Sunday Meditation Group
February 8
-"How to Ease Fixation"
-as dharma students, it is our task to stay in the body. to develop a felt sense of experience. to have an embodied awareness. much of the time, however, we spend 'in the head'. and it is a tendency of the mind to fixate, to become preoccupied with certain things, with certain stories. when we became fixated, there are certain things that we learn to do, to ease fixation. listening to the dharma. associated with admirable friends. changing our physical posture, something as simple as going for a walk. being in nature. ultimately, we ease fixation by having mindfulness of the body. seeing that what we're fixated on, our stories, are not all of our experience. when we're mindful of the body, we have a wider field of awareness. we recognize that our experience if made of various experiences. our pain. but also ease. and also the heart. wisdom. love. joy. this is the truth of our experience: reality. our path is one of knowing reality. and knowing that we have a choice, we can choose suffering or the end of suffering. it's up to us.
-some things to to remember as we learn "how to ease fixation"...
1-we learn as dharma students to develop embodied awareness.....
-we develop a felt sense of experience....
-we know things in the body....
-we know things, ultimately, in the heart....
-the path is a path of coming to the body....
-in support of coming to the body we....
-lessen our preoccupation with sense pleasure.....
-lessen our preoccupation with thinking....
-we practice meditation....
-mindfulness of the body.....
-we cultivate a pleasant abiding in the body....
2- it is a tendency of the mind to fixate....
-we fixate on certain things....
-we become preoccupied....
-caught in our stories.....
-it is found within....
-as dharma students, seeing that we are fixated....
-we seek to "ease fixation".....
3-we learn to ease fixation....
-in our efforts to ease fixation....
-we take refuge in dharma....
-we take refuge in admirable friends....
-we look to 'take a wider view' of experience....
-shifting our posture, changing the position of the body is very helpful....
-as, for instance, in going for a walk....
-shifting our posture, going for a walk, we begin to see that our pain, our stories, is not all of our experience....
-nature supports our ability to take a wider view of things....
-in nature, the mind brightens....
-it is important, in easing fixation, that we are able to keep the mind bright....
4-we seek to come out of the head, to the body, in easing fixation....
-when we are able to come out of the head, to the body...
-we see, clearly, that our experience is made of various experiences....
-there is our pain....
-there is also, at the same time, ease....
-there is also, at the same time, always, the heart....
-wisdom....
-love....
-joy.....
5-when we ease fixation, we remember the heart.....
-we see that there is that which is painful ... and that which is not painfu.....
-suffering & the end of suffering....
-it is important to see our pain ... to have a skillful relationship to it...
-equanimity, acceptance....
-non-acceptance (disliking) suffering ... exacerbates suffering ... reinforces fixation....
-seeing clearly, with acceptance, our pain ... we are able to see that it is not all our experience....
-there is ease...
-there is the heart....
-this is the truth of our experience ... the reality of our experience....
-seeing things clearly, seeing the reality of our experience, we are able to ease fixation....
-we are able to live from the heart.....
-reading.....
-"Song of the Open Road" (Walt Whitman)
I think heroic deeds were all conceiv’d in the open air, and all free poems also,
I think I could stop here myself and do miracles,
I think whatever I shall meet on the road I shall like, and whoever beholds me shall like me,
I think whoever I see must be happy.
*************
Allons! the road is before us!
It is safe—I have tried it—my own feet have tried it well—be not detain’d!
Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the book on the shelf unopen’d!
Let the tools remain in the workshop! let the money remain unearn’d!
Let the school stand! mind not the cry of the teacher!
Let the preacher preach in his pulpit! let the lawyer plead in the court, and the judge expound the law.
Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?
(Walt Whitman)
I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves. I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond–side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear, that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.
I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
(Thoreau)
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Varanasi in the Game Refuge at Isipatana. There he addressed the group of five monks:
"There are these two extremes that are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two? That which is devoted to sensual pleasure with reference to sensual objects: base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is devoted to self-affliction: painful, ignoble, unprofitable. Avoiding both of these extremes, the middle way realized by the Tathagata — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
"And what is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding? Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
"Now this, monks, is the noble truth of stress: Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful, separation from the loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted is stressful. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
"And this, monks, is the noble truth of the origination of stress: the craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there — i.e., craving for sensual pleasure, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming.
"And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of stress: the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving.
"And this, monks, is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress: precisely this Noble Eightfold Path — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."
(SN 56.11)
Teacher Support
Donations to support the teacher, Peter Doobinin, can be made through Zelle using the email address: [email protected]
Donations can also be made via PayPal by using the address: [email protected]
(If using PayPal, this is the preferred method; please use the "personal/family & friends" function.)
Information about making a donation using a credit card are found on the Support page.
Thanks for your generosity!
-"How to Ease Fixation"
-as dharma students, it is our task to stay in the body. to develop a felt sense of experience. to have an embodied awareness. much of the time, however, we spend 'in the head'. and it is a tendency of the mind to fixate, to become preoccupied with certain things, with certain stories. when we became fixated, there are certain things that we learn to do, to ease fixation. listening to the dharma. associated with admirable friends. changing our physical posture, something as simple as going for a walk. being in nature. ultimately, we ease fixation by having mindfulness of the body. seeing that what we're fixated on, our stories, are not all of our experience. when we're mindful of the body, we have a wider field of awareness. we recognize that our experience if made of various experiences. our pain. but also ease. and also the heart. wisdom. love. joy. this is the truth of our experience: reality. our path is one of knowing reality. and knowing that we have a choice, we can choose suffering or the end of suffering. it's up to us.
-some things to to remember as we learn "how to ease fixation"...
1-we learn as dharma students to develop embodied awareness.....
-we develop a felt sense of experience....
-we know things in the body....
-we know things, ultimately, in the heart....
-the path is a path of coming to the body....
-in support of coming to the body we....
-lessen our preoccupation with sense pleasure.....
-lessen our preoccupation with thinking....
-we practice meditation....
-mindfulness of the body.....
-we cultivate a pleasant abiding in the body....
2- it is a tendency of the mind to fixate....
-we fixate on certain things....
-we become preoccupied....
-caught in our stories.....
-it is found within....
-as dharma students, seeing that we are fixated....
-we seek to "ease fixation".....
3-we learn to ease fixation....
-in our efforts to ease fixation....
-we take refuge in dharma....
-we take refuge in admirable friends....
-we look to 'take a wider view' of experience....
-shifting our posture, changing the position of the body is very helpful....
-as, for instance, in going for a walk....
-shifting our posture, going for a walk, we begin to see that our pain, our stories, is not all of our experience....
-nature supports our ability to take a wider view of things....
-in nature, the mind brightens....
-it is important, in easing fixation, that we are able to keep the mind bright....
4-we seek to come out of the head, to the body, in easing fixation....
-when we are able to come out of the head, to the body...
-we see, clearly, that our experience is made of various experiences....
-there is our pain....
-there is also, at the same time, ease....
-there is also, at the same time, always, the heart....
-wisdom....
-love....
-joy.....
5-when we ease fixation, we remember the heart.....
-we see that there is that which is painful ... and that which is not painfu.....
-suffering & the end of suffering....
-it is important to see our pain ... to have a skillful relationship to it...
-equanimity, acceptance....
-non-acceptance (disliking) suffering ... exacerbates suffering ... reinforces fixation....
-seeing clearly, with acceptance, our pain ... we are able to see that it is not all our experience....
-there is ease...
-there is the heart....
-this is the truth of our experience ... the reality of our experience....
-seeing things clearly, seeing the reality of our experience, we are able to ease fixation....
-we are able to live from the heart.....
-reading.....
-"Song of the Open Road" (Walt Whitman)
I think heroic deeds were all conceiv’d in the open air, and all free poems also,
I think I could stop here myself and do miracles,
I think whatever I shall meet on the road I shall like, and whoever beholds me shall like me,
I think whoever I see must be happy.
*************
Allons! the road is before us!
It is safe—I have tried it—my own feet have tried it well—be not detain’d!
Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the book on the shelf unopen’d!
Let the tools remain in the workshop! let the money remain unearn’d!
Let the school stand! mind not the cry of the teacher!
Let the preacher preach in his pulpit! let the lawyer plead in the court, and the judge expound the law.
Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?
(Walt Whitman)
I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves. I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond–side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear, that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.
I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
(Thoreau)
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Varanasi in the Game Refuge at Isipatana. There he addressed the group of five monks:
"There are these two extremes that are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two? That which is devoted to sensual pleasure with reference to sensual objects: base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is devoted to self-affliction: painful, ignoble, unprofitable. Avoiding both of these extremes, the middle way realized by the Tathagata — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
"And what is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding? Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
"Now this, monks, is the noble truth of stress: Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful, separation from the loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted is stressful. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
"And this, monks, is the noble truth of the origination of stress: the craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there — i.e., craving for sensual pleasure, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming.
"And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of stress: the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving.
"And this, monks, is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress: precisely this Noble Eightfold Path — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."
(SN 56.11)
Teacher Support
Donations to support the teacher, Peter Doobinin, can be made through Zelle using the email address: [email protected]
Donations can also be made via PayPal by using the address: [email protected]
(If using PayPal, this is the preferred method; please use the "personal/family & friends" function.)
Information about making a donation using a credit card are found on the Support page.
Thanks for your generosity!
February 1
-"The Dharma is Inside"
-in dedicating the merit of our practice, we acknowledge and pay homage to the goodness of others. and we remember our own goodness. our goodness, our dharma, is timeless. it is everpresent. we find it within us. our tendency is to believe that we don't have this goodness, this dharma within. our tendency is to look outside ourselves, to depends on what it outside of us for our happiness. teachers do not give us the dharma. they teach us how to know it, by teaching us skills. they point us toward the dharma within us. dharma is inside. it is found in this body. in this very life. the practice of meditation is practice of mindfulness of the body. as we develop mindfulness of the body we become more and more in tune with the dharma within us. so, we should make an effort to practice, in the service of knowing the heart, our goodness, the dharma inside us.
-some things to to remember as we learn to develop in knowing that "the dharma is inside"...
1-dedication of merit is an important practice.....
-in Buddhist tradition, we a dear being passes on, we dedicate the merit of our practice to this being....
-we acknowledge their goodness ...
-we pay homage to their goodness....
-in doing so, in understanding goodness, the truth of dharma, we are moved to develop our own goodness ... to practice ... to make the most of our lives....
2- the dharma is found within....
-the dharma is timeless....
-it transcends birth & death....
-it is everpresent.....
-it is found within....
-inside us....
-in this body ... in this very life....
-it is always there, but it is obstructed by the burdens on the heart (dukkha).....
3-our tendency is to look outside ourselves....
-in our efforts to know happiness our tendency is to look outside of ourselves....
-in sense pleasure, gain, status, praise...
-in seeking goodness, truth, dharma, we tend to look outside of ourselves....
-we look to others to give it to us....
-we think it is something we don't have, that we have to somehow get....
-we look outside ourselves....
-to others....
-to teachers....
-to books, etc.....
4-we seek in our efforts to know truth, dharma to be a lamp unto ourselves.....
-as the Buddha taught, our ability to know happiness, truth, goodness depends not on what is outside of us ... it depends on us being a lamp (island, refuge) unto ourselves....
-we look within, to know the dharma....
-we shine the light of awareness on that which is within....
-wisdom....
-love....
-teachers point the way, to the dharma that is inside us.....
-by teaching us skills....
-how to practice in accord with the dharma....
-by encouraging us to practice....
-by reminding us of our goodness, the dharma inside us....
5-meditation enables us to know the dharma inside us.....
-we find the dharma inside us....
-in the body....
-the practice of meditation, as taught by the Buddha, brings us to the body....
-we develop in mindfulness of the body....
-the more we develop in mindfulness of the body, the closer we come to the heart ... to the dharma inside us....
-so, we should practice meditation ...
-we should make this noble effort....
-in the service of know the dharma inside us....
-reading.....
On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time Ven. Sāriputta was staying among the Māgadhans in Nālaka village—diseased, in pain, severely ill. Cunda the novice was his attendant. Then, because of that illness, Ven. Sāriputta totally unbound.
So Cunda the novice, taking Ven. Sāriputta’s bowl & robes, went to Ven. Ānanda in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery, near Sāvatthī, and on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to Ven. Ānanda: “Venerable sir, Ven. Sāriputta has totally unbound. Here are his bowl & robes.”
“Cunda, my friend, this news is reason for seeing the Blessed One. Come, let’s go to the Blessed One and report this matter to him.”
“Yes, venerable sir,” Cunda the novice responded to him.
So Ven. Ānanda & Cunda the novice went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there, Ven. Ānanda said to the Blessed One, “Lord, just now Cunda the novice said to me, ‘Venerable sir, Ven. Sāriputta has totally unbound. Here are his bowl & robes.’ It was as if my body were drugged, I lost my bearings, things weren’t clear to me, on hearing that Ven. Sāriputta had totally unbound.”
“But, Ānanda, when he totally unbound, did Sāriputta take the aggregate of virtue along with him? Did he take the aggregate of concentration… discernment… release… the aggregate of knowledge & vision of release along with him?”
“No, lord, when he totally unbound, Ven. Sāriputta didn’t take the aggregate of virtue… concentration… discernment… release… the aggregate of knowledge & vision of release along with him. It’s just that he was my instructor & counselor, one who exhorted, urged, roused, & encouraged me. He was tireless in teaching the Dhamma, a help to his companions in the holy life. We miss the nourishment of his Dhamma, the wealth of his Dhamma, his help in the Dhamma.”
“But, Ānanda, haven’t I already taught you the state of growing different with regard to all things dear & appealing, the state of becoming separate, the state of becoming otherwise? What else is there to expect? It’s impossible that one could forbid anything born, existent, fabricated, & subject to disintegration from disintegrating.
“Just as if the largest limb were to fall off of a great tree composed of heartwood, standing firm; in the same way, Sāriputta has totally unbound from this great Saṅgha of monks composed of heartwood, standing firm. What else is there to expect? It’s impossible that one could forbid anything born, existent, fabricated, & subject to disintegration from disintegrating.
“Therefore, Ānanda, each of you should remain with your self as an island, your self as your refuge, without anything else as a refuge. Remain with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as your refuge, without anything else as a refuge. And how does a monk remain with his self as an island, his self as his refuge, without anything else as a refuge? How does he remain with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as his refuge, without anything else as a refuge? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings… mind… mental qualities in & of themselves—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. This is how a monk remains with his self as an island, his self as his refuge, without anything else as a refuge, with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as his refuge, without anything else as a refuge. For those who—now or after I am gone—remain with their self as an island, their self as their refuge, without anything else as a refuge, with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as their refuge, without anything else as a refuge, they will be the foremost of the monks: those who are desirous of training.”
(SN 47.13)
Now on that occasion the twin Sal trees were in full bloom, even though it was not the time for flowering. They showered, strewed, & sprinkled on the Tathāgata’s body in homage to him. Heavenly coral-tree blossoms fell from the sky, showering, strewing, & sprinkling the Tathāgata’s body in homage to him. Heavenly sandalwood powder fell from the sky, showering, strewing, & sprinkling the Tathāgata’s body in homage to him. Heavenly music was playing in the sky, in homage to the Tathāgata. Heavenly songs were sung in the sky, in homage to the Tathāgata.
Then the Blessed One said to Ven. Ānanda, “Ānanda, the twin Sal trees are in full bloom, even though it’s not the flowering season. They shower, strew, & sprinkle on the Tathāgata’s body in homage to him. Heavenly coral-tree blossoms are falling from the sky.… Heavenly sandalwood powder is falling from the sky.… Heavenly music is playing in the sky.… Heavenly songs are sung in the sky, in homage to the Tathāgata. But it is not to this extent that a Tathāgata is worshipped, honored, respected, venerated, or paid homage to. Rather, the monk, nun, male lay follower, or female lay follower who keeps practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, who keeps practicing masterfully, who lives in accordance with the Dhamma: That is the person who worships, honors, respects, venerates, & pays homage to the Tathāgata with the highest homage. So you should train yourselves: ‘We will keep practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, we will keep practicing masterfully, we will live in accordance with the Dhamma.’ That’s how you should train yourselves.”
(DN 16)
Simply talking a lot
doesn’t maintain the dhamma.
Whoever
—although he’s heard next to nothing--
sees dhamma through his body,
is not heedless of dhamma:
he’s one who maintains the dhamma.
(Dhp 259)
Over there are the roots of trees; over there, empty dwellings. Practice jhāna, monks. Don’t be heedless. Don’t later fall into remorse. This is our message to you.”
(MN 19)
-"The Dharma is Inside"
-in dedicating the merit of our practice, we acknowledge and pay homage to the goodness of others. and we remember our own goodness. our goodness, our dharma, is timeless. it is everpresent. we find it within us. our tendency is to believe that we don't have this goodness, this dharma within. our tendency is to look outside ourselves, to depends on what it outside of us for our happiness. teachers do not give us the dharma. they teach us how to know it, by teaching us skills. they point us toward the dharma within us. dharma is inside. it is found in this body. in this very life. the practice of meditation is practice of mindfulness of the body. as we develop mindfulness of the body we become more and more in tune with the dharma within us. so, we should make an effort to practice, in the service of knowing the heart, our goodness, the dharma inside us.
-some things to to remember as we learn to develop in knowing that "the dharma is inside"...
1-dedication of merit is an important practice.....
-in Buddhist tradition, we a dear being passes on, we dedicate the merit of our practice to this being....
-we acknowledge their goodness ...
-we pay homage to their goodness....
-in doing so, in understanding goodness, the truth of dharma, we are moved to develop our own goodness ... to practice ... to make the most of our lives....
2- the dharma is found within....
-the dharma is timeless....
-it transcends birth & death....
-it is everpresent.....
-it is found within....
-inside us....
-in this body ... in this very life....
-it is always there, but it is obstructed by the burdens on the heart (dukkha).....
3-our tendency is to look outside ourselves....
-in our efforts to know happiness our tendency is to look outside of ourselves....
-in sense pleasure, gain, status, praise...
-in seeking goodness, truth, dharma, we tend to look outside of ourselves....
-we look to others to give it to us....
-we think it is something we don't have, that we have to somehow get....
-we look outside ourselves....
-to others....
