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

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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)   When the investigation-of-states awakening factor is internally present, one is aware: “Investigation of states is present for me.” When investigation of states is not present, one is aware: “Investigation of states is not present for me.” When the arising of unarisen investigation of states occurs, one is aware of that. And when the development and fulfillment of the arisen investigation-of-states awakening factor occurs, one is aware of that.  . . . One is just aware, just mindful: “There is a mental object.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection The second of the seven factors of awakening is investigation of states. This is a kind of natural curiosity and interest that emerges when you become mindful of something. The heightened awareness leads to an increased inclination to investigate the nature of what is seen. It is like looking at something under a microscope or through a telescope—once it has been illuminated, you can begin the process of examining it carefully. Daily Practice Taking a keen interest in your own experience is not something that happens all the time but arises and falls away under various conditions, just like every other mental factor. It is something you can practice doing. It is a matter of amplifying your attention when it comes to bear on an object and then taking the awareness a step further, looking more closely or listening more carefully with open curiosity: What is this?         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 due to equanimity. The concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability. (MN 4) One practices: "I shall breathe in, tranquilizing the bodily formation"; one practices: "I shall breathe out, tranquilizing the bodily formation." This is how concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and great benefit. (SN 54.8) 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.

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Via Daily Dharma: Trusting with the Heart

 When we trust with our open heart, whatever occurs, at that very moment that it occurs, can be perceived as fresh and unstained by the clouds of hope and fear.

Dr. Jeremy Hayward, “First Thought”

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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - June 11, 2023 💌

 
 

"My own strategy is to keep cultivating the witness, that part of me that notices how I’m doing it—cultivate the quiet place in me that watches the process of needing approval, of the smile on the face, of the false humility, of all the horrible creepy little psychological things that are just my humanity. And watching them occur again and again and again."

- Ram Dass -

 

Via White Crane Institute // WILLIAM DORSEY SWANN

Noteworthy

"The Queen" William Dorsey Swann

1858 -

WILLIAM DORSEY SWANN (c. 1858) was an American gay liberationist activist. He was born into slavery, so we can only guess at the date of his birth. He was the first person in the United States to lead a queer resistance group and the first known person to self-identify as a "queen of drag."

Swann was a slave in Hancock Maryland and was freed by Union soldiers after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect.

During the 1880s and 1890s, Swann organized a series of balls in Washington D.C. He called himself the "queen of drag". Most of the attendees of Swann's gatherings were men who were former slaves, and were gathering to dance in their satin and silk dresses. Because these events were secretive, invitations were often quietly made at places like the YMCA.

Swann was arrested in police raids numerous times, including in the first documented case of arrests for female impersonation in the United States, on April 12, 1888. In 1896, he was falsely convicted and sentenced to 10 months in jail for "keeping a disorderly house", i.e., running a brothel. After his sentencing, he requested a pardon from President Grover Cleveland who blanched and took to his chambers, requesting his salts. Which is to say the request was denied, but Swann was the first American on record who pursued legal and political action to defend the LGBTQ community's right to gather.

Swann was known to have been close with Pierce Lafayette and Felix Hall, two men who had also both been slaves and who formed the first known male same-sex relationship between enslaved Americans.

When Swann stopped organizing and participating in drag events, his brother continued to make costumes for the drag community. Two of his brothers had also been active participants in Swann's drag balls. Swann is the subject of the upcoming non-fiction book The House of Swann by Channing Joseph, set for publication by Picador in 2021.

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Via Tricycle // Celebrating Buddhism’s Inclusivity

 

Celebrating Buddhism’s Inclusivity By Wendy Biddlecombe Agsar

In honor of Pride Month, these 12 articles from Tricycle’s archive highlight stories of queer Buddhists across history.

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Via Tricycle // Meditation Isn’t Magic

 

Meditation Isn’t Magic
By Christina Feldman

When we sustain intention in every moment of our lives and not just on the cushion, that’s when samadhi can be truly developed.

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Via Tricycle // Bringing Life to Statues

 

Bringing Life to Statues By Brooke Schedneck

Buddhist statues don’t hold power until they are consecrated using the Buddha’s words.

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Via Daily Dharma: Suffering Is in the Eye of the Beholder

 

It is the perspective of the sufferer that determines whether a given experience perpetuates suffering or is a vehicle for awakening. Mark Epstein, “Shattering the Ridgepole” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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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) Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to maintain arisen healthy mental states. One maintains the arisen mindfulness awakening factor. (MN 141)

Reflection One form that effort takes in Buddhist practice is the rousing of latent tendencies and dormant traits, encouraging them to rise into conscious awareness as active mental and emotional states. The more frequently you do this, the more likely these states are to become the natural inclination of your mind. And once aroused, healthy states such as mindfulness need to be reinforced and maintained by deliberate choice.  Daily Practice Throughout the day, remind yourself often to be mindful, to be consciously aware of what you are doing or feeling or thinking. And once you establish the presence of mindfulness, make a further effort to sustain it over time. Mindfulness, once established, needs to be reestablished moment after moment. Each moment is a new beginning and a new opportunity to bring clear awareness to all you experience. Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and 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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