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- Cuatro Fundamentos de la Atencion Plena
- Wise Speech, Wise Listening
- The Wisdom of Anger
- Bringing Mindfulness and Care to Physical Pain
- The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
- Seven Factors of Awakening
- Elders Sangha
Para la clase 3 del 29 de julio
Contemplación semanal:
- ¿Cómo te relacionas a tu cuerpo? Considera las influencias principales que han condicionado tu relación al cuerpo. Estas pueden ser valores, ideas de tu familia de origen, de religión, de tu cultura, etc.
- ¿Estás consciente de la tendencia de cosificar el cuerpo en nuestros medios de comunicación? ¿Tiendes a cosificar el cuerpo de los demás y verlos como objetos de tus deseos?
- ¿Ha cambiado tu relación al cuerpo desde que empezaste con esta práctica? Y si ha cambiado ¿Cómo ha cambiado?
Contemplación de la muerte
1.6. Kāyā/nupassanā/navasivathika/pabba – Sección con las nueve formas de contemplación del cuerpo en el cementerio [kāyā: cuerpo; nupassanā: contemplación; navasivathika: cementerio/crematorio; pabba: sección]
[14] “Además, monjes, el monje compara este mismo cuerpo con el cuerpo arrojado al suelo del cementerio, muerto desde hace un día, o dos días, o tres días; hinchado, lívido y putrefacto de esta manera: ‘Este cuerpo mío tiene la misma naturaleza, alguna vez será igual a aquel cuerpo y no está exento de este destino’.
[Estribillo]
[15] “De esta manera mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo internamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo externamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo de ambas formas: interna y externamente… Y mora con independencia, no apegado a nada en el mundo. Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
[16] “Además, monjes, el monje compara este mismo cuerpo con el cuerpo arrojado al suelo del cementerio devorado por los cuervos, halcones, buitres, perros, chacales o por las distintas clases de gusanos de esta manera: ‘Este cuerpo mío tiene la misma naturaleza, alguna vez será igual a aquel cuerpo y no está exento de este destino’.
[Estribillo]
[17] “…Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
[18-24] “Además, monjes, el monje compara este mismo cuerpo con el cuerpo arrojado al suelo del cementerio, reducido a un esqueleto con algo de carne y sangre, unido tan sólo por los tendones… reducido a un esqueleto sin carne y manchado por sangre, unido tan solo por los tendones… reducido a un esqueleto sin carne ni sangre, unido tan sólo por los tendones… reducido a huesos sueltos esparcidos en todas direcciones -aquí el hueso de la mano, allí el hueso del pie, aquí la espina dorsal, allí el hueso del muslo, aquí la pelvis, allí el hueso de la espalda, aquí el hueso del brazo, allí el hueso del hombro, aquí el hueso del cuello, allí la mandíbula, aquí el diente, allí el cráneo- de esta manera: ‘Este cuerpo mío tiene la misma naturaleza, alguna vez será igual a aquel cuerpo y no está exento de este destino’.
[Estribillo]
[25] “…Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
[26-30] “Además, monjes, el monje compara este mismo cuerpo con el cuerpo arrojado al suelo del cementerio reducido a huesos blanqueados, de color blanco como el de una concha… reducido a huesos amontonados de más de un año… reducido a huesos rotos y desmoronados y hechos polvo, – de esta manera: ‘Este cuerpo mío tiene la misma naturaleza, alguna vez será igual a aquel cuerpo y no está exento de este destino’.
[Estribillo]
[31] “De esta manera mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo internamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo externamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo de ambas formas: interna y externamente. Mora contemplando la naturaleza del surgimiento en el cuerpo, o mora contemplando la naturaleza del cese en el cuerpo, o mora contemplando ambas cosas: la naturaleza del surgimiento y la naturaleza del cese en el cuerpo. O, siendo consciente de que ‘he aquí el cuerpo’, simplemente se establece en él en la medida necesaria para un conocimiento descubierto y la atención consciente. Y mora con independencia, no apegado a nada en el mundo. Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
Segundo fundamento: Tono del Sentir
Vedanānupassanā – Contemplación de las sensaciones [o tonos del sentir]
[32] “Y ¿cómo, monjes, el monje mora contemplando las sensaciones como sensaciones? He aquí, monjes, cuando el monje siente una sensación agradable, entiende así: ‘siento una sensación agradable’; cuando siente una sensación dolorosa, [desagradable]entiende así: ‘siento una sensación dolorosa’; cuando siente una sensación que no es agradable ni dolorosa, entiende así: ‘siento una sensación que no es agradable ni dolorosa’. Cuando siente una sensación agradable mundana, entiende así: ‘siento una sensación agradable mundana’; cuando siente una sensación agradable espiritual [BA no-mundana], entiende así: ‘siento una sensación agradable espiritual’; cuando siente una sensación dolorosa mundana, entiende así: ‘siento una sensación dolorosa mundana’; cuando siente una sensación dolorosa espiritual, sabe: ‘siento una sensación dolorosa espiritual’; cuando siente una sensación mundana que no es dolorosa ni agradable, entiende así: ‘siento una sensación mundana que no es dolorosa ni agradable’; cuando siente una sensación espiritual que no es dolorosa ni agradable, entiende así: ‘siento una sensación espiritual que no es dolorosa ni agradable’.
[Estribillo]
[33] “De esta manera mora contemplando las sensaciones como sensaciones internamente, o mora contemplando las sensaciones como sensaciones externamente, o mora contemplando las sensaciones como sensaciones de ambas formas: interna y externamente. Mora contemplando la naturaleza del surgimiento en las sensaciones, o mora contemplando la naturaleza del cese en las sensaciones, o mora contemplando ambas cosas: la naturaleza del surgimiento y la naturaleza del cese en las sensaciones. O, siendo consciente de que ‘he aquí las sensaciones’, simplemente se establece en ellas en la medida necesaria para un conocimiento descubierto y la atención consciente. Y mora con independencia, no apegado a nada en el mundo. Es así, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando las sensaciones como sensaciones.
meditación grabada de la clase 2 aquí:
Lecturas y Contemplaciones para Clase #2 el 22 de Julio, 2024
Favor de:
- Meditar diario escuchando la meditación grabada
- Contemplar las siguientes preguntas y tomar nota para compartir con el grupo:
- ¿Cómo se siente sati encarnado?
- ¿Qué se interpone a sati encarnado?
- ¿Qué favorece el cultivo de sati encarnado?
- Leer estas 2 lecturas. Las siguientes semanas las lecturas serán más breves. Toma nota de cualquier parte que no te sea claro y trae a nuestra siguiente sesión.
Julio 22, Cuerpo parte 2
1.4. Kayā/nupassanā/patikūla/manasikāra/pabba – Sección de la contemplación del cuerpo a través de la repugnancia de sus partes [Partes anatómicas] [kayā: cuerpo; nupassanā: contemplación; patikūlata: repulsivo; manasikāra: atención exhaustiva y penetrante; pabba: sección]
[10] “Además, monjes, el monje revisa este mismo cuerpo desde la planta de los pies hacia arriba y desde la punta de la coronilla hacia abajo, envuelto en piel y lleno de diferentes clases de impurezas, de esta manera: ‘He aquí que en este cuerpo hay cabellos, vellos, uñas, dientes, piel, carne, tendones, huesos, médula ósea, riñones, corazón, hígado, membrana, bazo, pulmones, intestinos, mesenterio, comida no digerida, excremento, bilis, flema, pus, sangre, sudor, grasa, lágrimas, linfa, saliva, moco, sinovia y orín’. Al igual que un saco de provisiones con la abertura en ambos extremos, lleno de diversas clases de grano, tales como el arroz de la colina, arroz rojo, frijoles, guisantes, mijo y arroz blanco, estuviera siendo examinando por un hombre con buena vista de esta manera: ‘este es el arroz de la colina, arroz rojo, frijoles, guisantes, mijo y arroz blanco’; de la misma manera, monjes, el monje revisa este mismo cuerpo… lleno de diferentes clases de impurezas de esta manera: ‘He aquí que en este cuerpo hay cabellos, vellos, uñas, dientes, piel, carne, tendones, huesos, médula ósea, riñones, corazón, hígado, membrana, bazo, pulmones, intestinos, mesenterio, comida no digerida, excremento, bilis, flema, pus, sangre, sudor, grasa, lágrimas, linfa, saliva, moco, sinovia y orín’.
[Estribillo]
[11] “De esta manera mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo internamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo externamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo de ambas formas: interna y externamente… Y mora con independencia, no apegado a nada en el mundo. Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
1.5. Kāyā/nupassanā/dhātu/ manasikāra /pabba – Sección con la contemplación del cuerpo a través de los elementos [kayā: cuerpo; nupassanā: contemplación; dhātu: elemento; manasikāra: atención exhaustiva y penetrante; pabba: sección]
[12] “Además, monjes, el monje revisa este mismo cuerpo, en cualquier lugar o posición en que se encuentre, como consistente en los elementos de esta manera: ‘He aquí, en este cuerpo están: el elemento de la tierra, el elemento del agua, el elemento del fuego y el elemento del aire’. Al igual que un hábil carnicero o su aprendiz, que mata a una vaca y, dividiéndola en partes, se sienta con ellas en el cruce de los caminos, de la misma manera el monje revisa este mismo cuerpo, en cualquier lugar o posición en que se encuentre, como consistente en los elementos de esta manera: ‘He aquí, en este cuerpo están: el elemento de la tierra, el elemento del agua, el elemento del fuego y el elemento del aire’.
[Estribillo]
[13] “De esta manera mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo internamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo externamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo de ambas formas: interna y externamente… Y mora con independencia, no apegado a nada en el mundo. Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
1.6. Kāyā/nupassanā/navasivathika/pabba – Sección con las nueve formas de contemplación del cuerpo en el cementerio [kāyā: cuerpo; nupassanā: contemplación; navasivathika: cementerio/crematorio; pabba: sección]
[14] “Además, monjes, el monje compara este mismo cuerpo con el cuerpo arrojado al suelo del cementerio, muerto desde hace un día, o dos días, o tres días; hinchado, lívido y putrefacto de esta manera: ‘Este cuerpo mío tiene la misma naturaleza, alguna vez será igual a aquel cuerpo y no está exento de este destino’.
[Estribillo]
[15] “De esta manera mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo internamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo externamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo de ambas formas: interna y externamente… Y mora con independencia, no apegado a nada en el mundo. Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
[16] “Además, monjes, el monje compara este mismo cuerpo con el cuerpo arrojado al suelo del cementerio devorado por los cuervos, halcones, buitres, perros, chacales o por las distintas clases de gusanos de esta manera: ‘Este cuerpo mío tiene la misma naturaleza, alguna vez será igual a aquel cuerpo y no está exento de este destino’.
[Estribillo]
[17] “…Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
[18-24] “Además, monjes, el monje compara este mismo cuerpo con el cuerpo arrojado al suelo del cementerio, reducido a un esqueleto con algo de carne y sangre, unido tan sólo por los tendones… reducido a un esqueleto sin carne y manchado por sangre, unido tan solo por los tendones… reducido a un esqueleto sin carne ni sangre, unido tan sólo por los tendones… reducido a huesos sueltos esparcidos en todas direcciones -aquí el hueso de la mano, allí el hueso del pie, aquí la espina dorsal, allí el hueso del muslo, aquí la pelvis, allí el hueso de la espalda, aquí el hueso del brazo, allí el hueso del hombro, aquí el hueso del cuello, allí la mandíbula, aquí el diente, allí el cráneo- de esta manera: ‘Este cuerpo mío tiene la misma naturaleza, alguna vez será igual a aquel cuerpo y no está exento de este destino’.
[Estribillo]
[25] “…Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
[26-30] “Además, monjes, el monje compara este mismo cuerpo con el cuerpo arrojado al suelo del cementerio reducido a huesos blanqueados, de color blanco como el de una concha… reducido a huesos amontonados de más de un año… reducido a huesos rotos y desmoronados y hechos polvo, – de esta manera: ‘Este cuerpo mío tiene la misma naturaleza, alguna vez será igual a aquel cuerpo y no está exento de este destino’.
[Estribillo]
[31] “De esta manera mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo internamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo externamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo de ambas formas: interna y externamente. Mora contemplando la naturaleza del surgimiento en el cuerpo, o mora contemplando la naturaleza del cese en el cuerpo, o mora contemplando ambas cosas: la naturaleza del surgimiento y la naturaleza del cese en el cuerpo. O, siendo consciente de que ‘he aquí el cuerpo’, simplemente se establece en él en la medida necesaria para un conocimiento descubierto y la atención consciente. Y mora con independencia, no apegado a nada en el mundo. Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
Julio 15, Introducción al Satipatthana: Cuerpo parte 1
meditación grabada de la clase 1 aquí
MN 10 Discurso Satipātthana
[Escenario]
[1] Esto he escuchado. En una ocasión, el Bienaventurado estaba morando entre los kurus, donde había uno de sus pueblos de nombre Kammasadamma. Estando allí el Bienaventurado se dirigió a los monjes con estas palabras: “Monjes”. – “Venerable Señor”, contestaron los monjes y el Bienaventurado continuó:
Uddesa – Indicación
[2] “Monjes, este es el camino directo para la purificación de los seres, para la superación de la pena y las lamentaciones, para la desaparición del dolor y de la aflicción, para alcanzar el recto sendero, para la realización del Nibbana, es decir, los cuatro establecimientos [fundamentos] de la atención consciente [plena].
[B.A.Definición]
[3] “¿Cuáles son esos cuatro? He aquí, monjes, el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo, ardiente [BA diligente], plenamente atento [BA sabiendo claramente] y estableciendo sati, libre de la codicia y la aflicción por el mundo. Él mora contemplando las sensaciones [o tono del sentir] como sensaciones, ardiente, plenamente atento y consciente, habiendo dejado atrás la codicia y la aflicción por el mundo. Él mora contemplando la mente como mente, ardiente, plenamente atento y consciente, habiendo dejado atrás la codicia y la aflicción por el mundo. Él mora contemplando los objetos mentales como objetos mentales, ardiente, plenamente atento y consciente, habiendo dejado atrás la codicia y la aflicción por el mundo.
1. Kayānupassanā – Contemplación del cuerpo
1.1. Kayā/nupassanā/ānāpāna/pabba – Sección con la contemplación del cuerpo a través de la respiración. [kaya: cuerpo; nupassanā: contemplación; ānāpāna: inhalar exhalar; pabba: sección]
[4] “Y ¿cómo, monjes, el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo? He aquí, monjes, el monje va al bosque, al pie de un árbol o a una choza vacía y se sienta; habiendo cruzado las piernas, pone su cuerpo erguido y establece su atención consciente enfrente. Siempre conscientemente atento inhala y conscientemente atento exhala. Cuando hace una inhalación larga, entiende: ‘mi inhalación es larga‘; o cuando hace una exhalación larga, entiende: ‘mi exhalación es larga’. Cuando hace una inhalación corta, entiende: ‘mi inhalación es corta’; o cuando hace una exhalación corta, entiende: ‘mi exhalación es corta’. Y se entrena así: ‘Voy a inhalar experimentando el cuerpo entero’; y se entrena así: ‘Voy a exhalar experimentando el cuerpo entero’. Y se entrena así: ‘Voy a inhalar calmando las formaciones corporales’; y se entrena así: ‘Voy a exhalar calmando las formaciones corporales’. Al igual que un hábil tornero o su aprendiz, al hacer un gran giro entiende: ‘estoy haciendo un giro grande’; o al hacer un giro pequeño entiende: ‘estoy haciendo un giro pequeño’, de la misma manera, monjes, el monje, cuando hace una inhalación larga, entiende: ‘mi inhalación es larga’… y se entrena así: ‘Voy a exhalar calmando las formaciones corporales’. [Igual que ānāpānasati]
[Estribillo]
[5] “De esta manera mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo internamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo externamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo de ambas formas: interna y externamente. Mora contemplando la naturaleza del surgimiento en el cuerpo, o mora contemplando la naturaleza del cese en el cuerpo, o mora contemplando ambas cosas: la naturaleza del surgimiento y la naturaleza del cese en el cuerpo. O, estando consciente de que ‘he aquí el cuerpo’, simplemente se establece en él en la medida necesaria para un conocimiento descubierto [BA: bare knowledge; conocimiento llano: sencillo, claro] y la atención consciente. Y mora con independencia, no apegado a nada en el mundo. Es así, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
1.2. Kayā/nupassanā/iriyā/patha/pabba – Sección con la contemplación del cuerpo a través de las cuatro posturas [kaya: cuerpo; nupassanā: contemplación; iriyā: postura, movimiento; patha: modalidad (en este caso manera o modalidad del movimiento); pabba: sección]
[6] “Además, monjes, cuando el monje camina, entiende: ‘estoy caminando‘; cuando está de pie, entiende: ‘estoy de pie’; cuando está sentado, entiende: ‘estoy sentado‘; cuando se recuesta, entiende: ‘estoy recostado‘; o entiende cualquier otra postura que asume su cuerpo.
