Via The Tricycle Community \\ Meditation Month

 

Where to Find Joy and How to Cultivate It By Christina Feldman and Jaya Rudgard Joy is not dependent upon having ideal or perfect conditions in our lives. Rather, joyfulness is a quality that is inwardly born and generated, possible in all moments. Read more »  Opening the Heart of Great Compassion: The Path of Shin Buddhism By Mark Unno Watch this Dharma Talk by fourteenth-generation Shin Buddhist priest Mark Unno about the concept of compassion in Shin Buddhism. Watch now »

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering

 

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RIGHT VIEW Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering What is the origin of suffering? It is craving, which brings renewal of being, is accompanied by delight and lust, and delights in this and that; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for being, and craving for non-being. (MN 9) When one does not know and understand odors as they actually are, then one is attached to odors. When one is attached, one becomes infatuated, and one’s craving increases. One’s bodily and mental troubles increase, and one experiences bodily and mental suffering. (MN 149)

Reflection The classical teaching of the noble truths is described in this text by cycling through all six sense spheres one by one, pointing to how suffering arises and ceases in countless individual experiences. Suffering is not a broad concept, but an intimate and fleeting experience. Every time you are experiencing something and craving it in some way, you are creating a micro-event of suffering. Today we are considering suffering in relation to the sense of smell. Daily Practice Smell is perhaps the least used of all the senses, but it is not to be overlooked as a field for practice. Are you capable of smelling odors without at the same time saying to yourself on some level: “This one is good"; "This one is bad"; "I want more of this one"; "I want this one to go away"? This is the invitation to practice. See if you can experience odors simply as what they are and not in relation to your desire for or against. Tomorrow: Cultivating Compassion One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering 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: Spiritual Intention

 

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Spiritual Intention What good things will you put into what you make, regardless of what you’re making? You can be a shoemaker or a poet, but when you really think about it, it becomes no longer a task or a job but a vocation that is invested with a spiritual intention. Ocean Vuong, “Why Buddhist Poet Ocean Vuong Practices a Death Meditation” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Opening Your Heart: Exploring the Four Boundless States as a Pathway to Meaningful Transformation With Scott Tusa If you missed out on Meditation Month, or would like to revisit the teachings and practices from Scott, enjoy his series on the four boundless states and learn how to incorporate them into your practice. Watch now » Dhamma Wheel 365 Days of Practice to Your Inbox Commit to a year of contemplative study with Tricycle’s first-ever daily email course, created by Buddhist scholar Andrew Olendzki. Enroll now »

Via GBF San Francisco

 

Watching the moon – Izumi Shikibu

 

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation \\ Words of Wisdom - January 28, 2024 💌

 

It’s taken me a while to learn that if I’m gonna offer the gift of my being, it means offering the fullness of the moment we are in.

 - Ram Dass -

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and 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)   Breathing in and out, experiencing the whole body …one is just aware, just mindful: "There is body." And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection As you sit in formal practice your breath becomes an anchoring object of awareness. Other objects—sounds, thoughts—will intrude on your attention, but the breath is a baseline to which you can return. Notice the texture of the entire breath, from the beginning of the in-breath to the last moment of the out-breath, with steadiness and no interruption. When the mind is attentive like this it is naturally content. Daily Practice See if you can experience contentment while breathing. This means not wanting anything to be different than it is, not having anywhere else to go, not moving your mind beyond the moment but simply meeting each movement of the breath with mindful equanimity. You can feel the experience of the breath permeating your whole body and simply abide without clinging to anything whatsoever.  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) Reflection Jhāna practice is not for everyone. Some take to it easily, some find it inaccessible. This is not something for you to succeed or fail at. If you are seriously interested in undertaking these concentration practices, then you should find a qualified teacher and practice in a protected space. Jhāna practice can contribute greatly to your understanding of the teachings, but is not a universal prerequisite. Lots of Buddhists don’t practice jhāna. Daily Practice Without striving for any kind of accomplishment, sit quietly at a dedicated time and place and allow the mind to gradually settle down, sinking through increasing layers of relaxation and calm. When one of the five hindrances arises, just gently let go of it and move the mind away from it. Whenever the mind is able to temporarily free itself of the hindrances, it naturally drops into the absorption of jhāna. 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: Separate Selfhood

 

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Separate Selfhood

It’s our erroneous belief in a separate selfhood, with its insistent refrain of 'I, me, mine,' that keeps us from hearing and seeing directly.

Shinge Sherry Chayat Roshi, “In the Midst of the Ordinary”

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