Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Equanimity

 

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RIGHT INTENTION Cultivating Equanimity 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 function of equanimity is to see equality in beings. (Vm 9.93) Having heard a sound with the ear, one is neither glad-minded nor sad-minded but abides with equanimity, mindful and fully aware. (AN 6.1)

Reflection Equanimity is the active ingredient in mindfulness practice. Here we see it as the fourth of the brahma-viharas. Equanimity means an evenly balanced mind, like a plate on a stick that inclines neither toward nor away from an object of experience. It is the midpoint between greed (attraction) and hatred (aversion), and is therefore a state in which the mind can be free from the influence of both. Daily Practice As we cycle through the senses, we are encouraged here to work with the sense modality of sound. So often we reach for the sounds that we like and make us feel good, and avoid or recoil from the sounds that we don’t like and make us feel bad. At this basic level of sensory input, can you practice being mindful and fully aware of a sound without either favoring or opposing it? Try to let the sound be what it is, without relating it to yourself and your preferences. Tomorrow: Refraining from Frivolous Speech One week from today: Cultivating Lovingkindness Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: The Mark of a True Practitioner

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The Mark of a True Practitioner The mark of a true practitioner is not what arises in your life and mind but how you work with what arises. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, “The Path of Patience” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Voices of Courage and Insight By Susan Moon A new anthology of articles and essays spotlights the lives of Buddhist women who broke convention and shaped the dharma. Read more »

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: The Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering

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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) It happens that a fully awakened Buddha arises in the world, endowed with wisdom and impeccable behavior. Having realized awakening himself, he teaches the Dhamma, lovely in the beginning, middle, and end, and demonstrates a purified spiritual life. The Dhamma taught by the Buddha is heard by people, who gain trust in the Buddha and his teaching. (DN 2)

Reflection After the first three noble truths have pointed out the existence of suffering, identified its cause as craving, and attested that craving can be ended, the fourth noble truth focuses on the treatment plan to follow in order to cure suffering. The eightfold path is an integrated path of gradually purifying behavior in the world, developing the mind through meditation, and understanding the nature of things more clearly.  Daily Practice This path is a call to adventure, an invitation to undertake the process of gradual transformation that will carry anyone from a condition of affliction, moderate or grave, to one of greater happiness and well-being. It starts with hearing the teachings and having just enough trust to take your first steps and begin putting those teachings into practice. The path calls for many small steps taken carefully and mindfully. Tomorrow: Cultivating Equanimity One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: Just Being

 

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Just Being It turns out that life doesn’t need a purpose to simply be what it is. Does a tree need to find its purpose to grow? Does the wind need a reason to blow? Santiago Santai Jiménez, “Returning to Our Original Nature” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

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Via Words of Wisdom - January 12, 2025 💠

 

“There is such an ocean of suffering in the world. I mean, there's also pleasure and beauty and fun and play. But there is an ocean of suffering. There is suffering of every conceivable kind. The ocean of suffering is so vast, and the media bring it so immediately to you—the faces of the people around you, and the stories about other cultures. It's so intense that what often happens is you feel powerless before this ocean, this wave, this tidal wave of suffering. Edmund Burke's line is: The worst mistake is to do nothing, because you can only do a little. Which is the same line as Gandhi’s: What you do may seem insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. Since everything is interrelated, if you do an act to relieve suffering—if you help somebody across the street, pick up somebody's groceries, read to somebody who's blind, or just be kind and tender to somebody who has AIDS—whatever you do, even reading a story to your child, the way in which it’s done out of tender caring... It's like our hearts are all connected in the universe, and it’s just like dropping pebbles into water—it keeps spreading and spreading. It’s very hard to understand, when it seems like such a trivial act, how it is connected to the entire universe in that way. And I feel that it is important not only for the relief of suffering, that you do what you can for other people. It's important for your own heart that you do something.”   >> Want to dive deeper with Ram Dass? Click Here to Receive a Daily Wisdom Text from Ram Dass & Friends