Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States

 

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RIGHT EFFORT Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States Whatever a person frequently thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders unhealthy states, one has abandoned healthy states to cultivate unhealthy states, and then one’s mind inclines to unhealthy states. (MN 19) Abandoning worldly sense desire, one abides with a mind free from sense desire, one purifies the mind of sense desire. (MN 51) Just as a person who had taken a loan would pay off their debts and have money left over, so would one rejoice and be glad about the abandoning of sense desire. (DN 2)

Reflection When an unhealthy state arises, what do you do? First, acknowledge it rather than try to ignore or suppress it, and then understand that it is unhealthy and likely to bring harm to yourself and/or others. Finally, let it go. Letting it go is simply aligning yourself with the law of impermanence. All mental and emotional states will pass away naturally; the trick is not to encourage the unhealthy ones by getting caught by them. Daily Practice Practice experiencing a stream of sensory inputs—sights, sounds, and the rest—without being entangled in them. When you abide in your experience with equanimity rather than desire or aversion, you are free. Even if these moments are brief, they are compared in this text to the freedom of being liberated from debt. The mind is unencumbered, without anxiety, and feels light and at ease. This feels good. Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and Abiding in the Second Jhāna One week from today: Developing Unarisen Healthy States 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: Look with Kindness

 

Look with Kindness Love and compassion are particular ways of looking. When we look with kindness and benevolence at ourselves, others, and the world; when we cultivate the way of seeing that is metta, love with no strings attached, we loosen the sense of self and tune our ability to see its fabricated nature. Nikki Mirghafori, “Dreaming Together” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

The Circle of Your Influence By Larry Ward Practicing with your immediate surroundings—observing, questioning, appreciating—can help you realize your intimate connection to the whole process. Read more »

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given

 

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RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Taking What is Not Given Taking what is not given is unhealthy. Refraining from taking what is not given is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning the taking of what is not given, one abstains from taking what is not given; one does not take by way of theft the wealth and property of others. (MN 41) One practices thus: “Others may take what is not given, but I will abstain from taking what is not given.” (MN 8) On seeing a form with the eye, one does not grasp at its signs and features. Since if one left the eye faculty unguarded, unwholesome states of covetousness and grief might intrude, one practices the way of its restraint, one guards the eye faculty, one undertakes the restraint of the eye faculty. (MN 51)

Reflection This is not a practice for shutting out the world but for gaining some control over what enters and influences your mind. Just as you don’t eat everything that you encounter, so also you need not see, hear, touch, or think everything that is capable of being discerned. Some objects impinge on the senses with such force that they cannot be ignored, but most of what we experience we seek out, driven by desire. We need not do this. Daily Practice Even with visual experience, we do not always have to take in more than what is immediately presented to the eye. Practice seeing something, acknowledging it, and then letting it pass away without chasing after its details and associations. We can take what is given to sight, and only what is given, and then move on to the next moment. In this way we are not dragged into entanglements we don’t choose, and we remain free. Tomorrow: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures 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 »

© 2025 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Daily Dharma: The Buddha’s Mindfulness

 

The Buddha’s Mindfulness Mindfulness supports the moment-to-moment intention to not cause harm, to be kind, and to renounce those thoughts and actions that lead to heedlessness. Without wise intention and wise understanding, mindfulness is aimless, and therefore not the Buddha’s. Phillip Moffitt, “The Mindfulness of the Buddha” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE The Buddha’s Death By Kyogen Carlson Explore a Zen reading of the Buddha’s last teaching.  Read more »

2 from White Crane Institute

 

Noteworthy 1978 - In Eugene, Oregon residents voted to repeal an ordinance banning discrimination against Gays and Lesbians by a 2-to-1 margin. Eugene, Oregon, people. Eugene! 2005 - At its annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia, the AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION votes to support government-recognized marriages between same-sex partners.

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8| 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! www.whitecraneinstitute.org |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

Via LGBTQ Nation \\ A Christian Nationalist church is opening in DC to convince Trump to criminalize homosexuality

 

Via The Tricycle Community \\\ Three Teachings: Train Your Mind with the Lojong Teachings

 

Browse our online courses » May 22, 2025 The Tibetan Art of Mind Training   One of Buddhism’s most systematic approaches for training the mind is the Tibetan lojong teachings.  Lojong (the Tibetan word for “mind training”) is a set of practices designed to transform the mind through contemplation and embodied practice. More specifically, they are a set of 59 phrases, or slogans, written by Atisha, a 10th-century Indian Buddhist master. Atisha brought to Tibet a systematic approach to cultivating bodhicitta (the awakened heart-mind) and loving-kindness through working with these short statements, which offer practical guidelines for both meditation and day-to-day life.  Also known as the Seven Points of Mind Training, the slogans provide a complete basis for practice. Using the lojong slogans, we work to loosen the grip of the ego and to release the clinging and fixations that create suffering—an essential prerequisite for developing an awakened heart.  Explore the power of lojongs in this week’s Three Teachings.  Forward today's teachings to a friend » Train Your Mind: Lojong Commentary  By Judy Lief  In a 2011 Tricycle series, Acharya Judy Lief, a teacher in the Shambhala tradition of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, offered weekly commentary on each of Atisha’s 59 mind-training slogans. Find all 59 commentaries here. Read more » Eight Slogans to Transform Your Mind  By Pema Chödrön In The Compassion Book: Teachings for Awakening the Heart, American Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön explores the 59 lojong slogans as guidelines for a compassionate way of living. Here, she advises picking a slogan each morning and applying its message to experiences that arise as you go about your day.  Read more » Your Mistakes Are Progress  By Lama Kathy Wesley One of the most potent lessons of the lojongs is the reminder that our worst faults and failings don’t have to be seen as unsolvable problems; they can become opportunities for growth and catalysts for awakening.  Read more »

Live this Sunday! Understanding the Vision & Practice of Enlightened Society

 

LIVE THIS SUNDAY UNDERSTANDING THE VISION & PRACTICE OF ENLIGHTENED SOCIETY WITH PETER NOWAK MAY 25, 2025 AT 3PM ET TIME ZONE CONVERTER Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche started to transmit the vision of an enlightened society in the 1970s as the core of the Shambhala teachings. How can we understand this vision and put it into practice now 50 years later in a time of global crisis and authoritarian politics? Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche once said, “It is up to each of us individually to find the meaning of enlightened society and how it can be realized.” This session will approach the meaning of enlightened society from three perspectives: a sociological view of 21st century global society, a classical Buddhist view on Shambhala, and the manifestation of enlightened society in the life work of Chögyam Trungpa. On this ground we will explore different levels of practical engagement in society. Finally, we will contemplate how to contribute personally and realistically to a more enlightened society in our life. REGISTER NOW

Via GBF \\ Summer Newsletter is here

 

 

Sangha members,

 

The GBF summer newsletter is available for you to read.  It contains a transcript of a talk to our sangha by Sean Feit Oakes titled "Working with Dukkha". You can view or download the newsletter at https://gaybuddhist.org/newsletters .

 

Thanks to all who create the newsletter.

Henry

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Enjoy 850+ free recorded dharma talks at https://gaybuddhist.org/podcast/

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