Tuesday, 20 December 2011
100 Most beautiful words in the English language* | Deshoda
Ailurophile A cat-lover.
Assemblage A gathering.
Becoming Attractive.
Beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.
Brood To think alone.
Bucolic In a lovely rural setting.
Bungalow A small, cozy cottage.
Chatoyant Like a cat’s eye.
Comely Attractive.
Conflate To blend together.
Cynosure A focal point of admiration.
Dalliance A brief love affair.
Demesne Dominion, territory.
Demure Shy and reserved.
Denouement The resolution of a mystery.
Desuetude Disuse.
Desultory Slow, sluggish.
Diaphanous Filmy.
Dissemble Deceive.
Dulcet Sweet, sugary.
Ebullience Bubbling enthusiasm.
Effervescent Bubbly.
Efflorescence Flowering, blooming.
Elision Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.
Elixir A good potion.
Eloquence Beauty and persuasion in speech.
Embrocation Rubbing on a lotion.
Emollient A softener.
Ephemeral Short-lived.
Epiphany A sudden revelation.
Erstwhile At one time, for a time.
Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
Evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.
Evocative Suggestive.
Fetching Pretty.
Felicity Pleasantness.
Forbearance Withholding response to provocation.
Fugacious Fleeting.
Furtive Shifty, sneaky.
Gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.
Glamour Beauty.
Gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk.
Halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.
Harbinger Messenger with news of the future.
Imbrication Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.
Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.
Imbue To infuse, instill.
Incipient Beginning, in an early stage.
Ineffable Unutterable, inexpressible.
Ingénue A naïve young woman.
Inglenook A cozy nook by the hearth.
Insouciance Blithe nonchalance.
Inure To become jaded.
Labyrinthine Twisting and turning.
Lagniappe A special kind of gift.
Lagoon A small gulf or inlet.
Languor Listlessness, inactivity.
Lassitude Weariness, listlessness.
Leisure Free time.
Lilt To move musically or lively.
Lissome Slender and graceful.
Lithe Slender and flexible.
Love Deep affection.
Mellifluous Sweet sounding.
Moiety One of two equal parts.
Mondegreen A slip of the ear.
Murmurous Murmuring.
Nemesis An unconquerable archenemy.
Offing The sea between the horizon and the offshore.
Onomatopoeia A word that sounds like its meaning.
Opulent Lush, luxuriant.
Palimpsest A manuscript written over earlier ones.
Panacea A solution for all problems
Panoply A complete set.
Pastiche An art work combining materials from various sources.
Penumbra A half-shadow.
Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.
Plethora A large quantity.
Propinquity Proximity; Nearness
Pyrrhic Successful with heavy losses.
Quintessential Most essential.
Ratatouille A spicy French stew.
Ravel To knit or unknit.
Redolent Fragrant.
Riparian By the bank of a stream.
Ripple A very small wave.
Scintilla A spark or very small thing.
Sempiternal Eternal.
Seraglio Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.
Serendipity Finding something nice while looking for something else.
Summery Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious Secretive, sneaky.
Susquehanna A river in Pennsylvania.
Susurrous Whispering, hissing.
Talisman A good luck charm.
Tintinnabulation Tinkling.
Umbrella Protection from sun or rain.
Untoward Unseemly, inappropriate.
Vestigial In trace amounts.
Wafture Waving.
Wherewithal The means.
Woebegone Sorrowful, downcast.
Source: So Much To Tell You
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Remember always | Great Middle Way
Remember always
Posted on December 20, 2011

