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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and the Fourth Jhāna

TRICYCLE      COURSE CATALOG      SUPPORT      DONATE RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects 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) Reflection The fourth foundation of mindfulness involves looking at various aspects of our experience as episodes of phenomena arising and passing away in the stream of consciousness. Unhelpful habits of mind, acting as hindrances to inner clarity, come and go along with helpful mental factors, such as those guiding us to awakening. We learn to observe these changing states with calm and focused equanimity, without grasping. Daily Practice Sit quietly on a regular basis and take an interest in watching what goes on in your mind. The challenge is to observe it all without latching on to the content of your thoughts but simply noting them as events arising and passing away. Become mindful of mental objects rather than becoming entangled in them. If you can do this with ardent energy, fully aware and mindful, you will likely find yourself very content. RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Fourth Phase of Absorption (4th Jhāna) With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, one enters upon and abides in the fourth phase of absorption, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness as a result of equanimity. The concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability. (MN 4) Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna 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 » © 2023 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Daily Dharma: Being Nobody Special

 

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Being Nobody Special To be fully awake is the normal human condition. It expresses the deepest truth of our nature, our oneness with the energy of the universe. We meditate and study and practice to penetrate into, or relax into, this awareness. Sandy Boucher, “We Are in Training to Be Nobody Special” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Via Daily Dharma: Don’t Relive the Past

 

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Don’t Relive the Past The past has already been lived. It doesn’t have to be relived. To sacrifice the present and the future by reliving past injuries is not the way of the sages. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, “Opening the Injured Heart” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States

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RIGHT EFFORT Maintaining Arisen 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 healthy states, and then one’s mind inclines to healthy states. (MN 19)

Reflection The mind is always moving, leaning into the future as it flows like a stream through the landscape of the world. What path it takes is guided by neither chance nor a higher power: each moment inclines the mind toward the next moment. This is why it can be so important to maintain healthy mental and emotional states when they arise. The healthier the mind is now, the healthier it is likely to be in the future. Daily Practice Notice when you feel kindness toward someone, and then extend that further by feeling kindly toward someone else. Be aware of generosity when it is present in your mind and look for ways to continue expressing it through other generous actions. When you have moments of insight and understanding, allow yourself to linger on them, ponder their significance, and let the wisdom sink a little deeper into your mind. Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and Abiding in the Fourth Jhāna One week from today: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Sangha in the Age of Long COVID By Juliana Sloane

Buddhist spaces relaxing their COVID safety measures brought relief to many, but for chronically ill or immunocompromised practitioners, those changes also brought risk.

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I'm pleased to see "How to Practice Metta [Buddhist Good Will or Loving Kindness Meditation] for a Troubled Time," originally published in Lion's Roar some years ago, included in the first issue of the monthly digital newsletter "Bodhi Leaves," edited by my Dharma friend Noel Alumit and Mihiri Tillakaratne. Thank you, Noel and Mihiri! They say:

In San Francisco’s Chinatown, 170 years ago, Chinese immigrants established the first Buddhist temple in the United States. Now, Americans of Asian descent are the largest sangha of Buddhists in America. But despite being the oldest and largest Buddhist group in the United States, Asian American voices have been strangely absent in discussions and interpretations of what “American Buddhism” means.

Every month, Lion’s Roar’s new digital publication, Bodhi Leaves, will feature articles and teachings exploring the Asian American Buddhist experience.

While Bodhi Leaves’ content will be solely from an Asian American Buddhist perspective, its themes will be universal. I’ve learned about Buddhism from mostly white Americans. Now I hope that everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, can gain wisdom from Asian American Buddhists writing with the freedom to be unabashedly ourselves. All are welcome to this party!

We hope Bodhi Leaves will help Asian American Buddhists create space to engage with one another, deepen our practice, and reframe Buddhism in America.

If you’d like to sign up to receive Bodhi Leaves each month, click here https://mailchi.mp/0099f1a2d01f/bodhi-leaves

To read my essay, "How to Practice Metta for a Troubled Time," click here:

https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-metta-for-a-troubled-time/?fbclid=IwAR1K7eYuGHpFC0m9XZ_mpnJFVN_yKz8RYrbjvW9hsAAGb077P7QCDhJjwoM

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Intoxication

 

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RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Intoxication Intoxication is unhealthy. Refraining from intoxication is healthy. (MN 9) What are the imperfections that defile the mind? Negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind. Knowing that negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind, a person abandons it. (MN 7) One practices thus: “Others may become negligent through intoxication, but I will abstain from the negligence of intoxication.” (MN 8)

Reflection An intoxicated mind is a negligent mind, no matter what toxin it is under the influence of. Whether alcohol, drugs, misinformation, bigotry, conceit, illusion, or some other harmful influence, all act to distort the functioning of the mind and obscure its capacity to see clearly, thus contributing directly to suffering. Right living requires an honest assessment of and strong commitment to abstaining from negligence in all its many forms. Daily Practice Deliberately undertake the practice of non-intoxication by noticing when you are free of anything that causes negligence. This may not be sustainable for long, given the many things that can diminish our alertness and clarity. But at least be aware of the moments when your mind is alert and clear. Perhaps you can gradually extend those moments, and the skill of right living can grow. Tomorrow: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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