Friday, June 28, 2024

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures

 


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RIGHT LIVING
Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures 
Sensual misconduct is unhealthy. Refraining from sensual misconduct is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning sensual misconduct, one abstains from misbehaving among sensual pleasures. (MN 41) One practices thus: “Others may engage in sensual misconduct, but I will abstain from sensual misconduct.” (MN 8)

Sounds cognizable by the ear are of two kinds: those to be cultivated and those not to be cultivated. Such sounds as cause, in one who cultivates them, unhealthy states to increase and healthy states to diminish, such sounds are not to be cultivated. But such sounds as cause, in one who cultivates them, unhealthy states to diminish and healthy states to increase, such sounds are to be cultivated. (MN 114)
Reflection
Notice that nothing is being said here about the sound itself; the focus is on the reaction that hearing the sound has on the person who hears it. Your mind, along with its accumulated emotional habits, filters whatever comes in through the senses and gives rise to a range of responses. The precept concerning sensual indulgence has to do with abstaining from certain unhealthy responses, not from the objects themselves.

Daily Practice
Practice acting as a guardian of your sense doors. Like a sentry at the gate, be aware of what sounds present themselves to pass within and take care to admit only those that bring out your best. It is okay to filter out words and other sounds that are disturbing and cause distress. This does not mean hiding from life’s realities; rather it is about taking some control over what comes in and then goes on in your mind.

Tomorrow: Developing Unarisen Healthy States
One week from today: Abstaining from Intoxication

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Via Daily Dharma: Joy Is Everywhere

 

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Joy Is Everywhere

In meditation, the state of tranquility provides contentment and peace that are the basis for a deep and sublime sense of well-being. This is a happiness that’s not possible when the mind is restless or preoccupied. 

Gil Fronsdal, “A Satisfying State of Happiness”


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Failure as Liberation
By Sarah Kokernot
Struggling with feelings of rejection, a writer finds strength through letting go. 
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Thursday, June 27, 2024

Via Scientific American // Advanced-meditation


 

Via White Crane Institute // Feast Day of SAINTS JOHN AND PAUL

 

 

Saints John and Paul
2018 -

It is the Feast Day of SAINTS JOHN AND PAUL, martyred lovers According to their Acts, which are of a legendary character and without recorded historical foundation, the martyrs were eunuchs (Galli) of Constantina daughter of Constantine the Great, and became acquainted with a certain Gallicanus, who built a church in Ostia. At the command of Julian the Apostate, they were beheaded secretly by Terentianus in their house on the Cælian, where their church was subsequently erected, and where they themselves were buried. Galli (singular Gallus) was the Roman name for castrated followers of the Phrygian goddess Cybele, which were regarded as a third gender by contemporary Roman scholars, and are in some ways like transgendered people in the modern world. The chief of these priests was referred to as a battakes, and later as the archigallus.



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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

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
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Via Tricycle // Grounding Through Equanimity

 

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June 27, 2024

Grounding Through Equanimity 
 
Sometimes we’re up, other times we’re down. Some days the sun is shining, other days it’s pouring rain. Certain chapters of our lives bring great success, others seem to bring one failure after another. 

Life is defined by these kinds of dualities. It’s a journey through peaks and valleys, highs and lows, challenges and triumphs. In Buddhism, the basic opposing forces of life are what’s known as the eight worldly winds, or the “vicissitudes.”
 
“Each of our lives will be touched by what are called the winds of the world,” explains meditation teacher Christina Feldman. “Moments of praise and blame, success and failure, pleasure and pain, gain and loss are woven into every human life. In the light of approval and praise, we glow; in the light of disapproval and blame, we find ourselves ashamed and withering.” 

These opposing forces can threaten to pull us apart—or challenge us to step up and become stronger, more resilient, and more even-keeled.  

While this basic duality is part and parcel of the human experience, it doesn’t have to create unnecessary suffering. We don’t have to be yanked around by every positive and negative experience that comes our way. We can learn to navigate life’s inherent push and pull with a balanced mind and an equanimous heart. 

So what does that kind of equanimity look like? How do we keep our feet on the ground and our head held high as great winds of change blow around all around us? 

“Equanimity is about being able to deal with difficult, forceful experiences in life, both internally and externally,” says Ethan Nichtern, meditation teacher and author of Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life’s Eight Worldly Winds. “In the Shambhala teachings that I studied for many years, there’s this notion of being able to hold one’s seat in meditation practice but also in life in general… When life knocks you around, you can hold your seat.”

This week’s Three Teachings offers guidance on “holding your seat” in the face of the eight worldly winds.


In our upcoming Premium event on July 11 at 2 P.M. ET, movement strategist and Zen priest Cristina Moon joins Tricycle's Editor-in-Chief, James Shaheen, to discuss how training in martial arts such as Kendo and boxing, and fine arts like Japanese tea ceremony and ceramics can aid in developing the spirit.

Weathering the Eight Worldly Winds With Ethan Nichtern

Praise and criticism, success and failure, pain and pleasure are unavoidable. Can we learn to trust ourselves more deeply as we navigate life’s ups and downs? Learn to develop unshakable self-confidence in the face of the worldly winds with meditation teacher and author Ethan Nichtern. 
Listen now »

The Worldly Winds By Christina Feldman 

How can we learn to be with both “the lovely and the unlovely” in our lives, in the words of meditation teacher Christina Feldman? She offers a practice for staying present amid life’s many joys and sorrows by untangling the patterns of attachment and aversion that take us out of the moment. 
Read more »

How Parents and Children Can Learn Balance and Equanimity from the Eight Worldly Winds By Christopher Willard 

Family life offers countless opportunities to learn to work with hardships more skillfully and compassionately. Christopher Willard considers how the teachings of the eight worldly winds can offer support for navigating the stress of parenting. 
Read more »

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Mental Action

 


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RIGHT ACTION
Reflecting Upon Mental Action
However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds, bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too mental action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)

When you are doing an action with the mind, reflect upon that same mental action thus: “Does this action I am doing with the mind lead to both my own affliction and the affliction of another?” If, upon reflection, you know that it does, then stop doing it; if you know that it does not, then continue. (MN 61)
Reflection
Just as you can train yourself to be aware of the inbreath and outbreath moment by moment as you breathe, so also you can learn to be aware of your mind both taking in information and responding outwardly to events. It is more difficult, because the mind is subtle, but the principle is the same. Here we are being asked to take some responsibility for what unfolds in our mind, steering it toward what is healthy.

Daily Practice
Notice the texture of thoughts as they arise and pass away in the mind. Be aware of them as events occurring and fading, rather than focusing on the content of the thought. The mind is a process and can be carefully observed. Notice also the quality of this activity, whether it is laced with ill will or aversion or selfishness, or if it is accompanied by good will, kindness, and concern for others. Gently guide your mind toward the good.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures
One week from today: Reflecting upon Social Action

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.

© 2024 Tricycle Foundation
89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Daily Dharma: Turn Over the Reins

 

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Turn Over the Reins

When the mind relaxes its grip, the body leads the way. It’s a great relief for the mind, in fact. 

Willa Blythe Baker, “The Body Is Already Mindful” 


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Wholeness Is No Trifling Matter
By Ruth King
In her book Black and Buddhist, Buddhist teacher Ruth King reflects on bias and the path to true freedom.
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Tibetan Healing Sounds to Relax the Brain and Sleep, Calm Your Mind to S...

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