[Estribillo]
[7] “De esta manera mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo internamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo externamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo de ambas formas: interna y externamente… Y mora con independencia, no apegado a nada en el mundo. Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
1.3. Kayā/nupassanā/sampājana/pabba – Sección con la contemplación del cuerpo a través del discernimiento [Full awareness] [Acciones] [kayā: cuerpo; nupassanā: contemplación; sampajāna: atento, casi sinónimo con sati; pabba: sección] [sampajañña: comprensión]
[8] “Además, monjes, el monje es uno que actúa con discernimiento cuando camina hacia adelante y cuando retorna; que actúa con discernimiento cuando mira hacia adelante y cuando mira hacia otro lado; que actúa con discernimiento cuando recoge y cuando extiende sus miembros; que actúa con discernimiento cuando viste su hábito y cuando lleva su hábito exterior y el cuenco; que actúa con discernimiento cuando come, bebe, mastica y saborea; que actúa con discernimiento cuando camina, está de pie, cuando se sienta o se acuesta a dormir, cuando se despierta, cuando habla o cuando permanece en silencio.
[Estribillo]
[9] “De esta manera mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo internamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo externamente, o mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo de ambas formas: interna y externamente… Y mora con independencia, no apegado a nada en el mundo. Es así también, monjes, cómo el monje mora contemplando el cuerpo como cuerpo.
Wise Speech, Wise Listening Home Practices – Week 3
I will arrive at 6:45 before each class for questions. The class will start at 7:00 and there will also be time for questions during the class.
Wise Speech, Wise Listening require our mindfulness practice! By undertaking this practice, we commit to greater awareness of our body, heart, mind, feelings, thoughts and emotions. Do your best to be gentle and kind as you explore both.
New Home Practices***
- Sitting: For a minimum of 10-30 minutes per day. Do your best! Keep your meditation simple —try no apps, just silence (a few days this week)
- Practice Gratitude: Text or e-mail your “buddies” 3 things you are grateful for each day.
- Pause meditation: Each day, several times a day, before you speak, pause for 10-15 seconds
- Simply stop doing & talking
- Shift into relaxation. Soften muscles anywhere you feel tension–shoulders, jaw, around eyes, belly
- Notice how the body feels
- Feel your feet on the floor
- Float the question: What is happening right now?
- Listen to what the question brings to you. Listen to the answer, as best you can avoid judging, or acting or reacting. Stay connected with your feet on the floor or whole body. This may help you stay balanced. Pay attention as if listening to body. Inhabit the body
- Listen for the answer & let it go. Let it be or let it go & rest within the body.
- Inner Dialogue & Listening Deeply: Continue to get to know your inner dialogue.
- ***Mindfulness of wise listening ***
- Continue to listen to others more carefully than you usually do. See if in the moments when story & judgment do not interfere, you discover the rich silence of listening in which heartfelt connection is revealed!
- Listen Freshly: an attitude of openness & listening to everything said and unsaid– be a Hearer!
- Practice being an instrument of tuning-Tuning into more & more of what is….
What is in the moment… you are listening. - Re-read this passage everyday and see if it’s possible to practice the underlined sentences: We invoke your name, Avalokiteshvara. We aspire to learn your way of listening in order to help relieve the suffering in the world. You know how to listen in order to understand. We invoke your name in order to practice listening with all our attention and openheartedness. We will sit and listen without any prejudice. We will sit and listen without judging or reacting. We will sit and listen in order to understand. We will sit and listen so attentively that we will be able to hear what the other person is saying and also what is being left unsaid. We know that just by listening deeply we already alleviate a great deal of pain and suffering in the other person.
- ***Mindfulness of wise speaking *** We train our inner & outer speech in order to create harmony, trust & safety in all our relationships–we can also investigate what we say & how we say it. This week, explore speaking words that are beneficial (motivated by generosity, loving kindness, compassion) & useful (for their well being or the well being of the group, community) & speaking at the right time (consider who is present, mood of gathering, if the person/people will be able to take in the meaning, harm anyone?) & right place (now or later– when they can hear or not in a group or too harmful).
- Reflect on the 4 types of speech the Buddha suggested that we avoid: false speech, divisive speech, harsh speech and idle chatter. Do you have a tendency towards any of these as patterns in your speech? If so, are there specific situations in which you tend to engage with these patterns? Reflecting on our patterns can help us to bring more mindfulness to them.
- At times this week, Use the 4 types of wise speech as guidelines for your speech during the week. This will probably mean that you notice yourself engaging in unwise speech from time to time! When this happens, we need to learn to be kind & compassionate towards ourselves. Gently remind yourself to keep trying. Make amends if that is called for. This is a difficult practice.
BELOW PRACTICING TIPS: Choose any that you are already doing or want to try
- See if you can pause before speaking. If you can pause before speaking, then you have caught the intention to speak, & you have a chance to be mindful for the next few moments of speaking.
- Sometimes it can be difficult to do this in certain conversations (for example, work conversations where you won’t get a chance to speak if you pause). For that situation, one suggestion (from the practices of non-violent communication) is to re-phrase what was last said, as a way to slow down the conversation – for example, “As I understand what you just said…” If you remember to do this, & you have also caught the intention to speak, and you again have a chance to be mindful in the next few moments of speech.
- If you remember to pause, take a moment to recognize whether you know what you are about to say & what the motivation is behind it. If you can notice these two things, reflect on whether this is something that you want to say! Use the Buddha’s guidelines about whether it is beneficial & timely. You have a choice about whether or not to speak at this point.
- Connect with your body. Connecting with you some part of your body, will start to ground you in your inner experience while being aware of the content of speaking at the same time.
- Try to track whether you are agitated or not agitated while you speak. Rather than trying to keep track of the full range of emotional states while you speak, start with just tracking these two: whether you are agitated or not. Agitation will usually signal something to pay attention to.
- Explore silence! We often don’t think about silence as an option during a conversation. Reflect: “Does what I plan to say improve on the silence?”
- Play with mindful speech. Explore what helps you remember to practice it. Explore what helps you while you are practicing it. Be creative!
Have FUN! Sending Love & Cartwheels!
***************************************************************************
Wise Speech, Wise Listening Home Practices – Week 2
I will arrive at 6:45 before each class for questions. The class will start at 7:00 and there will also be time for questions during the class.
Wise Speech, Wise Listening require our mindfulness practice! By undertaking this practice, we commit to greater awareness of our body, heart, mind, feelings, thoughts and emotions. Do your best to be gentle and kind as you explore both.
- Sitting: For a minimum of 10-30 minutes per day. Do your best! Keep your meditation simple —try no apps, just silence (a few days this week)
- Practice Gratitude: Text or e-mail your “ buddies” 3 things you are grateful for each day.
- Pause meditation: Each day, several times a day, before you speak, Pause for 10-15 seconds
-
- Simply stop doing & talking
- Shift into relaxation. Soften muscles anywhere you feel tension- shoulders, jaw, around eyes, belly
- Notice how the body feels
- Feel your feet on the floor
- Float the question: What is happening right now?
- Listen to what the question brings to you. Listen to the answer, As best you can avoid judging, or acting or reacting. (stay connected with your feet on the floor or whole body. This may help you stay balanced) Pay attention as if listening to body. Inhabit the body
- Listen for the answer & let it go. Let it be or let it go & rest within the body
- Inner Dialogue & Listening Deeply: Continue to get to know your inner dialogue.
- Mindful Speech–paying attention to your own speech, body, heart, mind:
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- As you begin your day, set the clear intention to be mindful of those moments you speak to yourself & set the clear intention to be mindful of those moments where you are communicating with others.
- Do your best to: keep your attention anchored in your body as you speak. Notice how this affects your speech. Bring awareness to one of these places: your face, throat, lips & eyes, belly, heart area, hands or feet when you are speaking. (Remember it is a practice- Titrate from a specific place in your body to speaking and back & forth) Notice what happens in those areas before, during & after you speak. Sense the physical changes in your body as the conversation takes place. Ask yourself what the messages you are receiving. How do they make you feel inside?
- “Listen from your heart” and/or your body when others are talking to you:
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- Do your best to stay connected to your heart or your body when people are talking to you. Whole-heartedly listen to what the person is saying. Is your tendency to be present? To listen? Can you connect gently to your body? Can you connect gently with your heart when people are speaking? Is the body, heart, mind open, at ease or constricted? Do you notice being distracted with judgments about what the person is saying? Or comparing yourself, or wanting to offer your opinion or rehearsing or daydreaming or spacing out? What is your relationship to listening?
- Listening is an intentional act. “Because of all of our connections, it can be helpful to use the questions below to reflect on and help explore your listening. In different situations, you may have different answers to these questions. The answers may point to how to listen more attentively, with greater wisdom. Mindful listening is a great way to cultivate greater Mindfulness in daily life. Listening is always a present moment activity; when we listen we are present.
- What purpose motivates your listening? What is your intention?
- What concerns and desires influence your listening?
- Are there emotions influencing what you hear?
- How interested and attentive are you to what you’re listening to?
- When someone is speaking, how much are you listening to the person and how much are you engaged in your own thoughts?
- What expectations do you have when you listen?
- Have FUN! (Poems: Gate A-4 Naomi Shihab Nye & What I Can Do Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer)
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Information from class:
Wise speech:
- The quick 5: Test is to ask ourselves…
- Is it true?
- Is it kind?
- Is it beneficial?
- Does it harm anyone
- Is this the right time to say something?
- OR:– Is what you’re about to say:
- Factual & true
- Helpful, or beneficial
- Spoken with kindness & good-will (that is, hoping for the best for all involved)
- Endearing (that is, spoken gently, in a way the other person can hear)
- Timely (occasionally something true, helpful, & kind will not be endearing, or easy for someone to hear, in which case we think carefully about when to say it)
- The Buddha came up with 5 conditions to help us in this exploration:
- Speaking with truthfulness. Awakening rests on truth. Lying creates lack of ease in our own hearts. Speaking truth people can rely on you. Out of truth–we develop a voice to speak for compassion, understanding, justice.
- Speaking words that are beneficial and useful to another person.
Idle chatter can be connecting in a friendly way-no problem. However, if it’s a nervous habit to avoid uncomfortable silence. Check your Intention to speak. - Speaking with a friendly heart we are more likely to be heard. Use love, care, respect as our foundation when connecting with others. Pausing before we talk – to know our intention so that we do not speak in a way that causes division. Speaking in harmony producing ways we encourage letting go of strong opinions & judgments. If we don’t speak judgments, if we feel them and let them pass, we have less residue in the heart-mind.
- Speaking with gentleness we are more likely to be heard. If we can speak with gentleness when we have something difficult to say it is easier for the other person to hear it. Speaking in a forceful, argumentative, confrontational way can have the effect of shame, or making the other person feel afraid. Speaking with awareness and gently we can create intimacy, openness. One person in a group or community can cause a lot of harm with malicious speech.
- Speaking at the right time. Being sensitive to the impact of our words, the other person’s state of mind, and other conditions. Sometimes wise speech requires patience and discernment as to when the right time actually is – for the benefit of others – Wisdom is not manipulating conditions to get what we want but waiting for conditions to support what needs to be done.
Wise Listening:
Listening Mindfully is when you continue to listen after someone has stopped speaking. Listen to the silence. Or let the receptivity with which you listened become an additional moment to notice what is happening within yourself or with the person to whom you are listening. Such a pause, gives you time to digest what was said. It may also give you a moment to discover what you want to say before you actually say it. This awareness can protect you from saying things you may later regret. Or the pause may give others a chance to discover what is going on in their own minds, hearts & bodies. Mindful listening is embodied listening. This means that you don’t just listen with your ears. You can feel the physical impact of what you hear. What sensations arise in the body in response to what is heard? What parts of your body get energized? What gets tense? What softens?
Wise Speech, Wise Listening Home Practices – Week 1
I will arrive at 6:45 before each class for questions. The class will start at 7:00 and there will also be time for questions during the class.
Wise Speech and Wise Listening require our mindfulness practice! By undertaking this practice, we commit to greater awareness of our body, heart, mind, feelings, thoughts and emotions. Do your best to be gentle and kind as you explore both.
- Sitting: For a minimum of 10-30 minutes per day. Do your best! Keep your meditation simple —try no apps, just silence (a few days this week)
- Practice Gratitude: Text your “practice buddies” 3 things you are grateful for each day. They can be anything.
- Inner Dialogue & Listening Deeply: Get to know your inner dialogue, how you speak/talk to yourself. Is your tendency to be kind, gentle, tender, loving, and patient with yourself? Or is your tendency to be judgmental, unkind, or harsh? How do you listen inwardly to yourself? How do you relate to your inner critic or your inner committee?
- Be mindful of what you are paying attention to when you speak to others: Are you focused on your words? Do you pay attention to those who you are talking to? How well do you notice your body as you speak? Do your best to: keep your attention anchored in your body as you speak. Notice how this affects your speech.
- “Listen from your heart” and/or your body when others are talking to you: Do your best to stay connected to your heart or your body when people are talking to you. Whole-heartedly listen to what the person is saying. Is your tendency to be present and listen? Can you connect gently to your body? Can you connect gently with your heart when people are speaking? Is the body, heart, mind open, at ease or constricted? Do you notice being distracted with judgments about what the person is saying? Or comparing yourself, or wanting to offer your opinion or rehearsing or daydreaming or spacing out? What is your relationship to listening?
- Have FUN!
- Information from class:
- The Buddha was precise in his description of Wise Speech.
abstinence from false speech, abs malicious speech, harsh speech, from idle chatter. - In ordinary speech this means
not lying, not using speech in ways that create discord among people, not using swear words or a cynical, hostile or raised tone of voice, not engaging in gossip.
- Re-framed in the positive:
only what is true, to speak in ways that promote harmony among people, to use a tone of voice that is pleasing, kind, gentle, to speak mindfully in order that our speech is useful & purposeful.
With Mindfulness, we see that the heart is the ground from which our speech grows. We learn to restrain our speech in moments of anger, hostility, or confusion and over time, to train the heart to more frequently incline towards wholesome states such as love, kindness, compassion, joy, empathy, balance, spaciousness, and poise.
The teaching about Wise Speech assumes imperfection. Our “mistakes” are part of our learning. When we lie, exaggerate, embellish, use harsh, aggressive speech, engage in useless banter, speak at inappropriate times–we experience how using speech in these ways creates tension in the body, agitation in the mind, and remorse in the heart. We also discover how unskillful speech can damage relationships and diminish the possibility of ease, peace in ourselves, others and world.
Wise Listening is a complement to Wise speech. As we are able to bring mindfulness to ordinary interactions, we find that listening means: paying attention, listening inwardly to the words beneath the words, attending to our physical sensations, intentions, feelings, thoughts, emotions, as well as to the voice, facial expressions, gestures, pauses, underlying meanings, & nuances that accompany the spoken words of others.
Like any other Mindfulness practice, Wise Listening is both a skill and a way of being. Listening is one of our greatest personal natural resources, yet it is by far one of our most undeveloped abilities.
Home Practice for Class #3 The Wisdom of Anger
This week, please familiarize yourself with the 3rd and 4th lines from Thich Nhat Han’s “Anger Mantra:
“Breathing in, I know that anger is unpleasant.
Breathing out, I know this feeling will pass.”
“Breathing in and breathing out” is a way to calm yourself while at the same time remembering how to bring the practice to the experience of anger when anger is arising.
“Breathing in, I know that anger is unpleasant.”
Knowing that anger is unpleasant means recognizing the feeling tone that is occurring. If the anger in a given moment is pleasant, please be aware that the feeling tone is one of pleasantness. Simply take note of whether the anger that is being known in this moment is pleasant or unpleasant.
“Breathing out, I know this feeling will pass.”
Be aware that anger is a mental state, subject to the laws of nature. It is transitory and will change. It may get stronger before it passes; simply be aware that its nature is that of change. It comes and goes, dependent on causes and conditions. When causes and conditions shift, the feeling of anger shifts as well.
Home Practice for Class #2 The Wisdom of Anger
This week, start “getting used to” these phrases taught by Thich Nhat Han, known as an “Anger Mantra”
Breathing in, I know that anger is here.
Breathing out, I know that the anger is not me.
Breathing in, I know that anger is unpleasant.
Breathing out, I know this feeling will pass.
Breathing in, I am calm.
Breathing out, I am strong enough to take care of this anger.
“Getting used to” means to read these phrases to yourself each day, at least once. Familiarize yourself with the phrases. Try to memorize the first two phrases.
