Revoked: Sep 26, 2023

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Via Daily Dharma: Learning from Mistakes

Learning from Mistakes

A Zen master is nothing more than someone who has repeatedly screwed up and eventually learned something. We can do the same.

Mark Van Buren, “Thanks for Everything. I Have No Complaints Whatsoever.”

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Equanimity

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RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Equanimity

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 equanimity, for when you develop meditation on equanimity, all aversion is abandoned. (MN 62)

Equanimity is like a mother with a son who is busy with his own affairs, for she is not worried about what he does. (Vm 9.108) When a person, touching a sensation with the body, is not attached to pleasing sensations and not repelled by unpleasing sensations, they have established mindfulness and dwell with an unlimited mind. For a person whose mindfulness is developed and practiced, the body does not struggle to reach pleasing sensations, and unpleasing sensations are not considered repulsive. (SN 35.274)

Reflection

The image of a mother with a grown son is invoked to describe the quality of mind called equanimity, for we understand that she still loves and cares deeply for her son but is not invested in the superficial details of his daily activities. You can stay attentive, intimate, and deeply engaged with your affairs without being caught up in and afflicted by them. The image is one of a person who is at ease in their affairs without struggling.

Daily Practice

In working with physical sensations, as we do when we practice mindfulness of the body, the idea is to be fully aware of sensations without being attached to or repelled by them. Notice that when mindful the mind is said to be unlimited, and when it lacks mindfulness it is considered to be limited. Equanimity, the active ingredient in mindfulness, is the tool that is used to unbind the mind and set it free from aversion.

Tomorrow: Refraining from Frivolous Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Lovingkindness

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"Each moment is astonishing radiance, full and round without direction or corners, discarding trifles."

- Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157) one of the most accomplished Chan (Chinese Zen) masters of the Song dynasty