Dharma Tweets

DharmaTweets: Buddha

2009-07-20T07:31:00.001-07:00

Remember, the Buddha is not God. But you are just as godly as the Buddha.

To read more DharmaTweets, go to http://twitter.com/DharmaTweets

Wholeness

2009-07-13T16:23:00.001-07:00

A bucket of water from the river is not the river, just as an aspect of one's personality isn't the person. (Adapted from Gil Fronsdal)

DharmaTweets: Grace

2009-06-15T20:52:00.001-07:00

To receive the grace of forgiveness from one you have wronged is to meet a bodhisattva. Rejoice in the wash of warmth of such love.

The Long Weekend

2009-05-26T14:36:00.001-07:00

The shenpa always seems a bit more palpable on the Tuesdays after Monday USA holidays. Don't forget to breathe after the long weekend.

Meditation and Beer

2009-05-20T08:46:00.001-07:00

Life is usually just a little bit better after meditating--or a nice, cold bottle of beer.

Uncarved Block or Blockhead?

2009-05-19T20:18:00.001-07:00

I strive to be what Taoism calls The Uncarved Block--simplicity and honesty--and less of being a stubborn, arrogant, blockhead.

Sometimes Everything Isn't Enough

2009-05-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Some people require all the freaking loving kindness we can muster. And sometimes, even that isn't enough.

Officiating

2009-05-17T20:27:00.001-07:00

To be a sports referee is to be of and in the game but not the game. Very Zen, no? :)

Perfection

2009-05-12T20:20:00.001-07:00

Are you always looking for perfection in others? That's a guarantee for disappointment. Loving kindness doesn't demand perfection.

Change

2009-05-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

Before looking to change others look at what you need to change in yourself. There's plenty of work to be done there first.

The World In A Word: Oneness

2009-05-10T17:48:00.001-07:00

@DharmaTweets' feeble attempt to explain existence/life/the universe in a word: Oneness.

The Oneness

2009-05-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

Buddha, Rumi & Jung all searched to be one with themselves. To be one with Oneness, Union, Self, God, Mother Nature-it is all the same One.

Drops of Grace

2009-05-10T17:41:00.001-07:00

Rumi writes of giving just a few more drops of grace. Can you give a few more drops of grace to those you meet today and everyday?

The Sound of One DharmaTweet Clapping?

2009-05-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

Your not so serious koan for the day: If a @DharmaTweet goes unread, did it really ever exist?

Circle of Words

2009-05-06T10:27:00.001-07:00

A client requests I explain something without "the attorney circle of words." It's beautiful, poetic, practical, and mindful advice for all.

Frosting

2009-05-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

If you are living your life mindfully awake with loving compassion and good humor, everything else that comes your way is just frosting.

Teaching and Coaching

2009-04-30T08:13:00.001-07:00

To the bodhisattvas who teach and coach our children, namaste. To help kids fulfill their potential and to be good people is God's work.

The Unstruck Drum

2009-04-29T07:29:00.001-07:00

Rumi writes of the unstruck drum of eternity. But life's a struck drum stuck on making noise. Mindfulness & meditation help us find that silent drum.

To Know Ourselves

2009-04-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

The desire to know ourselves is the same as the desire to know God or enlightenment. And vice versa.

Speeding

2009-04-26T08:26:00.001-07:00

@DharmaTweets needs to take his own mindful advice. Nabbed going 45 in a 35 mph zone today. Breathe, smile, & go slowly is good advice.

The Anti-Buddhist Monastery

2009-04-24T07:25:00.001-07:00

I have spent time in the opposite of a Buddhist monastery. No self-reflection. Competition. Anger. Lots of Anxiety. It's called law school.

One Word

2009-04-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

In law school while studying for exams, a buddy & I could reduce the entire class to 1 word. Reducing life to 1 word is tough but I'm working on it!