Home Practice for Class #1 The Wisdom of Anger
To be able to relate more skillfully to anger (and its different expressions such as irritation, impatience etc.) we need to be quiet. In the quietness, we will be able to fully feel the experiences of anger as it is, especially paying attention to the body instead of following the narrative of thought.
So for this week, please resolve to not act or speak when anger arises but instead to stay as relaxed as possible and simply experience it. This requires pausing instead of reacting via body and speech.
One of Thich Nhat Han’s precepts is this: “When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger.” You don’t have to stop what you are doing and walk unless that’s possible for you to do. You can be lightly aware of your breathing. But in any case, the practice is that of wise restraint – to pause and experience instead of acting and reacting in the form of speaking and movement (ex. Slamming a door or moving your hands in an agitated way.). The point is not to suppress or deny; it is to make space to fully feel the anger as it is. Please always use wisdom, life is fluid and various experiences require creative responses!
Home Practice – Session 5 (7/24/24)
- In formal practice and daily life, focus on whichever practices feel most appropriate for you now.
- Reminder: the specific phrase I used for cultivating compassion was, “May I respond with care to [this/my/your] pain and sorrow.”
- When mindfully investigating the bare sensations that make up “pain,” see if you can get interested/curious, in this phenomenon that evokes so much emotion and reactivity. What does it actually feel like? (E.g., is it vibrating, pulsing, zipping, pounding, expanding, contracting, warm, cool, colder, etc.?) Separate from ideas about the sensations, can you feel them viscerally, non-verbally, just as they are? Or, as the Buddha put it, “in the sensed is only the sensed.”
- Remember to toggle back and forth between growth zones and comfort zones so as not to get overwhelmed—or into alarm zones!
- If you have a question that you want me to respond to in next week’s group (our last one), please send it to the office.
Home Practice – Session 4 (7/17/24)
- In formal meditation: Continue to practice the approaches to being with pain that seem best for you. The ones we have worked with are softening (around general physical tension, mental reactivity to pain, and physical tightening around pain); investigating the nature of sensations we call “pain,”; and bringing a sense of warmth, caring, kindness, or compassion to your mindfulness, yourself, and/or your pain.
- In daily life: Choose 1 or 2 of these daily life practices– noticing how thoughts of past and future affect your attitude towards pain, and then seeing what happens when you try to separate painful sensations from these thoughts (see Session 3); softening when you feel yourself tensing up around pain (see Session 3); or, mindfulness of something pleasant that is happening now (see Session 2).
Home Practice – Session 3 (7/10/24)
- In formal meditation: I suggest you practice softening and/or mindfulness of the bare sensations of pain at least 3 times a week. With softening, you can soften around tension, reactivity, and/or pain. You can do mindfulness of bare sensations of pain right afterwards in the same session, or at a separate session. Or, if mindfulness of the sensations that make up pain is not right for you, you can skip it. Each time you practice, I suggest you check in with yourself early in the session, to see which practices are right for you to explore at that moment. If you’re unsure, you can try a practice and stop if it feels like you’re going past your growth zone. It’s never helpful to set off those alarms! However, if you are merely restless, discontent, or indecisive, then remember that when doing more than one practice in one session, it helps to stick with the first for some minutes, then to drop it and do the second for some minutes, and so on. In contrast, jumping back and forth haphazardly and quickly might not feel as beneficial.
- In daily life:
- Continue (or go back to) noticing mind-states around pain, but pay particular attention to thoughts of pain in the past or future. This could be memories, grief, “if-onlys,” hopes, fears, plans, imagined scenarios, etc. How do ideas of past and future affect your relationship to pain now, i.e., in the moment when you are experiencing them?
- I forgot to mention in class, you can also try softening in daily life. Meaning, if you notice tension in general or specifically around pain, see if you can just soften around it in the moment, or take a few moments.
Home Practice – Session 2 (7/3/24)
Continue with all of the practices from last week, but with the option of changing your daily life practice from noticing resistance to pain to noticing moments of pleasantness. (These could be moments of experiencing pleasant sights, smells, sounds, tastes, physical sensations, or thoughts/emotions/mental states.) See if you can experience the pleasant sensations just as they are—i.e., an in-the-moment, non-verbal attunement to sensations separate from the mind’s associations, stories, and ideas about them. Separate from trying to hold onto them and from other reactions, too. Of course, associations and reactions will arise, and that’s OK. The trick is to know that these are happening without getting caught in them; simply experiencing moments of pleasantness mindfully.
Home Practice – Session 1 (6/26/24)
- In formal meditation: Practice softening this week. I suggest doing it at least 3 times but find what’s right for you. If you have a daily practice, you can do it then. You can make it the main focus of your practice, or you can take some time for it at the beginning or end of your usual practice. If you don’t have a daily practice or if you prefer, you can devote 10 minutes or so at any point during the day to practice softening.
- In daily life: Notice times when you find yourself lost in resistance or aversion to pain. This could include a sense of struggling with it, or of trying to push it aside—perhaps convincing yourself that it is not a problem even as your stress level climbs. It could also include reactive thoughts and emotions about your pain (and/or health/life situation related to pain). Resistance and aversion also include self-judgments or blame, worry, anger, stories or narratives about the situation, and the like.
- Remember, it’s understandable that these difficult mind-states arise—there’s no need to condemn them. The suffering—i.e., the “second arrow”—occurs when we get caught in them. For this reason, when you become aware of being caught or lost in a difficult mind-state, simply recognize that a reactive thought or emotion is happening. If you find it helpful, you can make a quiet, mental note like, “2nd arrow,” “that’s just a thought,” “worry is happening,” or simply, “thinking” or “worry.” Or make up your own note. It’s about increasing your awareness of reactivity, not judging or eliminating it.
- Remember to modulate yourself. If the practice feels somewhat difficult, that’s OK—learning new skills can be that way. But it shouldn’t feel excruciating or dysregulating. For example, it’s not helpful to get panicked, on the one hand, or zoned out/disassociated, on the other. If you find something like that happening, try decreasing the intensity, perhaps by meditating with eyes open or mindfully listening to sounds until you feel more balanced. We’ll talk about this more in class, but if you have concerns before then, feel free to contact me. (If you practice while lying down, please note that I am using ‘zoned out’ and ‘disassociated’ to mean something distinct from ‘sleepy,’ which is the main pitfall in “prone practice.” You can bounce back from sleepiness more readily.)
- If you missed the first class and wanted to be paired with a “buddy,” or if you did not request a buddy and would like one, please notify the office asap.
Home Practice Week 6: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness: dhammas
The word dhamma is usually written in lowercase to differentiate it from the body of the teachings of the Buddha, which is Dhamma. Dhamma also means the ultimate reality of things as they are. Lower-case dhamma is typically plural (dhammas) and has been translated in several ways. “Mental objects” and “phenomena” are two of the most common translations. Anālayo gives reasons, which we won’t go into, about why this is not a great translation. For now, though, as we read the sutta, we can notice that there is a fundamental difference between the fourth foundation and the previous three. While the other three Satipaṭṭhāna indicate ‘things’ to be mindful of, the fourth, as listed in the usual Pali translations, is a set of lists: the hindrances, the aggregates, the sense spheres, the Seven Factors of Awakening and The Four Noble Truths.
Anālayo suggests that these lists in the fourth foundation are like lenses we use to view the phenomena of our experience. His comparative investigation revealed that most Chinese versions of this sutta and several later Sanskrit versions do not contain all the lists but rather include just two: The Five Hindrances and The Seven Factors of Enlightenment.
This makes sense in light of the previous foundations and allows the fourth foundation to function as a natural progression from the third. In the third foundation, we looked at the mind, particularly identifying the presence of unwholesome or unskillful mind states and contrasting that to knowing when wholesome or skillful mind states were present.
The instructions for the fourth foundation instruct us to abandon the unwholesome states as defined by the hindrances and to encourage and support the wholesome states as defined by the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. These two quotes from Anālayo’s “Satipaṭṭhāna, the Direct Path to Realization,” illustrate that contemplating ‘dhammas’ in this context means more than just noting the presence or absence of a mind state; instead, it’s really getting to know them.
The instructions for contemplating the hindrances are as follows:
If sensual desire is present in him, he knows “there is sensual desire in me.”
If sensual desire is not present in him, he knows, “there is no sensual desire in me”; and he knows how unarisen sensual desire can arise, how arisen sensual desire can be removed, and how a future arising of the removed sensual desire can be prevented.
If aversion is present in him, he knows…
If sloth-and-torpor is present in him, he knows…
If restlessness-and-worry is present in him, he knows…
If doubt is present in him, he knows, “there is doubt in me;” if doubt is not present in him, he knows, “there is no doubt in me”; and he knows how unarisen doubt can arise, how arisen doubt can be removed, and how a future arising of the removed doubt can be prevented.
In other words, it’s not just recognizing that a state like aversion is present or absent. The instruction asks us to investigate all aspects of that state, understanding how it can arise, how it can be removed, and how a future arising of the state can be prevented. Likewise, here are the instructions for supporting the Seven Factors of Enlightenment:
The mental qualities that form the topic of the next contemplation of dhammas provide the conditions conducive to awakening, which is why they are termed “Awakening Factors.” Just as a river inclines and flows towards the ocean, so the Awakening Factors incline towards Nibbana.
The instructions for contemplating the awakening factors are as follows:
If the mindfulness awakening factor is present in him, he knows, “there is the mindfulness awakening factor in me;” if the mindfulness awakening factor is not present in him, he knows, “there is no mindfulness awakening factor in me;” he knows how the unarisen mindfulness awakening factor can arise, and how the arisen mindfulness awakening factor can be perfected by development.
If the investigation-of-dhammas awakening factor is present in him, he knows…
If the energy awakening factor is present in him, he knows…
If the joy awakening factor is present in him, he knows…
If the tranquility awakening factor is present in him, he knows…
If the concentration awakening factor is present in him, he knows…
If the equanimity awakening factor is present in him, he knows, “there is the equanimity awakening factor in me;” if the equanimity awakening factor is not present in him, he knows, “there is no equanimity awakening factor in me;” he knows how the unarisen equanimity awakening factor can arise, and how the arisen equanimity awakening factor can be perfected by development.
Suggested Practice:
- Memorize the Five Hindrances and the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, if you don’t already know them. If you prefer, take an index card. On one side, list the hindrances, and on the other, the factors of enlightenment. Through the day, pause and ask yourself, “What’s in the mind right now? Which wholesome or unwholesome factor does this most align with?” If you use the index card, keep it in your pocket as a reference.
- Now that we have gone through all of the Foundations of Mindfulness, notice as you go through the day that they are all happening simultaneously, which is evident whenever we bring our mindful attention to the present moment.
- 3-4 minute mindful “check-ins” throughout the day are a great way to pause and bring your attention to each foundation. You might ask yourself the following questions:
- What’s happening in my body right now?
- What is pleasant or unpleasant in this moment?
- What am I aware of that is neutral – just something that’s here – with no affective pull towards it or pushing away from it?
- What state of mind is present? Does it contain greed, aversion, or unclarity or confusion? Is there a noticeable absence of those mental ‘defilements?’
- Are other mental factors present, such as focus or distraction, or mental tightness or mental spaciousness?
- How do my thoughts and emotions in this moment reflect a hindrance or an enlightenment factor?” (This is the same #1 in this home practice list).
Remember that while these practice suggestions are presented for use in daily life, the same questions can be asked at any time during formal sitting or walking meditation practice.
Good luck! Thank you all for participating in this practice group. May you find lasting benefit from your practice, leading to happiness and freedom from all suffering!
Home Practice Week 4: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
In this last session, we looked at the second Satipaṭṭhāna of Vedanā. Vedanā is sometimes translated as “feeling” but is more accurately translated as “feeling tone.” In other words, it’s not feeling as ‘emotions’ nor is it sense sensations, but rather it is the immediate reaction to our experience in terms of “This is pleasant” or “This is unpleasant.” Those feelings that we would say are neither pleasant nor unpleasant are called neutral. Vedanā are low-level components of experience. They happen immediately after the senses contact a sense object. They are very important though. As the Buddha taught in his teaching of Dependent Origination, which describes how we come to cling to and identify with our experiences, Vedanā is a weak link in that chain. By seeing clearly whether an experience is pleasant or unpleasant, we can be prepared that a pleasant experience can lead to clinging, and an unpleasant experience can lead to aversion or hatred. Because Vedanā arise and pass so quickly, they are also perfect for observing and gaining insight into the nature of impermanence. Mindfulness of Vedana is a beautiful tool for exploring causation as well. The Vedana are the seeds of what can grow into a complete emotional reaction.
It is becoming more evident as we move through the four Satipaṭṭhāna that these different realms of experience are not separate, but instead they come together, and they influence each other. For example, let’s say you hold the view, (foundation four) based on your past experiences of eating, that you do not like cauliflower. If you walk into a room where someone is cooking cauliflower, your first experiences would likely come through the sense of smell (body, foundation one). The initial Vedanā (second foundation) might be neutral if it’s actually the taste of cauliflower that you don’t like. Then as perception kicks in, (foundation four, one of the aggregates ) and you recognize that the aroma is coming from that particular vegetable, then your unpleasant memory of past experience (a mental fabrication from the fourth foundation of mindfulness) causes unpleasantness to arise in the mind, (third foundation) which is a new unpleasant Vedanā coming from the mental experience of the memory. The unpleasant memory may influence the neutral Vedanā that initially came from your first whiff of the aroma of cooking, so that the next time you smell cauliflower cooking, an unpleasant Vedanā arises from just the recognition of the aroma itself!
Practice
- During a sitting or walking practice, just label each experience as pleasant or unpleasant for part of that practice time. After you get the hang of it you can add a neutral label. Vedanā arise quickly, so don’t try to follow each one. For example, if your mind wanders to a memory, note if that is a pleasant or unpleasant memory before you return to your anchor. If you are irritated that your mind wandered, label that irritation unpleasant. If a sensation in the body or from the senses comes into awareness, can you label that?
- Consider keeping a pleasant event and unpleasant event log. This will be less detailed than what you do during meditation, focusing on daily events, like a phone call, a task, an email, a conversation, an experience of hunger, or of being too cool or too warm. You could list pleasant events one day and unpleasant events another day. You could keep a running list or just reflect back at the end of the day in a journal. Then try tracking pleasant and unpleasant events on the same list. Which list is longer?
Home Practice Week 3: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
Review
This session we finished up Mindfulness of the Body. This section’s first three parts help us be more mindful of the body ‘internally’ from a sense of embodiment. The body feels like ‘this’ as I Breathe, as I change to different postures, and as I engage in the Activities of Daily Living. Awareness of Breathing is usually a formal sitting practice, but the breath can also be an anchor to remind us to be present in our daily activities, keeping the momentum and continuity of mindful attention going. Practically speaking, we may want to choose certain activities as special opportunities to be present, such as taking a shower, preparing food, or eating.
The next three Satipaṭṭhāna practices with the body – awareness of anatomical parts, the elemental characteristics of the body (earth, water, fire, and air), and corpse contemplations, are specifically designed to shift our perspective on the body. They aim to reduce our attachment to the body as ‘me’ or ‘mine’, and to view it simply as nature, subject to the laws of arising and passing away. These practices can potentially transform our relationship with our bodies, inspiring us to see them in a new light.
The first two of these can be practiced during a body scan, attending to each part of the body as we scan through with our awareness. Anatomical parts can be practiced outside of formal sitting by just taking an interest in anatomy itself. Even our intellectual knowledge of the body can help our practice. Is my artificial hip still “me”? How about the titanium rod in my back? or the fillings in my teeth? When did the fillings become me? As we remarked in class, in traditional Buddhist practice, the monastics contemplated 32 parts of the body. With the benefit of even a high school biology book, we could probably identify 32 parts of a single cell. The key is bringing your ‘Dharma glasses’ to your knowledge of the body and its workings. It’s a beautifully functioning set of interconnected systems when it’s healthy; but whether healthy or not, it’s ‘not me or mine’.
The body’s elemental qualities allow us to notice solidity, cohesion, warmth, and flow internally and externally. We are always conversing about the weather or about the room being too hot or cool.
The corpse contemplations drive home how the body, step by step will return to dust.
Homework
Keep working with the above practices, with emphasis on bodily postures and bodily activities in daily life.
For the corpse contemplations, I suggest as you are on a walk, bring awareness to any dead animals you see. Most often, that will probably be road-kill. How long has this squirrel, rabbit, or other animal been dead on the road? If you see a fresh animal carcass, do you feel repelled? How about if there is only a small patch of fur left; the same reaction? Imagine the animal in all its aliveness, right before it was killed. All living creatures, ourselves included, will die, as death is unavoidable, and the moment of our death is unknown.
As we move into the remaining three Satipaṭṭhāna, feelings (vedanā), mind (citta), and the contents of mind (dhammas), we can notice how quickly, when something arises, all the Satipaṭṭhāna realms combine to make up our experience of the moment.
