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.
RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects
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 doubt is internally present, one is aware: “Doubt is present
for me.” When doubt is not present, one is aware: “Doubt is not present
for me.” When the arising of unarisen doubt occurs, one is aware of
that. And when the abandoning of arisen doubt occurs, one is aware of
that. One is just aware, just mindful, "there is a mental object.” And
one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)
Reflection
As we cycle
through the five hindrances as arising and passing mental objects, we
come to the last one, doubt. Some doubt is healthy, but this is the sort
of doubt that prevents you from seeing clearly and is an obstacle to
further progress along the path. It may take the form of self-doubt or
doubting that you are practicing correctly. In meditation you can just
be aware doubt is there, and let it go without buying in to what it is
saying.
Daily Practice
The next time
you feel the kind of doubt that impedes your ability to function well,
take some time to examine it phenomenologically. That is to say, pay
careful attention to what it feels like and how it is arising and
passing away each moment, and learn to recognize it as just another
mental factor that comes and goes. Understanding the transient nature of
doubt gives you power to “ride out” its influence on your mind.
RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Fourth Phase of Absorption (4th Jhāna)
With the abandoning of pleasure
and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, one
enters upon and abides in the fourth phase of absorption, which has
neither-pain-nor-pleasure, and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity.
The concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of
imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to
imperturbability. (MN 4)
Reflection
The four stages of mental absorption described in the system of jhānas
culminate with the attainment of a profound and imperturbable
equanimity. In this state the mind is free of both craving and aversion,
neither favors nor opposes any mental object, and is able to simply
regard things as they actually are, undistorted by our projections and
fears. Notice also that such equanimity has the effect of purifying
mindfulness.
Daily Practice
Sitting quietly
and allowing the mind to become more and more peaceful, progressively
more unified, and gradually steadier will eventually culminate in the
quality of mind described here. This is not a transcendent state but
rather a natural, immanent state of mind. See if you can allow your mind
to become still like tranquil water and watch the mind reflect whatever
comes before it without distortion.
Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
EASTER falls on this date in 2022. According
to the Venerable Bede, Easter derives its name from Eostre, an
Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A month corresponding to April had been
named "Eostremonat," or Eostre's month, leading to "Easter" becoming
applied to the Christian holiday that usually took place within it.
Prior to that, the holiday had been called Pasch (Passover), which
remains its name in most non-English languages. Based on the similarity
of their names, some connect Eostre with Ishtar, the Babylonian and
Assyrian goddess of love and fertility, but there is no solid evidence
for this.
It seems probable
that around the second century A.D., Christian missionaries seeking to
convert the tribes of northern Europe noticed that the Christian holiday
commemorating the resurrection of Jesus roughly coincided with the
Teutonic springtime celebrations, which emphasized the triumph of life
over death. Christian Easter gradually absorbed the traditional symbols:
Easter Eggs: In
Medieval Europe, eggs were forbidden during Lent. Eggs laid during that
time were often boiled or otherwise preserved. Eggs were thus a
mainstay of Easter meals, and a prized Easter gift for children and
servants. In addition, eggs have been viewed as symbols of new life and
fertility through the ages. It is believed that for this reason many
ancient cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Romans,
used eggs during their spring festivals.
Many traditions
and practices have formed around Easter eggs. The coloring of eggs is a
established art, and eggs are often dyed, painted, and otherwise
decorated. Eggs were also used in various holiday games: parents would
hide eggs for children to find, and children would roll eggs down hills.
These practices live on in Easter egg hunts and egg rolls. The most
famous egg roll takes place on the White House lawn every year.
Different Traditions: Orthodox
Christians in the Middle East and in Greece painted eggs bright red to
symbolize the blood of Christ. Hollow eggs (created by piercing the
shell with a needle and blowing out the contents) were decorated with
pictures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other religious figures in
Armenia.
Germans gave
green eggs as gifts on Holy Thursday, and hung hollow eggs on trees.
Austrians placed tiny plants around the egg and then boiled them. When
the plants were removed, white patterns were created.
