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August 10, 2024

Moments of Contemplation

Via Daily Dharma: Life Is How We Think About It

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Life Is How We Think About It

Buddhism teaches that karma is not just the action that we take but also the state of consciousness that we choose to reside in. Our mind is the very thing that determines the nature and quality of the words we utter and every action we take.

Anam Thubten, “Karma: Not Just Action”

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Practical Tools for Uprooting Anger
Venerable Thubten Chodron in conversation with James Shaheen

In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Venerable Thubten Chodron to discuss how anger distorts our perception of reality—and how the wisdom of emptiness can help us eradicate anger entirely.

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States

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RIGHT EFFORT
Restraining Unarisen 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)

Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to restrain the arising of unarisen unhealthy mental states. One restrains the arising of the unarisen hindrance of restlessness. (MN 141)

Reflection

We all have the capacity for restlessness, especially as inhabitants of a culture that seems to thrive on it. We are so often encouraged to multitask, to spread our awareness so widely that, like spilled water, it gets increasingly thin. This tendency can be resisted by exercising some restraint. It requires not giving in to the forces that seek to pull us off center and preserving the experience of inner calm and composure.

Daily Practice

Resist the arising of restlessness by cultivating a more focused and peaceful way of inhabiting your world. Don’t jump at everything that demands your attention, don’t allow your awareness to be hijacked by random events, and protect your mindfulness as a sentry might guard a gate. It takes effort to preserve a sense of inner serenity—not the kind of effort that tries harder but that stays centered and is not pulled off balance.

Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna
One week from today: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States

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