The 20 thoughts of Gandhi who is the hero of Indian freedom struggle.  Icon of the Non-violence (Ahimsa).  I have given these thoughts to utilize in your life to achieve whatever goals you already planned.

Mahatma Gandhi

1. Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

2. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

3. I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.

4. The future depends on what we do in the present. El futuro depende de lo que hagamos en el presente .

5. First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.

6. A 'no' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.

7.You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.

8. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever

9. An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.

10. You should be the change that you want to see in the world.

11. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.

12. The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others

13. I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.

14. Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

15.The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by the way in which its animals are treated.

16. Nobody can hurt me without my permission.

17. You can't shake hands with a clenched fist.

18. The more efficient a force is, the more silent and the more subtle it is.

19. The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.

20. Sacrifice that causes pain is no sacrifice at all. True sacrifice is joy - giving and upliftin

Sources:  Gandhi Philosophy.

WHAT IS KARMA?

 Karma is the law of moral causation. The theory of Karma is a fundamental doctrine in Buddhism. This belief was prevalent in India before the advent of the Buddha. Nevertheless, it was the Buddha who explained and formulated this doctrine in the complete form in which we have it today.

What is the cause of the inequality that exists among mankind?
Why should one person be brought up in the lap of luxury, endowed with fine mental, moral and physical qualities, and another in absolute poverty, steeped in misery?
Why should one person be a mental prodigy, and another an idiot?
Why should one person be born with saintly characteristics and another with criminal tendencies?
Why should some be linguistic, artistic, mathematically inclined, or musical from the very cradle?
Why should others be congenitally blind, deaf, or deformed?|
Why should some be blessed, and others cursed from their births?

Either this inequality of mankind has a cause, or it is purely accidental. No sensible person would think of attributing this unevenness, this inequality, and this diversity to blind chance or pure accident.

In this world nothing happens to a person that he does not for some reason or other deserve. Usually, men of ordinary intellect cannot comprehend the actual reason or reasons. The definite invisible cause or causes of the visible effect is not necessarily confined to the present life, they may be traced to a proximate or remote past birth.

According to Buddhism, this inequality is due not only to heredity, environment, "nature and nurture", but also to Karma. In other words, it is the result of our own past actions and our own present doings. We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery. We create our own Heaven. We create our own Hell. We are the architects of our own fate.

Resource: K Sri Dhammananda

LET US STAND & SUPPORT THE DHAMMA PRACTICE

          The Hindu (Vedic, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism) order of philosophy covers all aspects of life – religious, social, political and economic.  The dynamic interplay of Trivarga and moksha i.e. the doctrine of Trivarga comprising of “Dharma, Artha and Kama are the sum and substance of the Indian Philosophy of life, intended to strike a reasonable balance between the interests of the individuals and that of the society which means the interest of all other individuals who constitutes the society or Nation and includes all humanity.  It declares the Supremacy of Dharma (Law of being) – over Artha (wealth) desire for securing material pleasure and Kama, (every type of desire including the desire for securing wealth and every type of pleasure).  It is the invaluable and everlasting solution for all the problems of all human beings for all time to come, irrespective of their belonging or not belonging to any religion.

THE BUDDHA

          The propounders of dhamma did appreciate that the fulfillment of desire of human beings was essential but were of the opinion that unless the desires were regulated by law, they would bring about undesirable results.  Therefore, all the propounders of Dharma were unanimous that for the existence of an orderly society and peace and happiness of all, the desires (Kama) for material enjoyment, and pleasures (Artha) should always confirm to Dharma (code of right conduct) and be never inconsistent with it.

MAY ALL BEINGS HAPPY

BUDDHIST CONCEPT OF NATURE

Nagarjuna said that for a system where emptiness is possible, it is also possible to have functionality, and since functionality is possible, emptiness is also possible. So when we talk about nature, the ultimate nature is emptiness. What is meant by emptiness, or shunyata? It is not the emptiness of existence but rather the emptiness of true or independent existence, which means that things exist by dependence upon other factors.

  Acharaya Nagarjuna

         So whether it is the environment that is inhabited, or the inhabitants, both of them are composed of four or five basic elements. These elements are earth, wind, fire, water and vacuum, that is space. About space, in the Kalachakra tantra there is a mention of what is known as the atom of space, particles of space. So that forms the central force of the entire phenomenon. When the entire system of the universe first evolved, it evolved from this central force which is the particle of space, and also a system of universe and would dissolve eventually into this particle of the space. So it is on the basis of these five basic elements that there is a very close inter-relatedness or interrelation between the habitat that is the natural environment and inhabitants, the sentient beings living within it.
 

