His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a wonderful talk at the University of Hawaii on April 14, 2012, “Educating the Heart.”
The essence of my teaching is to make the present moment into your friend, not your enemy. To always ask yourself, “what is my relationship with the present moment?” At this moment, of course. “What is my inner relationship with the present moment? Am I friendly towards the present moment, or am I hostile towards the present moment? Is the present moment my enemy?” And then, that would be enough to bring about a change. Because when you realize that you are making the present moment into your enemy, and you also know that that’s all you ever have in life, then you realize it is a mad way to live. To treat this moment as if it were an obstacle to where you want to get to. And you never get there because it’s always now. Then your relationship towards the present moment changes. It changes and your relationship becomes one of “yes” rather than “no” to what is. It does not mean that you become passive or that you will never do anything again. It simply means that the foundation for any action you take it the state of “yes” to what is. And if there’s the inner state of “yes” to what is, that is the state of inner peace. And inner peace is much more powerful as a foundation for right action than the state of resistance and negativity. So, that is the essence. Find that state of inner alignment with the present moment, which comes with a “yes,” and then see what happens. See how your world changes as you no longer resist the is-ness of this moment.
“
| — | Eckhart Tolle, when asked “What is the essence of your teaching?” |
You can’t be connected with God until you’re at peace with who you are. If you’re still upset that God gave you this body or this life or this family or these circumstances, you will never be able to connect with God in a healthy, thriving, sustainable sort of way. You’ll be at odds with your maker. And if you can’t come to terms with who you are and the life you’ve been given, you’ll never be able to accept others and how they were made and the lives they’ve been given. And until you’re at peace with God and those around you, you will continue to struggle with your role on the planet, your part to play in the ongoing creation of the universe. You will continue to struggle and resist and fail to connect.
“
| — | Rob Bell |
A Talk for World Peace. “His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s public talk given at the West Lawn of the US Capitol in Washington DC, USA, on July 9, 2011.”
Peter Gabriel (featuring Kate Bush) - “Games without Frontiers” (1980)
lyrics:
Jeux sans frontières
Hans plays with Lotte, Lotte plays with Jane
Jane plays with Willi, Willi is happy again
Suki plays with Leo, Sacha plays with Britt
Adolf builds a bonfire, Enrico plays with it
Whistling tunes, we hide in the dunes by the seaside
Whistling tunes, we’re kissing baboons in the jungle
It’s a knockout
If looks could kill, they probably will
In games without frontiers
War without tears
Jeux sans frontières
Andre has a red flag, Chiang Ching’s is blue
They all have hills to fly them on except for Lin Tai Yu
Dressing up in costumes, playing silly games
Hiding out in treetops, shouting out rude names
Whistling tunes, we hide in the dunes by the seaside
Whistling tunes, we piss on the goons in the jungle
It’s a knockout
If looks could kill, they probably will
In games without frontiers
War without tears
Jeux sans frontières
Michael Jackson says “We’ve Had Enough”
lyrics:
Love was taken from a young life
And no one told her why
Her direction has a dim light
From one more violent crime
She innocently questioned why
Why her father had to die
She asked the men in blue
How is it that you get to choose
Who will live and who will die
Did God say that you could decide?
You saw he didn’t run
And that my daddy had no gun
In the middle of a village
Way in a distant land
Lies a poor boy with his broken toy
Too young to understand
He’s awaken, ground is shakin’
His father grabs his hand
Screaming, crying, his wife’s dying
Now he’s left to explain
He innocently questioned why
Why his mother had to die
What did these soldiers come here for?
If they’re for peace, why is there war?
Did God say that they could decide
Who will live and who will die?
All my mama ever did
Was try to take care of her kids
We’re innocently standing by
Watching people lose their lives
It seems as if we have no voice
It’s time for us to make a choice
Only God could decide
Who will live and who will die
There’s nothing that can’t be done
If we raise our voice as one
They got to hear it from me
They got to hear it from you
They got to hear it from us
We can’t take it
We’ve already had enough
They got to hear it from me
They got to hear it from you
They got to hear it from us
We can’t take it
We’ve already had enough
They got to hear it from me
They got to hear it from you
They got to hear it from you, baby
We can’t take it
We’ve already had enough
Deep in my soul baby
Deep in your soul and let God decide
Deep in my soul
It’s up to me and I’m still alive
They got to hear it from us
We can’t take it
We’ve already had enough
It’s going down, baby
Just let God decide
It’s going on baby
Just let God decide
Deep in my soul baby
We’ve already had enough
They got to hear it from me
They got to hear it from you
They got to hear it from us
We can’t, we can’t
We’ve already had enough