Artistic Creations: The
most elaborate Easter egg traditions appear to have emerged in Eastern
Europe. In Poland and Ukraine, eggs were often painted silver and gold. Pysanky
(to design or write) eggs were created by carefully applying wax in
patterns to an egg. The egg was then dyed, wax would be reapplied in
spots to preserve that color, and the egg was boiled again in other
shades. The result was a multi-color striped or patterned egg.
The Easter Bunny: Hares
and rabbits have long been symbols of fertility. The inclusion of the
hare into Easter customs appears to have originated in Germany, where
tales were told of an "Easter hare" who laid eggs for children to find.
German immigrants to America -- particularly Pennsylvania -- brought the
tradition with them and spread it to a wider public. They also baked
cakes for Easter in the shape of hares, and may have pioneered the
practice of making chocolate bunnies and eggs.
But what does
fertility have to do with Easter? Many who celebrate the holiday do not
recognize that Easter is not a biblical holiday at all—it is wholly
derived from pre-Christian celebrations of springtime fertility, devoted
to pagan goddesses with names such as Ishtar, Astarte and Ostara, from
whom the name "Easter" is derived. Also, those who make a pun on "Son
rise" and "sunrise" may not be aware that their Easter morning "sunrise"
service—facing the direction of the rising sun during their worship —
has its origins not in Scripture but in pagan sun goddess worship.
Easter Cards: Easter
cards arrived in Victorian England, when a stationer added a greeting
to a drawing of a rabbit. According to American Greetings, Easter is now
the fourth most popular holiday for sending cards, behind Christmas,
Valentine's Day, and Mother's Day.
Easter Parades: After
their baptisms, early Christians wore white robes all through Easter
week to indicate their new lives. Those had already been baptized wore
new clothes instead to symbolize their sharing a new life with Christ.
In Medieval Europe, churchgoers would take a walk after Easter Mass, led
by a crucifix or the Easter candle. Today these walks endure as Easter
Parades. People show off their spring finery, including lovely bonnets
decorated for spring.
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
"With the
increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful
corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community
is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave
standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming
mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson
ISABEL VARGAS LIZANO(d: 2012), better known as CHAVELA VARGAS, was a Costa Rican-born Mexican singer. She was especially known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras,
but she is also recognized for her contribution to other genres of
popular Latin American music. She has been an influential interpreter in
the Americas and Europe, muse to figures such as Pedro Almodovar,
hailed for her haunting performances, and called "la voz áspera de la
ternura", the rough voice of tenderness.
She is featured in many Almodóvar's films, including La Flor de mi Secreto
in both song and video. She has said, however, that acting is not her
ambition, although she had previously participated in films such as
1967's La Soldadera. Vargas recently appeared in the 2002 Julie Taymor film Frida,
singing "La Llorona" (The Weeping Woman). Her classic "Paloma Negra"
(Black Dove) was also included in the soundtrack of the film.
Vargas herself,
as a young woman, was alleged to have had an affair with Frida Kahlo,
during Kahlo's marriage to muralist Diego Rivera. She also appeared in
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Babel, singing "Tú me acostumbraste" (You
Got Me Used To), a bolero of Frank Dominguez. Joaquin Sabina’s song "Por
el Boulevar de los Sueños Rotos" ("Down the Boulevard of Broken
Dreams") is dedicated to Vargas.
Her heavy
drinking and raucous life took their toll, and she vanished from public
life in the 1970s. Submerged in an alcoholic haze, she said, she was
taken in by an Indian family who nursed her back to health without
knowing who she was. In 2003, she told The New York Times that she had
not had a drink in twenty-five years.
In the early
1990s she began singing again at El Habito, the bohemian Mexico City
nightclub. From there her career took off again, with performances in
Latin America, Europe and the United States. At 81, she announced that
she was a lesbian.
“Nobody taught me to be like this,” she told the Spanish newspaper El País
in 2000. “I was born this way. Since I opened my eyes to the world, I
have never slept with a man. Never. Just imagine what purity. I have
nothing to be ashamed of.”
