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

 

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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 understand flavors as they actually are, then one is attached to flavors. 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 Working systematically through the six different sense modalities, here we come to working with the flavors discernible by the tongue that give rise to moments of “tasting.” Here too we can easily get caught by wanting or craving some experiences of taste over others. A moment of suffering is born when we dislike the taste of something we are eating, or when we like something so much that we want to eat it again and again. Daily Practice See if you can get free for just a moment from the reflex to pursue pleasure and avoid displeasure. Try taking a few bites of something you traditionally don’t like and see if you can regard tasting it as simply a different experience. Try taking one bite and not another of something you really like and investigate that too as an experience. In this exercise you practice equanimity: tasting something without getting entangled in it. 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.

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Via Daily Dharma: The Spark Before the Flame

 

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The Spark Before the Flame Where Buddhist practices seem to be of most help is in developing more awareness of emotions as they are beginning to arise—the spark before the flame. Paul Ekman, “In Defense of Envy” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Visiting Teacher: Zohar Lavie An Interview with Zohar Lavie Get to know international meditation teacher and cofounder of SanghaSeva, Zohar Lavie.  Read more »

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

 

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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)   Breathing in and out, tranquilizing bodily activities … one is just aware, just mindful: "There is a body." And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection Sunday is a good day to get in the habit of spending some time in mindful meditation. When the quality of mind called mindfulness is nurtured and developed, the mind inclines toward contentment, as this passage points out. This might even be a good definition of mindfulness: feeling content with whatever is happening by not wanting it to be anything other than it is. Daily Practice The text that teaches meditation begins with learning to breathe in and out, long and short, mindfully, but here it shifts with a more intentional directive. The instruction is to "tranquilize"—calm or relax—the breathing and all bodily activity. In other words, we are now not simply being aware of what is happening but also trying to direct our experience toward deeper and deeper states of calm. With each breath, relax. 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) Reflection We dedicate Sundays to practicing mindfulness and concentration. Concentration practice involves focusing the mind on a single object, such as the breath, and returning attention to this focal point whenever it wanders off (which it will surely do often). All forms of meditation involve some level of concentration, so it is a good thing to practice. Daily Practice Formal concentration practice, involving absorption (Pali: jhāna) in four defined stages, requires more time and sustained effort than occasional practice generally allows and would benefit from careful instruction by a qualified teacher. You may begin on your own, however, simply by practicing to abandon the five hindrances, since jhāna practice only really begins when these temporarily cease to arise. Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin 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.

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Via Daily Dharma: Finding Awareness

 

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Finding Awareness Every time you recognize that you have lost awareness, be happy. The fact that you have recognized that you lost awareness means that you are now aware. Sayadaw U Tejaniya, “The Art of Investigation” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Working on Laziness By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche Our level of accomplishment is only as great as our level of diligence.  Read more » 2025 Tricycle Film Festival March 14–27, 2025 We invite you to join us for the second annual virtual Tricycle Film Festival from March 14–27, offering five feature-length films and five short films that you can watch all festival long, plus a live event with Ed Bastian, director of The Dalai Lama’s Gift. Register now »