Monday, August 28, 2023

Via Daily Dharma: Teaching Others to Teach

Teaching Others to Teach

Shakyamuni did not dedicate his life simply to helping us to become completely enlightened and to escape the world of karma and rebirth. He taught us, rather, to teach others to teach others, until such time as the world is full of beings whose sole aim in life is to be of service to others.

Francis Dojun Cook, “Bodhicitta’s Ripple Effect”


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Sunday, August 27, 2023

Via Be Here Now Network

  Krishna Das – Pilgrim Heart – Ep. 143 – Self & Sincerity
August 25, 2023

“You try to be as sincere with people as you can. It is not our job to set everything right in the universe and...


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 composed, one is aware: “The mind is composed”. . . One is just aware, just mindful: “There is mind.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)
Reflection
A composed mind is unified, peaceful, steady, and clear. We can access such states of mind when engaged in the practice of meditation, and mindfulness of mind is established when you are aware of what a composed mind feels like and you are able to sustain it over time. The mind becomes like a mirror, reflecting itself. 

Daily Practice
Sit quietly, relaxing the body while gently holding it erect, and allow the mind to gradually become more and more composed. With every outbreath, sink deeper and more comfortably into the serenity of the moment. It is like untangling knots, one after another, until the mind becomes smooth. Allow yourself to feel the composed mind, aware simply that awareness is aware of itself, without clinging to anything in the world.


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)

One practices: “I shall breathe in contemplating cessation";
one practices: “I shall breathe out contemplating cessation.”
This is how concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated 
so that it is of great fruit and great benefit. (A 54.8)

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

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Via Daily Dharma: Consequential Choices

 

Consequential Choices

In Buddhist terms, our worth is a product of our ability to choose between right and wrong, between truth and delusion—and these are consequential choices. We know the difference between wholesome and unwholesome acts, and we know that our actions have consequences.

Sallie Jiko Tisdale, “On Dignity”


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Via White Crane Institute // ERIKA MANN

 


Erika Mann
1969 -

ERIKA MANN died on this date. Who was Erika Mann? Mann was the daughter of Thomas Mann and Katia Mann and led one of the most eventful lives you've probably never heard of. She was born in Munich and had a privileged childhood. The Mann home was a gathering-place for intellectuals and artists. She was hired for her first theater engagement before finishing her Abitur at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. On July 24, 1926, she married German actor Gustaf Gründgens, but they divorced in 1929. In 1927, she and Klaus undertook a trip around the world, which they documented in their book Rundherum; Das Abenteuer einer Weltreise. The following year, she began to be active in journalism and in politics. She was involved as an actor in the Lesbian film Mädchen in Uniform (1931, Leontine Sagan) but left the production before its completion. In 1932 she published the first of many children's books. Shortly thereafter she became involved in several Lesbian affairs in her private life. Her first noted affair was with actress Pamela Wedekind, whom she met in Berlin, and was engaged with her brother Klaus. She later became involved with director Therese Giehse, and journalists Betty Cox and Annemarie Schwarzenbach, whom she served with as a war correspondent during World War II. As was later written, her relationships were both sexually passionate and intellectually stimulating. Mann enjoyed being in the company of women who were intelligent, and with whom she could converse with on any number of international topics. 

In 1933, she, Klaus, and Therese Giehse had founded a cabaret in Munich called Die Pfeffermühle, for which Erika wrote most of the material, much of which was anti-Fascist. Erika was the last member of the Mann family to leave Germany after the Nazi regime was elected. She saved many of Thomas Mann's papers from their Munich home when she escaped to Zurich. In 1936, Die Pfeffermühle opened again in Zurich and became a rallying point for the exiles. In 1935 she undertook a marriage of convenience to the homosexual English poet W. H. Auden, in order to obtain British citizenship. She and Auden never lived together, but remained friends and technically married until Erika's death.

