Showing posts with label karuna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label karuna. Show all posts

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Money and the Kindness of Strangers

Wisdom Quarterly

It was raining money at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium! Club-level server Heather Allison was taking orders in the stands at a Chargers football game when she tripped and showered unsuspecting fans a level below with about $1,000 in cash. You can guess what happened.

  • A man threw his baby over the railing telling him to grab as much cash as he could before hitting the bleachers?
  • Fans began to fight each other resulting in two deaths in a mad scramble during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression?
  • Gunshots were fired by security personnel in an attempt to clear the crowd who looked up to see money raining down before the shots did injuring many in the confusion and stampede?
  • No, it was even more amazing. The fans surprised everyone.

chargersfans Sports hooligans, susceptible to groupthink, give all fans a bad name (AP)

“All my customers began screaming over the railing to the people below: ‘That’s the servers’ money,’” explains Allison, who has sold refreshments in Sections 36 and 37 for five years.

Fans helped collect the stray bills as did the crowd below. Within minutes, a security officer returned with a stack of cash for the grateful waitress. “It was all there,” says the mother of four and full-time student who, after paying the concession, still pocketed $170 in tips. “Chargers fans are amazing,” she says. “We’re like a family.”

Jealous woman sets boyfriend on fire
This is the horrific moment a couple became human fireballs as they were engulfed in flames in a New York street. The first victim, 32, is pictured with his clothes burning as he desperately tried to put out the fire. He died four days later in hospital from 50 percent burns. On the floor, his 50-year-old lover, mass murderer Agnes Bermudez lies screaming in pain as flames roar along her body, as she was accidentally ignited in the attack. The terrifying images were captured on CCTV. But the blaze caught hold of their apartment block in Queens and three people died in the fire. Horribly disfigured in the attack, Burmudez was charged with four counts of murder -- because that's how things are done in America. More

Thursday, July 14, 2011

United Nations celebrates Buddha (NY)

Wisdom Quarterly
Monastics gather on stage (phathoc.net)

Wisdom Quarterly's spiritual adviser, Ven. Karunananda, Ph.D. Abbot of Long Beach's California Bodhi Vihara, addressed the UN General Assembly in May. Mr. Palitha Kohona was presiding, and hundreds of Buddhist monks and nuns were in attendance. They participated in a traditional procession (perahera) on the streets of New York outside the UN marking the 2,600th anniversary of the Buddha's enlightenment (Buddha Jayanti).

Ven. Karunananda, Ph.D., abbot of Bodhi Mission (Bangladeshi Theravada), Long Beach, CA


Covered extensively on Sri Lankan TV, the May 23, 2011 commemoration began with an alms walk with nearly 200 monks and nuns of many nationalities dressed in saffron robes walking several blocks in New York City into Dag Hammerskjold Park. There devout Buddhists dressed in white offered alms food to the monastics. Almsround (pindapata) is a tradition encouraged by the Buddha and Buddhists for 26 centuries.

Nuns devoted to peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh



The anniversary of the Buddha's enlightenment was commemorated in the US at the United Nations General Assembly for the first time ever on May 16, 2011. The event was organized by the diplomatic missions of Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Amma Sri Karunamayi 2011 Tour


Santa Clara, CAFridayJuly 1 TANA Conference

(408) 252-1607

SaturdayJuly 21:30 pm - 2 pmTANA Conference - Spiritual Discourse
SundayJuly 38:30 am - 11am

TANA Conference - Lalita Sahasranama Puja

~ Register here to perform the puja


Ojai/Ventura, CATuesdayJuly 57 pmSpiritual Discourse/Darshan
(805) 633-0108WednesdayJuly 610am - 1:30pmIndividual Blessings/Saraswati Diksha*
Ventura@Karunamayi.org

Los Angeles, CAThursdayJuly 77 pmSpiritual Discourse/Darshan
(213) 457-4364 FridayJuly 810am - 1:30pmIndividual Blessings/Saraswati Diksha*
LosAngeles@Karunamayi.org
SaturdayJuly 98 am - 6 pmOne Day Meditation Retreat
SundayJuly 109 am - 1 pmHoma - Sacred Fire Ceremony

San Francisco - Guru Purnima Retreat and CelebrationFridayJuly 158am - 4:30pmGuru Purnima Retreat
(408) 252-1607
(510) 565-4486
(510) 209-8697
FridayJuly 156 pmGuru Purnima Celebration
GuruPurnima@Karunamayi.org

SaturdayJuly 166 am - 6 pm
Guru Purnima Retreat

Sunday

July 17

6 am - 10 am

10 am - 1 pm

Guru Purnima Retreat

Guru Purnima Retreat Homa


Seattle, WA

ThursdayJuly 217:00 pmSpiritual Discourse/Darshan
(425) 337-2940FridayJuly 2210am - 1:30pmIndividual Blessings/Saraswati Diksha*
Seattle@Karunamayi.org
SaturdayJuly 238 am - 6 pmOne Day Meditation Retreat
SundayJuly 249 am - 1 pmHoma - Sacred Fire Ceremony

* Due to the large number of people attending these programs, individuals arriving after 1:30 pm are not guaranteed an Individual Blessing with Amma. During these programs, Sri Karunamayi will be offering Sri Saraswati Mantra Diksha (initiation) to students ages 4 to 24. For more information, please click here.

Tour schedule is subject to change.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Self-compassion: most important life skill?

Saner Living Guru (Chris Wucherer, AnnArbor.com/LiveScience.com)

One of the more frequent themes for my clients is the ability to be harsh on themselves. I've got a touch of it myself, in certain areas, as do all human beings. The feeling of not being good enough, smart enough, thin enough, rich enough, and so on, is as common as ants at a picnic, ready to devour the feast set out.

Not holding oneself in high esteem is like a virus spreading its tendrils throughout one's spirit and soul. Sometimes you may be cruising through life, feeling good, when the yucky low self-esteem virus knocks on the door of good feelings.

For some people, low self-esteem is like an unwanted relative who has decided to make camp in their home, uninvited and unwanted for an unspecified period of time. It covers them like an old worn overcoat laying thick and heavy on their spirits.

Recently, I came across this article on self-compassion in LiveScience, which notes that, "psychologists are finding that self-compassion may be the most important life skill, imparting resilience, courage, energy, and creativity." More