A major function of our mindfulness is just to remind us to return our awareness to the present moment. This is particularly important when we become lost in our heads, ruminating, worrying, stressing, or generally struggling with the kilesas of greed, aversion and confusion. Coming back to the moment in way that lets us reset our mind to a more open and fully present awareness is very valuable. Over the next two weeks, here are three tools and their acronyms to experiment with. (Remember, there is no class on the June 19th holiday, as the Center is closed. )
R.A.I.N. – created by Michele McDonald and popularized by Tara Brach. Very helpful with difficult emotions
Recognize what’s happening in the moment
Accept (or Allow) it to be here as it is.
Investigate it with kindness
Natural awareness comes from not identifying with the experience. (sometimes Nurture is used for N)
S.T.O.P. from Jon Kabat-Zinn is part of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program
Stop what you are doing
Take a few breaths to recenter
Observe what’s happening in the moment in the body, mind, and emotions
Proceed with kindness
R.E.N.E.W. or R.E.N.E.W.A.L. (from me – using the breath as an anchor and a reset)
Return to the awareness of the breath
Expand the awareness to the whole body
Notice all of your experience; body, feelings, mind and thoughts without judgment
Experience everything as belonging to Nature
Watch, Allow, and Let go as this moment is breathed out and the next one is breathed in
Home Practice Week 2: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
Hi everyone,
In session 2, we covered the next two paragraphs of the sutta and also discussed the “definition”* of working mindfully with the four Satipaṭṭhāna. We also discussed the repeating section of the sutta called the “refrain”* that comes after each paragraph of instructions.
*(‘definition’ and ‘refrain’ are Anālayo’s classifications ).
As a reminder, the sutta starts out with a declaration of the “direct path” and the definition:
Direct Path:
“Monks, this is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the surmounting of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of dukkha and discontent, for acquiring the true method, for the realization of Nibbana, namely, the four Satipaṭṭhāna.
Definition:
“What are the four? Here, monks, in regard to the body, a monk abides contemplating the body, diligent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world. In regard to feelings, he abides contemplating feelings, is diligent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world. In regard to the mind, he abides contemplating the mind, diligent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world. In regard to dhammas, he abides contemplating dhammas, diligent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world.
The definition is the same definition as stated in the sermon on the eight-fold path, for “right mindfulness.”
According to Anālayo:
Diligent, (ātāpi) – means putting some energy into meeting the present moment with sustained interest.
Clearly knowing (sampajañña) – means seeing the object of awareness unfiltered, with all its characteristics, especially the qualities of impermanence, imperfection, and not-self.
Mindful (sati) is not just being conscious but remembering to come to the present moment repeatedly with open receptivity.
“Free from desires and discontent with regard to the world” means to put aside our everyday thoughts as we practice, so many of which are made up of our wanting and not wanting.
Refrain:
In this way, in regard to the body, she abides contemplating the body internally, or she abides contemplating the body externally, or she abides contemplating the body both internally and externally. She abides contemplating the nature of arising in the body, or she abides contemplating the nature of passing away in the body, or she abides contemplating the nature of both arising and passing away in the body. Mindfulness that ‘there is a body’ is established in her to the extent necessary for bare knowledge and continuous mindfulness. And she abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. That is how in regard to the body she abides contemplating the body.
Internally means within one’s own experience.
Externally means what is learned from observing others
Aware of arising and passing away
Just being aware for the sake of building continuity and momentum in the mindfulness.
Independent of clinging.
Practice: Use mindfulness phrases or gathas, as they are called in the Vietnamese Buddhist tradition, to connect with the body in daily life.
Here are some suggestions:
- Body Positions
- Start with the phrase from the refrain, “There is a body”, then note the position of the body: standing, sitting, walking, and lying down. These are the ‘classic’ positions mentioned in the text, but the text really means all positions, so you can add bending, stretching, twisting, squatting, in short, anything that describes the position of the body.
- If you want, shorten the phrase to just: “the body is standing” or just name the position itself, “sitting.”
- Don’t tire yourself out by doing this all day; instead, try it for a period of time, maybe 20 minutes, as practice.
- Notice how you move from lying down to sitting on the bed to standing up to walking to the bathroom every time you get up in the morning. Notice these transitions in your positions throughout the day.
- Body Activities: Use noting to label activities for a period of time: putting food in my mouth, chewing, tasting, swallowing, washing a dish, rinsing a glass, walking, buttoning my shirt, adjusting the rearview mirror, waiting for the dog, sitting on the toilet, looking at the clouds.
- Try to stay with the physical aspect of the activity, (including what is coming through the senses), rather than your emotional reaction to the activity. That comes later!
- Continue to practice for at least 20 minutes daily using the first instructions on mindfulness of breathing. Walking meditation, slow or fast, is naturally compatible with noticing bodily positions and activities.
Home Practice Week 1: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
Hi everyone,
Sorry this is getting to you a little late. I spent some time looking at different translations of the Sutta for our use, and I settled on the one by Anālayo, who I mentioned in class as the scholar-monk who has written several books about this sutta.
In addition to the translation, I am sending you a link to the whole book, which may be too much information, but it is a good reference. This version is available as a PDF for free distribution. You are free to download it if you want it or just save the link for later.
I will send snippets from this book as we use them.
Sitting Practice:
Try to practice the first section of the sutta, which, as we said, is the same as the first tetrad of the Ānāpānassati Sutta on Mindfulness of Breathing. Here is a short summary of the instructions we used for now.
- Find a quiet place to practice where you won’t be disturbed.
- Take an upright but relaxed posture, using a chair, a cushion, or a bench. Close your eyes if that’s comfortable for you and get a sense of arriving in this space by feeling the body as a whole. Then we will pay attention to the breathing in some different areas.
- In class we used a ‘map’ to bring our attention to these different areas of the body:
-
- Below the navel
- Above the navel and below the sternum
- The center of the chest
- The throat
- The head at the nose or nasal cavities.
- Spend a few minutes in each area. Feel the actual sensations of breathing as you inhale and exhale. Measure the length of the inhale from its beginning until the end, counting “1,2,3,4,5,6…” Let 90 % of your attention be on the sensations of the breath, and 10% be on the counting. Adjust the speed of your counting so that a typical inhale is from 5 to 10 counts long. Do the same with the exhale, counting from the beginning of the exhale until the end. Notice the pause between the end of one breath and the beginning of the next inhale, but don’t count until the next inhale starts. At first, the counts may be the same for each cycle of inhale and exhale, because we will often unconsciously try to control the breath. But as we relax, the breath will start to vary. Some inhales may be just 5 counts. Other inhales may be 7 or 8 counts. We don’t care how long each breath is. We just want to pay close enough attention to notice a natural variation. Some breaths are longer, and some are shorter.
- The counting uses the linguistic part of our brain to gather the attention around the breathing, and helps ‘seclude’ us from our day to day thinking.
- After a few minutes in each of the five locations in this map, please drop the counting and consider transitioning to silently saying a meditation word or phrase with each inhale and exhale. Some common ones that are used are:
- “In” and “Out”
- Inhaling, Arriving home to the present moment” (which becomes abbreviated to “Arriving”) and “Exhaling, I know it is a wonderful moment” ( which becomes abbreviated to “Wonderful moment”)
- “Buddho”, which is a version of “Buddha.” Buddho means “The one who knows” and is used by saying “Bud” on the inhale and “dho” on the exhale.
This covers the first two steps, which are:
- “The yogi breathes in knowing, “breathing in long”; the yogi breathes out, knowing, “breathing out long ”
- “The yogi breathes in knowing, “breathing in short”; the yogi breathes out, knowing, “breathing out short”
The next two steps are:
- “The yogi breathes in, sensitive to the whole body; the yogi breathes out, sensitive to the whole body.”
- “The yogi breathes in, calming the body formations; the yogi breathes out, calming the body formations.” Formations here are anything that makes up the physical body: muscles, bone, connective tissue, organs, blood vessels, etc.
We have already started to do this by bringing attention to different body locations on our map. See if you can get a sense of being aware of more of the body at once. Let the breathing show you where there is tightness in the body. The awareness itself will encourage the body to relax without forcing anything to happen. Enjoy this practice. Smile. Each inhale is a moment of nourishment, and each exhale is a letting go. Don’t struggle.
This version of the Ānāpānassati is not for everyone. We can work with some adaptations. The end point of this first practice is allowing the body to relax and the breath energy to flow, at the same time as we begin to calm the mind, coming to what is called, “full body breath awareness.”
Walking Practice:
Fast, or normal speed walking practice.
Click here for a PDF of the home practices.
Seven Factors of Awakening – A Year Living These Treasures – Home practices #7
(Next class 9/13/24 at 6:00-8:30pm). HAVE FUN with these practices! Happy Summer!
1)Sit every day. Try sitting for a minimum of 15-30 minutes per day. (More if you are able) Practice your meditation in silence.
Start your sitting practice remembering your intention to be Mindfulness is, the 1st factor of awakening. Asking: “What is being know right now? Is Mindfulness present right now or not? (laugh if not). The 2nd is investigation Asking: Is there interest & curiosity about your experience? Begin to understand what are wholesome/skillful states of mind & what are not.
“What is this?” or ”What is happening in this moment? 3rd is energy. Asking: Is there energy right now or not? “Is this suffering or not suffering? Is this wholesome or not wholesome?” Check & see, Are you applying effort by striving or by softening? Asking: Is there joy or rapt interest, right now or not? Is there a spark of joy-delight or not?
This month, Opening to Tranquility, Passaddhi, in Pali,- the Fifth Factor of Awakening… (also, please continue with joy & try some of the reflections you didn’t try last month. You have two wonderful months! July & August!) see below…
Tranquility is the first of the three stabilizing factors. (the other two are concentration and equanimity) Passaddhi is translated as calm, tranquility, serenity, stillness, composure, ease.
It is the soothing factor of the heart/ mind. It quiets disturbances or can maintain tranquility in the midst of disturbances. It can manifest as peacefulness or coolness in the body, mind/heart. Like a shade tree in the heat wave.- both physical and mental tranquility. The quality of calm or ease that can keep the mind unruffled in times of stress. Other qualities are lightness, know-how or competence, sincerity, authenticity, honesty.
Some ways we can support these qualities of calm or tranquility is by nurturing, caring for, and developing our attention to the breath in the body, through inner ease and restfulness. Allowing the breath-receiving and letting go. Or doing just one thing at a time, letting go of trying to control, ourselves, each other, the moment. Trying to control brings agitation.
The Buddha spoke about ways to develop calm. Internally- wise or careful attention- and Externally-good friendship.. Remembering, to recognize calm, Tranquility for what it is:
When the mind is tranquil, free of desire, even for a nanosecond, a kind of happiness and ease arise. Subtler than joy or rapture. There is a sense of serenity and peace. Calm can counteract the hindrance of Restlessness & Worry. Look out for clinging and attachment- our hindrance friend-Desire- Understanding all these states are impermanent, impersonal imperfect- insight- understanding what is the path and what is not.
Asking: How is the mind right now? Is there some sense of Tranquility, Calm, Stillness, Ease, Quietness arising right now or not? If there is some sense of agitation how might that release? As the agitation settles down, the mind/heart becomes quieter and quieter. If Tranquility feels like a stretch connecting to what registers as calm may help us connect to the experience.
2) Below are In reflections & practices for Tranquility in daily life & formal meditation-
Please choose & experiment with at least 2 of the following in July and 2 in August.
a) Reflections: What helps you feel tranquil, calm, easeful or peaceful? What are the activities that most easily bring you a sense of tranquility? Do you generally feel more peaceful indoors or outdoors? When you’re alone or with others? Do you feel more tranquil while talking or listening?
Practices: At the end of each day, reflect on when you felt the most calm or peaceful. Reflect on the conditions that supported that feeling & then reflect on the conditions that disrupted that feeling. Reflect on whether your level of calmness affected the calmness of others around you.
b) Reflection: How does it feel to be tranquil? What is the feeling in your body? How is your mind state when you’re tranquil? How is feeling tranquil different than feeling “spacey” or complacent?
Practices: Spend more time than you normally would with activities that support a feeling of calmness or easefulness. Notice how your body feels when you feel at ease. Notice your mind state & emotional state when you have this feeling. Is the feeling of tranquility consistent or does it fluctuate?
c) Reflections: Come up with a list of easy ways that you can increase the frequency & amount of calmness during your daily life. What are some of the easy ways you can avail yourself of more serenity? What are some of the obvious things in your daily life that you often overlook which would support a feeling of calmness if you really noticed? Are there activities in your life that detract from your sense of calmness that can be easily minimized?
Practice: Spend more time than you normally would -doing activities that support a sense of calmness. Notice how you feel before, during & after the activities. Notice how your meditation practice is affected by your degree of calmness. Also notice how your meditation practice affects your peacefulness in daily life.
d) Reflections: During meditation do you find that tranquility or calmness arises? Do you value your meditation sessions based on the amount of calmness you experienced? Do you think it was a “bad” meditation if you felt restless?
Practice: During your meditation practice notice if you feel calm or tranquil. Notice whether you feel attached to the calm feeling. Also notice if you feel agitated or restless. Can you calmly note the agitation?
3) Continue this month of practice-
When the awakening factors are present there is no room for the hindrances. The hindrances are absent. One simple way of understanding our practice is to nurture or let go-to release or let go of the hindrances and to strengthen or cultivate the awakening factors. It is possible to be mindful of the hindrances as an object of meditation Both in formal practice & daily life practice! This Month explore how Tranquility, calm can be a stabilizing factor with Restlessness and worry or how it can become a hindrance of desire.
Recollect that the awakening factors point to freedom-free from greed, hatred, delusion- We can experience that in clear moments when the hindrances are absent. Might be nanoseconds and those moments can begin to grow. Ahh… Awakening is a verb, a process!
4) Walking Meditation: Be Mindful when you are walking. Notice rushing– when we are ahead of ourselves or energetically toppling forward. See if you can allow for ease, composure, tranquility of heart/mind. (Hint: when walking just walk, when standing just stand.)
5) Gratitude Practices: 3 things you are grateful for daily. Email or Text your buddies.
6) Pause Meditation: (Several times in your day)
7) Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s book, Factors For Awakening, Please read pages 27-34
8) DON’T FORGET IN AUGUST-JOY & TRANQILITY PRACTICES
Below are In reflections & practices for joy in daily life & formal meditation-Please choose & experiment with at least 2 you didn’t try in July of the following 5 Reflections & Practices
a) Reflections: What helps you feel ease, contentment or joy? What are the activities that most easily bring you joy? Is it some kind of physical activity? Are you more likely to feel joy when you are with others or when you are alone? Do you experience joy that is not dependent on any particular activity? If so, what conditions bring about that joy? How easy is it for you to be in touch with the sources for your joy? (from class)
Practices: At the end of each day reflect on when you felt the greatest sense of well-being, joy or contentment. Is there a rhythm of your sense of well-being on most days ; e.g. do you feel the most ease in the morning or evening ? Or does your sense of well-being depend mostly on the activities you’re doing? If possible, try meditating at different times in the day. Is there a time of day when you feel more of a sense of well being and ease in your meditation?
b) Reflections: How do you know when you have a sense of well-being, contentment or joy? Is it more of a physical sensation or a mental sensation for you? How is feeling joyful different than feeling ill-at ease or uncomfortable? What affect does joy have on you? What happens to your thinking & level of pre-occupation when you are joyful? (from class)
Practices: Spend more time than you normally would with activities that support a feeling of well-being or joy. Notice how your body feels when you feel content. Notice your mind & emotional state when you have this feeling. Is the feeling of joy consistent or does it fluctuate?
c) Reflections: Please come up with a list of easy ways that you can increase the frequency and amount of joy during your daily life. What are some of the easy ways you can help yourself to have more delight? What are some of the obvious occurrences in your daily life that you often overlook which would bring some degree of joy if you really noticed?
Practices: Spend more time than you normally would doing a hobby or activity that requires you to be focused & engaged. Notice the sense of well-being you have before, during & after being absorbed or engaged in an activity . When did you feel the most ease? Notice whether you have any beliefs, judgments about or resistance to the activity & notice how that mind – set affects your feeling of contentment or well-being.
d) Reflections: During meditation do you find that contentment or joy arises? How can you tell whether you are creating conditions for joyfulness or repressing joy due to an underlying belief that joy should not be experienced during spiritual practice?
Practices: Just before meditating, reflect on those things that inspire your practice. In the course of your meditation, notice any feelings of joy, well-being or pleasure that occurs. Be sensitive to the physical sensations that come with the joy. Allow yourself to enjoy those feelings. Gently, patiently, let those feelings grow as you continue your meditation. If possible, have the sensations of joy be a source of biofeedback for your steadiness, encouraging you to continue to practice After the mediation, briefly reflect if there is a relationship between your daily behavior & the experience of joy during your meditation.
e) Reflection: How is your sense of well-being, when you are present in the moment?
Practices: Experiment with applying more mindfulness to your life. This can be done either by increasing the time in formal meditation practice or by applying more mindfulness during particular daily life activities; e.g. while brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. Notice whether your sense of contentment or well – being increases or decreases when you’re mindful.
9) Continue from last month of practice-.
When the awakening factors are present there is no room for the hindrances. The hindrances are absent. One simple way of understanding our practice is to nurture or let go-to release or let go of the hindrances and to strengthen or cultivate the awakening factors. It is possible to be mindful of the hindrances as an object of meditation Both in formal practice & daily life practice! This Month explore Joy & how it can be an arousing factor with slough & torpor or how it can become a hindrance of desire.
Recollect that the awakening factors point to freedom-free from greed, hatred, delusion-Experience that in clear moments when the hindrances are absent. Might be nano-seconds and those moments can begin to grow .Awakening is a verb, a process!
10) Please read daily, The Seven Factors of Awakening: Notice in sitting practice & daily life when any of the above states of heart or mind are present in your body, heart, and mind.
- Mindfulness (sati)
Being aware of what is happening in the present moment - Investigation (dhamma-vicaya)
Investigation supported by wisdom.
Understands what are skillful/healthy/beneficial states of mind
and what are not. - Energy (viriya)-Diligence, effort.
Increased engagement with practice, especially freeing oneself from unskillful states. - Joy (piti)
Feeling of delight, rapture.
Touching that which is refreshing and beautiful, both within and without.
Arises when attention is absorbed - Tranquility (passaddhi)
Calming and stilling of body/ mind,
Ease, quietness of mind, relaxation - Concentration (samadhi)
The mind is focused, settled, steady and composed
The mind becomes unified around what we’re concentrating on,
one-pointedness of mind. - Equanimity (upekkha)
Balance, spaciousness, and non-reactivity of mind,
balance in the face of change, being aware of all phenomena w/o grasping or aversion
Sublime and extremely satisfying state of heart/mind
11) Please get to know, The Five Hindrances: Can you surround each with acceptance?
- Sense-desire: wanting, lust or greed, craving-fantasy.
- Aversion: ill will, hatred, anger, fear, boredom, annoyance, irritation, impatience, judging- guilt.
- Sloth & torpor: sleepiness, sluggishness, dullness, fogginess, lack of vitality.
- Restlessness and worry: anxiousness, agitation, nervousness, jumpiness.
- Doubt: Uncertainty, self doubt, skeptical doubt, uncertainty/indecision
A Gentle Hindrance Hint: How did/do we relate when these Hindrances arise in meditation & in our daily life? The best way is to relate with skillfulness is to recognize, know what is happening in the present, to be mindful. Simply acknowledge the hindrance is that has arisen in this moment in your life, in your practice. If possible, touch them with your heart. To connect with tenderness or caring, to befriend the hindrance, do your best not to judge them.
Click here for a PDF of the home practices.
Seven Factors of Awakening –A Year Living These Treasures- Home practices #6
(Next class 7/12/24 at 6:00-8:30pm). HAVE FUN with these practices! Happy Summer!
1) Sit every day. Try sitting for a minimum of 15-30 minutes per day. (More if you are able) Practice your meditation in silence.
Start your sitting practice remembering your intention to be Mindful, the 1st factor of awakening. Asking: “What is being know right now? Is Mindfulness present right now or not? (laugh if not). The 2nd is investigation Asking: Is there interest & curiosity about your experience? Begin to understand what are wholesome/skillful states of mind & what are not.
“What is this?” or ”What is happening in this moment? 3rd is energy. Asking: Is there energy right now or not? “Is this suffering or not suffering? Is this wholesome or not wholesome?” Check & see, Are you applying effort by striving or by softening?
This month, open to Joy-(Pali is Piti) the Fourth Factor of Awakening.
Piti is translated as joy or rapture and is the last of the uplifting or arousing factors. It’s an aliveness, joyful or rapt interest. It’s a state of happiness, delight, gladness of the heart in seeing truth clearly. The joy that comes out of being open to life as it is. In practice, we discover joy. There is a willingness to let go of concepts, agendas, ideas, conclusions of how we think things are for the knowing how things are and being in the present moment. To know things as they are, in the present, we can know joy, delight, contentment, and ease.
Remembering, to recognize joy, rapture for what it is: usually pleasurable in the body, delight in the mind, heightened interest- please see what is our relationship to it. Any clinging? This is mine or it has arisen in me? This is who I am? I am like this. I want this to continue? Now I know.? Or even if a sense of disappointment or longing arises when joy or rapture fades. Or an attempt to create the conditions again- walk a certain way, sit a certain way. Yikes- clinging and attachment- or our hindrance friend-Desire- Understanding all these states are impermanent, impersonal imperfect- insight- understanding what is the path and what is not.
Asking: Is there joy or rapt interest, right now or not? Is there a spark of joy-delight or not?
However, If joy feels like a stretch knowing that all these factors have a range of intensity- maybe simply noticing a sense of appreciation, or gratitude, or just connecting to what registers as pleasant can help us connect to the experience of rapt interest or joy.
2) Below are In reflections & practices for joy in daily life & formal meditation-Please choose & experiment with at least 2 of the following 5 Reflections & Practices
a) Reflections: What helps you feel ease, contentment or joy? What are the activities that most easily bring you joy? Is it some kind of physical activity? Are you more likely to feel joy when you are with others or when you are alone? Do you experience joy that is not dependent on any particular activity? If so, what conditions bring about that joy? How easy is it for you to be in touch with the sources for your joy? (from class)
Practices: At the end of each day reflect on when you felt the greatest sense of well-being, joy or contentment. Is there a rhythm of your sense of well-being on most days ; e.g. do you feel the most ease in the morning or evening ? Or does your sense of well-being depend mostly on the activities you’re doing? If possible, try meditating at different times in the day. Is there a time of day when you feel more of a sense of well being and ease in your meditation?
b) Reflections: How do you know when you have a sense of well-being, contentment or joy? Is it more of a physical sensation or a mental sensation for you? How is feeling joyful different than feeling ill-at ease or uncomfortable? What affect does joy have on you? What happens to your thinking & level of pre-occupation when you are joyful? (from class)
Practices: Spend more time than you normally would with activities that support a feeling of well-being or joy. Notice how your body feels when you feel content. Notice your mind & emotional state when you have this feeling. Is the feeling of joy consistent or does it fluctuate?
c) Reflections: Please come up with a list of easy ways that you can increase the frequency and amount of joy during your daily life. What are some of the easy ways you can help yourself to have more delight? What are some of the obvious occurrences in your daily life that you often overlook which would bring some degree of joy if you really noticed?
Practices: Spend more time than you normally would doing a hobby or activity that requires you to be focused & engaged. Notice the sense of well-being you have before, during & after being absorbed or engaged in an activity . When did you feel the most ease? Notice whether you have any beliefs, judgments about or resistance to the activity & notice how that mind – set affects your feeling of contentment or well-being.
d) Reflections: During meditation do you find that contentment or joy arises? How can you tell whether you are creating conditions for joyfulness or repressing joy due to an underlying belief that joy should not be experienced during spiritual practice?
Practices: Just before meditating, reflect on those things that inspire your practice. In the course of your meditation, notice any feelings of joy, well-being or pleasure that occurs. Be sensitive to the physical sensations that come with the joy. Allow yourself to enjoy those feelings. Gently, patiently, let those feelings grow as you continue your meditation. If possible, have the sensations of joy be a source of biofeedback for your steadiness, encouraging you to continue to practice After the mediation, briefly reflect if there is a relationship between your daily behavior & the experience of joy during your meditation.
e) Reflection: How is your sense of well-being, when you are present in the moment?
Practices: Experiment with applying more mindfulness to your life. This can be done either by increasing the time in formal meditation practice or by applying more mindfulness during particular daily life activities; e.g. while brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. Notice whether your sense of contentment or well – being increases or decreases when you’re mindful.
3) Continue this month of practice-.
When the awakening factors are present there is no room for the hindrances. The hindrances are absent. One simple way of understanding our practice is to nurture or let go-to release or let go of the hindrances and to strengthen or cultivate the awakening factors. It is possible to be mindful of the hindrances as an object of meditation Both in formal practice & daily life practice! This Month explore Joy & how it can be an arousing factor with slough & torpor or how it can become a hindrance of desire.
Recollect that the awakening factors point to freedom-free from greed, hatred, delusion- We can experience that in clear moments when the hindrances are absent. Might be nano-seconds and those moments can begin to grow .Awakening is a verb, a process!
4) Walking Meditation: Be Mindful when you are walking. Gently aware of the feet making contact with the ground. Take a moment to notice your surroundings. If outside, notice the sky.
5) Gratitude Practices: 3 things you are grateful for daily. Email or Text your buddies.
6) Pause Meditation: (Several times in your day)
7) Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s book, Factors For Awakening, https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/#FactorsforAwakening Please read pages 23-26
8) Please read daily, The Seven Factors of Awakening: Notice in sitting practice & daily life when any of the above states of heart or mind are present in your body, heart, and mind.
1. Mindfulness (sati)
Being aware of what is happening in the present moment
2. Investigation (dhamma-vicaya)
Investigation supported by wisdom.
Understands what are skillful/healthy/beneficial states of mind
and what are not.
3. Energy (viriya)-Diligence, effort.
Increased engagement with practice, especially freeing oneself from unskillful states.
4. Joy (piti)
Feeling of delight, rapture.
Touching that which is refreshing and beautiful, both within and without.
Arises when attention is absorbed
5. Tranquility (passaddhi)
Calming and stilling of body/ mind,
Ease, quietness of mind, relaxation
6. Concentration (samadhi)
The mind is focused, settled, steady and composed
The mind becomes unified around what we’re concentrating on,
one-pointedness of mind.
7. Equanimity (upekkha)
Balance, spaciousness, and non-reactivity of mind,
balance in the face of change, being aware of all phenomena w/o grasping or aversion
Sublime and extremely satisfying state of heart/mind
9) Please get to know, The Five Hindrances: Can you surround each with acceptance?
- Sense-desire: wanting, lust or greed, craving-fantasy.
- Aversion: ill will, hatred, anger, fear, boredom, annoyance, irritation, impatience, judging- guilt.
- Sloth & torpor: sleepiness, sluggishness, dullness, fogginess, lack of vitality.
- Restlessness and worry: anxiousness, agitation, nervousness, jumpiness.
- Doubt: Uncertainty, self doubt, skeptical doubt, uncertainty/indecision
A Gentle Hindrance Hint: How did-do we relate when these Hindrances arise in meditation & in our daily life? The best way is to relate with skillfulness is to recognize, know what is happening in the present, to be mindful. Simply acknowledge the hindrance is that has arisen in this moment in your life, in your practice. If possible, touch them with your heart. To connect with tenderness or caring, to befriend the hindrance, do your best not to judge them.
Click here for a PDF of the home practices.
Seven Factors of Awakening –A Year Living These Treasures- Home practices #5
(Next class 6/14/24 at 6:00-8:30pm). HAVE FUN with these practices! Happy Spring!
1) Sit every day. Try sitting for a minimum of 15-30 minutes per day. (More if you are able) Practice your meditation in silence.
Start your sitting practice remembering your intention to be Mindful, the 1st factor of awakening. Asking: “What is being know right now? Is Mindfulness present right now or not? (laugh if not). The 2nd factor is investigation Asking: Is there interest & curiosity about your experience? Begin to understand what are wholesome/skillful states of mind & what are not.
“What is this?” or ”What is happening in this moment?
This month, open to Energy-(Pali is Viriya) the Third factor of Awakening.
Viriya is translated as energy, effort, strength, courage, vigor, perseverance & persistence. Energy is a sense of wakefulness, alertness, clarity. In the willingness to turn towards the present moment over & over again– the result is more energy. Energy Increases engagement with practice, especially cultivating wholesome, skillful, beneficial states & actions and letting go of unwholesome, unskillful states & actions. We are learning how to cultivate the skillful and learning how to abandon the habits that we get caught in that create suffering.
Remembering, it’s the energy-effort to turn toward our experience & allow, accept whatever our experience is. It is not the energy -effort to try & change anything, not the effort to attain anything in particular, not trying to become anyone. It’s the energy-To turn towards our experience, to sustain the energy, to see something different, something new-
Asking: Is there energy right now or not? “Is this suffering or not suffering? Is this wholesome or not wholesome?” Check and see, are you applying effort by striving or by relaxing? How do you know if you are applying the right amount of effort?** Too much, agitated? Restlessness? Not enough, sinking into sloth or torpor? Is it possible to come back into balance? Being present, neither too tight or too loose attention- OR…
**Reflect: Do you find that you are applying effort by striving or by softening, relaxing? How do you know if you are applying the right amount of effort? **Experiment with applying more effort in meditation. By mentally being alert & mindful of what is happening during the meditation or By sitting up straighter or by brisk walking meditation before sitting – If lying down raise your arm bending at the elbow, or your hand, or a finger. If applying more effort is agitating, try to match the increased effort with increased calm.
2) In daily life: The energy & effort of learning how to cultivate that which is skillful, wholesome — which means awareness, kindness, or caring for the world around you, or living more in the present and the energy, effort to abandon the habits, the fears of things that we get caught in that create suffering that keeps stuck, and the energy-effort to sustain them. This is a teaching that applies to our sitting & daily life;. Our life is made up of little activities, little habits, And we can begin to work with the way we drive our car, ride our bike, walk. The way that we relate to people at work, or the way we eat, what we choose to eat,— to make activities more conscious. To make our approach to daily life with greater mindfulness, awareness, attention, with more caring, kindness. Reflect: What are a few things in your own life that could benefit by bringing a little more of this energy, this effort- more attention? or the energy-effort to let go and abandon? What could you use in some way to wake up more, to awaken?
Please do your best with at least one of the following Reflections & Practices (a-c).
a) Reflections: How easy is it for you to stay with a task until it is completed? How do you relate to obstacles or difficulties that arise? Do you have the persistence to be with them? Do you work on tasks past a point of diminishing returns?
Practices: This week decide to complete a task that you have been intending to do, but haven’t. Notice your energy level when you think about doing this task, when you’re about to begin the task, while you’re doing the task & after you’ve completed the task. When did you feel the most energetic? Which part required the most energy? Did any give you energy? How might this affect your practice?
b) Reflections: Which requires more energy for you- releasing or acquiring? Which gives you more energy – releasing or acquiring? How does this affect your meditation practice? How does this affect the quality of your life?
Practices: This week decide to let go of an object or a habit that you believe hinders your meditation practice. It doesn’t have to be a big item or habit, but a meaningful one. Notice your energy level as you contemplate letting go of this item, as you let go and after letting go. What took the most energy? Which step gave you the most energy?
c) Reflections: In the list of the Seven Factors or Awakening, energy is listed after investigation & before joy. Why do you think this is? Do you experience a relationship between investigation and energy? Do you experience a relationship between energy and joy?
Practices: Explore or study something that is interesting to you. It could be as simply as looking something up in Google or Wikipedia, or talking to an “expert” about something you’ve been curious about. While investigating, notice your energy level & your sense of well-being. Have they increased or decreased since you’ve started investigating? During the week, pay attention if a sense of well-being arises. How is your energy level when you have a sense of well-being?
3) Continue this month of practice-.
When the awakening factors are present there is no room for the hindrances. The hindrances are absent. One simple way of understanding our practice is to nurture or let go-to release or let go, of the hindrances and to strengthen or cultivate the awakening factors. It is possible to be mindful of the hindrances as an object of meditation Both in formal practice & daily life practice! This Month explore energy & Restlessness & sloth or torpor.
Recollect that the awakening factors point to freedom-free from greed, hatred, delusion- We can experience that in clear moments when the hindrances are absent. Might be nano-seconds and those moments can begin to grow .Awakening is a verb, a process!
Hindrance Hint: If a hindrance arises- get to know it And If what is arising is too difficult in this moment-open to your anchor or the 3 E’s- eyebrows, earlobe, elbow. Sometimes it is skillful when something is very strong to put it aside, especially if you’re willing to open to it when there is more steadiness of heart & mind. Requires patience.
4) Walking Meditation: Be Mindful when you are walking. Gently aware of the feet making contact with the ground.
5) Gratitude Practices: 3 things you are grateful for daily. Email or Text your buddies.
6) Pause Meditation: (Several times in your day)
7) Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s book, Factors For Awakening, https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/#FactorsforAwakening Please read pages 18-22
8) Please read daily, The Seven Factors of Awakening: Notice in sitting practice & daily life when any of the above states of heart or mind are present in your body, heart, and mind.
- Mindfulness (sati)
Being aware of what is happening in the present moment - Investigation (dhamma-vicaya)
Investigation supported by wisdom.
