Via Tricycle // A Practical Guide to the Zen Precepts

 

Support Tricycle with a donation » February 18, 2023 A Practical Guide to the Zen Precepts When she was first learning the Zen precepts, Nancy Mujo Baker found that they were often taught in a way that was abstract and difficult to grasp, drawing on concepts like suchness, emptiness, and enlightenment without explaining what they really mean or how we can live them in our daily lives.  When she became a lay preceptor herself many years later, Baker, a Zen teacher and philosophy professor, came to explore the precepts in a much deeper way. Around the same time, she was undergoing a deep inquiry into the work of the 13th-century Zen priest Eihei Dogen, which greatly enriched her understanding of the precepts.  Inspired by Dogen’s work, Baker believes that working with the precepts can be a way of becoming whole human beings—which means compassionately embracing the parts of ourselves that we tend to reject. In her new book, Opening to Oneness: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to the Zen Precepts, Baker offers simple exercises for lovingly acknowledging the stealer, liar, and killer within each of us so that the precepts may be naturally expressed through us.  On the latest episode of the Tricycle Talks podcast, Baker joins Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, to discuss the importance of cultivating self-compassion, Dogen’s commentary on the precepts, and her approach to working with the precepts to reveal our innate buddhanature. This podcast is sponsored by St John's College.   Listen to the full episode now »   Also this week: What did the Buddha mean when he spoke of the absence of self (anatta)? Join Theravada monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu for a conversation on the not-self teachings on February 27. Sign up now. Discover the power of spacious, non-conceptual awareness with insight meditation teacher Martin Aylward in his upcoming workshop, Finding Freedom in the Unknown. Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, and other early community members share stories of IMS’s early days in Inside Insight: The Founding Story. Go beyond distraction and find practical ways to focus the mind with Bodhi Courses teacher Shaila Catherine’s new Dharma Talk series. A Practical Guide to the Zen Precepts With Nancy Mujo Baker The Zen precepts aren’t just a list of rules and regulations. According to Nancy Mujo Baker, they are a practical way of revealing our inherent buddhanature. Listen now »

Via White Crane Institute // AUDRE LORDE

 

Black, Lesbian, Mother, Warrior, Poet Audre Lorde 1934 - AUDRE LORDE, American poet born, (d: 1992); In her own words, she was a "black, Lesbian, mother, warrior, poet". In 1954, she spent a pivotal year as a student at the National University of Mexico, a period described by Lorde as a time of affirmation and renewal because she confirmed her identity on personal and artistic levels as a Lesbian and poet. On her return to New York, Lorde went to college, worked as a librarian, continued writing, and became an active participant in the gay culture of Greenwich Village. Lorde furthered her education at Columbia University, earning a master’s degree in library science in 1961. During this time she also worked as a librarian at Mount Vernon Public Library and married attorney Edwin Rollins; they later divorced in 1970 after having two children, Elizabeth and Jonathan. In 1966, Lorde became head librarian at Town School Library in New York City where she remained until 1968. Lorde’s poetry was published regularly during the 1960s: in Langston Hughes's 1962 New Negro Poets, USA; in several foreign anthologies; and in black literary magazines. During this time she was politically active in the civil rights, antiwar, and feminist movements. Her first volume of poetry, The First Cities (1968), was published by the Poet's Press and edited by Diane di Prima, a former classmate and friend from Hunter College High School. Dudley Randall, a poet and critic, asserted in his review of the book that "[Lorde] does not wave a black flag, but her blackness is there, implicit, in the bone." Lorde's second volume, Cables to Rage (1970), which was mainly written during her tenure at  Tougaloo College in Mississippi, addresses themes of love, betrayal, childbirth, and the complexities of raising children. It is particularly noteworthy for the poem "Martha", in which Lorde poetically confirms her sexuality: "we shall love each other here if ever at all." Later books continued her political aims in Lesbian and Gay Rights and feminism. In 1980, Audre Lorde, Barbara Smith and several other lesbians co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, the first U.S. publisher for women of color. Lorde was named State Poet of New York from 1991 to 1992. Lorde took the name Gamba Adisa, which means "Warrior: She Who Makes Her Meaning Known," in an African naming ceremony before she died.

|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 Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States

 

RIGHT EFFORT Maintaining Arisen Healthy States 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 healthy states, 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 energy awakening factor. (MN 141)

Reflection Although it is not acknowledged as much as it could be, much of what goes on in our mind is healthy and beneficial and is helping us along the path of clarification. There are a lot of good people in the world who care for one another, respect one another, and wish each other well. It is important to acknowledge and maintain these beneficial states, which is done by feeding them energy. Daily Practice Next time you are feeling good in an unselfish way, perhaps thinking well of and wishing the best for the people around you, see how long you can sustain the experience. Just as your mind is likely to wander in meditation despite your efforts to keep your attention on your breath, there are all sorts of ways the good will you are feeling might waver or diminish, but the practice here is to give it the energy it needs to keep unfolding. See how long you can keep  up thinking well of people. 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 Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: Mind as Mirror

 Your mind is like a mirror, reflecting everything without discrimination. If you have wisdom, you can control the kind of reflection that you allow into the mirror of your mind. If you totally ignore what is happening in your mind, it will reflect whatever garbage it encounters.