Remember always that you are just a visitor, a traveler passing through.
Your stay here is but short and the moment of your departure unknown.
None can live without toil, and a craft that provides your needs is a blessing indeed.
But if you toil without rest, fatigue and weariness will overtake you
and you will be denied the joy that comes from labor’s end.
Speak quietly and kindly and be not forward with either opinions or advice.
If you talk much this will make you deaf to what others say,
and you should know that there are few so wise that they cannot learn more.
Be near when help is needed, but far when praise and thanks are offered.
Take small account of might, wealth, and fame for they soon pass and are forgotten.
Instead, nurture love within you and strive to be a friend to all.
Truly, compassion is a balm for many wounds.
Treasure silence when you find it
and, mindful of your duties, set time aside to be alone with yourself.
Cast off pretence and self-deception and see yourself as you really are.
Despite all appearances, no one is really evil.
They are led astray by ignorance.
If you ponder this truth often you will offer light rather that blame and condemnation.
You, no less than all beings, have Buddha Nature within.
Your essential mind is pure.
Therefore, when defilements cause you to stumble and fall,
let not remorse nor dark foreboding cast you down.
Be of good cheer and with this understanding summon strength and carry on.
Faith is like a lamp and wisdom makes the light burn bright.
Carry this lamp always and in time
darkness will yield and you will abide in light.
—Bhante Shravasti Dhammika
Posted on December 20, 2011
Remember always that you are just a visitor, a traveler passing through.
Your stay here is but short and the moment of your departure unknown.
None can live without toil, and a craft that provides your needs is a blessing indeed.
But if you toil without rest, fatigue and weariness will overtake you
and you will be denied the joy that comes from labor’s end.
Speak quietly and kindly and be not forward with either opinions or advice.
If you talk much this will make you deaf to what others say,
and you should know that there are few so wise that they cannot learn more.
Be near when help is needed, but far when praise and thanks are offered.
Take small account of might, wealth, and fame for they soon pass and are forgotten.
Instead, nurture love within you and strive to be a friend to all.
Truly, compassion is a balm for many wounds.
Treasure silence when you find it
and, mindful of your duties, set time aside to be alone with yourself.
Cast off pretence and self-deception and see yourself as you really are.
Despite all appearances, no one is really evil.
They are led astray by ignorance.
If you ponder this truth often you will offer light rather that blame and condemnation.
You, no less than all beings, have Buddha Nature within.
Your essential mind is pure.
Therefore, when defilements cause you to stumble and fall,
let not remorse nor dark foreboding cast you down.
Be of good cheer and with this understanding summon strength and carry on.
Faith is like a lamp and wisdom makes the light burn bright.
Carry this lamp always and in time
darkness will yield and you will abide in light.
—Bhante Shravasti Dhammika
Monday, 19 December 2011
Meditation
Meditation is never one thing
| | Meditation is never one thing; you’ll experience moments of peace, moments of sadness, moments of joy, moments of anger, moments of sleepiness. The terrain changes constantly, but we tend to solidify it around the negative: “This painful experience is going to last the rest of my life.” The tendency to fixate on the negative is something we can approach mindfully; we can notice it, name it, observe it, test it, and dispel it, using the skills we learn in practice. | |
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Most of the furniture has arrived at the cottage.
16th Contemplation: General Concepts of Karma | Great Middle Way
16th Contemplation: General Concepts of Karma | Great Middle Way:
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
16th Contemplation: General Concepts of Karma
Suffering comes only from negative or harmful actions.
Since virtuous and harmful actions ripen inevitably in this way,
I should adopt some actions and abandon others.
Whether my actions are virtuous or negative,
at the time of the causal act,
what I do may be minor.
But at the time of ripening of the act,
the result may increase in magnitude.
The smallest increases are a hundred or a thousand-fold.
The largest increases are immeasurable.
Therefore, giving up negative acts and adopting positive ones is essential.
If I do not take steps to repair harmful actions committed,
the imprints of those acts will not diminish in the least
until the action ripens fully as an effect.
If I have not done something,
it is impossible for the corresponding karma to arise in y continuum.
Therefore, it is vital to be careful
about what I do and what I avoid.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Monday, 5 December 2011
International Meditation Centre (IMC) - Sunshine N.S.W. Australia . 10 day retreat Nov. 25th to Dec 5th 2011
Some pictures taken on my mobile phone at the 10 day retreat that I have just returned from today.
No phone on for the 10 days but took a few shots of this beautiful place.
Exhausting but refreshing days of intense training in Buddhist meditation.
This Retreat was organised by the :-
SAYAGYI U BA KHIN MEMORIAL TRUST
International Meditation Centre
54 Cessnock Road, Sunshine NSW Australia, NSW 2264
phone: 0249 705 433 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0249 705 433 end_of_the_skype_highlighting fax: 0249 705 749 www.imcnsw.com

The pagoda
From the door of my bedroom in the women's quarters
I had the luxury of my own en suite
My comfortable bed area.
Around the pagoda at night....looking across to the meditation hall.
The meditation hall.
The pagoda lit up at night.
The guilt roof of the pagoda.
The pagoda on a stormy day.
Meditation hall by day.
View from the Bodhi tree
From the Bodhi tree
The surrounding bush.
MeditationA ten-day course in Vipassana meditation is the practice of the Eightfold Noble Path, as taught by the Buddha.
The Path can be divided into three parts, namely: higher training in morality, higher training in concentration and higher training in wisdom.

Morality: Morality is the common denominator of all religions. At the Centre, students observe the five precepts of refraining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and the use of drugs or intoxicants.
By diligently observing this morality, one develops purity of physical and verbal actions.
Concentration: Beginning with the base of morality, training in concentration is taught using Anapana meditation (mindfulness of breathing).
Concentration: Beginning with the base of morality, training in concentration is taught using Anapana meditation (mindfulness of breathing).
Through learning to calm and control the mind during the first five days, the student quickly appreciates the advantages of a steady and balanced mind.
Wisdom: The third training is wisdom (or insight).
Wisdom: The third training is wisdom (or insight).
This is introduced through Vipassana meditation, which is practised throughout the remainder of the period.
Timetable
| 4:00 am | Wake up |
| 4:30 | Meditation in hall |
| 5:30 | Morning discourse |
| 6:30 - 8:00 | Breakfast and rest |
| 8:00 - 9:00 | Group meditation in hall (for all) |
| 9:30 | Individual instruction (for all) |
| 11:00 - 1:00 pm | Lunch and rest |
| 1:00 - 1:45 | Meditation |
| 2:00 - 3:00 | Group meditation in hall (for all) |
| 3:30 - 5:00 | Meditation, and interviews for new students |
| 5:00 - 6:00 | Tea and rest |
| 6:00 | Evening discourse |
| 7:30 - 8:30 | Group meditation in hall (for all) |
| 9:00 | Retire |
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