The Enlightenment was the prelude to modern times, and boldly challenged religious establishments. Beginning in the 17th century, the Enlightenment philosophers abandoned piety and proclaimed the supremacy of Reason.
Descartes and Spinoza, Hobbes and Leibniz changed the rules of intellectual discourse. The dialogue was now secular. Appeals to the Bible and to Church doctrine gave way to Truth, which stood on the pillars of intuition and evidence.
Staying Sane in a Crazy World
Sherwin Wine
Nirvana is the calming and the extinction of the afflictions and obstacles of the knowable. Nirvana is sometimes called the truth of extinction and cessation. Extinction is the absence or calming of suffering — it is peace and freedom.
Enjoying the Ultimate
Thich Nhat Hanh
Ourself
Our practice is our own selves. It’s not some thing, some formula that you can learn from a book and do it. It’s not a form of calisthenics.
Awareness & Repetition
Practice is the act of placing our awareness on what is occurring in this moment the best we can. It is the attention to this moment. It is the act of being as honest as we can in noticing what is really going on with us in the moment, noticing that we may not like what’s going on, and noticing our thoughts and impulses about what we would prefer to be going on.
Practice is experiencing what all of this is in our body, our being, and resting in that. Practice is doing this over and over, many many times, until it just wears out.
This Moment
We are the joy, love, and compassion of this moment, regardless of what it may look like on the outside.
Ordinary Wonder
Charlotte Joko Beck
Steps to Restore Communication
Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communication
Sister Chan Khong & Thich Nhat Hanh
Enlightenment isn’t something we march toward, and one day, somehow, we grab it. Enlightenment is the ending in yourself of that hope for something other than life being as it is.
Charlotte Joko Beck
Ordinary Wonder
Charlotte Joko Beck
Who Knows Anyhow? 