-to teachers....
-to books, etc.....
4-we seek in our efforts to know truth, dharma to be a lamp unto ourselves.....
-as the Buddha taught, our ability to know happiness, truth, goodness depends not on what is outside of us ... it depends on us being a lamp (island, refuge) unto ourselves....
-we look within, to know the dharma....
-we shine the light of awareness on that which is within....
-wisdom....
-love....
-teachers point the way, to the dharma that is inside us.....
-by teaching us skills....
-how to practice in accord with the dharma....
-by encouraging us to practice....
-by reminding us of our goodness, the dharma inside us....
5-meditation enables us to know the dharma inside us.....
-we find the dharma inside us....
-in the body....
-the practice of meditation, as taught by the Buddha, brings us to the body....
-we develop in mindfulness of the body....
-the more we develop in mindfulness of the body, the closer we come to the heart ... to the dharma inside us....
-so, we should practice meditation ...
-we should make this noble effort....
-in the service of know the dharma inside us....
-reading.....
On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time Ven. Sāriputta was staying among the Māgadhans in Nālaka village—diseased, in pain, severely ill. Cunda the novice was his attendant. Then, because of that illness, Ven. Sāriputta totally unbound.
So Cunda the novice, taking Ven. Sāriputta’s bowl & robes, went to Ven. Ānanda in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery, near Sāvatthī, and on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to Ven. Ānanda: “Venerable sir, Ven. Sāriputta has totally unbound. Here are his bowl & robes.”
“Cunda, my friend, this news is reason for seeing the Blessed One. Come, let’s go to the Blessed One and report this matter to him.”
“Yes, venerable sir,” Cunda the novice responded to him.
So Ven. Ānanda & Cunda the novice went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there, Ven. Ānanda said to the Blessed One, “Lord, just now Cunda the novice said to me, ‘Venerable sir, Ven. Sāriputta has totally unbound. Here are his bowl & robes.’ It was as if my body were drugged, I lost my bearings, things weren’t clear to me, on hearing that Ven. Sāriputta had totally unbound.”
“But, Ānanda, when he totally unbound, did Sāriputta take the aggregate of virtue along with him? Did he take the aggregate of concentration… discernment… release… the aggregate of knowledge & vision of release along with him?”
“No, lord, when he totally unbound, Ven. Sāriputta didn’t take the aggregate of virtue… concentration… discernment… release… the aggregate of knowledge & vision of release along with him. It’s just that he was my instructor & counselor, one who exhorted, urged, roused, & encouraged me. He was tireless in teaching the Dhamma, a help to his companions in the holy life. We miss the nourishment of his Dhamma, the wealth of his Dhamma, his help in the Dhamma.”
“But, Ānanda, haven’t I already taught you the state of growing different with regard to all things dear & appealing, the state of becoming separate, the state of becoming otherwise? What else is there to expect? It’s impossible that one could forbid anything born, existent, fabricated, & subject to disintegration from disintegrating.
“Just as if the largest limb were to fall off of a great tree composed of heartwood, standing firm; in the same way, Sāriputta has totally unbound from this great Saṅgha of monks composed of heartwood, standing firm. What else is there to expect? It’s impossible that one could forbid anything born, existent, fabricated, & subject to disintegration from disintegrating.
“Therefore, Ānanda, each of you should remain with your self as an island, your self as your refuge, without anything else as a refuge. Remain with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as your refuge, without anything else as a refuge. And how does a monk remain with his self as an island, his self as his refuge, without anything else as a refuge? How does he remain with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as his refuge, without anything else as a refuge? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings… mind… mental qualities in & of themselves—ardent, alert, & mindful—subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. This is how a monk remains with his self as an island, his self as his refuge, without anything else as a refuge, with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as his refuge, without anything else as a refuge. For those who—now or after I am gone—remain with their self as an island, their self as their refuge, without anything else as a refuge, with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as their refuge, without anything else as a refuge, they will be the foremost of the monks: those who are desirous of training.”
(SN 47.13)
Now on that occasion the twin Sal trees were in full bloom, even though it was not the time for flowering. They showered, strewed, & sprinkled on the Tathāgata’s body in homage to him. Heavenly coral-tree blossoms fell from the sky, showering, strewing, & sprinkling the Tathāgata’s body in homage to him. Heavenly sandalwood powder fell from the sky, showering, strewing, & sprinkling the Tathāgata’s body in homage to him. Heavenly music was playing in the sky, in homage to the Tathāgata. Heavenly songs were sung in the sky, in homage to the Tathāgata.
Then the Blessed One said to Ven. Ānanda, “Ānanda, the twin Sal trees are in full bloom, even though it’s not the flowering season. They shower, strew, & sprinkle on the Tathāgata’s body in homage to him. Heavenly coral-tree blossoms are falling from the sky.… Heavenly sandalwood powder is falling from the sky.… Heavenly music is playing in the sky.… Heavenly songs are sung in the sky, in homage to the Tathāgata. But it is not to this extent that a Tathāgata is worshipped, honored, respected, venerated, or paid homage to. Rather, the monk, nun, male lay follower, or female lay follower who keeps practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, who keeps practicing masterfully, who lives in accordance with the Dhamma: That is the person who worships, honors, respects, venerates, & pays homage to the Tathāgata with the highest homage. So you should train yourselves: ‘We will keep practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, we will keep practicing masterfully, we will live in accordance with the Dhamma.’ That’s how you should train yourselves.”
(DN 16)
Simply talking a lot
doesn’t maintain the dhamma.
Whoever
—although he’s heard next to nothing--
sees dhamma through his body,
is not heedless of dhamma:
he’s one who maintains the dhamma.
(Dhp 259)
Over there are the roots of trees; over there, empty dwellings. Practice jhāna, monks. Don’t be heedless. Don’t later fall into remorse. This is our message to you.”
(MN 19)
January 25
-"Skillful Thinking: Affirmative Thinking"
"We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world."
-in following the Buddha's path, we're asked to develop skills. the mechanism by which we develop and practice skills is thinking. we fabricate certain thoughts, skillful thoughts, in an effort to develop the path. in order to be able to lay down skillful tracks in the mind, we need to abandon unskillful thoughts. for most of us, negative thinking is a primarily affliction. accordingly, we need to be heedful, ardent, and resolute in our efforts to abandon thoughts imbued with negativity. and, in turn, we need to be proactive in our efforts to cultivate thoughts that are affirmative. we learn to cultivate thoughts that are affirming in regard to the world, others & ourselves. thoughts of appreciation are elemental to this effort. all thinking that affirms is rooted in metta, the wish for true happiness. as we move forward in our efforts to cultivate skillful, affirmative thoughts we know a greater happiness. this, as the Buddha tells us, is something we can do.
-some things to to remember as we learn to develop in our ability to cultivate "affirmative thinking"...
1-in order to change, to know a greater happiness, we have to change our habits of thinking.....
-we learn, as dharma students, to develop skills that lead us to a greater happiness....
-the critical element, or tool, in developing skills is skillful fabrication....
-we proactively fabricate thinking that guides us in developing and practicing skills....
2- in developing skillful thinking, we seek to abandon negative thinking and cultivate affirmative thinking.....
-for most of us, pursuing thinking that's negative is a habitual tendency....
-culturally, there's a widespread propensity for negative thinking....
-in the media....
-in terms of other beings....
-as dharma students, we're heedful, seeing our propensity for thinking imbued with negativity....
-negative thoughts about the world, others, ourselves....
-thinking informed by....
-aversion....
-resentment....
-complaining....
-judging....
-it is particularly important to be heedful of thinking informed by resentment....
3-we seek, in cultivating skillful thinking, to proactively cultivate thinking that is affirmative.....
-some reflections we might make....
-do i pursue negative thinking....?
-do i cultivate affirmative thinking....?
-how can i cultivate affirmative thinking....?
-can i make a resolve to cultivate affirmative thinking....?
-in cultivating affirmative thinking....
-we cultivate affirmative thoughts about....
-the world....
-others....
-ourselves....
-we cultivate thoughts of appreciation....
-we cultivate thoughts of gratitude, recalling the blessing of....
1-our goodnes....
-generosity....
-virtue....
-effort to train the mind....
2-the goodness of others....
3-the goodness of the dharma....
4-the blessing of life....
-all affirmative thinking is rooted in metta.....
-we think about the wish for true happiness....
-we remember that there is a true happiness that is available to us....
4-we seek to cultivate affirmative thoughts on an ongoing basis.....
-in our training, it is essential that we make an effort to cultivate affirmative thoughts in all postures, as we go through our days....
-gradually as we do this, we bend the mind in the direction of affirmative thoughts....
-we change our karma....
-it is difficult at times....
-we are often swept away by our habitual tendencies of mind....
-but if we stay with it ... practice determination ... we can change the habits of mind.....
5-if we wish for a joyful life, we have to cultivate joyful thoughts......
-as we learn to cultivate joyful thinking ... we know a greater happiness....
-in and of themselves, joyful thoughts enable us to have a more joyful presence in this life....
-joyful thoughts bring ease to the body.....
-joyful thoughts bring ease to the mind....
-joyful thoughts bring us to the heart.....
-as our thoughts become more affirmative, joyful ... we incline to actions that in the service of the heart.....
