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 upon 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)
The purpose of equanimity is warding off attachment. (Vm 9.97) When a
person seeing a form with the eye is not attached to pleasing forms and
not repelled by unpleasing forms, they have established mindfulness and
dwell with an unlimited mind. For a person whose mindfulness is
developed and practiced, the eye does not struggle to reach pleasing
forms, and unpleasing forms are not considered repulsive. (SN 35.274)
Reflection
Equanimity is
the antidote to aversion. Just as we can develop an aversive tendency
through practice and habit, we can develop equanimity as a primary
character trait and latent tendency. We can practice this at the level
of primary sensory contact, such as described here using visual
information. Practice just seeing what is there, without attachment or
aversion; gaze upon your visual sphere with equanimity.
Daily Practice
When you are
looking at something using your eyes, notice when this is accompanied by
a subtle “I don’t like this” or “This is not good.” When you are aware
of this happening, try replacing the aversion with an attitude of
equanimity: “This is the way this is. I don’t need to judge it or
disapprove of it. Let it be.” In this way the eye is not struggling
against unpleasing forms and is thus not attached to their being
different than they are.
Tomorrow: Refraining from Frivolous Speech One week from today: Cultivating Lovingkindness
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A
medieval Japanese epic demonstrates anime as a viable vehicle for
creatively engaging with serious subjects, while still making them
accessible and enjoyable to the general spectator.
Aging as a Spiritual Practice An Online Course with Lewis Richmond
Confront
the realities of growing older with clear-sightedness and compassion
with Zen teacher and ordained disciple of Suzuki Roshi, Lewis Richmond.
His experience and unique meditation practices will help you to meet
life with wisdom, acceptance, and greater ease.
The killing around Tiananmen Square
started soon after midnight. It was a different army from the unarmed
one which had tried to enter the square on Friday night and failed. This
one was told to kill, and the soldiers with their AK- 47 automatic
rifles and the armoured personnel carriers with their machine guns
opened fire indiscriminately, in the air, directly at the huge crowds,
at small groups, everywhere.
Lined up in rows
across the Avenue of Eternal Peace, they advanced slowly, shooting all
the while, then they would halt and kneel and fire directly into the
crowd. They did the same at the southern end of the square by Zhengyang
Gate. When both ends of the square were cleared, they switched off the
lights and encircled the thousands of students who had crowded together
on the Revolutionary Heroes' monument. Dawn broke and riot police moved
in with truncheons. Everyone expected the army. But no one expected such
ferocity, such armor, such numbers. There were more than 100,000
soldiers. It is unknown to this day how many demonstrators were killed
in the square.
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