Quote from Master Cheng Yen

The obligation of a Sramanerika, a novice nun, is to bend her back and offer it as a stepping stone for those traveling from darkness to enlightenment.
And once she becomes a Bhiksuni, a nun, she will stop loving only a few people and start loving all the living beings, and she will also move from [...]

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Master vs Servant

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a book called “Master of Love and Mercy: Cheng Yen”. A Buddhist nun from Taiwan, she founded the Tzu Chi foundation that performs many humanitarian works. She has relieved many millions of people from their material suffering and was nominated for the Nobel peace prize.
Actually I [...]

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St Teresa of Avila

So back to the other saint in the “Women Saints East and West” book that really interested me. Her name was St Teresa of Avila, born around 1515 in Spain. Strangely it seems to me that there were a lot more holy people in past centuries. Or maybe we just don’t know [...]

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St Catherine of Siena

I just finished reading an inspiring book called “Women Saints East and West” edited by Swami Ghanananda. I’ve read some books before that contain the life stories of various Christian women saints and I just haven’t been able to identify with or feel inspired by their way of life or their realisations. Somehow [...]

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Constantly thinking of God

“As one gets the fragrance of a flower by handling it, or as one gets the smell of sandalwood by rubbing it on a stone, in the same way one gets spiritual awakening by constantly thinking of God”
Sri Sarada Devi

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