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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 on 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 characteristic of equanimity is promoting objectivity toward beings. (Vm 9.93) Having seen a form with the eye, one is neither glad-minded nor sad-minded but abides with equanimity, mindful and fully aware. (AN 6.1)

Reflection Equanimity is the quality of mind in which we are neither drawn toward something that is enticing nor pushed away from what is repellent. Like a plate balanced on a stick, the mind does not tilt forward or backward but remains poised in the middle. We can still act from this state, and in fact our actions tend to be more balanced when we are grounded in the equipoise of equanimity rather than carried off by passion for or against something. Daily Practice Equanimity is cultivated with the practice of mindfulness. Being aware non-judgmentally means being aware of an object of experience without the mind being biased in favor of it or against it, without favoring or opposing what it is or what is happening. Practice bringing an attitude of "this is simply what is happening now" toward whatever occurs, instead of "I like [or don’t like] this," or "I approve [or don't approve] of this." 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: Silence Plus Noise

 

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Silence Plus Noise Silence does not mean to push away or avoid all noise; doing that is resisting the present moment and the joy and liberation it holds. Rebecca Li, “Translating Silence”  CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering

 

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RIGHT VIEW Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering And what is the way leading to the cessation of suffering? It is just this noble eightfold path: that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. (MN 9) This is one thing proclaimed by the Buddha who knows and sees, accomplished and fully awakened: If a person abides diligent, ardent, and resolute, their unliberated mind comes to be liberated, their undestroyed toxins come to be destroyed, and they attain supreme security from bondage. (MN 52)

Reflection We come now to the fourth noble truth, the path. Defining suffering, understanding its source, and recognizing that it can be stopped (the first three noble truths) are relatively straightforward, but the path to accomplish the end of suffering is infinitely varied. Eight path factors are enumerated, but each culture, each generation, perhaps even each individual treads this eightfold path in a unique way. Daily Practice The promise of the path leading to the end of suffering is that the transformation of suffering is possible and attainable. Here we are told quite directly that the path is there and that it does lead to the goal of liberating the mind. But it takes effort, and a large part of the practice is learning to "abide diligent, ardent, and resolute." See what these words mean in your own experience and bring this commitment to all you do. Tomorrow: Cultivating Equanimity One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth 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: Loss Is a Teacher

 

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Loss Is a Teacher The loss of a relationship is not the same as the loss of a life. Suffering a sudden betrayal is not the same as dying from heart failure. Yet both can teach us how to cultivate a new relationship to surrender and acceptance. Sunita Puri, “A Gift” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation \\ Words of Wisdom - December 17, 2023 💌

 

To see through the veil of your senses and thinking mind to the true Self often feels like humanity's highest aspiration. When you do this, it's as if you find your rightful place in the order of things. You begin to recognize a harmony that's been waiting for you to feel, and once you do this, it's not only for the life hereafter or some abstract thing for later, it's for now, for how you live your life day by day. - Ram Dass

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 desire, one is aware that "the mind is beset by desire." One is just aware, just mindful: "There is mind." And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection The third establishment of mindfulness is mindfulness of the quality of mind manifesting in any given moment. It is awareness of awareness itself, in particular of whether or not awareness is influenced by the influx of greed, hatred, or delusion. We start here with desire, a common state that can in many cases be quite subtle and hard to see. Here we are practicing becoming conscious of something that is normally unconscious. Daily Practice Sometimes the presence of desire can be detected in our experience. This is not bad or wrong—just something to be noticed. For example, seeing an object is one thing, while seeing it with a tinge of desire, of wanting it, is another. Notice that wanting is simply a quality of mind that is sometimes present and sometimes not. We are not trying to change anything here, just to learn to see what is really happening. 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 into 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 Some people move easily and naturally through the stages of absorption, but many people do not. This is not something to be forced if it does not come on its own, and we should never judge our progress against the schema of four jhānas. As we can see, mindfulness and concentration each involve the other, so at a certain point it becomes unnecessary and unhelpful to compare the two and distinguish two different practices. Daily Practice As you settle into the pleasant feeling tones of the second level of absorption, the pleasure gradually subsides and resolves into a state of equanimity or even-mindedness. The body still feels tranquil and at ease, but the mind becomes more balanced as it becomes more mindful and fully aware. Simply rest at ease, doing nothing and striving for nothing, and let the mind settle naturally. 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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Via Daily Dharma: The Story of Impermanence

 

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The Story of Impermanence If we replace the lived story of “me at the center”—the story we have been conditioned from childhood to accept—with the story of impermanence, life looks very different. Jack Petranker, “Stuck in Stories” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE