My Thoughts on "Awakening the Buddhist Heart"

In this book Lama Surya Das explores the power of mindfulness in achieving bodhicitta (enlightenment). This approach differs slightly from that of Osho and the Dalai Lama in that their focus was on achieving mindlessness or emptiness. Das eludes to this as the primary goal but focuses on mindfulness or awareness of present as the path to emptiness. He explores different meditations to assist in achieving mindfulness and discusses the positive attributes attained through self awareness. The most meaningful to me was the Tronglen practice of giving and receiving. Through meditation it encourages visualization that you are absorbing negative energy and releasing light and positive energy. The thought behind this is to bring consciousness to the qualities in both negative and positive energy that bring wisdom. It is practiced to train the mind to accept the good and bad as equal, for both assist in our spiritual journey. In practicing this technique it is believed that compassion and empathy is developed for all of mankind's suffering and our ego is diminished through lack of judgement in distinguishing good from bad.

Das also discusses the "37 Practices of a Bodhisattva" (an enlightened one), he gained from Thogme` Zangpo a Tibetan bodhisattva. These meditations bring awareness to our mind and how it relates to our relationships, our reactions, our environment and ourselves. The 37th practice stresses the interconnectedness of everything, man and all of nature. It reminds us that our practices are not only to benefit ourselves but to ultimately positively impact everything around us.

One quote I found especially inspiring:

"When we are mindful, touching deeply the present moment, we can see and listen deeply, and the fruits are always understanding, acceptance, love and the desire to relieve suffering and bring joy. . . . To me, mindfulness is very much like the Holy Spirit. Both are agents of healing. When you have mindfulness, you have love and understanding, you see more deeply, and you can heal the wounds in your own mind. The Buddha was called the King of Healers. In the Bible, when someone touches Christ, he or she is healed. It is not just touching a cloth that brings about a miracle. When you touch deep understanding and love, you are healed."
- Thich Nhat Hanh from his book "Living Buddha, Loving Christ"

My Thoughts on "A Simple Path"

First of all I must say that I love the Dalai Lama, there is something so refreshing about his smile. I have not yet had the pleasure to be in his presence, but from his television appearances and books he is a radiant life force. I must admit that this book presented with great complexity as I am not at all familiar with Dharma Buddhism. But with dictionary in hand, or rather - on computer, I tackled the "Four Truths." I appreciate the Dalai Lama's spiritual parallels with Osho's writings, truthfully I was just happy to see something familiar. Overall the four truths explain the presence of suffering in human existence and how we are to transcend through cessation and continue on life's path.

The first truth, the "truth of suffering", attempts to explain the cause of suffering as our ignorance to enlightenment. The second truth, the "origin of suffering" debates the effects of karma and dependency origination. I found this truth to be the most interesting. Basically, we are all interconnected. There is no beginning or end, everything just "is", which is further explained by the "cause and effect" syndrome. Through meditation we come closest to the original creative force, emptiness. The third truth is the "truth of cessation". This truth discusses how we are to reach nirvana, obtaining liberation through emptiness or as Osho would say "no-thingness". And finally the last truth is the "truth of the path". This truth encourages us to understand that our quest for enlightenment must come through compassion. We should strive to reach higher not just for ourselves, but so we can benefit all mankind. There is a responsibility associated with enlightenment that must be satisfied to experience nirvana or samadhi.

My Thoughts on "The Five Love Languages"

An awesome and easy read. Gary Chapman truly breaks down in detail the characteristics of what he calls the 5 Love Languages. He has determined that everyone has a primary love language, the way they receive love. He offers exercises and real life examples to help you determine the love language of you and your mate. The pieces really seemed to fit together, often times people feel they lose the initial passion and connection as the relationship progresses. Chapman believes this is because we are not communicating in each others language. Personally I was very surprised, what I initially determined my love language to be was incorrect. After further thought and meditation I identified the moments in my life where I felt the most loved, and they were completely different from my initial guess.

I encourage you to read this book and take the time to explore your language and the language of those you love. If your intent is to give love, then why not do so effectively?

The 5 Love Languages:
Words of Affirmation
Quality Time
Receiving Gifts
Acts of Service
Physical Touch