-we know a greater happiness....
-reading.....
-"Taking Joy" (from The Skill of Living)
-"Skillful Thinking: Affirmative Thinking"
"We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world."
-in following the Buddha's path, we're asked to develop skills. the mechanism by which we develop and practice skills is thinking. we fabricate certain thoughts, skillful thoughts, in an effort to develop the path. in order to be able to lay down skillful tracks in the mind, we need to abandon unskillful thoughts. for most of us, negative thinking is a primarily affliction. accordingly, we need to be heedful, ardent, and resolute in our efforts to abandon thoughts imbued with negativity. and, in turn, we need to be proactive in our efforts to cultivate thoughts that are affirmative. we learn to cultivate thoughts that are affirming in regard to the world, others & ourselves. thoughts of appreciation are elemental to this effort. all thinking that affirms is rooted in metta, the wish for true happiness. as we move forward in our efforts to cultivate skillful, affirmative thoughts we know a greater happiness. this, as the Buddha tells us, is something we can do.
-some things to to remember as we learn to develop in our ability to cultivate "affirmative thinking"...
1-in order to change, to know a greater happiness, we have to change our habits of thinking.....
-we learn, as dharma students, to develop skills that lead us to a greater happiness....
-the critical element, or tool, in developing skills is skillful fabrication....
-we proactively fabricate thinking that guides us in developing and practicing skills....
2- in developing skillful thinking, we seek to abandon negative thinking and cultivate affirmative thinking.....
-for most of us, pursuing thinking that's negative is a habitual tendency....
-culturally, there's a widespread propensity for negative thinking....
-in the media....
-in terms of other beings....
-as dharma students, we're heedful, seeing our propensity for thinking imbued with negativity....
-negative thoughts about the world, others, ourselves....
-thinking informed by....
-aversion....
-resentment....
-complaining....
-judging....
-it is particularly important to be heedful of thinking informed by resentment....
3-we seek, in cultivating skillful thinking, to proactively cultivate thinking that is affirmative.....
-some reflections we might make....
-do i pursue negative thinking....?
-do i cultivate affirmative thinking....?
-how can i cultivate affirmative thinking....?
-can i make a resolve to cultivate affirmative thinking....?
-in cultivating affirmative thinking....
-we cultivate affirmative thoughts about....
-the world....
-others....
-ourselves....
-we cultivate thoughts of appreciation....
-we cultivate thoughts of gratitude, recalling the blessing of....
1-our goodnes....
-generosity....
-virtue....
-effort to train the mind....
2-the goodness of others....
3-the goodness of the dharma....
4-the blessing of life....
-all affirmative thinking is rooted in metta.....
-we think about the wish for true happiness....
-we remember that there is a true happiness that is available to us....
4-we seek to cultivate affirmative thoughts on an ongoing basis.....
-in our training, it is essential that we make an effort to cultivate affirmative thoughts in all postures, as we go through our days....
-gradually as we do this, we bend the mind in the direction of affirmative thoughts....
-we change our karma....
-it is difficult at times....
-we are often swept away by our habitual tendencies of mind....
-but if we stay with it ... practice determination ... we can change the habits of mind.....
5-if we wish for a joyful life, we have to cultivate joyful thoughts......
-as we learn to cultivate joyful thinking ... we know a greater happiness....
-in and of themselves, joyful thoughts enable us to have a more joyful presence in this life....
-joyful thoughts bring ease to the body.....
-joyful thoughts bring ease to the mind....
-joyful thoughts bring us to the heart.....
-as our thoughts become more affirmative, joyful ... we incline to actions that in the service of the heart.....
-we know a greater happiness....
-reading.....
-"Taking Joy" (from The Skill of Living)
| skill_of_living_taking_joy.pdf |
-"Mahanama Sutta" (AN 11.13)
[4] "Furthermore, there is the case where you recollect your own virtues: '[They are] untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered, liberating, praised by the wise, untarnished, conducive to concentration.' At any time when a disciple of the noble ones is recollecting virtue, his mind is not overcome with passion, not overcome with aversion, not overcome with delusion. His mind heads straight, based on virtue. And when the mind is headed straight, the disciple of the noble ones gains a sense of the goal, gains a sense of the Dhamma, gains joy connected with the Dhamma. In one who is joyful, rapture arises. In one who is rapturous, the body grows calm. One whose body is calmed experiences ease. In one at ease, the mind becomes concentrated.
"Of one who does this, Mahanama, it is said: 'Among those who are out of tune, the disciple of the noble ones dwells in tune; among those who are malicious, he dwells without malice; having attained the stream of Dhamma, he develops the recollection of virtue.'
[5] "Furthermore, there is the case where you recollect your own generosity: 'It is a gain, a great gain for me, that — among people overcome with the stain of possessiveness — I live at home, my awareness cleansed of the stain of possessiveness, freely generous, openhanded, delighting in being magnanimous, responsive to requests, delighting in the distribution of alms.' At any time when a disciple of the noble ones is recollecting generosity, his mind is not overcome with passion, not overcome with aversion, not overcome with delusion. His mind heads straight, based on generosity. And when the mind is headed straight, the disciple of the noble ones gains a sense of the goal, gains a sense of the Dhamma, gains joy connected with the Dhamma. In one who is joyful, rapture arises. In one who is rapturous, the body grows calm. One whose body is calmed experiences ease. In one at ease, the mind becomes concentrated.
"Of one who does this, Mahanama, it is said: 'Among those who are out of tune, the disciple of the noble ones dwells in tune; among those who are malicious, he dwells without malice; having attained the stream of Dhamma, he develops the recollection of generosity.'"
(AN 11.12)
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with an impure mind
And trouble will follow you
As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with a pure mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow, unshakable.
"Look how he abused me and hurt me,
How he threw me down and robbed me."
Live with such thoughts and you live in hate.
"Look how he abused me and hurt me,
How he threw me down and robbed me."
Abandon such thoughts, and live in love.
In this world
Hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
Ancient and inexhaustible.
(Dhp 1)
For the new year. — I still live, I still think: I still have to live, for I still have to think. Sum, ergo cogito: cogito, ergo sum. Today everybody permits himself the expression of his wish and his dearest thought; hence I, too, shall say what it is that I wish from myself today, and what was the first thought to run across my heart this year — what thought shall be for me the reason, warranty, and sweetness of my life henceforth. I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who make things beautiful. Amor fati: let that by my love henceforth! I do not want to wage war against what is ugly. I do not want to accuse; I do not even want to accuse those who accuse. Looking away shall be my only negation. And all in all and on the whole: some day I wish to be only a Yes-sayer.
(Nietzsche/from The Gay Science)
“Poetry is the gai science. The trait and test of the poet is that he builds, adds and affirms.”
(Emerson)
Work. Keep digging your well.
Don’t think about getting off from work.
Water is there somewhere.
Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that
Is a ring on the door.
Keep knocking, and the joy inside
Will eventually open a window
And look out to see who’s there.
(Rumi)
January 18
-"Skillful Thinking: Asking Questions"
"We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world."
-in order to know a greater happiness, we have to learn to abandon unskillful thinking and cultivate skillful thinking. the proactive effort toward cultivating skillful thinking will lead us to happiness of heart. as we make this effort to cultivate skillful thinking, we gradually incline the mind toward this sort of thinking. the Buddha has certain guidelines that we seek to follow in cultivating skillful thinking. it's important that we don't 'overthink'. doing so, tires the mind and brings about unskillful thinking. our default position for the mind is the breath. in all postures we use thought to direct the mind to the breath. we ask question in an effort to develop insight. it begins with the breath, by asking how the breath is. and asking how the body is. we develop insight by asking whether there is suffering. a good question for us to learn to ask is: how is the heart? asking this question, we look to see if the the heart is afflicted. and we can ask questions, such as 'is there that which is beyond birth & death,' to point us in the direction of the state that is free from suffering. by asking question in these ways we learn to free the heart of its burdens and know the happiness inside, the happiness of heart.
-some things to to remember as we learn to develop in our ability to practice "asking questions"...
1-we follow certain basic principle in cultivating skillful thinking.....
-as the Buddha explains in the sutta "Two Sorts of Thinking".....
-we cultivate skillful thinking ... but we are careful not to "over-fabricate"....
-we keep the thinking 'short & simple'....
-we fabricate skillfully ... and then put our mind on the breath, in the body....
-the breath, we could say, is the 'default' position for the mind....
-we keep the mind on the breath, in all postures, by using thought....
-this is 'directed thought".....
-we remind ourselves, in breath meditation, and in all postures, to keep the mind on the breath.....
-in the body....
-in the frame of reference.....
2- we ask questions in the service of developing insight.....
-the practice of insight begins in the Buddha's teaching with the breath....
-we 'evaluate' the breath....
-we ask questions, such as, 'how is the breath'.....
-'what is it like to breath in an easeful way'.....
-we ask questions in an effort to discern how the body is ... and how to develop an easeful abiding in the body....
-we ask questions, such as, 'how is the body'.....
-is there dis-ease in the body....?
-is there ease in the body....?
-where can i put my mind in an effort to cultivate and easeful abiding....?
3-we ask questions in an effort to understand suffering and the end of suffering.....
-in all postures, a good question to learn to ask is: 'how is the heart"
-is the heart afflicted....?
