A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Whatever you intend,
whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will
become the basis on which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop
meditation on appreciative joy, for when you develop meditation on
appreciative joy, any discontent will be abandoned. (MN 62)
The function of appreciative joy is being unenvious. (Vm 9.95)
Reflection
The reason for
working so consistently with intention and for developing healthy
intentions like appreciative joy is to clear the mind of toxic states
like envy and discontent. When you are able to feel good about the good
fortune of others, you cannot at the same time feel bad about it. Just
as suffering is the trigger of compassion, seeing people do well and be
healthy gains access to joy.
Daily Practice
Look around you
at any time of day and notice things that are going well for yourself
and for other people. We are often habituated to seeing the fault in
things. Try deliberately to go in the other direction and be aware of
positive situations and events. Then allow yourself to feel gently
joyful about them. There is a lot that is going well in our world, and
it is a worthy practice to take notice of these things and allow them to
bring joy.
Tomorrow: Refraining from Harsh Speech One week from today: Cultivating Equanimity
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
When
the mind object drops away, even for an instant, all kinds of latent
interpersonal possibilities emerge—for connection, empathy, insight,
joy, and, dare we say, love. How to make this happen remains the
trickiest of questions.
Parinirvana Day, or Nirvana Day is a Mahayana Buddhist holiday celebrated in East Asia. By some it is celebrated on 8th of February, but by most on 15th
of February. It celebrates the day when the Buddha achieved
Parinirvana, or complete Nirvana, upon the death of his physical body.
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