Tom Sepp

This week we're offering Quiet Lunchtimes at Atisha Buddhist Centre. Just sit quietly, contemplate, or meditate. Here's our World Peace Garden in winter. atisha.ca #meditation

We can solve our most difficult problems through, of all things, developing loving kindness.

Nagarjuna, 1st Century CE, notes more astounding benefits of developing affectionate love and wishing love: We will be mentally happy and physically healthy. How can we have missed this: our mental thoughts affect our mental and physical health! What a different approach to wellness! Could it be this simple?

We readily understand training the body. Meditation, on the other hand, is training the mind. Training in what? Well, training in positive minds such as compassion. Huge benefits result. #meditation

Close to 2000 years ago, Nagarjuna described many benefits to developing love and compassion. One benefit was that we will receive great loving kindness from humans and non-humans. Isn't that what we really want? (from the New Eight Steps to Happiness by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.)

@sarimkhan2692 Thank you for your kind words!

We don't like thinking about death and impermanence. It's a taboo for us, perhaps frightening and unpleasant. If you actually try it, however, thinking "I may die today," you'll find that it gives you energy to focus on what is truly meaningful. kadampa.org/podcast/precio…

Why don't we include states of mind on our bucket lists? An increased capacity for compassion would lead to greater happiness than any trip.

The complete quote from Shantideva is even more provocative: "All the happiness there is in this world. Arises from wishing others to be happy. And all the suffering there is in this world Arises from wishing ourself to be happy." (Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life.)

Why are the writings of 8th Century Buddhist monks still relevant today? Consider Shantideva: "All the happiness in the world comes from the mind wishing others to be happy..." How profound and different from our current view.

Developing concentration with meditation calms the mind. You can start to explore meditation with this free and ad-free app: kadampa.org/app

Meditation promotes positive states of mind, such as compassion, and reduces negative states of mind, such as anger. This is definitely a spiritual path.

There are several measures you can take to protect yourself from #COVID19. One of the most important ones is regular & safe hand hygiene. Here are the steps recommended by @WHO 👇 Show the 🌍 where and how you wash your hands. Join the WHO #SafeHands challenge!

@SofiOksanen on why public spaces and public transport are essential to democracy nouveau-magazine-litteraire.com/idees/tectoniq…

@bernadettejiwa You're welcome. "Ask questions" was the best sales advice I've been given. Your two are now my favourites!

@audreywatters on Gordon Pask's Adaptive Teaching Machines hackeducation.com/2015/03/28/pas…

@tomiahonen Looking forward to the extended blog/ebook. Another bestseller for sure!

@tomiahonen quite right. I've tried of mumbling and still got nice things to eat. It's the attitude and style you really want

@tomiahonen Lots of talking of course, fun driving, but it always works out in the end. If it works out for you I might want to try too!

@tomiahonen sounds like a good idea - you'll speak a beautiful language, eat well and enjoy life. What more does anyone want?