Nuture

2009-04-23T20:23:00.001-07:00

Just a few days of sun & rain made my lawn green. It's a reminder that a little nurturing--of lawns, of people, of life--yields big results

Sleepwalking

2009-04-22T20:14:00.001-07:00

There is no simple task. Making 4 cups of coffee today, I added enough for 7. Everything requires mindfulness. Otherwise life is just sleepwalking.

Hitting Back

2009-04-20T20:47:00.001-07:00

Meditation is important. But meditation is like hitting a punching bag. It doesn't hit back. The true test of practice is life-it hits back.

Mindfulness in Everything

2009-04-18T20:31:00.001-07:00

There is no activity too unimportant for mindfulness. Take your mind off task when shaving and you will certainly nick yourself and bleed.

Whimsy

2009-04-17T13:21:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you just has to pull the pin, roll the grenade under the tent, run like hell, and look back at the fun. Mindfully, of course.

Attachment, Part 2

2009-04-16T21:26:00.001-07:00

@DharmaTweets is not attached to whether U14 soccer players hustle. But @ToddEpp the U14 soccer coach is attached to always playing hard.

Goodbye, Shenpa

2009-04-15T15:17:00.001-07:00

The other day, I was anxious. Much shenpa. But I didn't mask it. I figured shenpa and I would hangout. Then shenpa got bored and left me.

Attachment

2009-04-15T10:57:00.001-07:00

@DharmaTweets is not attached to winning or losing. However, the lawyer @ToddEpp is. Not happy about the result of a criminal trial today.

Stolen Moments

2009-04-14T14:58:00.001-07:00

Our lives should be lived in moments, fully aware. Sometimes though, for better or worse, they have to be in stolen moments.

Desperate Love

2009-04-14T09:38:00.001-07:00

We all desperately want to be loved. But do we desperately love those around us?

Unease

2009-04-12T15:32:00.001-07:00

Don't ignore your shenpa-anxiety, unease, tightness, stickiness. The 1st step to overcoming it is to recognize it & embrace it.

Easter thought

2009-04-12T15:17:00.001-07:00

Judaism ~ Jesus ~ The Christ ~ Christianity ~ Salvation as //s Hinduism ~ Siddhartha ~ The Buddha ~ Buddhism ~ Enlightenment

What others are

2009-04-10T20:23:00.001-07:00

Don't be saddened by what your friends and family are not. Be gladdened by what they are.

Walking the dogs

2009-04-10T14:34:00.001-07:00

RT Just finished walking meditation with the dogs. There was lots of barking.Then my dogs started in. At end, we were all calmer!

Just Be

2009-04-10T08:54:00.001-07:00

Some regret what they became. Others fret what they will become. The key is being who you are in the moment. So just be.

Buddhism is the "key"

2009-04-09T20:25:00.001-07:00

RT @dharmatweets The Eagles say we live our lives in chains but we have the key.Think of Buddhism as a locksmith who helps you pick the lock.

You know the way you are?

2009-04-09T14:15:00.001-07:00

RT You know the way you are? Don't be that way said Lou Grant to Ted Baxter. Or be that way if that is your Buddha nature. Be true to yourself.

Suffering

2009-04-08T20:53:00.001-07:00

RT @DharmaTweets We all suffer. But our suffering is not our own or someone else's. It is all our suffering. It is all the same suffering.

Change

2009-04-08T12:36:00.001-07:00

RT @DharmaTweets We can't change the past or future. We can only change the present. Llive without regrets or anxiety. Do what U can here

Be There!

2009-04-08T10:36:00.005-07:00

RT @DharmaTweets Where ever you go, there you are. So be there

Be There!

2009-04-08T10:36:00.003-07:00

RT @DharmaTweets Where ever you go, there you are. So be there

Be There!

2009-04-08T10:36:00.001-07:00

RT @DharmaTweets Where ever you go, there you are. So be there

Seekers and Sons

2009-04-08T08:13:00.001-07:00

Jesus in Gethsemane, Moses in the Sinai, Mohammad at Mt. Hera, Buddha under the Bodhi tree, all are seekers of truth and sons of God.