In 1937, she crossed over to New York, where Die Pfeffermühle (as The Peppermill) opened its doors again. They lived (with Therese Giehse and her brother Klaus Mann and Miro) in a large group of artists in exile with people like Kurt Weill, Ernst Toller, and Sonja Sekula. In 1938, she and Klaus reported on the Spanish Civil War, and her book School for Barbarians about Nazi Germany's educational system was published. The following year, they published Escape to Life, a book about famous German exiles. During the war, she was active as a journalist in England. After World War II, Mann was one of the few women who covered the Nuremberg Trials. Following the war, both Klaus and Erika came under an FBI investigation into their political views and rumored homosexuality. In 1949, becoming increasingly depressed and disillusioned over post-war torn Germany, Klaus Mann committed suicide. This event devastated Erika.



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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

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Via White Crane Institute // RIP Pee Wee!

 


1952 -

Today is the birthday of PAUL "PEE-WEE HERMAN" REUBENS. Best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, he starred in the television series Pee-wee's Playhouse from 1986 until 1990. He also starred in an HBO special called The Pee-wee Herman Show, the 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure and the 1988 movie Big Top Pee-wee. He has since gone on to take roles in darker themed movies such as Blow. Reubens appeared as the Pee-wee Herman character for the first time since 1992 at Spike TV's 2007 Guys Choice Awards in June 2007.

On January 15, 2011, Reubens appeared on Saturday Night Live as Pee-wee in an extended segment depicting Andy Samberg and Pee-wee getting drunk, taking a ride on a mechanical bull, doing the tequila dance and ambushing Anderson Cooper in an alley way with a chair.

On February 1, 2012, Reubens appeared as Pee-wee on Bravo's Top Chef Texas and served as guest judge. Part of the contestants challenge was to ride a bike, similar to Pee-wee's, while gathering ingredients through San Antonio to prepare and serve a special lunch for Pee-wee at The Alamo. The use of The Alamo is a reference to Pee-Wee's film, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, where his stolen bike is allegedly hidden.


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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

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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation \\ Words of Wisdom - August 27, 2023 💌

 

"There was a period of time when I used to have a picture of myself on my puja table. People would come and say, 'My god, what an ego this guy has.' But really, it was a chance for me to practice opening my heart to myself... and to appreciate the predicament I am in. I mean, I could see the whole incarnation. If I am quiet enough, I can see the story line of the guy in that picture.

It's about finding a place from within yourself where you can see the unfolding of law. Dad did this; Mother did this; economics did this; education did this; opportunity did this; drugs did this; Maharajji did this.

When you look at yourself as a set of phenomena, what is there to judge? Is this flower less than that flower? It's just different. You begin to appreciate your uniqueness without it being better or worse. This is cultivating an appreciation of uniqueness rather than preference.

- Ram Dass -

Via FB

 


Saturday, August 26, 2023

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Developing Unarisen Healthy States

 


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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 joy. (MN 141)
Reflection
Buddhism sometimes gets a reputation for not being joyful enough, with all the emphasis on suffering and the calm emotional balance of equanimity. There may be only the hint of a smile on the face of a Buddha statue, but we can be assured that inwardly the Buddha is experiencing great joy. Joy is one of the seven awakening factors and is therefore a beneficial capacity to develop. Make an effort to stir up joy; it is good for you.

Daily Practice
The way to develop the arising of joy that has not arisen on its own is by rousing the will or generating an intention to be joyful. This is done by thinking of something, either through memory or imagination, that you find joyful. Even when fleeting, a joyful moment is a moment devoid of its opposite mental states, such as unhappiness or dejection. The effects are amplified greatly if you are able to sustain joy for some time.

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.



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© 2023 Tricycle Foundation
89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Daily Dharma: Overcoming Divisions

 

Overcoming Divisions

If we can see more clearly through the lens of awareness, we recognize that while we are trained for division in so many ways, we are also inherently capable of experiencing connection with one another.

Rhonda Magee, “Making the Invisible Visible”


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