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.
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 equanimity, for when you develop meditation on equanimity,
all aversion is abandoned. (MN 62)
The proximate cause of equanimity is seeing ownership of deeds. (Vm
9.95) Having tasted a flavor with the tongue, one is neither glad-minded
nor sad-minded but abides with equanimity, mindful and fully aware. (AN
6.1)
Reflection
The phrase
“seeing ownership of deeds” refers to karma. Recognizing that everything
that happens is a matter of cause and effect gives rise to equanimity.
It is not raining to spoil your picnic, your toothache is not a form of
punishment, and you are not having a bit of luck because you deserve it.
When we regard things as the result of conditions rather than as
entangled in our own sense of self, equanimity begins to develop.
Daily Practice
Cycling through
the senses, we are practicing today with the tongue and flavors. The
aim is to use this sense modality to cultivate equanimity, the state of
mind that does not favor pleasure or oppose displeasure. As you eat your
food, see if you can relate to the taste with a neutral reaction.
Acknowledge the tastiness if it tastes good and be aware of the bad
taste if it is bad, but practice looking at each evenly. It is what it
is.
Tomorrow: Refraining from Frivolous Speech One week from today: Cultivating Lovingkindness
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
When
we bury a feeling, we hold it inside and it festers, but if we develop
our ability and courage to feel, we can come to a recognition that our
inner feeling-world is not something we have to fear and run from.
Scott Tusa, “How to Be in the Body (Without Jumping Out of Your Skin)”
Sacred Sites: The Garden of One Thousand Buddhas By Carmen Kohlruss
Seeded
two decades ago, A Tibetan Buddhist peace garden continues to flourish
under the care of a Tibetan diaspora within the domain of the
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on the Flathead Reservation in
Arlee, Montana.
Buddhist Film Festival Presented by Tricycle March 15-24, 2024
We
invite you to join us for our first-ever Buddhist Film Festival from
March 15-24, offering five feature-length films, five short films, and a
live screening and Q&A with filmmaker Lana Wilson!
“Be in love with yr life.”— Belief and Technique for Modern Prose
“The only people
for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad
to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never
yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous
yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”—On the Road
“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.”—On the Road
“It's hard to explain and best thing to do is not be false.”—Big Sur
“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”—The Dharma Bums
“One man practicing kindness in the wilderness is worth all the temples this world pulls.” — The Dharma Bums
“No man should go
through life without once experiencing healthy, even bored solitude in
the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and thereby
learning his true and hidden strength. Learning for instance, to eat
when he’s hungry and sleep when he’s sleepy.” — Lonesome Traveler
“The only truth is music.” - Jack Kerouac
"Our battered suitcases were were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life."—On the Road
“The best teacher is experience and not through someone’s distorted point of view.” — On the Road
“Maybe that’s what life is...a wink of the eye and winking stars.”—Letter to Alan Harrington
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
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is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave
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RIGHT VIEW Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering
And what is the way leading
to the cessation of suffering? It is just this noble eightfold path;
that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right
living, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. (MN 9)
One perfects their ethical behavior by abandoning the taking of life,
dwelling without taking life, with rod and weapon laid aside, gentle and
kindly, and with compassion for all living beings. (DN 2)
Reflection
The first and
perhaps most important of the basic ethical precepts is committing
yourself to the practice of harmlessness. This means not only no
deliberate killing but also refraining from any kind of assault against
living beings. The phrase used above literally means “laying down the
stick” and broadly speaking is construed as not only abandoning any
overt acts of violence but also softening the heart internally with
kindness and compassion.
Daily Practice
How can you
bring more harmlessness to your daily life? It is an emotional attitude
more than anything else. It involves seeing things through the eyes of
other beings and recognizing that they do not want and do not deserve to
be assaulted. Begin by brushing insects away rather than killing them,
slowing down to avoid animals on the road, and in every way increasing
your sensitivity to the inherent value of life.
Tomorrow: Cultivating Equanimity One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
Freedom
takes work. It takes prayer. It takes connecting to the unseen. It
takes devotion and trust in the sacred or the divine. But if we can do
that, then we will get free.