Recovered DharmaTweets

2009-04-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

BuddhaHumor: If yoga twists you into a pretzel does buying a pretzel twist you into a yoga position?

Today's Koan: Can one become too attached to getting rid of one's attachments?

Month ago, by accident, for a few minutes, I understood the universe & was @ peace. As great as it was, I cannot be attached to a return.

Today's Koan. Inspired by singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb's "All I Know." When the singer's gone does the song go on?

My dogs Tot & Thunder lie in the morning sun at peace, untroubled about the past, unconcerned about the future. They are canine bodisattvas.

Today's Koan: If Shakespeare wrote in Tweets rather than Sonnets, would a rose still smell as sweet?

I met a scientist who studies lightning & shoots high speed video of strikes. His video shows moments within moments of strkes. That's Zen.

Heard 89 year old WWII fighter pilot talk about dog fights & close calls. Said after all the's been thru, nothing bothers him. That's Zen.

Like most prisoners I meet, my new client was desperate, desperate for hope. But desperation is suffering's cousin and we are all related.

An I-90 Zen Tail. A redtail hawk perches on road sign and silently surveys his sun-filled short grass prairie domain. Just being, perfectly.

If you can't find your way to loving kindness to someone yet, start with liking kindness. If not, then simple civility. Start where you can.

It is easy to get caught up in the anger of others. Remember, anger is just a manifestation of suffering. Try to see the suffering.

Our future shines before us brightly like a star. Try believing that and see what happens.

It sounds counter-intuitive. But try to strive less and live more and let what may come. You might be surprised at your results.

I think the anticipate of the snow storm is worse than the actual snow storm. But then again, you don't have to shovel anticipation but you do have to shovel hardened precipitation.

Sure, it's a funny line from Buckaroo Bonzai: "Where ever you go, there you are." But it's true. You are always there in that exact moment.

Plans, memories, and judgments are the clouds that pass across the clear blue sky of our mindfulness.

Your suffering, my suffering, everyone's suffering are all tears in the same rain. Buddhism can be your umbrella from that suffering.

Nothing is ever done outside of the present moment. We can recall the past and we can plan the future but life only happens right now.

While on a walk, I saw a man with a power washer. Meditation is like a power washer that removes the everyday grime from our minds.

Spring uncovers what we have forgotten or have seen but not seen. Think spring as a time to start your dharma practice.

Gil Fronsdal says it's enough to just be alive. So be alive. And alive in each moment is possibility and wonder.

Just finished walking meditation with the dogs. There was lots of barking.Then my dogs started making noise. By the end, we were all calmer!

The Eagles say we live our lives in chains but we have the key. Think of Buddhism as your kindly neighborhood locksmith to help you unlock.

You know the way you are? Don't be that way said Lou Grant to Ted Baxter. Or be that way if that is your Buddha nature. Be true to yourself.

Our minds are often in a fog. But just beyond the fog is a bright sun & blue sky.Buddhism helps us blow away the fog to find that clarity.

My pets live in mindfulness. Eat, play, sleep. Repeat as needed. And that is without years of practice.

Most of us strive to become. But what we really need for true happiness is to just be.

Memories are our reservoir of past events, lived in that moment, recalled in this moment.

Do not ignore your shenpa--anxiety, unease, tightness, stickiness. The first step to overcoming it is to recognize it and embrace it.

Nothing is ever done outside of the present moment. We can recall the past and we can plan the future but life only happens right now.

Gil Fronsdal asks what are you will to give up so to be just a bit freer? Maybe a bad economy is a blessing if it helps rid us attachments.

The search for enlightenment is not an outer search but an inner search. It's there.You just have to find it, like a lost key you misplaced.

We all suffer. But our suffering is not our own or someone else's. It is all our suffering. It is all the same suffering.

That Twitter would eat the DharmaTweets feed is a painful yet funny reminder of the impermanence of everything--especially Buddhist Tweets.

Important safety tip: do not become attached to free services, expecting them to save your stuff. Twitter ate my DharmaTweets feed.