Understands what are skillful/healthy/beneficial states of mind
and what are not. - Energy (viriya)-Diligence, effort.
Increased engagement with practice, especially freeing oneself from unskillful states. - Joy (piti)
Feeling of delight, rapture.
Touching that which is refreshing and beautiful, both within and without.
Arises when attention is absorbed - Tranquility (passaddhi)
Calming and stilling of body/ mind,
Ease, quietness of mind, relaxation - Concentration (samadhi)
The mind is focused, settled, steady and composed
The mind becomes unified around what we’re concentrating on,
one-pointedness of mind. - Equanimity (upekkha)
Balance, spaciousness, and non-reactivity of mind,
balance in the face of change, being aware of all phenomena w/o grasping or aversion
Sublime and extremely satisfying state of heart/mind
8) Please get to know, The Five Hindrances: Can you surround each with acceptance?
- Sense-desire: wanting, lust or greed, craving-fantasy.
- Aversion: ill will, hatred, anger, fear, boredom, annoyance, irritation, impatience, judging- guilt.
- Sloth & torpor: sleepiness, sluggishness, dullness, fogginess, lack of vitality.
- Restlessness and worry: anxiousness, agitation, nervousness, jumpiness.
- Doubt: Uncertainty, self doubt, skeptical doubt, uncertainty/indecision
A Gentle Hindrance Hint: How did-do we relate when these Hindrances arise in meditation & in our daily life? The best way is to relate with skillfulness is to recognize, know what is happening in the present, to be mindful. Simply acknowledge the hindrance is that has arisen in this moment in your life, in your practice. If possible, touch them with your heart. To connect with tenderness or caring, to befriend the hindrance, do your best not to judge them.
Click here for a PDF of the home practices.
Seven Factors of Awakening –A Year Living These Treasures- Home practices #4
(Next class 5/10/24 at 6:00-8:30pm). HAVE FUN with these practices!
1) Sit every day. Try sitting for a minimum of 15-30 minutes per day. (More if you are able) Practice your meditation in silence.
Start your sitting practice remembering your intention to be Mindful, the first factor
of awakening. Asking: “What is being know right now? Is Mindfulness present right now or not? (laugh if not) Is it possible to connect with any quality of Mindfulness? Or to notice how the mind feels, when mindfulness is present. Get to know a sense of awareness, alertness, presence, or even a subtly pleasant quality of mindfulness.
This month, open to Investigation, the second factor of Awakening.
Investigation allows us to look at our experience in a very fresh, inquiring way-it’s being with our experience with openness. Investigation has to do with a silent inquiry of our experience- We are not analyzing or trying to fix anything, or trying to figure it out- Instead we are learning what’s wholesome, skillful, beneficial (kusala-)& what is not (Akusala) **More info on investigation at the end of home practices
Asking: Is there interest and curiosity about your experience? Asking the question itself is a form of investigation. Helps us not to assume that things are a certain way-not to draw conclusions without inquiring if they are true.
Technically this factor is known as investigation of Dharma’s – the 3 characteristics of all experiences- Knowing Impermanence– that everything changes–
Knowing Imperfect– experience is unsatisfactory, often we are discontented –we want more, or afraid of losing it, or don’t like it so we push away, or neutral- space out- just not satisfied Knowing impersonal—not self -it doesn’t belong to me, I am not in control of it. These 3 help us to release whatever the clinging is. Investigation discerns & illuminates the truth through discriminating wisdom-Knowing what’s what. Is there interest & curiosity, about your experience, right now or not? Begin to understand what are wholesome/skillful states of mind & what are not. It’s like we are turning on a light in a dark room & seeing clearly. Investigation can be understood as turning on the question, “What is this?” or ”What is happening? & letting the light of that question reveal the particulars of the present moment experience. (also see how we react to what is happening)
2) Continue this month of practice-. (Investigation can counter the hindrance of doubt)
When the awakening factors are present there is no room for the hindrances. The hindrances are absent. One simple way of understanding our practice is to nurture or let go-to release or let go, of the hindrances and to strengthen or cultivate the awakening factors. It is possible to be mindful of the hindrances as an object of meditation Both in formal practice & daily life practice! Recollect that the awakening factors point to freedom-free from greed, hatred, delusion- We can experience that in clear moments when the hindrances are absent. Might be nano-seconds and those moments can begin to grow .Awakening is a verb, a process!
Hindrance Hint: If a hindrance arises- get to know it And If what is arising is too difficult in this moment-open to your anchor or the 3 E’s- eyebrows, earlobe, elbow. Sometimes it is skillful when something is very strong to put it aside, especially if you’re willing to open to it when there is more steadiness of heart & mind. Requires patience.
3) Walking Meditation: Be Mindful when you are walking. Gently aware of the feet making contact with the ground.
4) Gratitude Practices: 3 things you are grateful for daily. Email or Text your buddies.
5) Pause Meditation: (Several times in your day)
6) Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s book, Factors For Awakening, https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/#FactorsforAwakening Please read pages 13-17
7) Please read daily, The Seven Factors of Awakening: Notice in sitting practice & daily life when any of the above states of heart or mind are present in your body, heart, and mind.
1. Mindfulness (sati)
Being aware of what is happening in the present moment
2. Investigation (dhamma-vicaya)
Investigation supported by wisdom.
Understands what are skillful/healthy/beneficial states of mind
and what are not.
3. Energy (viriya)-Diligence, effort.
Increased engagement with practice, especially freeing oneself from unskillful states.
4. Joy (piti)
Feeling of delight, rapture.
Touching that which is refreshing and beautiful, both within and without.
Arises when attention is absorbed
5. Tranquility (passaddhi)
Calming and stilling of body/ mind,
Ease, quietness of mind, relaxation
6. Concentration (samadhi)
The mind is focused, settled, steady and composed
The mind becomes unified around what we’re concentrating on,
one-pointedness of mind.
7. Equanimity (upekkha)
Balance, spaciousness, and non-reactivity of mind,
balance in the face of change, being aware of all phenomena w/o grasping or aversion
Sublime and extremely satisfying state of heart/mind
8) Please get to know, The Five Hindrances: Can you surround each with acceptance?
- Sense-desire: wanting, lust or greed, craving-fantasy.
- Aversion: ill will, hatred, anger, fear, boredom, annoyance, irritation, impatience, judging- guilt.
- Sloth & torpor: sleepiness, sluggishness, dullness, fogginess, lack of vitality.
- Restlessness and worry: anxiousness, agitation, nervousness, jumpiness.
- Doubt: Uncertainty, self doubt, skeptical doubt, uncertainty/indecision
A Gentle Hindrance Hint: How did-do we relate when these Hindrances arise in meditation & in our daily life? The best way is to relate with skillfulness is to recognize, know what is happening in the present, to be mindful. Simply acknowledge the hindrance is that has arisen in this moment in your life, in your practice. If possible, touch them with your heart. To connect with tenderness or caring, to befriend the hindrance, do your best not to judge them.
9) **More on Investigation: Investigation is awakening from ignorance. It is the wisdom factor of the mind, the investigation of truth. This factor discerns & illuminates the truth by discriminating wisdom. It distinguishing between what is skillful to the development of our practice & what is not. We discern to abandon the unwholesome & to cultivate the wholesome. We can choose to cultivate the wholesome & let go of the unwholesome. Example: If you feel an inclination to be generous, you can choose to water the seeds of generosity by following through on that inclination. Or you may be able to distinguish mean-spirited feelings & choose to let them go.
Questions to explore:
- Is this experience/action skillful or unskillful? Unskillful actions stem from desire, aversion, delusion. Skillful actions are rooted in generosity, compassion, loving-kindness. This can be our moral compass.
- Is this a habit pattern, a tendency?
- Are you taking this personally?
- Do you understand the nature of thought?
Click here for a PDF of the home practices.
Seven Factors of Awakening –A Year Living These Treasures- Home practices #3
(Next class 4/12/24 at 6:00-8:30pm) . HAVE FUN with these practices!
As you begin this month of practice- Get to know the reciprocal relationship between the 5 hindrances and the 7 factors of Awakening. When any of the Hindrances are present, by definition the awakening factors are absent. The opposite is also true. When the awakening factors are present there is no room for the hindrances. The hindrances are absent. One simple way of understanding our practice is to nurture or let go-to release or let go, of the hindrances and to strengthen or cultivate the awakening factors. It is possible to be mindful of the hindrances as an object of meditation Both in formal practice & daily life practice!
Recollect that the awakening factors point to freedom-free from greed, hatred, delusion- We can experience that in clear moments when the hindrances are absent. Might be nano-seconds and those moments can begin to grow .Ahh..Awakening is a verb, a process!
1) Sit every day. Try sitting for a minimum of 15-30 minutes per day. (more if you are able) Please practice your meditation in silence. Experiment with not using apps.
Recollect: Mindfulness helps us to see things as they are. Mindfulness deconditions the mind. In practice, we are meeting our past, our conditioning, our habits, tendencies-With Mindfulness we are meeting our conditioning & we are letting go. We are not reinforcing that which led to sorrow, agitation, worry, fear- instead nourishing awakening- Every moment of Mindfulness is a moment of awakening.
Start your sitting practice remembering your intention to be Mindful, the first factor
of awakening. Ask: “What is being know right now? Is Mindfulness present right now or not? (laugh if not) Is it possible to connect with any quality of Mindfulness? Any foundation of Mindfulness? With Mindfulness, begin to notice how the mind feels, when mindfulness is present. Perhaps, in getting to know a sense of awareness, alertness, presence, you might recognize a subtly pleasant quality of mindfulness. HINT: If a Hindrance arises- get to know it And If what is arising is too difficult in this moment-open to your anchor or the 3 E’s- eyebrows, earlobe, elbow. Sometimes it is skillful when something is very strong to put it aside, especially if you’re willing to come back to it when there is more steadinesses of heart and mind. It requires patience.
2) Walking Meditation: Be Mindful when you are walking. Gently aware of the feet making contact with the ground.
3) Gratitude Practices: Write down, 3 things you are grateful for each day. Can be anything. Email or Text them to your buddies.
4) Pause Meditation: (Several times in your day)
- Simply Pause
- Feel your feet on the floor
- Shift into relaxation-Soften muscles where you feel tension-
- Notice how the body feels,
- Widen attention over the entire body — Inhabit the body-
- Pay attention as if listening to body- and float the question, “What is happening right now?”
- Listen for the answer and let it go. Feel your feet on the floor.
5) Continue to Practice your Mindful activity of add another one in – Just pick an activity that you engage in daily—a simple, routine activity. Commit to integrating mindfulness into that activity every day. Such as: brushing one’s teeth, taking a shower, driving, standing, eating, walking, (up & down stairs), lying down, etc.
6) Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s book, Factors For Awakening, https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/#FactorsforAwakening Please read the chapter, pages 1-8 and Mindfulness 9-12 (if you haven’t already!)
7) Please read daily, The Seven Factors of Awakening: Notice in sitting practice & daily life when any of the above states of heart or mind are present in your body, heart, mind.
- Mindfulness (sati)
Being aware of what is happening in the present moment - Investigation (dhamma-vicaya)
Investigation supported by wisdom.
Understands what are skillful/healthy/beneficial states of mind
And what are not. - Energy (viriya)-Diligence, effort.
Increased engagement with practice, especially freeing oneself from unskillful states. - Joy (piti)
Feeling of delight, rapture.
Touching that which is refreshing and beautiful, both within and without.
Arises when attention is absorbed - Tranquility (passaddhi)
Calming and stilling of body/ mind,
Ease, quietness of mind, relaxation - Concentration (samadhi)
The mind is focused, settled, steady and composed
The mind becomes unified around what we’re concentrating on,
one-pointedness of mind. - Equanimity (upekkha)
Balance, spaciousness, and non-reactivity of mind,
balance in the face of change, being aware of all phenomena w/o grasping or aversion
Sublime and extremely satisfying state of heart/mind
8) Please get to know, The Five Hindrances:
- Sense-desire: wanting, lust or greed, craving-fantasy.
- Aversion: ill will, hatred, anger, fear, boredom, annoyance, irritation, impatience, judging- guilt.
- Sloth & torpor: sleepiness, sluggishness, dullness, fogginess, lack of vitality.
- Restlessness and worry: anxiousness, agitation, nervousness, jumpiness.
- Doubt: Uncertainty, self doubt, skeptical doubt, uncertainty/indecision
A Gentle Hindrance Hint: How did-do we relate when these Hindrances arise in meditation & in our daily life? The best way is to relate with skillfulness is to recognize, know what is happening in the present, to be mindful. Simply acknowledge the hindrance is that has arisen in this moment in your life, in your practice. If possible, touch them with your heart. To connect with tenderness or caring, to befriend the hindrance, do your best not to judge them.
Click here for a PDF of the home practices.
Home Practices #2
***(Next class 3/8/24 at 6:00-8:30pm)
HAVE FUN with these practices!
Get to know the preciousness of this life, of this moment
1) Sit every day. Try sitting for a minimum of 15-30 minutes per day. (more if you are able) Please practice your meditation in silence. Experiment with not using apps.
Start your sitting practice by calling to mind the qualities of Mindfulness:
Not forgetting what is before the mind in the present moment,
Presence of mind is standing near,
Remembering what is skillful, beneficial and what is not,
Close association with Wisdom through attention and clear comprehension. Listen to and be Mindful of whatever presents itself.
Also be Aware of any of the 4 Foundations of Mindfulness:
The body and it’s sensations (Sitting-touch points, sounds breathing) Or
The feeling tone, texture of your experience (Pleasant, Unpleasant, Neutral) Or
The condition of the mind clarity, alertness, quietness, busyness, greedy or not greedy, angry or not angry, deluded, confused or clear and stable OR an activity of the mind thinking about past of future, OR
Mindfulness of the Dhammas or Laws of Nature-Any Factor of awakening* arising or any hindrance* arising. (*see end of home practices for the lists of them) You can also simply sustain a present moment attentiveness- to know what your experience is.
Ask: “What is being know right now? Is Mindfulness present right now or not? (laugh if not) Ask, “How can I connect with this quality of Mindfulness?”
2) Walking Meditation: Be Mindful when you are walking. Gently be aware of the feet making contact with the ground.
3) Gratitude Practices: Write down, 3 things you are grateful for each day. Can be anything. Email them and if you all prefer to Text –exchange text info via e-mail and text your 3 gratitude’s daily. They can be 3 words or a phrase or a sentence.
4) Buddies and Groups: Make contact with you buddies. Decide how you will work together, what day & time you will meet, how frequently (could be monthly, once a month, twice a month, every week) Decide zoom, phone call, etc. Take time to discuss the practices you practiced in this second home practice sheet. If you don’t have a group, please let CIMC office know.
5) Practice the Mindful activity you wrote in the chat- Just one that you engage in daily—a simple, routine activity. Commit to integrating mindfulness into that activity every day. Such as: brushing one’s teeth, taking a shower, driving, standing, eating, walking, (up & down stairs), lying down, etc. This activity is designed to help bring mindfulness into your daily life.
6) Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s book, Factors For Awakening, will be our shared text. https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/#FactorsforAwakening Please read the chapter, Factors For Awakening pages 1-8 and Mindfulness 9-12
First Home practice:
7) Please read daily, silently or out loud, The Seven Factors of Awakening:
- Mindfulness (sati)
Being aware of what is happening in the present moment
2. Investigation (dhamma-vicaya)
Investigation supported by wisdom.
Understands what are skillful/healthy/beneficial states of mind
And what are not.
3. Energy (viriya)-Diligence, effort.
Increased engagement with practice, especially freeing oneself from unskillful states.
4. Joy (piti)
Feeling of delight, rapture.
Touching that which is refreshing and beautiful, both within and without.
Arises when attention is absorbed
5. Tranquility (passaddhi)
Calming and stilling of body/ mind,
Ease, quietness of mind, relaxation
6. Concentration (samadhi)
The mind is focused, settled, steady and composed
The mind becomes unified around what we’re concentrating on,
one-pointedness of mind.
7. Equanimity (upekkha)
Balance, spaciousness, and non-reactivity of mind,
balance in the face of change, being aware of all phenomena w/o grasping or aversion
Sublime and extremely satisfying state of heart/mind
8) Notice in sitting practice and daily life when: (Please be gentle with this exercise. We are starting slowly.
- any of the above states of heart or mind are present in your body, heart, mind. Even for a moment.
- any of the above they are not present even for a moment.
9) Please read daily, silently or out loud, The Five Hindrances:
- Sense-desire: wanting, lust or greed, craving-fantasy.
- Aversion: ill will, hatred, anger, fear, boredom, annoyance, irritation, impatience, judging-mind, guilt.
- Sloth & torpor: sleepiness, sluggishness, dullness, fogginess, lack of vitality.
