Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation //

 

Maharaji said to me, "Ram Dass, love everybody." And I said, "I can't do it." And then he said again, love everybody, but then I realized it had to do with the soul, and not the ego, because the ego judges, but the soul loves everybody because everybody is a soul and a soul loves another soul. It's not that the small, limited, ego "I" loves you, but it's unconditional love, it comes from the ocean of infinite love.

Via Daily Dharma: Nothing Is for Sure

 

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Nothing Is for Sure We depend on change in order to live, so just acquaint yourself with the fact that it’s all inconstant. Pleasure isn’t for sure; pain isn’t for sure; happiness isn’t for sure; stillness isn’t for sure; distraction isn’t for sure. Whatever arises, you should tell it: “Don’t try to fool me. You’re not for sure.” Ajaan Chah, “Make Your Practice a Continuous Stream” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

The Benevolent Unknown By Curtis White A novelist and social critic reflects on two unexpected moments of profound connection.  Read more »

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and the Second Jhāna

 

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RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling A person goes to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty place and sits down. Having crossed the legs, one sets the body erect. One establishes the presence of mindfulness. (MN 10) One is aware: “Ardent, fully aware, mindful, I am content.” (SN 47.10)   When feeling a mental neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling, one is aware: “Feeling a mental neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling”. . . one is just aware, just mindful: “There is feeling.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection Of the three kinds of feeling tone—pleasant, painful, and neither-pleasant-nor-painful—it is the neutral feeling that can be the most difficult to discern. Pleasure and pain are obvious, especially at the extreme ends of the continuum, but as each gets more and more subtle they merge into the middle ground of a feeling tone that is not obviously either. Hold your attention on this neutral zone and simply notice what is there. Daily Practice See if you can become aware of the feeling tones that are arising in conjunction with the thoughts and mental images that pass through your mind. Some things feel good to imagine or think about, while some feel really bad. Bring your attention to the middle ground, where your thoughts are present but don’t have a strong feeling tone associated with them. Be content to simply be aware of thoughts coming and going. RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Second Phase of Absorption (2nd Jhāna) With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, one enters upon and abides in the second phase of absorption, which has inner clarity and singleness of mind, without applied thought and sustained thought, with joy and the pleasure born of concentration. (MN 4) One practices: “I shall breathe in gladdening the mind;” one practices: “I shall breathe out gladdening the mind.” This is how concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated  so that it is of great fruit and great benefit. (A 54.8) Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States

 

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RIGHT EFFORT Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States Whatever a person frequently thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders unhealthy states, one has abandoned healthy states to cultivate the unhealthy states, and then one’s mind inclines to unhealthy states. (MN 19) Abandoning sluggishness, one abides free from sluggishness; one purifies the mind of sluggishness. (MN 51) Just as a person who had been gravely ill, suffering, with no appetite and weak in body, would recover from that illness and regain their strength, so would one rejoice and be glad about the abandoning of sluggishness. (DN 2)

Reflection Some mental and emotional states drag us down into suffering and obstruct our ability to see things clearly, and some states move us away from suffering and enhance our ability to see what is really going on. Sluggishness is unhealthy—not wrong or bad but unhelpful to the project of understanding and diminishing suffering. Whenever it arises, it is worth making an effort to abandon it by stirring up and applying some energy. Daily Practice Focus your attention on that moment when you recognize you are sleepy or lazy or otherwise feeling sluggish and counter it with an upsurge of energy, whether physical or mental. There is a transition point at which the mental state of sluggishness is met with the mental state of energy, and your experience is thereby transformed. Learning to be aware of such nuances in experience is the essence of mindfulness practice. Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and Abiding in the Second Jhāna One week from today: Developing Unarisen Healthy States Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: Sitting Is Rebelling

 

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Sitting Is Rebelling In a world that tells us we should always be doing more, sitting still can be an act of rebellion, the ultimate rejection of a culture that tells us our value is tied to our productivity. Christopher Rivas, “I Think the Clock Is Broken” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Guidelines for Entering, Abiding, and Departing Long Meditation Retreats and Sesshins By Zenju Earthlyn Manuel A Zen priest offers helpful suggestions for seamlessly transitioning between daily life and spiritual sojourns. Read more »

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Via Daily Dharma: Truth Is in Our Experiences

 

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Truth Is in Our Experiences Truth isn’t found by merely connecting logical dots or filling gaps with preferred beliefs in the immediate layer of analysis. Instead, it resides in comprehending the formation of our widest spectrum of experiences, acknowledging that nothing exists independently and that everything remains within the realm of conditions. Primoz Korelc Hiriko, “Relinquishing Preference through ‘The Silent Sages of Old’ ” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

What Does Stream-Entry Mean? By Doug Smith Take a closer look at the first irreversible step on the path to enlightenment. Read more »