-is there dukkha....?
-in seeing dukkha, we learn to ask....
-am i in a narrative....?
-is it useful...?
-am i clinging....?
-am i involved in clinging to some form of desire/aversion....?
-am i clinging to an emotional/mind state....?
-how can I meet this clinging/dukkha in a skillful way....?
-what is it like when i get some space from the clinging...?
-what is it like when there is a lessening of clinging....?
4-we use skillful thinking, including questions, to recognize the characteristics of conditioned experience.....
-we reflect, as the Buddha teaches, on nature of conditioned experience....
-we reflect on the truth of illness/aging/death/separation....
-we reflect on the truth of impermanence....
-we reflect on the truth of not-self....
-we reflect on the truth of the unsatisfactory nature of conditioned experience....
5-asking questions, we incline ourselves to knowing the state which is not subject to birth and death......
-we learn to ask, is there that which is beyond birth & death....?
-is there that which is deathless....?
-is there that which is timeless....?
-by asking these sorts of questions, we incline the mind to knowing the happiness that does not die.....
-happiness of heart, the dharma....
-the happiness that is always there, in the heart....
-reading.....
-"The Path of Questions" (Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
"Abandon what is unskillful, monks. It is possible to abandon what is unskillful. If it were not possible to abandon what is unskillful, I would not say to you, 'Abandon what is unskillful.' But because it is possible to abandon what is unskillful, I say to you, 'Abandon what is unskillful.' If this abandoning of what is unskillful were conducive to harm and pain, I would not say to you, 'Abandon what is unskillful.' But because this abandoning of what is unskillful is conducive to benefit and pleasure, I say to you, 'Abandon what is unskillful.'
"Develop what is skillful, monks. It is possible to develop what is skillful. If it were not possible to develop what is skillful, I would not say to you, 'Develop what is skillful.' But because it is possible to develop what is skillful, I say to you, 'Develop what is skillful.' If this development of what is skillful were conducive to harm and pain, I would not say to you, 'Develop what is skillful.' But because this development of what is skillful is conducive to benefit and pleasure, I say to you, 'Develop what is skillful.'"
(AN 2.19)
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with renunciation arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with renunciation has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with non-ill will arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with non-ill will has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with harmlessness arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with harmlessness has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking & pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with renunciation, abandoning thinking imbued with sensuality, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with renunciation. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with non-ill will, abandoning thinking imbued with ill will, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with non-ill will. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with harmlessness, abandoning thinking imbued with harmfulness, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with harmlessness.
"Just as in the last month of the hot season, when all the crops have been gathered into the village, a cowherd would look after his cows: While resting under the shade of a tree or out in the open, he simply keeps himself mindful of 'those cows.' In the same way, I simply kept myself mindful of 'those mental qualities.'"
(MN 19)
Whatever an enemy might do
to an enemy,
or a foe to a foe,
the ill-directed mind
can do to you
even worse.
Whatever a mother, father
or other kinsman
might do for you,
the well-directed mind
can do for you
even better.
(Dhp 3)
January 11
-"Skillful Thinking: Cultivating Skillful Thinking"
"We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world."
-in his teaching on being heedful of thinking, "Two Sorts of Thinking," the Buddha describes the process for abandoning unskillful thinking. he also describes the process for cultivating skillful thinking. as dharma students we need to attend to both aspects of the practice. it is challenging to cultivate skillful thinking, to think in a new way because our patterns of thought are deeply habitual. but we can change. we have to make a proactive effort to cultivate skillful thinking. being centered in all postures, practicing natural meditation, is essential. we learn to ask how we can cultivate skillful thinking. we make an effort, in doing so, to incline the mind to skillful thinking. difficult is, as always, an entry point. when there is difficulty, we learn to abandon unskillful ways to relating, unskillful ways of thinking. and in turn we learn to ask, what is a skillful way to think about this. in doing this, we learn, gradually, to rely on the heart to guide us. we rely on our innate wisdom. it is of course a process of trial and effort. but it we make the effort we'll learn to cultivate thoughts that will lead us to the happiness of heart.
-some things to to remember as we learn to develop in our ability to practice "cultivating skillful thinking"...
1-skillful thinking leads us to happiness of heart.....
-as the Buddha describes in the sutta "Two Sorts of Thinking".....
-we should learn to abandon unskillful thinking...
-we should cultivate skillful thinking....
-it is important to abandon unskillful thinking ... but it is not enough.....
-if we are going to know a greater happiness, we have to proactively cultivate skillful thinking....
2- it is difficult develop skillful thinking because our patterns of thinking are deeply habitual.....
-the patterns of mind are habitual ... there are "grooves" in the mind that the our thinking goes quickly into....
-the mind bends in these unskillful directions....
-we must learn skills to abandon unskillful thinking....
-natural meditation is essential....
-when there is an easeful abiding in all postures we're less likely to follow habitual patterns....
-we're more able to have space ... and cultivate skillful thinking....
3-in all postures we seek to develop skillful thinking.....
-we are alert and resolute....
-we are resolved to cultivate skillful thinking....
-we make an effort, in all postures, to ask....
-right now, how can I think in a skillful way....?
-how can I think in a way that is for my long term welfare....?
-how can I think in a way that will lead to a greater happiness....?
4-difficult is often an entry point for the developing skillful thinking.....
-when there is difficulty.....
-we see the tendency to relate unskillfully ... to pursue unskillful thinking....?
-we seek to abandon unskillful thinking....
-we make a proactive effort to cultivate skillful thinking.....
-thinking informed by compassion is a 'default setting' here ... we seek to cultivate thoughts of compassion, in view of our difficulty....
-and, importantly, in the effort to engender skillful thinking, we might ask questions.....
-such as.....
-" what is a skillful way to think about this situation...?"
5-in cultivating thinking, asking questions, we learn to tune ourselves to the dhamma......
-we learn to turn to our innate wisdom....
-we create a 'script' based on our innate wisdom ... the heart ... the dhamma inside....
-this is always a process of trial and error, this is how we learn to tune to our innate wisdom....
-we make an effort to cultivate skillful thinking....
-we look to see whether we are in tune with the heart....
-we look at the body....
-we look at the heart.....
-we develop sensitivity to the heart, to what comprises skillful thinking....
-in this way we learn to guide ourselves through our days....
-we learn to live with wisdom and love.....
-we move closer to the heart....
-reading.....
"Two Sorts of Thinking"
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monks: "Monks!"
"Yes, lord," the monks replied.
The Blessed One said, "Monks, before my self-awakening, when I was still just an unawakened Bodhisatta, the thought occurred to me: 'Why don't I keep dividing my thinking into two sorts?' So I made thinking imbued with sensuality, thinking imbued with ill will, & thinking imbued with harmfulness one sort, and thinking imbued with renunciation, thinking imbued with non-ill will, & thinking imbued with harmlessness another sort.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with sensuality arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with sensuality has arisen in me; and that leads to my own affliction or to the affliction of others or to the affliction of both. It obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding.'
"As I noticed that it leads to my own affliction, it subsided. As I noticed that it leads to the affliction of others... to the affliction of both... it obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding, it subsided. Whenever thinking imbued with sensuality had arisen, I simply abandoned it, dispelled it, wiped it out of existence.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with ill will arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with ill will has arisen in me; and that leads to my own affliction or to the affliction of others or to the affliction of both. It obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding.'
"As I noticed that it leads to my own affliction, it subsided. As I noticed that it leads to the affliction of others... to the affliction of both... it obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding, it subsided. Whenever thinking imbued with ill will had arisen, I simply abandoned it, dispelled it, wiped it out of existence.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with harmfulness arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with harmfulness has arisen in me; and that leads to my own affliction or to the affliction of others or to the affliction of both. It obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding.'
"As I noticed that it leads to my own affliction, it subsided. As I noticed that it leads to the affliction of others... to the affliction of both... it obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding, it subsided. Whenever thinking imbued with harmfulness had arisen, I simply abandoned it, dispelled it, wiped it out of existence.
"Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking & pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with sensuality, abandoning thinking imbued with renunciation, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with sensuality. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with ill will, abandoning thinking imbued with non-ill will, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with ill will. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with harmfulness, abandoning thinking imbued with harmlessness, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with harmfulness.
"Just as in the last month of the Rains, in the autumn season when the crops are ripening, a cowherd would look after his cows: He would tap & poke & check & curb them with a stick on this side & that. Why is that? Because he foresees flogging or imprisonment or a fine or public censure arising from that [if he let his cows wander into the crops]. In the same way I foresaw in unskillful qualities drawbacks, degradation, & defilement, and I foresaw in skillful qualities rewards related to renunciation & promoting cleansing.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with renunciation arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with renunciation has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with non-ill will arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with non-ill will has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with harmlessness arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with harmlessness has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking & pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with renunciation, abandoning thinking imbued with sensuality, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with renunciation. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with non-ill will, abandoning thinking imbued with ill will, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with non-ill will. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with harmlessness, abandoning thinking imbued with harmfulness, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with harmlessness.
"Just as in the last month of the hot season, when all the crops have been gathered into the village, a cowherd would look after his cows: While resting under the shade of a tree or out in the open, he simply keeps himself mindful of 'those cows.' In the same way, I simply kept myself mindful of 'those mental qualities.'
"Unflagging persistence was aroused in me, and unmuddled mindfulness established. My body was calm & unaroused, my mind concentrated & single. Quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful mental qualities, I entered & remained in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, I entered & remained in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance. With the fading of rapture I remained in equanimity, mindful & alert, and physically sensitive of pleasure. I entered & remained in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.' With the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — I entered & remained in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain.
"When the mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I directed it to the knowledge of recollecting my past lives. I recollected my manifold past lives, i.e., one birth, two... five, ten... fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand, many eons of cosmic contraction, many eons of cosmic expansion, many eons of cosmic contraction & expansion: 'There I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure & pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose there. There too I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure & pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose here.' Thus I remembered my manifold past lives in their modes & details.
"This was the first knowledge I attained in the first watch of the night. Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed; light arose — as happens in one who is heedful, ardent, & resolute.
"When the mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I directed it to the knowledge of the passing away & reappearance of beings. I saw — by means of the divine eye, purified & surpassing the human — beings passing away & re-appearing, and I discerned how they are inferior & superior, beautiful & ugly, fortunate & unfortunate in accordance with their kamma: 'These beings — who were endowed with bad conduct of body, speech & mind, who reviled the Noble Ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views — with the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, in hell. But these beings — who were endowed with good conduct of body, speech, & mind, who did not revile the Noble Ones, who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views — with the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the good destinations, in the heavenly world.' Thus — by means of the divine eye, purified & surpassing the human — I saw beings passing away & re-appearing, and I discerned how they are inferior & superior, beautiful & ugly, fortunate & unfortunate in accordance with their kamma.
"This was the second knowledge I attained in the second watch of the night. Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed; light arose — as happens in one who is heedful, ardent, & resolute.
"When the mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I directed it to the knowledge of the ending of the mental fermentations. I discerned, as it had come to be, that 'This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is the way leading to the cessation of stress... These are fermentations... This is the origination of fermentations... This is the cessation of fermentations... This is the way leading to the cessation of fermentations.' My heart, thus knowing, thus seeing, was released from the fermentation of sensuality, released from the fermentation of becoming, released from the fermentation of ignorance. With release, there was the knowledge, 'Released.' I discerned that 'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.'
"This was the third knowledge I attained in the third watch of the night. Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed; light arose — as happens in one who is heedful, ardent, & resolute.
"Suppose, monks, that in a forested wilderness there were a large low-lying marsh, in dependence on which there lived a large herd of deer; and a certain man were to appear, not desiring their benefit, not desiring their welfare, not desiring their rest from bondage. He would close off the safe, restful path that led to their rapture, and would open up a false path, set out a male decoy, place a female decoy, and thus the large herd of deer would eventually fall into ruin, disaster, & decimation. Then suppose that a certain man were to appear to that same large herd of deer, desiring their benefit, desiring their welfare, desiring their rest from bondage. He would open up the safe, restful path that led to their rapture, would close off the false path, take away the male decoy, destroy the female decoy, and thus the large herd of deer would eventually come into growth, increase, & abundance.
"I have given this simile in order to convey a meaning. The meaning is this: 'The large, low-lying marsh' stands for sensuality. 'The large herd of deer' stands for beings. 'The man not desiring their benefit, not desiring their welfare, not desiring their rest from bondage' stands for Mara, the Evil One. 'The false path' stands for the eightfold wrong path, i.e., wrong view, wrong resolve, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, & wrong concentration. 'The male decoy' stands for passion & delight. 'The female decoy' stands for ignorance. 'The man desiring their benefit, desiring their welfare, desiring their rest from bondage' stands for the Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One. 'The safe, restful path that led to their rapture' stands for the noble eightfold path, i.e., right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, & right concentration.
"So, monks, I have opened up the safe, restful path, closed off the false path, removed the male decoy, destroyed the female. Whatever a teacher should do — seeking the welfare of his disciples, out of sympathy for them — that have I done for you. Over there are the roots of trees; over there, empty dwellings. Practice jhana, monks. Don't be heedless. Don't later fall into regret. This is our message to you."
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed One's words.
(MN 19)
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-"Skillful Thinking: Cultivating Skillful Thinking"
"We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world."
-in his teaching on being heedful of thinking, "Two Sorts of Thinking," the Buddha describes the process for abandoning unskillful thinking. he also describes the process for cultivating skillful thinking. as dharma students we need to attend to both aspects of the practice. it is challenging to cultivate skillful thinking, to think in a new way because our patterns of thought are deeply habitual. but we can change. we have to make a proactive effort to cultivate skillful thinking. being centered in all postures, practicing natural meditation, is essential. we learn to ask how we can cultivate skillful thinking. we make an effort, in doing so, to incline the mind to skillful thinking. difficult is, as always, an entry point. when there is difficulty, we learn to abandon unskillful ways to relating, unskillful ways of thinking. and in turn we learn to ask, what is a skillful way to think about this. in doing this, we learn, gradually, to rely on the heart to guide us. we rely on our innate wisdom. it is of course a process of trial and effort. but it we make the effort we'll learn to cultivate thoughts that will lead us to the happiness of heart.
-some things to to remember as we learn to develop in our ability to practice "cultivating skillful thinking"...
1-skillful thinking leads us to happiness of heart.....
-as the Buddha describes in the sutta "Two Sorts of Thinking".....
-we should learn to abandon unskillful thinking...
-we should cultivate skillful thinking....
-it is important to abandon unskillful thinking ... but it is not enough.....
-if we are going to know a greater happiness, we have to proactively cultivate skillful thinking....
2- it is difficult develop skillful thinking because our patterns of thinking are deeply habitual.....
-the patterns of mind are habitual ... there are "grooves" in the mind that the our thinking goes quickly into....
-the mind bends in these unskillful directions....
-we must learn skills to abandon unskillful thinking....
-natural meditation is essential....
-when there is an easeful abiding in all postures we're less likely to follow habitual patterns....
-we're more able to have space ... and cultivate skillful thinking....
3-in all postures we seek to develop skillful thinking.....
-we are alert and resolute....
-we are resolved to cultivate skillful thinking....
-we make an effort, in all postures, to ask....
-right now, how can I think in a skillful way....?
-how can I think in a way that is for my long term welfare....?
-how can I think in a way that will lead to a greater happiness....?
4-difficult is often an entry point for the developing skillful thinking.....
-when there is difficulty.....
-we see the tendency to relate unskillfully ... to pursue unskillful thinking....?
-we seek to abandon unskillful thinking....
-we make a proactive effort to cultivate skillful thinking.....
-thinking informed by compassion is a 'default setting' here ... we seek to cultivate thoughts of compassion, in view of our difficulty....
-and, importantly, in the effort to engender skillful thinking, we might ask questions.....
-such as.....
-" what is a skillful way to think about this situation...?"
5-in cultivating thinking, asking questions, we learn to tune ourselves to the dhamma......
-we learn to turn to our innate wisdom....
-we create a 'script' based on our innate wisdom ... the heart ... the dhamma inside....
-this is always a process of trial and error, this is how we learn to tune to our innate wisdom....
-we make an effort to cultivate skillful thinking....
-we look to see whether we are in tune with the heart....
-we look at the body....
-we look at the heart.....
-we develop sensitivity to the heart, to what comprises skillful thinking....
-in this way we learn to guide ourselves through our days....
-we learn to live with wisdom and love.....
-we move closer to the heart....
-reading.....
"Two Sorts of Thinking"
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monks: "Monks!"
"Yes, lord," the monks replied.
The Blessed One said, "Monks, before my self-awakening, when I was still just an unawakened Bodhisatta, the thought occurred to me: 'Why don't I keep dividing my thinking into two sorts?' So I made thinking imbued with sensuality, thinking imbued with ill will, & thinking imbued with harmfulness one sort, and thinking imbued with renunciation, thinking imbued with non-ill will, & thinking imbued with harmlessness another sort.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with sensuality arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with sensuality has arisen in me; and that leads to my own affliction or to the affliction of others or to the affliction of both. It obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding.'
"As I noticed that it leads to my own affliction, it subsided. As I noticed that it leads to the affliction of others... to the affliction of both... it obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding, it subsided. Whenever thinking imbued with sensuality had arisen, I simply abandoned it, dispelled it, wiped it out of existence.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with ill will arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with ill will has arisen in me; and that leads to my own affliction or to the affliction of others or to the affliction of both. It obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding.'
"As I noticed that it leads to my own affliction, it subsided. As I noticed that it leads to the affliction of others... to the affliction of both... it obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding, it subsided. Whenever thinking imbued with ill will had arisen, I simply abandoned it, dispelled it, wiped it out of existence.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with harmfulness arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with harmfulness has arisen in me; and that leads to my own affliction or to the affliction of others or to the affliction of both. It obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding.'
"As I noticed that it leads to my own affliction, it subsided. As I noticed that it leads to the affliction of others... to the affliction of both... it obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding, it subsided. Whenever thinking imbued with harmfulness had arisen, I simply abandoned it, dispelled it, wiped it out of existence.
"Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking & pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with sensuality, abandoning thinking imbued with renunciation, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with sensuality. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with ill will, abandoning thinking imbued with non-ill will, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with ill will. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with harmfulness, abandoning thinking imbued with harmlessness, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with harmfulness.