-Da Lai Lama

ATTACHMENT

       There is a wonderful little story about two monks who lived together in a monastery for many years; they were great friends. Then they died within a few months of one another. One of them got reborn in the heaven realms, the other monk got reborn as a worm in a dung pile. The one up in the heaven realms was having a wonderful time, enjoying all the heavenly pleasures. But he started thinking about his friend, "I wonder where my old mate has gone?" So he scanned all of the heaven realms, but could not find a trace of his friend. Then he scanned the realm of human beings, but he could not see any trace of his friend there, so he looked in the realm of animals and then of insects. Finally he found him, reborn as a worm in a dung pile... Wow! He thought: "I am going to help my friend. I am going to go down there to that dung pile and take him up to the heavenly realm so he too can enjoy the heavenly pleasures and bliss of living in these wonderful realms."

The Buddha

          So he went down to the dung pile and called his mate. And the little worm wriggled out and said: "Who are you?", "I am your friend. We used to be monks together in a past life, and I have come up to take you to the heaven realms where life is wonderful and blissful." But the worm said: "Go away, get lost!" "But I am your friend, and I live in the heaven realms," and he described the heaven realms to him. But the worm said: "No thank you, I am quite happy here in my dung pile. Please go away." Then the heavenly being thought: "Well if I could only just grab hold of him and take him up to the heaven realms, he could see for himself." So he grabbed hold of the worm and started tugging at him; and the harder he tugged, the harder that worm clung to his pile of dung. Do you get the moral of the story? How many of us are attached to our pile of dung?

Sources: Buddhist Parables

Anapāna Sati

The Buddha taught Meditation to the human beings to come out from suffering i.e. to attain Nibbāna.  At first, he practiced ancient Indian meditation, then after he re-discovered the ‘vipassanā’ meditation technique by himself.

After his enlightenment he preached ĀnāPāna sati to attain higher concentration level, which is useful to practice ‘vipassanā’ bhāvana to purify the mind.  This technique is a boon to spiritual seekers. The Buddha said that for the purification of binges, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and grief, for reaching to noble path, for realization of Nibbāna the technique of ĀnāPāna sati is quite useful.  Through this method one can also attain highest level of concentration (4^th Rupavacara Jhāna). 

            Mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānassati) is a very important practice. It is a practice that was constantly used by noble men such as the Buddhas, the Paccekabuddhas, and the disciples of the Buddhas. All the Buddhas and the Arahats practiced ānāpānassati to reach enlightenment. Once enlightened, the Buddhas and the Arahats continued to practice this to gain jhāna bliss.

            This practice is suitable to many meditators for the quick development of concentration. If ānāpānassati is developed and cultivated repeatedly, it fulfills the Four Foundation of Mindfulness (satipaṭṭhana), which in turn will lead to the fulfillment of the Seven Enlightenment Factors (bojjhaṅga), which will ultimately lead to the fulfillment of true knowledge (vijjā) and deliverance (vimutti) (M.III.118).

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My Republic day greetings to all Indians....

DEVOTION IN THERAVADA BUDDHIM

        The Pāli word vandanā means literally “bowing down”.  It is a word used in Theravada Buddhism to signify the heart’s response to the highest objects of veneration; hence it may be rendered as “devotion” or “homage”.  The idea of vandanā covers both aspects of the devotional responses – on one side the feelings of faith, reverence, and love, on the other the act of homage, bodily and verbal, which express them.  In the ideal practice of vandanā these two aspects fuse together into a unity, the feeling spilling forth into the act and the act of giving concrete form to the feeling.

          The devotional element is often omitted from accounts of Theravada Buddhism, which usually depict this ancient Buddhist school as dry intellectual system without much room for religious emotion.  Seen firsthand, however, the Theravāda tradition reveals at its core a vibrant current of devotional feeling which permeates the Theravāda lives of it followers.  Its tone may be quiet and restrained but it is unmistakably present.  The devotional strain has firm roots in the Theravāda doctrinal perspective.  Theravada teaching does not encourage emotional oppressive, as this often leads astray, but it does proclaim an electric message of deliverance capable of sparking off the higher emotions.

          The teachings of the Buddha (Theravāda scriptures) speaks directly about the most vital issues of human concern.

NOTE: Collected from Buddhist literature.