Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and the Third Jhāna

 

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RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Mind 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)   When the mind is beset by aversion, one is aware "the mind is beset by aversion". . . One is just aware, just mindful: "There is mind." And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection As mental factors flow into consciousness, they color and distort the clarity with which we see what is actually going on, either in the world or in our own minds. Sometimes the mind is "beset by aversion" —that is, we feel annoyance at or distaste for some object of experience. Resenting this, or wishing it were not so, does no good and can even make aversion worse. With mindfulness practice, one simply abides without clinging and lets the experience come and go.  Daily Practice The practice of mindfulness is simply to be aware of what is happening in the moment. This includes being aware of both healthy and unhealthy states of mind, and here we are being encouraged to know when the mind has been impacted by the emotional state of aversion, the not liking and not wanting of something. The practice here is to simply note the aversion without clinging to it. Aversion to the aversion is a form of clinging. RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Third Phase of Absorption (3rd Jhāna) With the fading away of joy, one abides in equanimity; mindful and fully aware, still feeling pleasure with the body, one enters upon and abides in the third phase of absorption, on account of which noble ones announce: "One has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful." (MN 4) Reflection In some contexts the words "joy" and "equanimity" can seem to exclude one another: it is either one or the other. Here they are combined in the third phase of absorption, where the strong sensory pleasure of the previous two jhānas fades away, to be replaced by equanimity. Then this equanimity itself is subtly pleasurable but not in the same sense as before. The absence of pleasure is itself pleasurable, so to speak. Daily Practice Again, never mind the formal levels of jhāna practice. That is something you can get into if you take up formal jhāna practice under proper conditions. But sitting in silence and solitude on a Sunday morning or afternoon, you can allow the mind and body to formlessly unwind and relax to such an extent that you taste the quality of equanimity, of being fully aware of all experience without wanting anything to be different than it is. Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and Abiding in the Fourth Jhāna Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via White Crane Institute \\ JONATHAN, SON OF SAUL

 

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This Day in Gay History
February 07 Born David and Jonathan [Pierre et Gilles, 2005] 1046 BCE - JONATHAN, SON OF SAUL, born; OK...there was no "February"in 1046 BCE. And no one knows exactly when the biblical Jonathan was born, either. But since no one of any particular importance to Gay history was born on February 7, let’s just assign it to this sweet young man, whose present in Holy Writ has always been an embarrassment to fundamentalist preachers everywhere? The love of Jonathan for David, a love so deep that he foreswore his father out of loyalty to his beloved, has provided literature with both a powerful trope for male love and one of the most oft-quoted lines of Scripture, spoken by David at the death of his friend: “My brother, Jonathan, thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women” (2 Samuel 1:26). Attempts to explain away this line are among the most dazzling examples of sophistry, ingeniousness, and wrong-headed mumbo-jumbo in 2,000 years of biblical exegesis. But we know what it means, don’t we? |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 Daily Dharma: Don’t Withdraw

 

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Don’t Withdraw All hearts are tempted to grow numb, to withdraw and tuck in as if about to roost for the long night. We must not allow this to happen.  Rick Bass, “Answering the Call” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

How to Let Go By Daehaeng A Korean nun and Seon master explores letting go as an act of unconditional trust.  Read more »

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Developing Unarisen Healthy States

 

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RIGHT EFFORT Developing Unarisen Healthy States Whatever a person frequently thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders healthy states, one has abandoned unhealthy states to cultivate the healthy state, and then one’s mind inclines to healthy states. (MN 19) Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to develop the arising of unarisen healthy mental states. One develops the unarisen energy awakening factor. (MN 141)

Reflection The mental and emotional states that are healthy, leading away from suffering and toward greater clarity of understanding, do not always arise on their own and sometimes need a little help. In the sequence of awakening factors, investigation of states naturally gives rise to energy, because everything becomes so interesting, but the development of energy can also be instigated and encouraged as a deliberate practice.  Daily Practice Interesting how it is put in the text: that we need to stir up energy to develop energy. What this is pointing to is that sometimes we just have to reach down and decide that we will bring more energy to bear on a given situation. Perhaps it is blinking the eyes to overcome drowsiness or gritting the teeth boost our willpower to avoid a temptation. Energy is a factor that can be weak or strong. Here we practice strengthening it. Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and the Third Jhāna One week from today: Maintaining Arisen 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 GBF: "Why Practice? Part 2 - The Path from Samsara to Nibbāna" with Ian Challis Inbox

The latest dharma talk is now available on the GBF website, podcast and YouTube channel:

Why Practice? Part 2: The Path from Samsara to Nibbāna – Ian Challis

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What if “liberation” isn’t an escape from the world’s pain, but the most grounded way to meet it?

In Part 2, Ian Challis continues his exploration of the journey from samsara (the spinning wheel of greed, hatred, and delusion) toward nibbāna—not as a far-off trophy, but as an orientation we can practice right here.

He frames refuge (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) as a real-time source of strength rather than a hiding place: community, ethics, and wise effort become the “places we gather power” when life feels dystopian or overwhelming. He leans on the bodhisattva spirit—awakening that’s incomplete unless it includes others—and points out that freedom isn’t withdrawal; it’s relationship, mutuality, and shared responsibility.

Ian also makes liberation practical and strangely familiar: most people already know its taste. He calls these moments “free samples”—brief flashes when the mind isn’t clinging (maybe in nature, art, a quiet walk, or simply watching the breath). The practice is to study what’s present and absent in those moments, and to lean into the “via negativa” of the Dharma—freedom revealed by letting go. Along the way, he offers a handful of memorable handles for the path:

• “Letting go” in degrees: let go a little → a little peace; a lot → a lot of peace; completely → complete freedom (Ajahn Chah).

• A Marie Kondo test for the mind: if a thought, habit, or story doesn’t support the wholesome, can it be released? (Although it’s easier with closets than with resentment.)

• Five grounding views for hard times: trust the path, trust one’s capacity, remember support/lineage, hold that all beings deserve compassion (including oneself), and remember that actions matter.

• A deeper inquiry beneath “the heart wants what it wants”: through the five aggregates, Ian points to how the survival-driven “I-making” process can run the show—until practice begins to dissolve the hard sense of “me,” revealing a deeper heart that longs for connection and true freedom.

He closes by treating nibbāna with humility and faith—something the Buddha described beyond ordinary categories—and reminds listeners that the work is gradual: many small acts of integrity, mindfulness, and wisdom that keep turning the wheel toward stillness.

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Via The Tricycle Community \\\ Three Teachings on Accepting Help

 

Support the Tricycle community with a donation » February 5, 2026 The Support of Others   Burnout is rampant for many reasons: the breakneck speed of our notifications and news cycle, an unhealthy notion of success that privileges power and limitless consumption, and an attachment to perfectionism, as if there is some objective measure in the first place. The list goes on, but one source of burnout that we shouldn’t forget is the impulse to go it alone—to carry a burden, confront an obstacle, or even to face an ordinary day without the support of others.  In Buddhism, sangha, or community, is essential. In the Upaddha Sutta, the Buddha famously stated, “Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life.” In the Shin tradition, practice begins with acknowledging our collective need for help and expressing gratitude for the Buddha’s teachings. Needing or accepting help isn’t a sign of weakness but of strength, requiring vulnerability, openness, and detachment from an erroneous sense of self that stands apart from everything else. We’re never actually acting on our own, after all.  This week’s Three Teachings reminds us that receiving support with open arms—difficult though it may be for some—is just as important on the Buddhist path as giving freely. Forward today's teachings to a friend » You Can’t Go It Alone By Reverend Patti Nakai Reverend Patti Nakai explains the Shin Buddhist orientation of asking for help as the first step to liberation, which is “seen when we come out of our cubbyholes of self-concern and participate in the community of mutual assistance.” Read more » Meaning Matters By Radhule Weininger  Psychologist and meditation teacher Radhule Weininger reflects on interdependence as a higher meaning that fortifies us and protects us from burnout. Read more » The Dance of Reciprocity By Melina Bondy Meditation teacher and former Buddhist monastic Melina Bondy reflects on the generosity of receiving, not just of giving. “In the end, it’s not so important who gives and who receives,” they say. “What matters is what takes us beyond our separation.” Read more » Follow Us

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Via LGBTQ Nation \\\ Law & Policy: Former Justice Anthony Kennedy shares the one reason his landmark marriage decision should stay. He also emphasized his belief in equal rights for trans people.

 

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