"Just as in the last month of the Rains, in the autumn season when the crops are ripening, a cowherd would look after his cows: He would tap & poke & check & curb them with a stick on this side & that. Why is that? Because he foresees flogging or imprisonment or a fine or public censure arising from that [if he let his cows wander into the crops]. In the same way I foresaw in unskillful qualities drawbacks, degradation, & defilement, and I foresaw in skillful qualities rewards related to renunciation & promoting cleansing.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with renunciation arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with renunciation has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with non-ill will arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with non-ill will has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with harmlessness arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with harmlessness has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking & pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with renunciation, abandoning thinking imbued with sensuality, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with renunciation. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with non-ill will, abandoning thinking imbued with ill will, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with non-ill will. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with harmlessness, abandoning thinking imbued with harmfulness, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with harmlessness.
"Just as in the last month of the hot season, when all the crops have been gathered into the village, a cowherd would look after his cows: While resting under the shade of a tree or out in the open, he simply keeps himself mindful of 'those cows.' In the same way, I simply kept myself mindful of 'those mental qualities.'
"Unflagging persistence was aroused in me, and unmuddled mindfulness established. My body was calm & unaroused, my mind concentrated & single. Quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful mental qualities, I entered & remained in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, I entered & remained in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance. With the fading of rapture I remained in equanimity, mindful & alert, and physically sensitive of pleasure. I entered & remained in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.' With the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — I entered & remained in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain.
"When the mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I directed it to the knowledge of recollecting my past lives. I recollected my manifold past lives, i.e., one birth, two... five, ten... fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand, many eons of cosmic contraction, many eons of cosmic expansion, many eons of cosmic contraction & expansion: 'There I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure & pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose there. There too I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure & pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose here.' Thus I remembered my manifold past lives in their modes & details.
"This was the first knowledge I attained in the first watch of the night. Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed; light arose — as happens in one who is heedful, ardent, & resolute.
"When the mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I directed it to the knowledge of the passing away & reappearance of beings. I saw — by means of the divine eye, purified & surpassing the human — beings passing away & re-appearing, and I discerned how they are inferior & superior, beautiful & ugly, fortunate & unfortunate in accordance with their kamma: 'These beings — who were endowed with bad conduct of body, speech & mind, who reviled the Noble Ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views — with the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, in hell. But these beings — who were endowed with good conduct of body, speech, & mind, who did not revile the Noble Ones, who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views — with the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the good destinations, in the heavenly world.' Thus — by means of the divine eye, purified & surpassing the human — I saw beings passing away & re-appearing, and I discerned how they are inferior & superior, beautiful & ugly, fortunate & unfortunate in accordance with their kamma.
"This was the second knowledge I attained in the second watch of the night. Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed; light arose — as happens in one who is heedful, ardent, & resolute.
"When the mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I directed it to the knowledge of the ending of the mental fermentations. I discerned, as it had come to be, that 'This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is the way leading to the cessation of stress... These are fermentations... This is the origination of fermentations... This is the cessation of fermentations... This is the way leading to the cessation of fermentations.' My heart, thus knowing, thus seeing, was released from the fermentation of sensuality, released from the fermentation of becoming, released from the fermentation of ignorance. With release, there was the knowledge, 'Released.' I discerned that 'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.'
"This was the third knowledge I attained in the third watch of the night. Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed; light arose — as happens in one who is heedful, ardent, & resolute.
"Suppose, monks, that in a forested wilderness there were a large low-lying marsh, in dependence on which there lived a large herd of deer; and a certain man were to appear, not desiring their benefit, not desiring their welfare, not desiring their rest from bondage. He would close off the safe, restful path that led to their rapture, and would open up a false path, set out a male decoy, place a female decoy, and thus the large herd of deer would eventually fall into ruin, disaster, & decimation. Then suppose that a certain man were to appear to that same large herd of deer, desiring their benefit, desiring their welfare, desiring their rest from bondage. He would open up the safe, restful path that led to their rapture, would close off the false path, take away the male decoy, destroy the female decoy, and thus the large herd of deer would eventually come into growth, increase, & abundance.
"I have given this simile in order to convey a meaning. The meaning is this: 'The large, low-lying marsh' stands for sensuality. 'The large herd of deer' stands for beings. 'The man not desiring their benefit, not desiring their welfare, not desiring their rest from bondage' stands for Mara, the Evil One. 'The false path' stands for the eightfold wrong path, i.e., wrong view, wrong resolve, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, & wrong concentration. 'The male decoy' stands for passion & delight. 'The female decoy' stands for ignorance. 'The man desiring their benefit, desiring their welfare, desiring their rest from bondage' stands for the Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One. 'The safe, restful path that led to their rapture' stands for the noble eightfold path, i.e., right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, & right concentration.
"So, monks, I have opened up the safe, restful path, closed off the false path, removed the male decoy, destroyed the female. Whatever a teacher should do — seeking the welfare of his disciples, out of sympathy for them — that have I done for you. Over there are the roots of trees; over there, empty dwellings. Practice jhana, monks. Don't be heedless. Don't later fall into regret. This is our message to you."
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed One's words.
(MN 19)
Teacher Support
Donations to support the teacher, Peter Doobinin, can be made through Zelle using the email address: [email protected]
Donations can also be made via PayPal by using the address: [email protected]
(If using PayPal, this is the preferred method; please use the "personal/family & friends" function.)
Information about making a donation using a credit card are found on the Support page.
Thanks for your generosity!
January 4
-"Skillful Thinking: The Fundamentals of Skillful Thinking"
-the Buddha's path is pragmatic. it's a path of developing skills. the skill of skillful thinking is integral to the path. through developing skillful thinking we are able to shape our lives, we are able to live with wisdom & compassion, we are able to know the happiness of heart. the path also is proactive. it is a path of practice. we learn about the mind by practicing with it, by learning to put it to good use. we are able to develop in this skill by putting the effort into practice. certain fundamentals are essential to our practice. in cultivating skillful thinking we are cultivating thinking informed by the dharma, by the heart. we are cultivating thoughts in tune with compassion, lovingkindness, joy, and equanimity. importantly, in cultivating skillful thinking we abide by the Buddha's injunction to keep it simple, to not over fabricate. we learn, in doing so, to touch in to thinking that is skillful. if we put the effort into this practice, we bring about transformation.
-some things to to remember as we learn to develop in our ability to practice with "the fundamentals of skillful thinking"...
1-the practice of skillful thinking is pragmatic.....
-it is a skill that we learn to develop.....
-it is a skill that we learn to apply in meditation....
-it is a skill that we learn to apply in all our postures, in all the activities of our lives....
-just as we learn to guide the meditation with our thinking....
-we learn to guide our actions as we go through the day ... with our thinking.....
2- we learn to develop skillful thinking through practice.....
-as with all skills we develop this skill through practice....
-making the effort to fabricate skillful thinking ... in all postures....
-we learn, by using the mind, by practice, about the mind.....
-we learn how to put the mind to good use....
-we learn how to fabricate skillfully ... in the service of abandoning suffering and knowing happiness of heart....
3-skillful thinking is thinking informed by the dharma.....
-our tendency ... our habit ... is to think unskillfully....
-this is our past karma....
-we pursue thinking informed by desire & aversion....
-in cultivating skillful thinking we proactively fabricate thinking informed by the dharma....
-by the heart....
-by the sublime attitudes....
-compassion....
-lovingkindness....
-joy....
-equanimity....
4-skillful intention is a key skill in the skill of skillful thinking.....
-we seek to set skillful intention ... in all our actions.....
-skillful intention is informed by....
-compassion (our wish to be free from suffering).....
-lovingkindness (our wish to be happy of heart).....
-we set skillful intention by....
-seeing how the mind is....
-seeing unskillful intention....
-setting skillful intention....
-fabricating skillful intention....
-internal verbal fabrication....
5-in cultivating thinking that is skillful there are some basic rules of thumb......
-as the Buddha indicates, in cultivating skillful thinking....
-we keep it simple....
-we're careful not to engender an excessive amount of thought....
-we touch into skillful thoughts....
-after touching in, we center ourselves in the breath.....
-in fabricating skillful thinking....
-we pay attention to the affect....
-how we are saying the words....
-the tone of the inner voice....
-we cultivate a quality of sincerity, earnestness....
-we understand what the words mean....
-we know the 'subtext'....
-for example, in using the word compassion we have a sense that this means we have a wish for the heart to be free from its burdens....
-as dharma students, over time, we learn to develop, by using words, a sense of the subtext....
6-as we practice skillful thinking we become sensitive to when thinking is skillful......
-we learn, by being mindful of the body, to know whether thinking is skillful or unskillful....
-when thinking is unskillful....
-there is a quality of dis-ease in the body.....
-when thinking is skillful.....
-there is a quality of ease in the body....
-when thinking is skillful, we have a felt sense of the heart....
-there is happiness of heart.....
-reading.....
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with an impure mind
And trouble will follow you
As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with a pure mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow, unshakable.
"Look how he abused me and hurt me,
How he threw me down and robbed me."
Live with such thoughts and you live in hate.
"Look how he abused me and hurt me,
How he threw me down and robbed me."
