Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna

 

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

Reflection We are used to thinking of people as being in bondage to suffering at all times until they suddenly “wake up” and are liberated from suffering once and for all—perhaps while seated under a tree. But we can also take things one moment at a time and see that sometimes our mind is in bondage—to anger, for example—and sometimes it is not. Noticing the moments you are liberated from harmful states is inherently valuable. Daily Practice As you practice mindfulness, watching various states come and go in your mind and body, pay close attention to the moments you feel held or restrained by something. Maybe it is a mood of discouragement, or perhaps you feel you are in the grips of an unpleasant story. Watching closely, you may see that later the experience has changed, as all things do. This is a moment in which to relish the fleeting sense of freedom. 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) 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.

Tricycle is a nonprofit and relies on your support to keep its wheels turning. Donate »

© 2022 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Daily Dharma: Transforming Guilt into Action

 If we are listening, guilt can be a wake-up call. It reminds us to deepen our attention, remember what most matters to us, attune to our impact on ourselves and others, and adapt our behavior.

Alex Tzelnic with Tara Brach, “Escaping the Meditation Guilt Trip”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via White Crane Institute // AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS

 

---

Augusten Burroughs

1965 -

AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS, American writer, born; an American writer, known for his bestselling memoir Running with Scissors (2002), which spawned a feature film of the same name. Burroughs is the son of poet and writer Margaret Robison and the late John G. Robison, head of the philosophy department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His mother sent him to live with her psychiatrist’s family in western Massachusetts.

His books are published by St. Martin's Press (hardcover) and Picador (trade paperback). Some of his childhood experiences were chronicled in Running with Scissors; the book spurred a June 2005 lawsuit in which the Turcotte family of Cambridge, Mass., whom Burroughs had disguised and renamed the "Finch" family in the book, claimed that various family members — particularly the deceased Dr. Rodolph Turcotte, Burroughs' former legal guardian — were defamed by the book's portrayal of the eccentric Finch family. The family recently settled with Sony over the film adaptation, which was written and directed by Ryan Murphy and stars Joseph Cross as Burroughs. In August, 2007, the Turcotte family settled with Burroughs, who emerged victorious, being required only to make trivial word changes in the memoir's front matter. Burroughs lives in New York City, and Amherst, Mass., with his partner of many years, Dennis Pilsits, and their French bulldogs, Bentley and The Cow.

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8| Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute "With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989! www.whitecraneinstitute.org |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

 

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - October 23, 2022 💌

 
 

“As far as young people using chemicals, my reflections about it are, as I’ve looked over the last 30 years, that it’s important that you become somebody before you become nobody. And people that try to become nobody too soon lose their ground. That is, they forget their zip code.” 

- Ram Dass -


From Here & Now Podcast - Ep. 210 – A Love Invulnerable to the Winds of Change

Manhood

 

Via Adam and Andy

 

Via Daily Dharma: Meet Judgment with Discipline

 Judging the quality of your practice can lead to doubt, giving rise to procrastination and resistance. Remind yourself that, whenever resistance arises, the best way to overcome it is by simply continuing to practice. 

John Yates (Culadasa), Matthew Immergut, “Six Ways to Prepare for Meditation”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Developing Unarisen Healthy States

 

RIGHT EFFORT Developing Unarisen 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) Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to develop the arising of unarisen healthy mental states. One develops the unarisen awakening factor of equanimity. (MN 141)

Reflection We all have the capacity for generosity, kindness, and wisdom. Some would even say these are more fundamental to our nature than their harmful opposites: greed, hatred, and delusion. All these mental and emotional traits remain dormant until one or another of them is roused into becoming an active mental or emotional state. Instead of waiting passively to see what emerges, take the lead and call up the good stuff. Daily Practice Take a few moments from time to time to “stir up energy” and develop one or more of the healthy states that lie sleeping as healthy traits in your unconscious mind. Make them conscious by deliberately invoking generosity or kindness or equanimity, and see how you can induce these states more or less at will. It is a healthy skill to learn. Arousing equanimity is particularly useful in situations where you are challenged. Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna One week from today: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States 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 »

© 2022 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures

 

RIGHT LIVING Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures Sensual misconduct is unhealthy. Refraining from sensual misconduct is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning sensual misconduct, one abstains from misbehaving among sensual pleasures. (MN 41) One practices thus: “Others may engage in sensual misconduct, but I will abstain from sensual misconduct.” (MN 8) Mental states cognizable by the mind are of two kinds: those to be cultivated and those not to be cultivated. Such mental states as cause, in one who cultivates them, unhealthy states to increase and healthy states to diminish, such mental states are not to be cultivated. But such mental states as cause, in one who cultivates them, unhealthy states to diminish and healthy states to increase, such mental states are to be cultivated. (MN 114)

Reflection Because of the basic principle that what you attend to will flourish and what you neglect will atrophy, the issue of what internal states you cultivate becomes a matter of great importance. Some patterns of thought encourage the growth of mental and emotional states that contribute to our overall well-being, while others have the opposite effect, digging us deeper into the hole, so to speak. It helps to see and understand this.  Daily Practice Sensual pleasures are alluring, and all things being equal, we don’t want to live such an austere life that we deny ourselves simple pleasures. But we all know there are dangers here, and our best defense is knowing what to cultivate and what not to cultivate. Look into this matter directly, and see for yourself what states of mind are healthy and unhealthy for you. Then undertake a commitment to cultivate your own health. Tomorrow: Developing Unarisen Healthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Intoxication 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 »

© 2022 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Daily Dharma: Everything Is the Path

 A round of chores is not a set of difficulties we hope to escape from so that we may do our practice, which will put us on the path. It is our path.

Gil Fronsdal, “Evaluate Your Meditation”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Mental Action

 

RIGHT ACTION Reflecting Upon Mental Action However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds; bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too mental action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61) When you have done an action with the mind, reflect on that same mental action thus: “Was this action I have done with the mind an unhealthy bodily action with painful consequences and painful results?” If, on reflection, you know that it was, then tell someone you trust about it and undertake a commitment not to do it again. If you know it was not, then be content and feel happy about it. (MN 61)

Reflection One of the great innovations of Buddhist psychology is the recognition that all thoughts and emotions are a form of action taken by the mind, and as such all create karma—that is to say, they are causes that result in effects. So even if you think harmful thoughts without saying or doing anything, they will have a harmful effect on you, if not on others. This is why Buddhists care so much about nurturing the quality of their minds. Daily Practice Look objectively and honestly at the way your mind works. If you notice you have been thinking or imagining things that could cause painful consequences, such as images of retribution against someone or plans for revenge, be aware of it and recognize that such mental activities are harmful. Acknowledge to someone you trust that you are thinking like this, recognize it as unhealthy, and commit to changing this activity in the future. Tomorrow: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures One week from today: Reflecting upon Social Action 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 »

© 2022 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Daily Dharma: Illuminating What’s Already There

 It’s remarkable what we can see when we stop and turn the light of awareness on the things we take for granted. 

John Brehm, “The Sacred Pause: How Poetry, Like Meditation, Can Disrupt the Habitual Momentum of the Mind”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE