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We spend almost an hour at the library on Tuesdays when we wait for the Thai Restaurant to open. Ven. Dewananda signed this book out of the library called, “Free Spirit.” I was curious since “Free Spirit” was the name of my family’s sailboat when I was a kid.  While I was flicking through the book, which by the way was well written, I came across this quote that struck me.  I snapped a picture of it.

Quote by Joshua Safran.

Here it is:

“Please sit down for a second.” He patted the bench next to him. “You know who my hero was when l was a kid?” I didn’t know, which was strange because I thought I knew everything there was to know about him.

“Hold on." I said. Who was it? Who could have been his role model when he was little, kidnapped from his family, and raised by an abusive Cuban lady? I unclenched my fists and sat down to think about it. It couldn’t have been Arjuna, or some Hindu character, because he wouldn’t have been exposed to them yet. Someone from TV probably, since there were no friendly faces in his childhood. Who were those old-time tough guys?

“Was it John Wayne?” I guessed,

“Nope.”

“Dick Tracy?”

“Nope. Give up?”

“Yeah.”

“Bugs Bunny.”

“No it wasn’t.” He was trying to be funny.

“It was. Bugs Bunny was my hero. He still is. You could stick a shotgun in his face. You could throw him in boiling water. You could try to kill him any number of ways. But he never lost his cool. He never let them see him angry. If you go around, Josh, giving in to your anger and being violent, you’re going to scare people. And eventually you’re going to hurt someone, and then they’ll lock you up, or worse. Just because you’re being bullied doesn’t mean you get to pass it on.”

Quote from:

Mahārāhulovāda Suttaṃ

MN 62 Translated from the Pali by Sister Upalavanna

‘Rahula develop a mind similar to earth. When you develop a mind similar to earth arisen contacts of like and dislike do not take hold of your mind and stay. Rahula, on the earth is dumped the pure and the impure, excreta, urine, saliva, pus, blood; the earth does not loathe those. In the same manner develop a mind similar to earth. When you develop a mind similar to earth, arisen contacts of like and dislike do not take hold of the mind and stay.

…water…fire.air…

‘Rahula, develop loving kindness; when it is developed, anger fades. Rahula, develop compassion; when it is developed, anger fades. Rahula, develop intrinsic joy; when it is developed discontentment fades. Rahula, develop equanimity; when it is developed aversion fades. Rahula, develop the thought of loathesomeness; when it is developed greed fades. Rahula, develop the perception of impermanence; when it is developed the conceit ‘I be’ fades.

http://obo.genaud.net/dhamma-vinaya/mnl/mn/mn.062.upal.mnl.htm