Then Excellent Life Lessons from Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama is one of the most inspiring people around the world, know by his quotes, books, and speeches. The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, which is the 14th Lama of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in July 1935 and his key social stances and poses that are known are the democracy, nonviolence, religious harmony. He is a lightworker and a great teacher of self-discipline, empathy, unconditional happiness, peace and love, acceptance and forgiveness. The wise Dalai Lama always described himself as a "simple Buddhist monk" regardless of all the wisdom and good works that he has done and all the greatness he achieved to all that he teaches by his simplicity and kindness. Here you can find just a pinch of his wisdom and inspiring quotes that I invite you to read and think about for a moment, let it inspire and enlighten your mind and soul and create happiness in your life. I have added my interpretation and thoughts to each quote and I hope you will enjoy that as well.

1 - My religion is very simple, My religion is kindness. 

Kindness is the base of all spiritual teachings, being kind and passionate needs a strong, happy, and peaceful character and being kind means archiving all those levels and have a valuable self-discipline and self-awareness. many may interpret kindness as giving up, or less powerful and that is not what kindness is, the true kindness is given by a person who has reached their high-level potentials who does not hurt themselves while enjoying on supporting others. who is so powerful and string that can support and be kind to their enemies even without getting hurt or harming anyone while standing their ground and fighting against any attack peacefully. Kindness is the key to connect to each other and the universe within and out, the path to the kindness is the religion that would be better for all of us to choose and take on our life.

2 - Love is absence of judgment.

You may hear from religious or spiritual people that judgment serves no purpose in our life, and the truth is whatever we do and we think has a purpose in our life, it is a strategy to serve a core desire in our subconscious and thoughts. Unfortunately, many of us may have used this strategy to feel that they are gaining power, growing, taking what is theirs and even feeling of teaching others what they think is right, while none of these are real and will be achieved by judgmental strategy and behavior, it could be a temporary feeling and it last as that moment and create craving of getting more, therefore the person became more eager to get good feeling so they do the wrong more, judgment. This causes to get away from kindness and peacefulness which creates Love and compassion, give yourself a chance to create, endorse and expand, feel the power and witness, by changing your strategy from judgmental to giving and loving.

3 - Positive and negative actions are determined by one’s own motivation. If the motivation is good, all actions become positive; if the motivation is wrong, all actions become negative.

It happened to may that they try to do and be positive and it felt hard to, or even sometimes impossible to be positive. Well here is the secret of being and doing things positively, the term positive is to do and be good, which can be understood to not harm others and yourself and do as you desire. All our actions are depended on our intentions and goals when our intention and goal the urge of reaching to a point or position requires negativity or we are thought to use harmful ways to reach then it is hard to be and do positive since all our motives are leaded by our intentions and goals. we either need to change our motives and intentions or learn a new strategy that will have positive actions in it to reach our goals.

4 - Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

Perhaps you have heard that saying, be careful what you wish for, sometimes we don't and cant sees the exact path to get to what we want therefore lots of unwanted things happens without our acknowledgment while deep inside we did wish for it. Well on this particular situation which we want the good for us but not getting it could have more bad and negative affects afterward than what we thought or not. Basically having faith in the universe, god, higher source, the energy that connect us all which is the most wisdom master will ease our life, having faith that things didn't happen because of a reason, and as Steve Jobs said one, we only can connect the dots when looking back, and we should have faith that dots will connect to each other in future. we will release the reason in the future when we look back and connect the dots :)

5 - We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves

Remember everything grows within out not from outside, the seed is the beginning of a tree and the fruit is the result of a healthy tree, same as the tree we are with our physical and emotional body, when we are healthy and peaceful then we can create a peaceful space, room, home, family, friends, and environment. We only can connect and feel the peace when we are in peace. there is no way to get to something with acting opposite of it, that means we cant get to peace by force.

