Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation \\ Words of Wisdom - October 6, 2024 💌

 

"One day I was sitting in a motel in middle America, and it was one of those really plastic Holiday Inn type places, and I had arrived and I went into my room and I sat down and set up my little puja table and you know, all that stuff. Moving the menu and stuff, and it was kind of depressing, and I thought, 'Well, a few more weeks and I'll be done with this tour and I can go home.' And then I saw the pain that that thought was creating for me.

So I got up and I walked out of the room, closed the door, walked down the hall, turned around, came back, unlocked the door and yelled, 'I’m home!' And I came in and I sat down, and I looked and, you know, I wouldn’t have decorated particularly this way, but what the hell, you know? I thought, if I’m not at home in the universe, boy, I got a problem. If I say, 'I can only be home here, not there.'

What is home? Home is where the heart is. Home is the quality of presence. It’s the quality of being wherever you are. "

- Ram Dass

 

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna

 

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RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Body 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)   Full awareness: when walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, and keeping silent . . . one is just aware, just mindful: “There is body.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection Mindfulness of the body can take place at any time and with any activity. We practice it formally seated on a meditation cushion to become familiar with a certain range of sensations, and then we can extend it to other areas of daily life. Acting with full awareness is particularly well suited to ordinary activities requiring a sense of continuity over time, such as walking or dressing yourself. Full awareness is mindfulness in motion. Daily Practice All skills are gradually learned by practicing them again and again. When sitting still we tend to focus on the bodily sensations associated with the breath; when walking mindfully we notice the sensations of the rhythmic moving of certain muscles. See if you can extend the scope of these practices by becoming aware of the sensations of other bodily motions, such as those associated with taking a sip of tea, for example.  RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the First Phase of Absorption (1st Jhāna) Having abandoned the five hindrances, imperfections of the mind that weaken wisdom, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, one enters and abides in the first phase of absorption, which is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought, with joy and the pleasure born of seclusion. (MN 4) Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and Abiding in the Second 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: Faith Is the True Self

 

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Faith Is the True Self Faith is the ultimate subject, the true self. Therefore, when we distance ourselves from the one moment of faith, we are already far from the Tathagata, away from the self, and are living in a sky of illusory dreams. Soga Ryōjin, “A Savior on Earth” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

The Ghost of Basho By Clark Strand This winning poem from the Tricycle Haiku Challenge explores the essential paradox of poetry. Read more »

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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 all five unarisen hindrances. (MN 141)

Reflection Having gone through the five hindrances individually—sense desire, ill will, restlessness, sluggishness, and doubt—we are now encouraged to work with all five of them as the opportunity arises. Instead of looking at each in turn and exploring how it might be inhibited from arising (not suppressed once arisen!), we allow ourselves to guard against any of them erupting by learning to avoid the conditions giving rise to them. Daily Practice The hindrances are a natural part of our everyday lives, but we need not feel at their mercy. They are mental qualities that obstruct our ability to focus and relax our minds, and they can be resisted with some understanding of what sets them off and how to avoid triggering them. Cultivating equanimity, for example, will inhibit the arising of sense desire and ill will. The other hindrances too have antidotes that can be deployed. Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna One week from today: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States 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: Relating Fully to Experience

 

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Relating Fully to Experience You do not need to have any special experience to be free. You just need to relate 100 percent fully with whatever you’re experiencing—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Andrew Holecek, “Mixing Your Mind with Space” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

‘Why Do I Need to Practice if Everything Is Empty?’ By Khandro Kunga Bhuma Rinpoche A Tibetan Buddhist teacher and oracle on avoiding nihilistic extremes, in our practice and in our lives.  Read more »