- Restlessness and worry: anxiousness, agitation, nervousness, jumpiness.
- Doubt: Uncertainty, self doubt, skeptical doubt, uncertainty/indecision
A Gentle Hindrance Hint: How did-do we relate when these Hindrances arise in meditation & in our daily life? The best way is to relate with skillfulness is to recognize, know what is happening in the present, to be mindful. Simply acknowledge what the hindrance is that has arisen in this moment in your life, in your practice. If possible, touch them with your heart. To connect with tenderness or caring, to befriend the hindrance, do your best not to judge them.
Click here for a PDF of the home practices.
Home Practices #1
***(Next class 2/9/24 at 6:00-8:30pm)
1) Sit every day. Try sitting for a minimum of 15-30 minutes per day. (more if you are able) Please practice your meditation in silence. (Newer to practice 10 minutes a day– & check out CIMC”S Beginner Drop-in, Beginners workshop, Way of Awareness.)
2) Gratitude Practices: Write down, 3 things you are grateful for each day. Can be anything. When Buddies are assigned: Email them and if you all prefer to Text –exchange text info via e-mail and text your 3 gratitude’s daily. They can be 3 words or a phrase or a sentence. (More buddy info in next class)
3) Setting A Year Long Intention, Vow, Dedication: Finish writing your year long intention, vow, dedication. (What is my motivation in the Seven Factors of Awakening-A Year of Living these Treasures? What is my aspiration in life? What is my intention/vow right now?) Then put it someplace where you keep special things. Then, as you go through the year, let it be your compass, your underlying direction, in spite of changing outer circumstances. Let it carry you.
4) Please read daily, silently or out loud, The Seven Factors of Awakening:
- Mindfulness (sati)
Being aware of what is happening in the present moment - Investigation (dhamma-vicaya)
Investigation supported by wisdom.
Understands what are skillful/healthy/beneficial states of mind
And what are not. - Energy (viriya)-Diligence, effort.
Increased engagement with practice, especially freeing oneself from unskillful states.
4. Joy (piti)
Feeling of delight, rapture.
Touching that which is refreshing and beautiful, both within and without.
Arises when attention is absorbed - Tranquility (passaddhi)
Calming and stilling of body/ mind,
Ease, quietness of mind, relaxation - Concentration (samadhi)
The mind is focused, settled, steady and composed
The mind becomes unified around what we’re concentrating on,
one-pointedness of mind. - Equanimity (upekkha)
Balance, spaciousness, and non-reactivity of mind,
balance in the face of change, being aware of all phenomena w/o grasping or aversion
Sublime and extremely satisfying state of heart/mind
5) Notice in sitting practice and daily life when:
- any of the above states of heart or mind are present in your body, heart, mind. Even for a moment.
- any of the above they are not present even for a moment.
- Please be gentle with this exercise. We are starting slowly.
6) Please read daily, silently or out loud, The Five Hindrances:
- Sense-desire: wanting, lust or greed, craving-fantasy.
- Aversion: ill will, hatred, anger, fear, boredom, annoyance, irritation, impatience, judging-mind, guilt.
- Sloth & torpor: sleepiness, sluggishness, dullness, fogginess, lack of vitality.
- Restlessness and worry: anxiousness, agitation, nervousness, jumpiness.
- Doubt: Uncertainty, self doubt, skeptical doubt, uncertainty/indecision
A Gentle Hindrance Hint: How did-do we relate when these Hindrances arise in meditation & in our daily life? The best way is to relate with skillfulness is to recognize, know what is happening in the present, to be mindful. Simply acknowledge what the hindrance is that has arisen in this moment in your life, in your practice. If possible, touch them with your heart. To connect with tenderness or caring, to befriend the hindrance, do your best not to judge them.
HAVE FUN!!
7) Book & Guidelines: No reading this month Factors For Awakening – (for those who want a book) It can be found online here (in HTML, PDF, epub, mobi,etc.)
8) Agreed upon Guidelines for Yearlong Program. Practicing the ways below, together, every month can support us in our everyday lives thru noticing our immediate reactions. Remembering that we have an opportunity to pause, check in, & choose how we respond.
- Show up. Pay Attention. Speak your truth without blame or judgment. Let go of outcome and be open to outcome.
- All perspectives are welcome here. Notice your reaction to what is shared and have that be your practice in that moment.
- Everything we do here is voluntary. It is a courageous & generous act to share. It is a compassionate & generous act to deeply listen.
- Speak about what’s alive for you in this moment from your heart, your own experience, refrain from intellectual or philosophical sharing or long story telling, notice if may be judging or blaming another’s perspective. Is it possible to talk from a place of kindness and love?
- Notice what arises as you speak. Are we in touch with what is true and alive or we wanting to impress, to feel important, to be liked?
- Listen deeply; notice what arises within you as you listen. Where do we go when someone says something we agree with? When we hear something that triggers us?
- Please be lean of expression, meaning be mindful to stay on point vs. going tangential. We are a large group, and it would be good to hear from as many voices as possible. WAIT “Why Am I Talking?”
- If you’ve already spoken, think twice before choosing to speak again as it would be good to hear from those who have not yet
- Please refrain from offering advice unless it is specifically solicited or unless you ask the person’s permission.
- Please honor confidentiality. If you need to share with others out-side of this circle, please share from your own direct experience not that of other members in the sangha.-community
The next two were added from the workshop-chat ( I changed the second one to fit the program)
- Assume best intention from others.
- Share the learning you understood from the teachings & practices, not the personal story.
- rMay 28, 2024
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- rNovember 2023
- rOctober 2023
- rSeptember 26, 2023
- rSeptember 12, 2023
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HOME PRACTICE for May 28, 2024 Elders Sangha
We picked up on the theme of gentleness and kindness in our practice, which was sounded during the last session in the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, who always reminded us that happiness was close at hand by touching the present moment with our mindfulness.
We introduced this poem, or Vajra Song, which Larry Rosenberg would often hand out near the end of his 9-day IMS retreats as a reminder to release our grasping and relax our striving.
“Free and Easy” – A Spontaneous Vajra Song
by Venerable Lama Gendun Rinpoche
Happiness cannot be found through
great effort and willpower,
but is already present,
in open relaxation and letting go.
Don’t strain yourself,
there is nothing to do or undo.
Whatever momentarily arises
in the body-mind
Has no real importance at all,
has little reality whatsoever.
Why identify with,
And become attached to it,
Passing Judgment upon it and ourselves?
Far better to simply
let the entire game happen on its own,
springing up and falling back like waves
without changing or manipulating anything
and notice how everything
vanishes and reappears, magically,
Again and again, time without end.
Only our searching for happiness
prevents us from seeing it.
It’s like a vivid rainbow which you pursue
without ever catching,
or a dog chasing it’s own tail.
Although peace and happiness
do not exist as an actual thing or place,
it is always available
and accompanies you every instant.
Don’t believe in the reality
of good and bad experiences;
they are today’s ephemeral weather,
like rainbows in the sky.
Wanting to grasp the ungraspable,
you exhaust yourself in vain.
As soon as you open and relax
this tight fist of grasping,
infinite space is there –
open, inviting and comfortable.
Make use of this spaciousness, this
freedom and natural ease.
Don’t search any further
looking for the great awakened elephant,
who is already resting quietly at home
in front of your own hearth.
Nothing to do or undo,
nothing to force,
nothing to want,
And nothing missing.
Emaho! Marvelous!
Everything happens by itself.
HOME PRACTICE for May 15, 2024
Why do I meditate? What calls me to sit? Does Meditation help me to manage suffering?
Thich Naht Hanh in Tricycle (June 28, 2017) talks about the energy of mindfulness helping us to no longer be afraid of being overwhelmed by the energy of suffering.
Mindfulness can be defined as learning to bring our attention to the present moment and seeing what arises, without judgment or bias. Paying attention to exactly what is, and being able to be with what arises from that seeing.
Meditating is a training ground for mindfulness. We learn it on the cushion, and slowly move it into a way of life, off the cushion.
Pema Chodron, in The Wisdom of No Escape, talks about three qualities we can cultivate, in our mindfulness meditation, and in our living a mindful life. They are precision, gentleness, and the ability to let go.
Precision – to see clearly ourselves and our world, with honesty.
Gentleness – to incline ourselves, our attitude, to gentleness, relaxation. No critic.
Letting go – to notice our mind is telling a story, is part of the narrative, and let it go.
We soften ourselves, our attention, our breath, with precision and gentleness. We learn to befriend ourselves. By befriending ourselves, we can befriend the world.
Sebene Salassie: “Our practice is our whole life. It’s not about the fifteen or thirty minutes on the cushion; it’s about seeing how much presence, awareness, kindness, joy, and freedom we’re bringing to each moment.”
Things to ponder:
Why do you meditate? Do you feel that you can take your mindfulness off the cushion and into your daily life?
Do the terms “precision, gentleness, and letting go” resonate with anything you’re experiencing or have experienced – in your meditation practice or in your life? Or conversely, are any of the terms off-putting or simply don’t work for you?
Poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, called “With Astonishing Tenderness.”
When, in the middle of the night,
you wake with the certainty you’ve
done it all wrong, when you wake
and see clearly all the places you’ve failed,
in that moment, when dreams will not return,
this is the chance for your softest voice—
the one you reserve for those you love most—
to say to you quietly, oh sweetheart,
this is not yet the end of the story.
Sleep will not come, but somehow,
in that wide awake moment there is peace—
the kind of peace that does not need
everything to be right before it arrives.
The peace that comes from not fighting
what is real. The peace that rises
in the dark on its sure dark wings
to meet you exactly as you are.
Practice and Compassion
There are times when things seem to fall apart, times we need to remember our practice, and compassion. It’s often useful to remember the Buddha’s First Noble Truth – There is suffering. And that all is impermanent, one of the Buddha’s Three marks of existence. And the Five Recollections: We age, we can get ill, we will die, we will know loss, my actions are my only true belongings.
We seem to suffer most when we are attached to the way things are, when we are full of aversion to change, to impermanence.
From Tricycle, Cultivating Courage (intro, Feb 8, 2024):
We must become brave in the face of all we fear. The Buddha as an embodiment of Compassionate Courage. We must learn to not turn away. To stay present. To meet every challenge and difficulty with compassion…. That courage isn’t about battling our demons so much as it is about dropping our armor – opening our hearts to embrace all of our experience.
Pema Chodron’s book – When Things Fall Apart. She talks how the practice of metta, and of compassion, can create a steadiness and peace, that is independent of condition. And as we steady and ground ourselves, we offer it to others.
Which requires Attention, Intention, and Effort, to support this steadiness.
From Pema: We need room for it all, the entire gamut of our feelings, of life. We are vulnerable, we are tender, and we can touch in on that vulnerability, that tenderness. We can hold ourselves with compassion.
What is compassion? From Sharon Salzberg: “Compassion is known in Buddhist teaching as the quivering of the heart in response to pain or suffering.” Which requires bearing witness, to our pain and the pain of others. Even when it feels unbearable. We can offer kindness rather than withdraw.
Things to ponder:
What does compassion mean to you? Self-compassion? Compassion for others.
When compassion feels too hard, how might you use practice and sangha to help?
Allow – Danna Faulds
There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt, containing a tornado.
Dam a stream and it will create a new channel.
Resist, and the tide will sweep you off your feet.
Allow, and grace will carry you to higher ground.
The only safety lies in letting it all in —
the wild and weak —
fear, fantasies, failures, and success.
When loss rips off the doors of the heart
or sadness veils your vision with despair,
practice becomes simply bearing the truth.
In the choice to let go of your known way of being,
the whole world is revealed to your new eyes.
2/13/24
We talked about viewing things in new ways. For example Sayadaw U Tejaniya says the mind “never wanders, where would it go?”.
Even though we have all used that language of the ‘wandering mind’, since it feels experientially true, U Tejaniya says that the mind is merely becoming absorbing into our thinking instead of absorbing into our breath, body sensations, or whatever object we originally chose. Does using that language give us a different perspective?
Another example is the wonderful way that Thich Nhat Hanh has used language to describe the steps of meditation practice. This video, called “Stop Running,” which was mentioned in our session, is a wonderful example of using the word “stopping’ to describe the practices of calming the mind, traditionally called Samatha practice.
Also mentioned was this technique, called the Six R’s, that describes the steps of coming back from the “wandering mind” or the “mind absorbed in thinking” when this inevitably happens:
Six R’s – Ven. Vimalaramsi
Recognize – What we are attending to: A plan, scheduling, a memory, a fantasy, a brilliant idea?
Release – the energy around thinking about that now. It can be done later.
Relax – Any tension in the body that resulted from the thinking
Re-smile – Came back to resting in the present moment
Reconnect – your attention to the breath or your meditation object
Resume – wash, rinse, repeat!
Refuge and Sangha
Traditional Buddhist Precepts ceremony: Taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha.
Sangha as a refuge, a way to be connected, be supported, a way to offer support to others.
Thich Nhat Hanh: “Members of your sangha may be your child, your partner, and a beautiful path in the woods. The blue sky and beautiful trees are also members of your sangha.” (Tricycle, The Next Buddha may be a Sangha, Jan 22, 2023)
Sangha as an essential part of our practice; it can hold us, make a container for us.
Thich Nhat Hanh: “The next Buddha may take the form of a community, a community practicing mindful living. And the practice can be carried out as a group, as a city, as a nation.” (Tricycle, Jan 22, 2023)
Zen Peacemaker’s Order, Three Tenets: Not Knowing, Bearing Witness, Loving Action.
In Sangha, we bear witness to others; they bear witness to us.
As elders, we can be held, and we can hold others. Sharing the wisdom of aging.
Larry Rosenberg: Our Practice is the Practice of Intimacy. Intimacy with ourselves, with others, with the present moment. (CIMC Newsletter Jan 31, 2023; Mar 3, 2023.)
In Sangha, we can be reminded of our own Buddha nature.
Thich Nhat Hanh poem, from (from “Call me by My True Names – The Collected Poems of Thich Nhat Hanh”, Parallax Press, 2005.)
You are me and I am you.
Isn’t obvious that we inter-are?
You cultivate the flower in yourself
so that I will be beautiful.
I transform the garbage in myself
so that you don’t have to suffer.
I support you – you support me.
I am here to bring you peace,
you are here to bring me joy.
November 28, 2023
We discussed using the Four Noble Truths as a daily refuge and actual framework for exploring stress, (Dukkha), and the cessation of Dukkha, in other words, as a practice instead of a view.
Readings from a wonderful little book from Ajahn Sumedho were discussed.
Here is the link to download a free copy of his revised book on the Four Noble Truths. This site is a rich treasure of Dharma writings and talks from Ajahn Sumedho and the other U.K. forest sangha.
November 14, 2023
Intentions, Effort, and Hooks.
We have intentions, aspirations, things we wish to do, ways we wish to be. This is often hard, especially in times of inner and outer distress, of high emotion. We need effort, often, to stay true to these intentions, to help us to make them manifest. And so we work with Wise Intention and Wise Effort, path factors on the Eightfold Path.
How do I use my practice to support my intention? How can my practice help me to notice what I’m doing, where I’m distracting myself from my intention? We come back to the breath, to our body. We come back to attention, noticing what is attracting us, what we’re pushing away. And being with that, accepting even our resistance.
From the early suttas:
Wise Intention: Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis on which your mind is established. (SN 12.40)
Wise Effort: And when we notice our tendency is towards the not-so-skillful, or the non-beneficial, we need to Rouse the will, make an effort, stir up energy, exert our mind, and strive. (MN 141)
From Pema Chodron –
Don’t Bite the Hook (audiobook).
“How we get hooked, and how we can unhooked.” (Lion’s Roar, Jan 13, 2023).
Shenpa, the urge, the hook, that triggers us into tightening, into contraction, into habit. How can we not get hooked? We use effort to remember our practice of being with what is. With effort, we practice not contracting; by accepting that realities of impermanence and change.
By noticing, and accepting, we create space, and allow for possibility of not biting that hook. The global hook; personal hook. Both so important. We practice being with what is, seeing how we might be resisting, and loosening into the reality of what is.
We use our practice to not get hooked, to remember our intentions, and to use our effort to come back to the breath, to our body, to our wholeness. And just be, right here, right now.
—
The CIMC Sangha Life Committee (SLC) is a group that represents different sanghas of the CIMC community. See more about them on the CIMC website:
https://cambridgeinsight.org/our-community/sangha-life-committee/
Kathy Holmes represents the Elders Sangha on the SLC. She invites any of the Elders Sangha who have questions or concerns, or are simply curious, to contact her via email. Please include “Elders” in the subject line. kholmes45@gmail.com
Adrift (Mark Nepo)
Everything is beautiful and I am so sad.
