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

 

TRICYCLE      COURSE CATALOG      SUPPORT      DONATE

RIGHT VIEW Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering What is the origin of suffering? It is craving, which brings renewal of being, is accompanied by delight and lust, and delights in this and that; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for being, and craving for non-being. (MN 9) When one does not know and see perception as it actually is, then one is attached to perception. When one is attached, one becomes infatuated, and one’s craving increases. One’s bodily and mental troubles increase, and one experiences bodily and mental suffering. (MN 149)

Reflection Perception is the mental process by which we interpret incoming sensory information and create meaning from it. Perception uses the cognitive faculties of the mind to  weave words and concepts into explanations and stories that help define the world we inhabit and our place in it. The problem is that we often take these stories to be more real than they are, at which point they can become sources of attachment. Daily Practice Learn to hold your perceptions lightly. Perception is a useful tool and can be used by wisdom to disengage us from suffering. But as with any tool, if we mishandle it we can cause harm to ourselves and others. Practice reminding yourself that your perceptions are only creating a map of the world that may or may not depict the terrain accurately. When our stories give rise to craving, they are doing more harm than good. Tomorrow: Cultivating Compassion One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of 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 »

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

Via Daily Dharma: Practice without Desire

 

Support Tricycle with a donation »

Practice without Desire If you want to free yourself, you have to put all your heart into your practice, patiently developing your mind every day—day in, day out—without desiring results or wisdom. Herman Schreuder, “Don’t Read, Meditate!” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Just the Essentials By Jeff Watt An exploration of Tantric deities' proper form in contemporary art.  Read more » Khata: Purity or Poison? Directed by Huatse Gyal July’s film is available now! “Khata: Purity or Poison?,” directed by Huatse Gyal, explores the paradoxical relationship between the meaning of the Khata, a sacred scarf used in much of the Tibetan Buddhist world, and its materiality, between purity and poison, to raise awareness of the unintended consequences of our good intentions. Watch now »

Via Daily Dharma: The Paradox of You and I

 

Support Tricycle with a donation »

The Paradox of You and I  My life and yours are the unfolding realization of total aloneness and total intimacy. The self is completely autonomous yet exists only in resonance with all other selves. Robert Aitken, “The Nature of the Precepts” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

The Miraculous Functioning of the “I” By Kusan Suryeon A blissful poem by Kusan Suryeon.  Read more » Khata: Purity or Poison? Directed by Huatse Gyal July’s film is available now! “Khata: Purity or Poison?,” directed by Huatse Gyal, explores the paradoxical relationship between the meaning of the Khata, a sacred scarf used in much of the Tibetan Buddhist world, and its materiality, between purity and poison, to raise awareness of the unintended consequences of our good intentions. Watch now »

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and the First Jhāna

 

TRICYCLE      COURSE CATALOG      SUPPORT      DONATE

RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Body 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)   Full awareness: when going forward and returning, looking ahead and looking away . . . one is just aware, just mindful: “There is body.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection Mindfulness involves focusing awareness very precisely on whatever is occurring in the present moment. Its sibling term, full awareness, expands the scope of awareness to encompass the whole sweep of a movement or activity. The two terms work together somewhat like a spotlight and a floodlight to illuminate an activity at the micro level of detail and at the macro level of broader continuity. Daily Practice Cultivate an attitude of full awareness as you go about the ordinary activities of daily life. When you are sipping tea, full awareness takes in the entire motion of lifting the cup, bringing it to the lips, sipping, swallowing, and returning the mug to the table. Many ordinary motions, like “looking ahead and looking away,” can be done every day as a practice of full awareness, complementing rather than replacing mindfulness.  RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the First Phase of Absorption (1st Jhāna) Having abandoned the five hindrances, imperfections of the mind that weaken wisdom, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, one enters and abides in the first phase of absorption, which is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought, with joy and the pleasure born of seclusion. (MN 4) One practices: “I shall breathe in experiencing the mind;” one practices: “I shall breathe out experiencing the mind.” This is how concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated,  so that it is of great fruit and great benefit. (A 54.8) Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and Abiding in the Second 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 »

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

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - July 14, 2024 💌

 

When meditation works as it should, it will be a natural part of your being. There will no longer be anything apart from you to have faith in. - Ram Dass

Via Tricycle // The Environmental Impact of Sacred Tibetan Scarves

 

Support Tricycle with a donation »

July 13, 2024 The Environmental Impact of Sacred Tibetan Scarves What happens when a sacred object, like the khata, becomes ubiquitous? This is the central question of the film Khata: Purity or Poison? Khatas are long white pieces of thin fabric predominant in the Tibetan Buddhist world. These ceremonial scarves are often presented to show appreciation or as a greeting, wrapped around religious statues, and burned in ceremonies. Once made from wool and used in early indigenous Tibetan practices, these highly symbolic textiles are now frequently made of polyester—and are quickly polluting the planet. “Khata are polluting the environment,” says Huatse Gyal, the film’s director and a professor of anthropology at Rice University. “They pile up in trash cans, in the rooms of Buddhist monasteries; they get stuck in fences; animals eat them. Moreover, they release toxic smoke when they’re burnt—and you can see them melt into a solid form—which happens during offerings. Sheep-shearers now use khata to tie the legs of sheep. They’re being used for all kinds of utilitarian purposes now… However, there are efforts to spread the word about health risks and harm. People are starting to raise their concerns. I’m hopeful.” This ethnographic documentary film explores the paradoxical relationship between the meaning of khata and its materiality, between purity and poison, to raise awareness of the unintended consequences of our good intentions.    Watch the film today »