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.
Buddha as Psychologist, Buddha as Somatic Therapist With Will Johnson
The Buddha says, “As you breathe in, breathe in through the whole body. As you breathe out, breathe out through the whole body.” In our latest Dharma Talk, author Will Johnson provides instruction on how to breathe in this way to transform our consciousness.
RIGHT VIEW Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering
When people have met with suffering and become victims of suffering, they come to me and ask me about the noble truth of suffering. Being asked, I explain to them the noble truth of suffering. (MN 77) What is suffering? (MN 9)
Aging is suffering: "old age, brokenness of teeth, greyness of hair, wrinkling of skin, decline of life, weakness of faculties." (MN 9)
Reflection
The wheel has turned one full revolution now, as we looked at each of the path factors four times over the course of a month. We now return to the beginning and go through another cycle over the course of the next 28 days. The noble truth of suffering is not something we "get" once and for all and then move on. It is something to investigate again and again from multiple different angles as our perspective on it changes.
Daily Practice
We hardly need help understanding the truth of aging, since it is everywhere so apparent. As our experience with the practice progresses, we learn to observe the signs of aging with greater objectivity and less self-reference. This is just what happens to a body when it ages. It is not that we are being personally persecuted by time. Work on developing the perspective that aging is something to observe rather than to fear.
Tomorrow: Cultivating Lovingkindness One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering
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