Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering

RIGHT VIEW Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering What is the cessation of suffering? It is the remainderless fading away and ceasing, the giving up, relinquishing, letting go, and rejecting of craving. (MN 9) When one knows and sees the five aggregates as they actually are, then one is not attached to the five aggregates. When one abides unattached, one is not infatuated, and one’s craving is abandoned. One’s bodily and mental troubles are abandoned, and one experiences bodily and mental well being. (MN 149)

Reflection The five aggregates are the medium in which human experience unfolds, like the water in which fish swim or the air in which birds fly. At every moment all five aspects of experience co-arise: material form, feeling tones, perceptions, volitional and emotional formations, and consciousness. The skill to learn is how to be in this world without attachment, without infatuation, and with craving and troubles abandoned.  Daily Practice When you know and see these aggregates as they actually are—that is, as impermanent and interdependently conditioned processes with no essential core—it is natural to no longer feel attached to them and thereby driven by them. Try deconstructing your troubles by recognizing the extent to which they all eventually boil down to experiential components of the aggregates and as such are inherently empty. Tomorrow: Cultivating Appreciative Joy One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Tricycle is a nonprofit and relies on your support to keep its wheels turning. Donate »

© 2022 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

 

Via Daily Dharma: The Path Itself

 Developing a practice takes time. It’s natural to want to jump to the end result, but that isn’t possible. The great mystery of cultivating a meditation practice might be the path itself—how it twists and turns; the work we must put into it along the way.

Justin von Bujdoss, “Tilopa’s Six Nails”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via White Crane Institute // MARIN ALSOP

 

---

Maestra Maren Alsop

1956 -

MARIN ALSOP is an American conductor and violinist born on this date. She is currently music director laureate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as well as, chief conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Ravinia Festival. In 2020 she was elected to the American Philosophical Society.

Alsop was born in New York City to professional musician parents, and was educated at the Masters School and studied violin at Juilliard's Pre-College Division ('72). She attended Yale University but later transferred to The Juilliard School, where she earned BM and MM degrees in violin. While studying at Juilliard, Alsop played with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and the New York City Ballet. She founded the string ensemble String Fever in 1981. Alsop was also concertmaster in a Philip Glass recording session of The Photographer chamber opera in 1983. In 1984, Alsop founded Concordia, a 50-piece orchestra specializing in 20th-century American music. She won the Koussevitzky Prize as outstanding student conductor at the Tanglewood Music Center in 1989, where she met her hero and future mentor Leonard Bernstein.

In September 2007, Alsop was appointed the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), having been named Music Director Designate for the 2006–2007 concert season. Selecting her was noteworthy because although Alsop is not the first woman to hold this position in an American orchestra (Antonia Brico, for example, was the conductor of several American orchestras), Alsop was one of the first women to hold the position with an American orchestra. The initial controversy surrounding the announcement that she would be the BSO's next Music Director stemmed from significant resistance from the orchestra's players, who insisted they had not had enough voice in the search process. The orchestra and Alsop met after the announcement and apparently smoothed over some of their differences. In June 2009, the orchestra announced the extension of her contract for another five years, through August 2015. In July 2013, the BSO announced a further extension of her contract as music director through the 2020–2021 season. In February 2020, the Baltimore Symphony announced that Alsop is to conclude her music directorship of the orchestra at the close of the 2020–2021 season, and to take the title of Music Director Laureate.

In the UK, Alsop has served as principal guest conductor with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and with the City of London Sinfonia. Alsop was Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Bournemouth SO) from 2002 to 2008, the first female principal conductor in the orchestra's history. She was voted Gramophone magazine's Artist of the Year in 2003 and won the Royal Philharmonic Society's conductor's award in the same season. In April 2007, Alsop was one of eight conductors of British orchestras to endorse the 10-year classical music outreach manifesto, "Building on Excellence: Orchestras for the 21st Century", to increase the presence of classical music in the UK, including giving free entry to all British schoolchildren to a classical music concert. Alsop received an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Bournemouth University in November 2007. Alsop served as an Artist-in-Residence at the Southbank Centre, London, for the 2011–2012 season.

In 2012, Alsop became principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), the first female principal conductor of OSESP. In July 2013, OSESP granted her the title of Music Director and in April 2015 extended her contract to the end of 2019. Alsop led the orchestra on a European tour, including its first appearance at the Proms in August 2012, the first Proms appearance by any Brazilian orchestra. They returned to Europe in October 2013, with concerts in Berlin, London, Paris, Salzburg and Vienna and to the Proms in August 2016. In December 2017, OSESP announced that Alsop would stand down as its music director in December 2019, and subsequently to take the title of honorary conductor.

In 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2016, Alsop conducted the Belgian National Orchestra at the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

In September 2013, Alsop became the first female conductor of the Last Night of The Proms, and returned to conduct the Last Night in September 2015. In September 2014, at the Proms, she was awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society.

