Thursday, March 27. 2008
One Of My Favorite Words 3/27/08
Today I'm revisiting an old friend...my Favorite Words series. The inspiration to write about today's word came from my Sweetie, Scott's recent post titled, Build Your Own Best Of - Steely Dan. His post is part of his series where he compiles a list of his personal choices for a Best Of collection of a musician's or a band's recordings.
I always have a running list of favorite words and this one has been on the list since its inception...
Bodhisattva In particular, I love the way the word sounds...so exotic to my American ears like many of the Sanskrit words I learned when I was taking yoga lessons. The way it rolls off the tongue, it sounds almost...musical...
The word's meaning is beautiful too. A Bodhisattva is a person who has attained spiritual enlightenment but rather than accept his reward in Nirvana, he remains behind to help others attain enlightenment. Wow...now that is the definition of selflessness!
I am not a religiously oriented person. I am fascinated, though, with the way that different religions define the world. To my mind, it's all philosophy...a way of making sense of the world and guiding people toward living their best life.
In the same way a Saint would inspire a Christian to live a virtuous life, a Bodhisattva can inspire a sense of unity with humanity. To that end, a Bodhisattva is the embodiment of some admirable human traits: service to others, selflessness, generosity and compassion.
This world would be a better place with more Bodhisattvas...
Oh, and more Steely Dan.
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Yes, you are so right -- more Bodhisattva and more Steely Dan. Personal trainers be damned, gimme my Bodhisattva! And Baghavad my Gita while yer at it. (Okay, lapsing into silliness at an inane wee hour of the AM.)
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Elle
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2008-03-30 01:30
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