On the eve of her
Carnegie Hall debut in 2003, she looked back on how her singing had
changed over her career. “The years take you to a different feeling than
when you were 30,” she said in an interview with The Times. “I feel
differently, I interpret differently, more toward the mystical.”
On the evening of
her death in 2012, instead of holding a traditional Mexican wake,
friends, fans and musicians gathered in the evening for a musical
tribute at Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City, where Ms. Vargas had spent
many a night drinking with Mr. Jiménez. She would have loved it.
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
"With the
increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful
corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community
is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave
standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming
mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson
If you’re involved with relationship with parents or children, instead
of saying, "I can’t do spiritual practices because I have children," you
say, "My children are my spiritual practice." If you’re traveling a
lot, your traveling becomes your yoga.
You start to use your life as your curriculum for coming to God. You use
the things that are on your plate, that are presented to you. So that
relationships, economics, psychodynamics—all of these become grist for
the mill of awakening. They all are part of your curriculum.
MARGOT ADLER,journalist, born (d: 2014); American author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, radio journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) Adler was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and grew up mostly in New York City. Her grandfather, Alfred Adler, is considered the father of individual psychology.
Adler wroteDrawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today,considered a watershed in American Neopagan circles. The book provided the first comprehensive look at the nature-based religions in the US, and became what was for many the first point of contact with the larger subculture. She was a speaker at the 1986 WinterStar Symposium, from which the Association for Consiousness Exploration produced her lecture tapeFrom Witch to Witch-Doctor: Healers, Therapists and Shamansand the panel discussionThe Magickal Movement: Present and Future(with Isaac Bonewits, Selena Fox, and Robert Anton Wilson).
Her second book,Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution, was published by Beacon Press in 1997. Adler was a Wiccan priestess of the Gardnerian Wicca tradition and a Unitarian Universalist.
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson
Andrea
Miller on what Thich Nhat Hanh taught her, his inspiring and courageous
life, and how — through us — his wisdom will continue.
In January, I got the email from a colleague: “Thich Nhat Hanh has died.”
On January 23, the casket ceremony was livestreamed with thousands of
people from all over the world watching from their homes. I watched too,
of course.
At Tu Hieu, monastics were gathered, saffron shoulder to shoulder. As
the crowds’ singing swelled and broke, a procession of monks carried
Thay’s body from his hut to the Full Moon Meditation Hall. There he was
lovingly placed in his coffin. Then the coffin was shut tight and
festooned with chrysanthemums, his favorite flower.
I had been right, back in 2013. I never would see Thay again in the same
form—and now none of us will. But we will see Thay again. Even as the
casket ceremony was unfolding, we were seeing him.
Whatever a person frequently
thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their
mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders healthy states, one has
abandoned unhealthy states to cultivate the healthy state, and then
one’s mind inclines to healthy states. (MN 19)
Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts
the mind, and strives to maintain arisen healthy mental states. One
maintains the arisen tranquility and concentration awakening factors.
(MN 141)
Reflection
Healthy and
positive mental states arise all the time. The idea is to learn how to
notice them, recognize their value, and make some effort to sustain them
when they arise. This means developing habits that will reinforce
qualities like kindness, generosity, compassion, and truthfulness.
Slowing down, becoming peaceful, and allowing the mind to unify through
focusing is particularly valuable.
Daily Practice
The two factors
of awakening, tranquility and concentration, are considered together
here because of their natural affinity with each other. Finding time to
slow down, stop doing things, and simply allow the mind to become
peaceful and focused is a healthy thing to do. It is not that settling
the mind takes effort, but it takes effort to disengage from normal
business to give the mind time to focus naturally. Once you do it,
you'll see that it’s worth it.
Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and the Fourth Jhāna One week from today: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
Effort
is more important than so-called success because effort is a real
thing. What we call “success” is just the manifestation of our mind’s
ability to categorize things. This is “success.” That is “failure.” Who
says? You says. That’s all. Reality is what it is, beyond all concepts
of success and failure.