In 2014, Alsop first guest-conducted the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (Vienna RSO). In January 2018, the Vienna RSO announced the appointment of Alsop as its next chief conductor, effective September 2019, with an initial contract of three years. She is the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of the Vienna RSO. Alsop is to hold the title of chief conductor designate with immediate effect, through the 2018–2019 season.

Alsop was a recipient of one of the 25th Annual Crystal Awards for 2019 at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Since 2020 she is Artist in Residence at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Alsop's spouse is Kristin Jurkscheit, a horn player. They have a son, and Alsop has spoken publicly about her family. While Alsop was conducting the Colorado Symphony, of which her partner was a member, their relationship provoked controversy, though Alsop responded that the relationship predated her appointment to lead the orchestra and had no bearing on her job performance. 

There is a documentary about Alsop streaming on PBS called The Conductor.

 

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

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

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

 

Via Daily Dharma: Anger as Sustenance

 Remind yourself that anger is just another form of energy; that you can use it to sustain the hard work of caring for whom or what you love.

Vanessa Zuisei Goddard, “A Fierce and Tender Clarity”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - October 16, 2022 💌

 
 

"The next message you need is always right where you are. "

- Ram Dass -

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

 

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 common neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling, one is aware: “Feeling a common neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling.” When feeling an uncommon neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling, one is aware: “Feeling an uncommon 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 A feeling tone accompanies every moment of experience, and it changes at every moment. We generally just accept this and are influenced by it but without conscious awareness. The stream of feelings flows as constantly as the stream of consciousness, and modulates on a spectrum from extremely pleasant through moderately pleasant, mildly pleasant, neutral, mildly painful, and moderately painful to extremely painful. Daily Practice The second of the four foundations on which mindfulness practice is established is the mindful awareness of feeling tones. This requires isolating them in your experience, since they are usually blended in with everything else. Make a point of selecting just the strand of experience that carries a feeling tone—good, bad or neutral. Not whether you like it or not, just how it feels. You will learn with practice how to focus on this regularly. 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) 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.

Tricycle is a nonprofit and relies on your support to keep its wheels turning. Donate »

© 2022 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Be Here Now Network // Mindrolling

  Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 461 – Dharma & Ecology: A Mindrolling Anthology with Mary Clare PhD, Gary Ferguson, John Lockley, Sarah Wilson, & Alastair McIntosh
October 14, 2022

 

Full Ecology with Mary M. Clare Ph.D and Gary Ferguson From Ep. 382, Mary & Gary share their deep connection to nature, and how...

Listen Now

Via The Advocate

 

Via Daily Dharma: Discovering Wisdom in Discomfort

 Sitting with modest discomfort teaches the mind to be less frightened. Experiencing the disappearance of discomfort soothes the mind, makes it confident, and allows for the insight of impermanence: Everything passes.

Sylvia Boorstein, “The Wisdom of Discomfort”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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) Abandoning all five arisen hindrances, one abides having abandoned all five arisen hindrances. (MN 51)

Reflection If you are often restless, you are practicing restlessness and training yourself to become more restless. The same goes for the other hindrances of sluggishness, sense desire, ill will, and doubt. These mental factors will all arise from time to time; when they do you have the option to indulge them and thereby strengthen them or to abandon them and weaken them. Gradually diminish these unhealthy states by letting go when they arise. Daily Practice When the mind is temporarily free of the influence of the hindrances, it naturally becomes calm, unified, and clear, and thus more capable of seeing with insight. Pay attention to the quality of your inner life, and when one of these hindrances arises simply notice it and let it go. All things that arise in the mind will pass away if you do not “stick” to them by either welcoming them or rejecting them. Just let them pass through.  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.

Tricycle is a nonprofit and relies on your support to keep its wheels turning. Donate »

© 2022 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

 

Via FB

 

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) On thinking a mental object with the mind, one does not grasp at its signs and features. Since if one left the mind faculty unguarded, unwholesome states of covetousness and grief might intrude, one practices the way of restraint and guards the mind faculty in that way. (MN 51)

Reflection Are you using your mind as a tool to think thoughts, or does it feel like your mind is driving the thoughts you think and you have little control over the process? Mindfulness is a way of re-establishing a sense of empowerment in the midst of our thinking processes. It is not a matter of suppressing thoughts but of influencing how much you grasp onto or resist the processes of your mind. Non-grasping is a form of protection.  Daily Practice Practice watching what arises and passes away in your mind as a kind of parade that marches by, without getting stuck on the content of each thought. Watch it approach, but then let it recede. Each thought is different, each is interesting, but there is no reason to grab hold of any thought and try to hang onto it or prevent it from leaving. Take what is given, but refrain from making more of what is happening by holding on. 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.

Tricycle is a nonprofit and relies on your support to keep its wheels turning. Donate »

© 2022 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Daily Dharma: Discarding Identity

 Freedom from identity is what allows and enables us to be truly human—to be an ongoing response to the challenges, demands, and needs of life. 

Ken McLeod, “Forget About Being a Buddhist. Be a Human.”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE