Challenges

EMAIL from a dear friend:

As you go through your healing, remember these words if they bring a smile or a bit of strength;

Fate whispers to the Warrior, 

"You can not withstand the storm".

The Warrior whispers back,

        "I AM THE STORM".

 

Thank you Doreen!

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Frivolous Speech

 

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RIGHT SPEECH Refraining from Frivolous Speech Frivolous speech is unhealthy. Refraining from frivolous speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning frivolous speech, one refrains from frivolous speech. One speaks at the right time, speaks only what is fact, and speaks about what is good. One speaks what is worthy of being overheard, words that are reasonable, moderate, and beneficial. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak frivolously, but I shall abstain from frivolous speech.” (MN 8) An authentic person is one who, even when asked, does not reveal their own praiseworthy qualities—still less so when not asked. When asked, however, and obliged to reply to questions, one speaks of their own praiseworthy qualities hesitatingly and not in detail. (AN 4.73)

Reflection This passage describes a situation of humility, not dissembling. It is right speech because it does not unnecessarily embellish your own story by exaggerating your good qualities, which can be considered a form of frivolous or unnecessary speech. Notice that it is still important to tell the truth, so if asked directly it is okay to be accurate in noting your own virtues, as long as you do it with an attitude of humility. Daily Practice Pay attention to the speech patterns of the people you encounter and notice just how much of what they say involves praising themselves either overtly or indirectly. It is remarkable how much of our speech is given to this project. Now turn your gaze on your own words and see to what degree you are doing this yourself. Try removing self-praise from your language for a while and see how difficult it is to do. Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Social Action One week from today: Refraining from False Speech 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: Staying on the Path

 

Staying on the Path

As we walk the path, let us not look up so much at the destination, high above in the mist, but carefully place one foot in front of the other.  Andrew Olendzki, “A Tough But Not Impossible Act to Follow” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - August 2, 2023 💌

"If I am in my soul, when I look at others, I see their souls. I still see the individual differences - men and women, rich and poor, attractive and unattractive, and all that stuff. But when we recognize each other as souls, we see each other as aspects of the One. Love is the emotion of merging, of becoming One. Love is a way of pushing through into the One."

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: There Is No Right Breath

 

There Is No Right Breath

It is important to remember that there is no “right” breath…Short, long, deep, shallow are all fine breaths. Trust your body; it knows what is needed. Christina Feldman, “Receiving the Breath” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Via Kempon Hokke Shu // FB

 "Você pode conhecer bem a si mesmo e o mundo verdadeiro, se trabalhar arduamente para atingir esse objetivo através dos ensinamentos do Buda Shakyamuni."
ㅤ
Por Reverendo Sinyou Tsuchiya
ㅤ
Conheça a Kempon Hokke Shu: https://www.facebook.com/groups/639160821078384

@todos

 

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 upon 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 far enemies of equanimity are attachment and aversion. (Vm 9.101) When a person smelling an odor with the nose is not attached to pleasing odors and not repelled by unpleasing odors, they have established mindfulness and dwell with an unlimited mind. For a person whose mindfulness is developed and practiced, the nose does not struggle to reach pleasing odors, and unpleasing odors are not considered repulsive. (SN 35.274)

Reflection Buddhist teachings are not abstract but always point us to the front lines of lived experience. Cycling through each of the six senses, we come to exploring the quality of equanimity even in the smelling of odors. Equanimity is the midpoint between favoring and opposing, between wanting what feels good and not wanting what feels bad. It is not indifference but a more refined attitude of understanding and acknowledging. Daily Practice See if you can find and then inhabit that middle emotional ground in which you are acutely aware of a sensation—in this case a smell coming through the nose—but are not reacting to it, either for or against. All sensory experience is just what it is; we need not make it good or bad by our emotional response. Learning to do this with a sense like smell will help you apply equanimity to other, more complex situations as needed.  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: Great Determination

 

Great Determination

No matter how high the mountains of the great dharma are, no matter how deep the sea of ignorance is, they will be as nothing before a boundless spirit of determination.  Koun Yamada, “Great Faith, Great Doubt, Great Determination” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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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 not composed, one is aware: “The mind is not composed”. . . One is just aware, just mindful: “There is mind.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection With the third of the four foundations of mindfulness, or practices on which mindfulness can be established, we learn to notice the effect of various mental and emotional states on the way consciousness manifests in our experience. A composed mind consists of a moment of coherence, unity, tranquility, and internal harmony. Sometimes this happens, and sometimes it does not. Simply be aware when it does and does not. Daily Practice When observing the many changing mental states in your experience, it is important to avoid getting attached to them. This is particularly difficult with thoughts, which have rich content that can draw us into the story and away from an attitude of neutral observation. This is why the instruction to just be aware, to just be mindful, is so important. This keeps the mind moving forward and not clinging to anything. 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) One practices: “I shall breathe in concentrating the mind”;  one practices: “I shall breathe out concentrating the mind.” This is how concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated  so that it is of great fruit and great benefit. (A 54.8) Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and 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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