Abandon such thoughts, and live in love.
In this world
Hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
Ancient and inexhaustible.
You too shall pass away.
Knowing this,
how can you quarrel?
How easily the wind overturns a frail tree.
Seek happiness in the senses,
Indulge in food and sleep,
And you too will be uprooted.
The wind cannot overturn a mountain.
Temptation cannot touch the man
Who is awake, strong and humble,
Who masters himself and minds the dharma.
If a man's thoughts are muddy,
If he is reckless and full of deceit,
How can he wear the yellow robe?
Whoever is master of his own nature,
Bright, clear and true,
He may indeed wear the yellow robe.
Mistaking the false for the true,
And the true for the false,
You overlook the heart
And fill yourself with desire.
See the false as false,
The true as true.
Look into your heart.
Follow your nature.
An unreflecting mind is a poor roof.
Passion, like the rain, floods the house.
But if the roof is strong, there is shelter.
Whoever follows impure thoughts
Suffers in this world and the next.
In both worlds he suffers
And how greatly
When he sees the wrong he has done.
But whoever follows the dharma
Is joyful here and joyful there.
In both worlds he rejoices
And how greatly
When he sees the good he has done.
For great is the harvest in this world,
And greater still in the next.
However many holy words you read,
However many you speak,
What good will they do you If you do not act upon them?
Are you a shepherd
Who counts another man's sheep,
Never sharing the way?
Read as few words as you like,
And speak fewer.
But act upon the dharma.
Give up the old ways –
Passion, enmity, folly.
Know the truth and find peace.
Share the way.
(Dhp 1)
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with non-ill will arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with non-ill will has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with harmlessness arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with harmlessness has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking & pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with renunciation, abandoning thinking imbued with sensuality, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with renunciation. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with non-ill will, abandoning thinking imbued with ill will, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with non-ill will. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with harmlessness, abandoning thinking imbued with harmfulness, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with harmlessness.
"Just as in the last month of the hot season, when all the crops have been gathered into the village, a cowherd would look after his cows: While resting under the shade of a tree or out in the open, he simply keeps himself mindful of 'those cows.' In the same way, I simply kept myself mindful of 'those mental qualities.'"
(MN 19)
Lovingkindness Retreat – An Online Daylong Retreat
Saturday, January 10
10am -11:30am (USA/EST)
1pm - 2:30pm
4pm - 5:30pm
Fee by donation
To sign up and receive the zoom link please send an email.
Teacher Support
Donations to support the teacher, Peter Doobinin, can be made through Zelle using the email address: [email protected]
Donations can also be made via PayPal by using the address: [email protected]
(If using PayPal, this is the preferred method; please use the "personal/family & friends" function.)
Information about making a donation using a credit card are found on the Support page.
Thanks for your generosity!
-"Skillful Thinking: The Fundamentals of Skillful Thinking"
-the Buddha's path is pragmatic. it's a path of developing skills. the skill of skillful thinking is integral to the path. through developing skillful thinking we are able to shape our lives, we are able to live with wisdom & compassion, we are able to know the happiness of heart. the path also is proactive. it is a path of practice. we learn about the mind by practicing with it, by learning to put it to good use. we are able to develop in this skill by putting the effort into practice. certain fundamentals are essential to our practice. in cultivating skillful thinking we are cultivating thinking informed by the dharma, by the heart. we are cultivating thoughts in tune with compassion, lovingkindness, joy, and equanimity. importantly, in cultivating skillful thinking we abide by the Buddha's injunction to keep it simple, to not over fabricate. we learn, in doing so, to touch in to thinking that is skillful. if we put the effort into this practice, we bring about transformation.
-some things to to remember as we learn to develop in our ability to practice with "the fundamentals of skillful thinking"...
1-the practice of skillful thinking is pragmatic.....
-it is a skill that we learn to develop.....
-it is a skill that we learn to apply in meditation....
-it is a skill that we learn to apply in all our postures, in all the activities of our lives....
-just as we learn to guide the meditation with our thinking....
-we learn to guide our actions as we go through the day ... with our thinking.....
2- we learn to develop skillful thinking through practice.....
-as with all skills we develop this skill through practice....
-making the effort to fabricate skillful thinking ... in all postures....
-we learn, by using the mind, by practice, about the mind.....
-we learn how to put the mind to good use....
-we learn how to fabricate skillfully ... in the service of abandoning suffering and knowing happiness of heart....
3-skillful thinking is thinking informed by the dharma.....
-our tendency ... our habit ... is to think unskillfully....
-this is our past karma....
-we pursue thinking informed by desire & aversion....
-in cultivating skillful thinking we proactively fabricate thinking informed by the dharma....
-by the heart....
-by the sublime attitudes....
-compassion....
-lovingkindness....
-joy....
-equanimity....
4-skillful intention is a key skill in the skill of skillful thinking.....
-we seek to set skillful intention ... in all our actions.....
-skillful intention is informed by....
-compassion (our wish to be free from suffering).....
-lovingkindness (our wish to be happy of heart).....
-we set skillful intention by....
-seeing how the mind is....
-seeing unskillful intention....
-setting skillful intention....
-fabricating skillful intention....
-internal verbal fabrication....
5-in cultivating thinking that is skillful there are some basic rules of thumb......
-as the Buddha indicates, in cultivating skillful thinking....
-we keep it simple....
-we're careful not to engender an excessive amount of thought....
-we touch into skillful thoughts....
-after touching in, we center ourselves in the breath.....
-in fabricating skillful thinking....
-we pay attention to the affect....
-how we are saying the words....
-the tone of the inner voice....
-we cultivate a quality of sincerity, earnestness....
-we understand what the words mean....
-we know the 'subtext'....
-for example, in using the word compassion we have a sense that this means we have a wish for the heart to be free from its burdens....
-as dharma students, over time, we learn to develop, by using words, a sense of the subtext....
6-as we practice skillful thinking we become sensitive to when thinking is skillful......
-we learn, by being mindful of the body, to know whether thinking is skillful or unskillful....
-when thinking is unskillful....
-there is a quality of dis-ease in the body.....
-when thinking is skillful.....
-there is a quality of ease in the body....
-when thinking is skillful, we have a felt sense of the heart....
-there is happiness of heart.....
-reading.....
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with an impure mind
And trouble will follow you
As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with a pure mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow, unshakable.
"Look how he abused me and hurt me,
How he threw me down and robbed me."
Live with such thoughts and you live in hate.
"Look how he abused me and hurt me,
How he threw me down and robbed me."
Abandon such thoughts, and live in love.
In this world
Hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
Ancient and inexhaustible.
You too shall pass away.
Knowing this,
how can you quarrel?
How easily the wind overturns a frail tree.
Seek happiness in the senses,
Indulge in food and sleep,
And you too will be uprooted.
The wind cannot overturn a mountain.
Temptation cannot touch the man
Who is awake, strong and humble,
Who masters himself and minds the dharma.
If a man's thoughts are muddy,
If he is reckless and full of deceit,
How can he wear the yellow robe?
Whoever is master of his own nature,
Bright, clear and true,
He may indeed wear the yellow robe.
Mistaking the false for the true,
And the true for the false,
You overlook the heart
And fill yourself with desire.
See the false as false,
The true as true.
Look into your heart.
Follow your nature.
An unreflecting mind is a poor roof.
Passion, like the rain, floods the house.
But if the roof is strong, there is shelter.
Whoever follows impure thoughts
Suffers in this world and the next.
In both worlds he suffers
And how greatly
When he sees the wrong he has done.
But whoever follows the dharma
Is joyful here and joyful there.
In both worlds he rejoices
And how greatly
When he sees the good he has done.
For great is the harvest in this world,
And greater still in the next.
However many holy words you read,
However many you speak,
What good will they do you If you do not act upon them?
Are you a shepherd
Who counts another man's sheep,
Never sharing the way?
Read as few words as you like,
And speak fewer.
But act upon the dharma.
Give up the old ways –
Passion, enmity, folly.
Know the truth and find peace.
Share the way.
(Dhp 1)
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with non-ill will arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with non-ill will has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with harmlessness arose in me. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with harmlessness has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night... even for a day... even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
"Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking & pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with renunciation, abandoning thinking imbued with sensuality, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with renunciation. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with non-ill will, abandoning thinking imbued with ill will, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with non-ill will. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with harmlessness, abandoning thinking imbued with harmfulness, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with harmlessness.
"Just as in the last month of the hot season, when all the crops have been gathered into the village, a cowherd would look after his cows: While resting under the shade of a tree or out in the open, he simply keeps himself mindful of 'those cows.' In the same way, I simply kept myself mindful of 'those mental qualities.'"
(MN 19)
Lovingkindness Retreat – An Online Daylong Retreat
Saturday, January 10
10am -11:30am (USA/EST)
1pm - 2:30pm
4pm - 5:30pm
Fee by donation
To sign up and receive the zoom link please send an email.
Teacher Support
Donations to support the teacher, Peter Doobinin, can be made through Zelle using the email address: [email protected]
Donations can also be made via PayPal by using the address: [email protected]
(If using PayPal, this is the preferred method; please use the "personal/family & friends" function.)
Information about making a donation using a credit card are found on the Support page.
Thanks for your generosity!
