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.
On
the opposite side of every front, there is a back; on the opposite side
of every back, there is a front. One cannot exist without the other.
Yet human beings invariably tend to see only the front and to assume
that this is all that exists.
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 appreciative joy, for when you develop meditation on
appreciative joy, any discontent will be abandoned. (MN 62)
The proximate cause of appreciative joy is seeing the success of other beings. (Vm 9.95)
Reflection
It comes
naturally to us, for the most part, to feel good about good things
happening to us. But this does not necessarily happen all the time. What
if we could feel good twice as often or more? Why not experience that
same emotion of appreciative joy when other people meet with success or
good fortune? Instead of feeling jealousy or resentment, we can develop
the skill of sharing in the good fortune of others.
Daily Practice
Look around you
for examples of good things happening to other people. It can seem hard
to find because of the negative bias of our news sources, but if you
search a little you can find good news. When you do, allow yourself to
feel gladness and joy for the good fortune of those people. Share in the
appreciation and gratitude. You can only feel appreciative joy when you
see or think about the success of others, so look for it.
Tomorrow: Refraining from Harsh Speech One week from today: Cultivating Equanimity
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
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 bodily sensations as they actually are, then one
is not attached to bodily sensations. 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
Since craving
is the cause of suffering, the ending of craving will bring about the
end of suffering. This is both a general principle and a dynamic that
happens in every moment of lived experience. We are aware of something
different every moment, and when we either hold on to that object or
push it away, we feel discontent. Observing it with equanimity takes
away the affliction, and everything simply becomes interesting.
Daily Practice
Sensations flow
through your body in a constant stream. Some you like, some you don’t
like. It is natural to feel attached to the ones that feel good and to
resist and resent the ones that don’t, but this itself is the cause of
suffering—attachment and aversion. Practice just observing each
sensation without attachment, without infatuation, and see for yourself
how mindful equanimity results in bodily and mental well being.
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
Repetition
is what allows something brand new to occur. Repetition, like the
lapping of ripples against a rock, gently shifts the ground on which we
tread, and so alters our relationship to the things we experience.
Tricycle’s Buddhism & Ecology Summit: Touching the Earth An Earth Day Event Series
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