6 - Sleep is the best meditation

When meditating the highest that we can achieve will be closer to when we are going to sleep because then is when we access our subconscious the highest. This doesn't mean that we should not meditate or sleeping is enough meditation, it means we can use the sleeping as the longest meditation and deepest that we can have every night constantly, and how we might do that? remember our subconscious knows the most about ourselves and every data we collected during the day, it is the most active part because it keeps us on track of what we really want and dream of. Before going to sleep clean your mind by clearing your day, check what worked what didn't work during the day, then start appreciating with things that happened or you have this will calm you, give you a joy of living and clear your low vibration and thoughts you may hold and pass to the next day and have a bad sleep. After you cleared your mind, focus on something you want to do, or wish for, create a positive and happy image of what you want in your mind and own it as it is your reality, let it go to our subconscious and sleep. this technique is very powerful that you can try when you have issues to solve and are frustrated, be careful to clear your mind first and you will find next morning you already know what to do or what is the solution to your challenge.

7 - The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

Many people want to be happy and yet not paying attention to their own inner anger and hatred toward people, God, and the world also most of the time toward themselves. Acceptance is the first step to conquer the self-anger and frustration. One a person had that cleared they become their own lives hero.

8 - Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

Ignorance is the biggest challenge and enemy that we have within ourselves, once we realize this and choose to not follow and take the ignorance as the master step and choice everything become more clear and visible, we start taking responsibility and get rid of expectations. That's when we step in the world based on possibilities and peace.

9 - It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view.

In reality, it's almost not possible for an event to be pure negativity, if we just change our perspective and see things from a different point of view then we can see even most of the time there were a benefit for us, although it could be a temporary or a hidden one and there is. Do your best to detach yourself from that event and acknowledge the reality of it, then review all aspects of it, perhaps you can learn and find a shift, and that by itself is positive. Remember every failure is a step to success.

10 - True spirituality is a mental attitude you can practice at any time.

Believe it or not, the attitude is one of the keys to a successful life and business, the productive and peaceful conversation with others and ourselves. Start practicing to be loving and supportive to ourselves, then it will shine out to our outer world. Say that you love yourself, forgive and accept what you are. Be your teacher and hero by practicing on improving your mental attitude.

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The Tradition of Eggs at Easter, Ishtar and Eostre

Eggs occupy a special status during Easter observances. They're symbols of rebirth and renewal—life bursts forth from this otherwise plain, inanimate object that gives no hint as to what it contains. In this regard, it is a handy symbol for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but it is is a symbol that has held this meaning long before Christianity adopted it.

I lots or rummer goes on on the Facebook that states the following message:
 
"Easter was originally the celebration of Ishtar, the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility and sex. Her symbols (like the egg and bunny) were and still are fertility and sex symbols (or did you actually think eggs and bunnies had anything to do with the resurrection?) After Constantine decided to Christianize the Empire, Easter was changed to represent Jesus. But at its roots, Easter (which is how

Ishtar doesn't seem to be connected to eggs in any explicit way. However, there are plenty of other older traditions that involve the egg as a symbol of rebirth and feature it prominently in creation mythologies:


Clearly, we all know that Facebook memes are the ultimate source of information—particularly when they make a biting point about something or some group that is not particularly favorably viewed. But it is well known that under the Roman Empire, Christianity did indeed adopt the pagan rituals of conquered peoples in an effort to help convert them. It worked pretty well as a strategy as it allowed the conquered peoples to continue a semblance of their observances as they remembered, and with time the population would be replaced with those who only knew the new traditions. This is not a secret. However, there are a few things wrong with the Ishtar meme that a simple Google search will turn up:

