{"id":1645,"date":"2023-02-02T11:34:32","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T16:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redchairblogs.wpengine.com\/holymoly\/?p=1645"},"modified":"2023-02-02T11:34:32","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T16:34:32","slug":"spirit-of-the-rabbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/2023\/02\/02\/spirit-of-the-rabbit\/","title":{"rendered":"Spirit of the Rabbit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, the Buddhist Community of University of Lynchburg celebrated Lunar New Year by giving away lucky coins, candy, bookmarks, and friendship bracelets in Drysdale. It was a wonderful time. We have moved into the Year of the Rabbit, and according to the Chinese zodiac, the rabbit is a symbol of calmness and contemplation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On campus, we find ourselves in the second week of classes, and already, some people\u2019s planners are filled with meetings, assignment due dates, and appointment reminders. Certainly, it can be overwhelming. Yet in the face of this intensity, I am reminded of Lao Tzu\u2019s advice: \u201cNature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.\u201d Perhaps, if we break our projects and obligations into smaller, more manageable pieces, we can avoid the anxiety associated with rushing. We can complete our tasks in a more efficient and less stressful manner by taking our time to produce engaging papers, presentations, pieces of art, performances, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout all of the work, however, we can find ourselves overloaded. This world is a busy realm; it is easy to lose our center, our heart-space of serenity. We must find ways to return to our center again and again, whether this be through prayer, meditation, chanting, exercise, deep breathing exercises, or sharing a meal with friends or family. Self-care is important. Zenful states of being are critical to our overall wellness.<\/span><\/p>\n

And when there are moments in which we feel we have not done our best, we must control the negative self-talk while affirming our worth. The Buddha reminds us of how our own thinking shapes our existence. He states, \u201cAll that we are is a result of what we have thought. What we think we become.\u201d If we think of ourselves as peaceful, successful beings, we can work to achieve our responsibilities to our classes or jobs while also making time for wellbeing and centeredness. When we fall short, and since we are human this will happen, we must have compassion for ourselves. We are not defined by our mistakes or \u201cfailures.\u201d We are defined by how we continue to move forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

This semester, may we find inspiration in the spirit of the Rabbit. May we embrace peacefulness and contemplation, and in the spirit of contemplation, may we think before we speak or act. May we return to our center of calmness each time an obstacle arises. May we believe in ourselves, the beauty of our own existence. May we spread compassion and love for beings, while also cultivating compassion for ourselves. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, the Buddhist Community of University of Lynchburg celebrated Lunar New Year by giving away lucky coins, candy, bookmarks, and friendship bracelets in Drysdale. It was a wonderful time. We have moved into the Year of the Rabbit, and …<\/p>\n

Spirit of the Rabbit<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1QIf6-qx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}