Lama Thubten Yeshe, “Your Mind Is Your Religion”

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Intoxication

 

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RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Intoxication Intoxication is unhealthy. Refraining from intoxication is healthy. (MN 9) What are the imperfections that defile the mind? Negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind. Knowing that negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind, a person abandons it. (MN 7) One practices thus: "Others may become negligent by intoxication, but I will abstain from the negligence of intoxication." (MN 8) One of the dangers attached to addiction to intoxicants is loss of good name. (DN 31)

Reflection Negligence can seem harmless enough in some minor cases, but often it has serious consequences. When we are not paying adequate attention, people can get hurt. The opposite of negligence—diligence or attentiveness—is a cardinal Buddhist virtue. This is partly because of the care for life that we have seen expressed in many places. Committing to abstain from intoxication is a gift of harmlessness we give to others. Daily Practice On the practical side, this text is pointing out the loss of reputation that so often accompanies any kind of addiction or habitual intoxication. A person who has a compulsive habit simply cannot be trusted and will usually demonstrate this in potentially harmful ways. If you are generally attentive, acknowledge that your friends and family trust you, and take pride in your good reputation. It’s okay to do so. Tomorrow: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings 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 Living: Abstaining from Intoxication

 

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RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Intoxication Intoxication is unhealthy. Refraining from intoxication is healthy. (MN 9) What are the imperfections that defile the mind? Negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind. Knowing that negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind, a person abandons it. (MN 7) One practices thus: "Others may become negligent by intoxication, but I will abstain from the negligence of intoxication." (MN 8) One of the dangers attached to addiction to intoxicants is liability to sickness. (DN 31)

Reflection Ever practical and down-to-earth, the Buddha does not moralize about intoxication but points out its practical dangers. Intoxication is anything that evokes negligence, and negligence can mean anything that prevents you from seeing clearly. This is unhealthy, not just in the physical sense but also in mental and emotional ways. Becoming more sensitized to the various obstacles to our own diligence is a valuable practice. Daily Practice Find something you tend to get intoxicated by—it need not be alcohol or drugs, but can be ordinary things like coffee or sugar, the news or other media, or emotions like sadness, self-pity, or envy—and look more closely at your relationship to it. In what ways might the negligence and lack of clarity involved in that intoxication contribute to sickness, whether it be a physical sickness or a less tangible mental or emotional affliction? Tomorrow: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings 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: Accepting What’s There

We can aspire for a release from pain, but we bring kindness and compassion to whatever is happening. We accept what’s there, without contention.

Sebene Selassie, “Belonging in the Body”

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Via DailyChatt

Death, Inside the Bones’

Chile

World-renowned Chilean poet and Nobel Prize laureate Pablo Neruda died of poisoning just days after the 1973 coup that brought General Augusto Pinochet to power, according to a recent forensic report that challenges the state’s long-held position about the writer’s death as having been “natural”, Quartz reported.

An international forensic team delivered the report to a top Chilean judge this week after examining bone and tooth samples from Neruda’s exhumed body.

Neruda’s nephew Rodolfo Reyes shared some of the details of the report, saying that scientists found clostridium botulinum while examining Neruda’s remains, a neurotoxin they said caused the poet’s death.

He added that the findings validate what he has been saying for 50 years – that his uncle was poisoned in a hospital shortly after the coup that removed socialist President Salvador Allende, NPR added.

The report – which will become available to the public next month – challenges the official version that Neruda died of prostate cancer. There have been suggestions that Pinochet poisoned Neruda – an ally of Allende – to prevent a political challenge from the left-wing writer, a critic and member of the communist party.

Public pressure over the cause of death increased in 2011 when the writer’s driver publicly recounted Neruda telling him that he had been injected with a foreign substance into his stomach just hours before his death.

Neruda’s relatives are hoping to open a criminal investigation into his death, which observers say would make him one of more than 40,000 political dissidents who were brutally tortured and murdered during Pinochet’s tenure.

Via FB // Ram Dass