+~
+We all depend on one another.  For this reason, whenever we act according to
+self-interest, sooner or later our selfish aims are bound to clash with the
+aims of the people we rely upon to accomplish our own goals.  When that
+happens, conflicts will inevitably arise.  As we learn to be more balanced in
+valuing others’ concerns with our own, we will naturally find ourselves
+involved in fewer and fewer conflicts.  In the meantime, it is helpful to
+acknowledge that conflicts are the logical outcome of this combination of
+self-interest and interdependence.  Once we recognize this, we can see that
+conflicts are nothing to feel shocked or offended by.  Rather, we can address
+them calmly and with wisdom.
+  -- Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, in "Beyond Anger: How to Hold On to Your
+     Heart and Your Humanity in the Midst of Injustice", Shambhala Publications
+~
+Cyclic existence continues to evolve through the power of the unbroken
+relationship of the twelve links of dependent origination.  What are these
+twelve?  They are (1) ignorance, which afflicts wandering beings by keeping
+them from seeing true reality.  In obscuring the perception of true reality,
+ignorance also functions as the source for the subsequent links, such as
+karmic formation, by grasping as if there were an “I” and “mine.” (2)
+Formation afflicts wandering beings by implanting the seeds of subsequent
+existence in the consciousness.  In this way, when the root text states:
+“Wandering beings are afflicted due to…,” it should be understood to
+apply to all the remaining links as well, from consciousness on.  Accordingly,
+(3) consciousness becomes infused with habitual tendencies and leads sentient
+beings to the place of their birth.  (4) Name and form take hold of the body
+of one’s coming existence.  (5) The six sense sources bring the state of
+name and form to completion.  (6) Contact determines the experience of an
+object based on the coming together of three factors: object, faculty, and
+cognition.  (7) Sensation experiences the various types of enjoyable and
+painful karmic ripening.  (8) Craving creates the cohesion necessary for a
+future existence.  (9) Grasping totally binds one to such an existence.  (10)
+Becoming brings about the actual acquisition of this birth.  (11) Birth serves
+as the support for the suffering of old age and so on.  (12) Aging and death
+is the essence of suffering.
+  -- Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham, "Middle Beyond Extremes: Maitreya’s
+     Madhyantavibhaga with Commentaries"
+~
+Compassion and generosity must be accompanied by detachment.  Expecting
+something in return for them is like doing business.  If the owner of a
+restaurant is all smiles with his customers, it is not because he loves them
+but because he wants to increase his turnover.  When we love and help others,
+it should not be because we find a particular individual likable but because
+we see that all beings, whether we think of them as friends or enemies, want
+to be happy and have the right to happiness.
+  -- The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, in "On the Path to
+     Enlightenment: Heart Advice from the Great Tibetan Masters",
+     Shambhala Publications
+~
+Examining the understanding of heat in Vajrayana gives insight into tantra’s
+somewhat different embrace of classical Buddhist imagery.  From this
+perspective, the experience of mental burning is indeed the central suffering
+of our lives.  It is the experiential dimension of the intensity of our
+obscurations, whether emotional, conceptual, or habitual.  But rather than
+attempting to put out the flames with meditation methods, it is important to
+allow the burning to occur during practice.  Certainly in the foundational
+stages of the path we must learn not to become engulfed in the flames, to tame
+the wild mind and emotions, and to train ourselves to open further to
+experience.  Finally, however, through Vajrayana practice under the guidance
+of a guru, the burning we experience becomes a great teacher and a great
+blessing.
+  -- Judith Simmer-Brown, "Dakini’s Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in
+     Tibetan Buddhism", Shambhala Publications
+~
+Life is mainly froth and bubble,
+Two things stand like stone--
+Kindness in another's trouble,
+Courage in your own.
+  -- Adam Lindsay Gordon