VIA Lion’s Roar // Right Action in the Face of Suffering

 

Right Action in the Face of Suffering

As we witness the great suffering of the Russian-Ukraine war, says Dan Zigmond, we have a moral obligation to pay attention. Through mindfulness, he suggests, we can see the world as it really is and take right action.

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States

 

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 unhealthy states, and then one’s mind inclines to unhealthy states. (MN 19) Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to abandon arisen unhealthy mental states. One abandons the arisen hindrance of doubt. (MN 141)

Reflection

When a thought or emotion arises that is obviously unhelpful or unhealthy, it is natural to make some effort to get rid of it in order not to encourage the damage that such states can do to oneself and others. “Abandoning” involves a particular kind of effort, one that neither encourages nor rejects the unhealthy state. It is not a matter of repressing or pushing away unhealthy states but of letting them simply “flow through” the mind.

Daily Practice

While in some circumstances it can be healthy to doubt, the kind of doubt meant here is that which is debilitating and holds us back from practice and understanding. When doubt as an obstacle arises in your experience, simply let it pass without trying to hold on to it or push it away. You can “abandon” doubt by not letting it get a foothold in your mind but instead watching it arise and pass away, as it will naturally do if you let it.

Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and Abiding in the Second Jhāna
One week from today: Developing Unarisen Healthy States

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Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: An Act of Courage

 To forbear is indeed an act of courage and not a symbol of cowardice. It takes great effort and resolution to endure pain and hardship. It requires tremendous confidence to bear insult and disgrace without a hint of retaliation or self-doubt.

Master Hsing Yun, “Don’t Get Mad, Don’t Get Even”

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Listen to this week’s podcasts from the Be Here Now Network

  Ethan Nichtern – The Road Home – Ep. 70 – Ancestor Trouble with Maud Newton
April 01, 2022 Ethan Nichtern and Maud Newton discuss personal and collective origin stories, and how ancestral spirituality can help us heal generational trauma. Maud Newton is...

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Via Tricycle // Acknowledge, Feel, Soften

 

April 2, 2022

Acknowledge, Feel, Soften

 
We often think of mindful presence as a state that can be achieved only when we get all our distracting thoughts and uncomfortable emotions out of the way. 

But as Insight Meditation teacher Gil Fronsdal reminds us, we can cultivate a continuous stream of present-moment awareness even in the midst of distracting thoughts and emotions. 

On the latest episode of the podcast For the Moment, Fronsdal—a Bay Area–based author and teacher in the Soto Zen and Vipassana traditions—offers a three-step practice to acknowledge, feel, and soften toward our felt experience. Listen to the seven-minute guided audio meditation for a short and sweet mindful break that you can carry with you into the rest of your day. 

Tricycle’s For the Moment podcast series offers brief guided meditations from some of our favorite Buddhist teachers, including Mark Epstein, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, and Loch Kelly. You can access the full series on our Soundcloud page.
 

Listen now »

 

For the Moment: Acknowledge, Feel, Soften
With Gil Fronsdal

This seven-minute guided practice from Insight Meditation teacher Gil Fronsdal can help you make peace with your felt experience.

Listen now »

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given

 

RIGHT LIVING
Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Taking What is Not Given

Taking what is not given is unhealthy. Refraining from taking what is not given is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning the taking of what is not given, one abstains from taking what is not given; one does not take by way of theft the wealth and property of others. (MN 41) One practices thus: “Others may take what is not given, but I will abstain from taking what is not given." (MN 8) One is to practice thus: “Here, regarding things sensed by you, in the sensed there will be just the sensed." When, firmly mindful, one senses a sensation, one is not inflamed by lust for sensations; one experiences the sensation with a dispassionate mind and does not remain holding it tightly. (SN 35.95)

Reflection

The phrase “what is seen, heard, and sensed” is a shorthand way of referring to the first five of the senses, so the word sensed refers to the sense modalities of smelling, tasting, and touching. It can be challenging to simply be with what is given in direct experience, since we are so easily swept beyond what is given to add layers of judgment and interpretation. Right living involves remaining grounded in experience.

Daily Practice

When you smell, taste, or touch an object of any kind at any moment, see if you can focus just on the sensation, not allowing thoughts to take over and run rampant. Such proliferation is a way of “taking what is not given,” insofar as you are going beyond the information provided by the senses in the immediate experience and turning it into something different. Practice simply being with what is present—no more, no less.

Tomorrow: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States
One week from today: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Wisdom Is Full of Humor

 Too long I was told that the spiritual path is dry and intellectual. That wisdom is cold. But I have seen with my own eyes that in the hands of great masters, wisdom is warm and full of humor.