• Ishtar was the goddess of love and war and sex, as well as protection, fate, childbirth, marriage, and storms—there's some fertility in there, but as with Aphrodite, there is also an element of power. Her cult practiced sacred prostitution, where women waited at a temple and had sex with a stranger in exchange for a divine blessing (and money to feed hungry children or pay a debt).
• Ishtar's symbols were the lion, the morning star, and eight or sixteen pointed stars—again, symbols of power.
• The word Easter does not appear to be derived from Ishtar, but from the German Eostre, the goddess of the dawn—a bringer of light. English and German are in the minority of languages that use a form of the word Easter to mark the holiday. Elsewhere, the observance is framed in Latin Pascha, which in turn is derived from the Hebrew Pesach, meaning of or associated with Passover. Ishtar and Easter appear to be homophones: they may be pronounced similarly, but have different meanings.
• Ancient Egyptians believed in a primeval egg from which the sun god hatched. Alternatively, the sun was sometimes discussed as an egg itself, laid daily by the celestial goose, Seb, the god of the earth. The Phoenix is said to have emerged from this egg. The egg is also discussed in terms of a world egg, molded by Khnum from a lump of clay on his potter's wheel (1).
• Hinduism makes a connection between the content of the egg and the structure of the universe: for example, the shell represents the heavens, the white the air, and the yolk the earth. The Chandogya Upanishads describes the act of creation in terms of the breaking of an egg:
• In the Zoroastrian religion, the creation myth tells of an ongoing struggle between the principles of good and evil. During a lengthy truce of several thousand years, evil hurls himself into an abyss and good lays an egg, which represents the universe with the earth suspended from the vault of the sky at the midway point between where good and evil reside. Evil pierces the egg and returns to earth, and the two forces continue their battle (2).
• In Finland, Luonnotar, the Daughter of Nature floats on the waters of the sea, minding her own business when an eagle arrives, builds a nest on her knee, and lays several eggs. After a few days, the eggs begin to burn and Luonnotar jerks her knee away, causing the eggs to fall and break. The pieces form the world as we know it: the upper halves form the skies, the lower the earth, the yolks become the sun, and the whites become the moon (3).
• In China, there are several legends that hold a cosmic egg at their center, including the idea that the first being or certain people were born of eggs. For example, the Palangs trace their ancestry to a Naga princess who laid three eggs, and the Chin will not kill the king crow because it laid the original Chin egg from which they emerged (3).

These are some of the stories that build the foundation for the tradition of eggs at Easter. Contrary to the assertion of our meme, eggs and bunnies actually do have something to do with the idea of resurrection: in these early stories, the creator often emerged from the egg itself in some form:

The cosmic egg, according to the Vedic writings, has a spirit living within it which will be born, die, and be born yet again. Certain versions of the complicated Hindu mythology describe Prajapati as forming the egg and then appearing out of it himself. Brahma does likewise, and we find parallels in the ancient legends of Thoth and Ra. Egyptian pictures of Osiris, the resurrected corn god, show him returning to life once again rising up from the shell of a broken egg. The ancient legend of the Phoenix is similar. This beautiful mythical bird was said to live for hundreds of years. When its full span of life was completed it died in flames, rising again in a new form from the egg it had laid (4).

The Phoenix was adopted as a Christian symbol in the first century AD. It appears on funeral stones in early Christian art, churches, religious paintings, and stonework. The egg from which it rose has become our Easter egg. As with many symbols, the Easter egg has continued to shift. When the Lenten fast was adopted in the third and fourth centuries, observant Christians abstained from dairy products, including milk, cheese, butter, and eggs. In England, on the Saturday before Lent, it was common practice for children to go from door to door to beg for eggs—a last treat before the fast began.

Even the act of coloring eggs is tied to the idea of rebirth and resurrection. While egg decorating kits offer a vibrant means of decorating eggs today, the link between life and eggs was traditionally made by using a red coloring. Among Christians, red symbolizes the blood of Jesus. Among Macedonians, it has been a tradition to bring a red egg to Church and eat it when the priest proclaims "Christ is risen" at the Easter vigil and the Lenten fast is officially broken (5).


I love the Easter traditions at Church. The lighting of the Easter candle reminds me of my childhood Diwali celebrations and the lighting of Christmas lights as they all represent means of driving away the darkness. Ishtar may well have some connection to the rites of Spring, and admittedly Easter itself is an observance of Spring, but in an age when so much wrong has been done in the name of religion, and religion is a focal point for criticism and debate, it's worth remembering that the overlap of time and history has given us richer traditions than any of us can truly be aware of—and that memes shouldn't be taken at face value.


Cited:
-Newall, Venetia. (1967) "Easter Eggs," The Journal of American Folklore Vol 80 (315): 3-32.
-RE Hume, ed. (1931) The Thirteen Upanishads. London: 214-215
-Krystal D'Costa research and article at Scientific American

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