Thursday, July 18, 2024

Via Tricycle // Three Teachings

 

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July 18, 2024

A Steady Foundation and a Welcome Reward
 
To those unfamiliar with Buddhism, tranquility may seem like the ultimate goal of meditation. While it is a worthy goal itself, it is also one of the seven factors of awakening—the wholesome qualities that are a crucial part of the Buddhist path and essential to escaping the cycle of samsara. The way to develop tranquility is the core Buddhist practice known as samatha, or calm abiding, which goes hand in hand with Vipassana, or clear seeing. Samatha entails focusing on an object, most commonly the breath, to steady the mind and achieve samadhi, or concentration. 

While Vipassana, which leads to insight, has become a widespread practice, samatha is equally integral. Tranquility is a key support to and benefit of practice for beginners and advanced Buddhist practitioners alike. The former may use tranquility to help quiet their thoughts and quell anxiety. The latter to reach deep levels of concentration known as jhana. In both cases, tranquility aids practice and practitioner, serving as a steady foundation for going further and a welcome reward. 

Some practice Vipassana and samatha in succession, with samatha offering the stabilization to practice or achieve Vipassana. As meditation teacher Narayan Helen Liebenson explains, “With calmness as our foundation, as the mental chatter begins to calm itself and cease, wisdom has a greater chance of emerging, of thriving, of growing.” But they can also be viewed as complementary practices or aims to engage in together. As author and meditation teacher Lama Rod Owens explains, “In the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism, the goal is to practice calm abiding and insight in union and, ultimately, realize the true nature of mind.” 

This week’s Three Teachings explains a method for developing tranquility and why it’s both a necessity for and a boon of Buddhist practice.

The Principles and Practices of Samatha and Vipassana With Narayan Helen Liebenson

Teacher Narayan Helen Liebenson explains how beginner and seasoned meditators can benefit from cultivating greater tranquility and insight in their practice. 
Watch now »

The Samatha of Survival By Lama Rod Owens

Lama Rod Owens gives instruction in samatha meditation, and discusses the role mindfulness played for him as a means of survival in a world of harmful projections.
Read more »

A Satisfying State of Happiness By Gil Fronsdal 

How tranquility supports meditation practice and ultimately leads to a deeper sense of contentment and peace.
Read more »

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Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Malicious Speech



RIGHT SPEECH
Refraining from Malicious Speech
Malicious speech is unhealthy. Refraining from malicious speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning malicious speech, one refrains from malicious speech. One does not repeat there what one has heard here to the detriment of these, or repeat here what one has heard there to the detriment of those. One unites those who are divided, is a promoter of friendships, and speaks words that promote concord. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak maliciously, but I shall abstain from malicious speech.” (MN 8)

Disputes occur when a person is deceitful and fraudulent. Such a person dwells disrespectful and undeferential towards others, causing harm and unhappiness for many. If you see any such root of a dispute either in yourself or externally, you should strive to abandon it. And if you do not see any such root of dispute either in yourself or externally, you should practice in such a way that it does not erupt in the future. (MN 104)
Reflection
Arguments and disputes do not come from external circumstances, but from the internal qualities of people’s minds. When there is a competing interest, for example, it might be negotiated peacefully and fairly, or it might escalate into a hateful argument and even become violent. The difference lies in what kind of internal mental and emotional states are brought to the table by both participants. We can influence how this unfolds. 
Daily Practice
Take special care to refrain from being deceitful or fraudulent in all of your dealings with other people. And when other people are exhibiting these qualities, try hard not to be provoked into doing the same. These practices in daily life require a regular habit of being tuned in to the workings of your own mind and being sensitive to the extent your own experience is impacted by the mental and emotional qualities of others.
Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Verbal Action
One week from today: Refraining from Harsh Speech

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Questions?
 Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.
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Via Daily Dharma: Seeing Beyond the Surface

 

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Seeing Beyond the Surface

When you take care of things, see with the eyes of the heart, even if sometimes it means seeing beyond the surface.

Paula Arai, “Healing Glistens on Carefully Washed Windows”


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Via Them // Trump’s VP Pick J.D. Vance Is an Anti-LGBTQ+ Nightmare

 

Politics

Via Ram Dass Words of Wisdom - July 17, 2024 💌

 


I will work on myself, since the work on myself is going to be the highest thing I can do for it all, since I understand that as we up-level our own consciousness, we see more creative solutions to the problems that we're confronting. - Ram Dass

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Compassion

 


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RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Compassion
Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis upon which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop meditation on compassion, for when you develop meditation on compassion, any cruelty will be abandoned. (MN 62)

The near enemy of compassion is ordinary sorrow. (Vm 9.99)
Reflection
Just as physical pleasure and pain are natural and inevitable aspects of human experience, the same is true of mental pleasure and pain. Sorrow can be seen as a form of mental pain, and it is natural to feel such pain, for example, with the death of a loved one. Compassion is also accompanied by sorrow, but it is not ordinary sorrow; it is a higher sorrow, raised beyond the personal to the level of a universal emotion.

Daily Practice
Allow yourself to open to the suffering of another person; there is plenty of opportunity for this these days. See if you can discern a difference between feeling sorry for them and feeling sorrow on account of their pain. See if you can feel the difference between a personal sorrow and a universal sorrow. Practice opening to the suffering of others on this broader, more universal level of experience and meaning.

Tomorrow: Refraining from Malicious Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Appreciative Joy

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions?
Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.



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89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

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Resting in Spiritual Consciousness

Whether I’m engaging with my grandson or whether I’m going to the supermarket and talking to the person checking out my groceries, I try to be in a place of spiritual consciousness all the time.

Charles Johnson, “I Must Change My Life” 


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