Ajahn Brahm, “In Brief”

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Via Daily Dharma: Changing the World

To become a different kind of person is to experience the world in a different way. When your mind changes, the world changes. And when you respond differently to the world, the world usually responds differently to you.

David Loy, “The Dharma of the Rings”

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Via Lion’s Roar // Dharma for Times of Global Trauma

 

Dharma for Times of Global Trauma Psychologist and Buddhist teacher Tara Brach shares the importance of training mindfulness teachers and practitioners to nourish a sense of our collective belonging in our increasingly traumatized world.

via Daily Dharma: Find Nourishment in Connection

 Each of us has a deep yearning for connection. That’s one of the reasons why loneliness kills. And if that’s true, then the opposite of loneliness—our feeling of connection with others—has to be good for us.

Interview with Thupten Jinpa by the Mind & Life Institute, “The Power of Awareness and Compassion to Transform Our World”

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Malicious Speech

 

RIGHT SPEECH Refraining from Malicious Speech Malicious speech is unhealthy. Refraining from malicious speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning malicious speech, one refrains from malicious speech. One does not repeat there what one has heard here to the detriment of these, or repeat here what he has heard there to the detriment of those. One unites those who are divided, is a promoter of friendships, and speaks words that promote concord. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak maliciously, but I shall abstain from malicious speech." (MN 8) When others address you, their speech may be with a mind of lovingkindness or with inner hate … One is to train thus: “My mind will be unaffected, and I shall utter no bad words; I shall abide compassionate for their welfare, with a mind of lovingkindness, without inner hate.” (MN 21)

Reflection Words are one thing, and the emotion or intention behind them is another. What matters more than the content of what is said is how it is said, the quality of mind behind the words. You can say, “I hope you have a nice day” with benevolent good will, or you can say the exact same thing with a voice that is dripping with sarcasm and venom. We all know the difference when on the receiving end of such speech. Daily Practice It is an advanced practice to receive malicious speech—words uttered with some degree of hatred—and not return the same emotion. It is an even more challenging practice to respond with kindness, yet it can be done. Practice this today, all day. Even if someone addresses you maliciously, make a point of not letting it evoke malice from you. See if everything you say today can be said with the underlying emotion of kindness. Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Verbal Action One week from today: Refraining from Harsh Speech Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via FB // van Gogh is Bipolar

 

Via Tricycle // he Buddhism and Ecology Summit

The ecological crisis isn’t a future threat. It is our present reality.  For thousands of years, Buddhist teachings have provided tools for awakening to the reality of what is—including life’s inherent impermanence, uncertainty, and suffering. How can the dharma help us to better understand and address the predicament we currently find ourselves in? What do Buddhist teachings and practices have to offer for helping us to live harmoniously—and be effective agents of change—in the face of catastrophe?  In honor of Earth Day 2022, Tricycle is bringing together leading Buddhist teachers, writers, and environmentalists for a donation-based weeklong virtual event series from April 18–22 exploring what the dharma has to offer in a time of environmental crisis. This week’s events will explore three dimensions of the ecological crisis: the spiritual and psychological roots of the crisis, dealing with the difficult emotions that arise, and taking meaningful action.  This is a donation-based event. Receive a complimentary Tricycle ebook when you give the suggested donation of $30 or more!

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Compassion

 

RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Compassion

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 compassion, for when you develop meditation on compassion, any cruelty will be abandoned. (MN 62) The proximate cause of compassion is seeing helplessness in those overwhelmed by suffering. (Vm 9.94)

Reflection

While lovingkindness is an emotional attitude that flows indiscriminately to all beings in all directions, compassion is the form it takes when it encounters the awareness of suffering. When someone who cares sees another being suffering, “the heart trembles” and the wish for the suffering to end arises. Compassion is an expression of caring for others and as such is an inherently healthy state of mind that should be cultivated.

Daily Practice

Take some time to look at suffering rather than avoid it by looking elsewhere. There are opportunities for doing this all around you, as both small and large examples of suffering abound. Pay close attention to the quality of mind that occurs when you are giving sustained attention to the suffering of another. It is not about getting lost in pity or sorrow but about allowing the mind to feel the pain with an attitude of caring.

Tomorrow: Refraining from Malicious Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Appreciative Joy

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Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Hone Your Blade

 Building concentration is like sharpening the sword that cuts off the head of delusion. On its own, concentration doesn’t get you anywhere. But concentration can make any meditation practice easier, sharper, and more effective.

Dr. Jay Michaelson, “Jhana: The Spice Your Meditation Has Been Missing”

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