This is how the heart makes a duet of
wonder and grief. The light spraying
through the lace of the fern is as delicate
as the fibers of memory forming their web
around the knot in my throat. The breeze
makes the birds move from branch to branch
as this ache makes me look for those I’ve lost
in the next room, in the next song, in the laugh
of the next stranger. In the very center, under
it all, what we have that no one can take
away and all that we’ve lost face each other.
It is there that I’m adrift, feeling punctured
by a holiness that exists inside everything.
I am so sad and everything is beautiful.
She Let Go (Rev Safire Rose)
She let go.
She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.
She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
She didn’t read a book on how to let go.
She didn’t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.
She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn’t call the prayer line.
She didn’t utter one word.
She just let go.
No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone forevermore…
She Let Go (poem by Rev. Safire Rose, c. 2003)
She let go.
She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of the fear.
She let go of the judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.
Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.
She didn’t ask anyone for advice.
She didn’t read a book on how to let go.
She didn’t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.
She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn’t call the prayer line.
She didn’t utter one word.
She just let go.
No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort.
There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone forevermore…
Homework
Besides continuing or renewing your daily meditation practice, (Fall is a great time to recommit whole heartedly!) bring awareness to experiences of change:
Changes in outer circumstances
Changes in the body, changing emotions, recurring thought patterns, etc.
Watching the dance between resistance and letting go
Quotations from the talk on “Dealing with Change:”
N.Y.T. Op Ed “Stop Resisting Change,” Brad Stulberg
Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything is Changing – Including You, Brad Stulberg
“You have to become a chaos to give birth to a dancing star.” – Nietzsche
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it and join the dance.”- Alan Watts
“The sanctity of now” – Rupert Spira, You Are the Happiness You Seek
“When you’re completely in the now, you’re always standing in the middle of a sacred circle.” – Pema Chodron
Experiment with your personal ways of homecoming, centering.
It may be helpful to list them, knowing clearly what really helps.
Your daily practice, both meditation and throughout the day, moments of remembering, coming home to yourself, shifting from the world of distraction – (both external and within)
2) Hokusai (Most famous 19th century Japanese artist) Also most famous exponent of positive aging:
“Everything I have done before the age of 70 is not worth bothering with. At 75, I will have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am 80 you will see real progress. At 90 I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At 100, I shall be a marvelous artist. At 110, everything I create […] will jump to life as never before. […] I used to call myself Hokusai, but today I sign myself ‘The Old Man Mad About Drawing.”
7 Homecomings:
1) Breath
2) The body, beginning of meditation, including subtle body or energy body
3) The body in movement: Gentle stretching, etc.
Walking: slow, mindful walking or walking for exercise
Personal practice: “With great respect & love I bow to this body:
Home of the self (essence self), Vehicle for awakening
Abode of pure awareness
4) Sacred place
5) Natural world Finding refuge in nature
6) Daily practice: meditation ideally 20-30 minutes and awareness practice throughout the day
7) 3 words from Shiva Sutras: “Remembrance is Bhairava” (Bhairava means the Lord, Mystery, That which is beyond words, God)
**Any moment of remembrance is sacred (the inner shift to remembering your refuges, homecoming)**
Two more this morning: 1) Stopping 2) Awareness to the heart center
Inspiring interview with Brother David Steindl-Rast (97 years old)
Lessons from the Dharma for coping with a significant loss
1) The Five Recollections:
I am of the nature to age.
Aging is unavoidable.
I am the nature to get ill.
Illness is unavoidable.
I am the of the nature to die.
Death is unavoidable.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love
are of the nature to change.
There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings.
I cannot avoid the consequences of my actions.
My actions are the ground on which I stand.
2) Read The Magnanimous Heart by Narayan Helen Liebenson
3) Read Awakening Through Love: Unveiling Your Deepest Goodness by Lama John Makransky
HOME PRACTICE for June 13, 2023 Elders
Our elder years are so often times of aging and separation and loss, often times of experiencing fear, and finding the courage to face that fear. How might we meet those fears, what can we practice to help us remember courage?
We can practice the Buddha’s Five Recollections, or Five Remembrances.
1. I am of the nature to grow old; there is no way to escape growing old.
2. I am of the nature to have ill health; there is no way to escape having ill health.
3. I am of the nature to die; there is no way to escape death.
4. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
5. My deeds are my closest companions. I am the beneficiary of my deeds. My deeds are the ground on which I stand.
In those recollections, we are reminded to let go of self, and to remember that what is happening to us is part of life, not personal nor punitive. We experience all that life offers, pleasure and pain; we are not exempt from the full gamut of life’s experiences.
We can practice Right View, the first of the path factors of the Eightfold Path. Right View can be a way of alleviating suffering. By seeing that what is happening is simply what is, we can alleviate the extra suffering we often add with our second arrows, by wanting things to be other than they are.
Thich Nhat Hanh: Right View is not an ideology, a system, or even a path. It is the insight we have into the reality of life, a living insight…
Right View is a compass, an aspiration, a reminder. It is an insight and an acceptance of the reality of things, of how life is.
We can accept being in the in-between place, and not knowing.
Pema Chodron: The in-between place: …We aren’t told all that much about this state of being in-between… The challenge is to let it soften us rather than make us more rigid and afraid. Becoming intimate with the queasy feeling of being in the middle of nowhere only makes our hearts more tender. When we are brave enough to stay in the middle, compassion rises.
Compassion for ourselves, for those we might be caring for, for all beings also experiencing the whole gamut of life.
Koan: Not-knowing is most intimate
It takes courage to be in this in-between place, this place of not knowing. We can remember to soften into intimacy, with ourselves, with the moment, with this in-between place.
Poem: Allow, by Danna Faulds: There is no controlling life.… and practice becomes simply bearing the truth… (You can access the entire poem via Google.)
From Larry Rosenberg:
May we continue to look into ourselves.
May we see things exactly as they are.
And may such clear, direct seeing free us.
May 9 Homework – Kate Beers
The Wisdom of the Body
Your body is always present:
1. Think of a time when your mind and thoughts told you one thing but your body reactions told you something else. For example, denying you are angry to yourself and others but your body reactions reveal that you angry.
2. Take sometime to discover and experience your own body sensations. For example, when angry, perhaps your jaw tightens, your breathing becomes forced, your eyes narrow, etc.
3. List a few words that reflect your deepest values; and, using them as a mantra, discover your body sensations. For example, Integrity; kindness, gratitude, grace.
Let yourself appreciate how your mind/body is fully connected.
References:
Awake Where You Are: The Art of Embodied Awareness by Martin Aylward
The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom by Willa Blythe Baker
Website:
Dialogue between John Makransky, Lama in Tibetan Buddhism and Richard Schwartz, Family systems therapist and founder of Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Becoming Our Compassionate Self: Integrating Parts of Ourselves into the Process of Spiritual Awakening
A Conversation Between Internal Family Systems and Tibetan Buddhism
April 11 Homework – Kate Beers
Bring kindness to your body
Suggestions:
• Metta / Body Scan
• Gentle Yoga
• Massage
Reference: Sharon Salzberg – Aging Wisely
Discover your own embodied wisdom
Meditate on a word or words that reflect a deep value and note your own body sensations. Allow yourself to experiment. Stay with words that fully resonate in your body. Let go of words that may feel conflicted. What do you discover?
Examples:
Gratitude, kindness, compassion, grace, integrity, authenticity, love, etc
References:
Martin Aylward – Awake Where You Are: The Art of Embodied Wisdom
John Makransky – Awakening Through Love: Unveiling Your Deepest Goodness
Our body is the first of the four foundations of Mindfulness – from the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha’s Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness. Often it’s our body where we first notice signs of aging, of becoming an elder.
The practice of acceptance, of ourself, of our body, of kindness towards ourselves, even our losses, is crucial. To accept, to witness ourselves, without judgement, and with care; to love them, to lean towards them, to embrace them.
Thich Nhat Hanh in his book No Mud, No Lotus, talks about the Sallatha Sutta, the Arrow sutta. The first arrow is that which happens, causes pain; the second arrow is fired by our own selves, is our reaction, our storyline, our anxiety. We add to our suffering with these second arrows.
Sharon Salzberg as she was turning 70 wrote a Tricycle article, Aging Wisely, with much the same themes – what happens to the body as we age as the first arrow, and “our tendency to rehearse some catastrophe, and thereby live it several times.” This rehearsing as the second arrow. One way to work with these, a doing a body scan along with the loving-kindness meditation; may each part of the body be happy.
Ruth King, in a Tricycle podcast, writes about kindness. “Kindness is a decision, a decision to incline the heart toward goodwill for all beings.”
Narayan tells of a Zen teaching:
A student asks his Zen master: How to be happy. The teacher replies: Complete unrestricted cooperation with the unavoidable.
Nancy Mujo Baker – “Living Without Why,” from Meister Eckhart. Without “why me, why now, why this?” Depersonalize the suffering that is innate in nature – the First Noble Truth: There is suffering. Personalizing our suffering is another form of second arrow.
How do we cooperate with those hard parts? What can we count on, rest in, to see us through, to sustain us. We come back to the first foundation, to our body, to our breath, to our center.
TNH poem – This Body is Not Me: (first lines)
This body is not me; I am not limited by this body,
I am life without boundaries.
Rumi poem –
I am not this hair
I am not this skin.
I am the soul
That lives within.
February 14, 2023 Homework
Focus on bringing metta or loving -kindness into both your meditation and at other times, perhaps using one of the traditional phrases. Examples: (create your own phrases)
May I and all beings live with loving-kindness
May I and all beings have ease of heart
May I and all being live with peaceful hearts
Refresh your practice. Always an invitation to re-commit to a daily practice of sitting meditation even if it’s for a short time. Increase your sitting to 20-30 minutes or more.
Remember how helpful it is to start with the body: a few minutes of gentle stretching or yoga shifts your energy and eases you into meditation more easily.
Simple exercise: breathing in metta, breathing out and sending metta to others
Reflections from the talk on Metta – loving kindness
Thich Nhat Hanh:
“Love is made of four elements: loving-kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), joy (mudita) and equanimity (upeksha). If your love contains these elements, it will be healing and transforming, and it will have the element of holiness in it. True love has the power to transform any situation and bring deep meaning to our lives.”
–From his little book How to Love
Love is a verb – it’s the energy of the heart
Unconditional love: Tulku Thondup’s book titled: The Heart of Unconditional Love: a Powerful New Approach to Loving-Kindness Meditation
“The good heart practice”
We can simply do what’s called ‘good heart practice,” called sampa zangpo in the Tibetan tradition.Tibetan Buddhist masters consider it the most important thing on the spiritual path, the dharma in a nutshell… It’s the universal dharma that can set our heart free from the constraint of self-centeredness, and from the inner poisons, like hatred and envy.” Anam Thubten
Rumi quotation:
“Always check your inner state with the lord of your heart.
Copper doesn’t know it’s copper until it’s changed to gold.
Your loving doesn’t know its majesty until it knows its helplessness.”
Thich Nhat Hanh:
“You need your own love very much. You have to be there for yourself . When you sit for meditation, you practice love.
January 10, 2023 Homework
Heroism, Courage, Love and Fear
Olivia Hoblitzelle: “The later years are most heroic.”
Heroism often requires effort and courage.
How do we remember to be the Heroes of our own lives?
How do we respond to our fears?
Metta – Love or Loving-Kindness – one of the four Brahmaviharas, the four Immeasurables, the Divine Abodes. The Buddha gave his Metta Sutta as the antidote to fear.
Metta as the antidote to fear. To confront Fear with Courage requires Love.
Here are some traditional Metta Sutta and phrase variations. Find or create what works for you.
May all beings be happy.
May they live in safety and joy.
All living beings,
Whether weak or strong,
Tall, stout, average or short,
Seen or unseen, near or distant,
Born or to be born,
May they all be happy.
– From the Insight Meditation Center in California
Some sangha versions:
May I be happy. May I be safe. May I be free.
May we be happy. May we be safe. May we be free.
May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be free.
May all beings be safe
May all beings be happy
May all beings have strength of heart.
May all beings know ease of well-being.
Poem by Michael Leunig:
Love and Fear
There are only two feelings, Love and fear;
There are only two languages, Love and fear;
There are only two activities, Love and fear;
There are only two motives, two procedures,
Two frameworks, two results,
Love and fear, Love and fear.
Krishnamurti: “Fear is an extraordinary jewel … which has dominated human beings for forty thousand years and more. And if you can hold it and look at it, then one begins to see the ending of it.”
Rumi poem: The Guest House – last stanza:
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Even fear is a guest to be welcomed and treated honorably, an extraordinary jewel, a guide. To be welcomed and offered Metta. An extraordinary practice.
Galway Kinnel poem extract, from Flying Home:
From then on, love is very much like courage,
perhaps it is courage, and even
perhaps
only courage.
Reflections:
– Is the word “heroic” meaningful to you? Useful? In what way? Or not at all?
– Was there a challenging situation where you felt afraid, and managed to remember love, find courage?
– How might you have witnessed courage in another/
Homework for Elders:
Most important is your daily meditation practice. Focus especially on bringing awareness to subtle mood/emotional states.
Sometimes helpful to label: “worried” “content” “frustrated,” etc.
Pause practice: stop several times during the day, tune into your body, your feelings, and breathe with loving awareness
3rd Foundation of Mindfulness: emotions
Ajahn Chah: “Anything which is troubling you, anything which is irritating you, that is your teacher.”
“The Guest House” by 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi (searchable online)
6 Steps for dealing with emotions
1) “welcoming practice” or “handshake practice”.
2) “Entertain them all” Invitation to investigate. Bring awareness to the body; come to the breath.
3) Bring awareness to emotions is a process of purification:
4) Meditation: most important ally: creates space. Every emotion has its wisdom — something positive to be discovered. “like a tiny flame of love in the heart waiting to guide you”
5) Expand your field of awareness: Tune into vast field of interconnectedness.
6) Metta/lovingkindness: “May I/you be free of fear and have ease of heart.” Whenever you turn your attention away from self to others, heart feels lighter. Transforms darkness of separation into feelings of connection
Hafiz, Sufi mystic, called it: “the encouragement of light”
Isabel Allende: “We all have an unsurpassable reserve of strength inside that emerges when life puts us to the test.”
Follow up to Emma’s’ presentation:
Link to Google Groups Tutorial
Link to join Elders Group
Link to join other Google Groups
Key points for review:
• “This Precious Human Body:” key contemplation in Buddhist tradition
• View: body as a mandala– a sacred universe
• Experiencing “the body in the body”
Reference to the subtle body, or the energy body
Includes chakra system from yogic traditions
Breath: bridge between the physical & subtle bodies
• Honoring the body before yoga, tai chi, chi gong, etc. (the words I use)
Hands in namaste: “With great respect and love I bow to this body, abode of pure awareness, vehicle for awakening.”
Feel free to experiment with phrases that feel right to you.
Pain meditation with Stephen Levine:
https://www.livingdying.org/softening-pain-meditation/
Grace and Grit: A Love Story, by Ken and Treya Wilbur
The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom, by Lama Willa Blythe Baker
Hevajra Tantra says: “Great wisdom lives in the body”
Homework: Find ways to practice mindfulness of the body through your day
Remember the “Pause Practice:” stopping for 3-4 breaths, dropping awareness into the body.
Experiment with taking more time with the body scan at the beginning of meditation, or returning to it, as a way to bring awareness down into the body.
Remember to open, soften, and embrace whatever is happening and send kindness and compassion to your body.
Homework:
Bring careful attention to the nature of thoughts arising in meditation:
Do thoughts tend to go into the past or toward the future?
Notice when there is clinging/attachment or aversion.
Identify recurring mental habits that cause the most distraction, stress, suffering.
What quality do you need to cultivate in working with the mind?
Three resources:
Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness
Bhante Gunaratana, The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English
Joseph Goldstein, Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening
Click here for the Elders Sangha listserv/google group.
Click here to learn more about kalyana-mitta groups at CIMC.
Play with the concept of centering, finding your center
Notice how meditation strengthens that, even if the mind is busy
Recommit to your practice: both sitting meditation and cultivating mindfulness throughout the day
Reflect on the phrase “the courage to suffer.” How do we find meaning in suffering, and where does our practice come in?
Remember to pause: stop! and simply come to the body and breath, centering yourself.
Quotes: “A mandala is a secret realm… Let’s each try to regard ourselves as a mandala, the sacred dimension that is made up of many sacred components….Because we are this living, intricate mandala made of so many components, we are ready to fall apart at any given moment…
This Mandala, this sacred universe, is who we are… This realization — knowing that there is no singular self in each of us, and instead we are this complex, beautiful, living
Mandala — is very liberating. It can give rise to courage, love, and joy in our hearts”
Anam Thubten
“There was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a (person) had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer. What is to give light must endure burning.” Viktor Frankl
Google link for Elders Sangha: http://groups.google.com/group/cimcelders?hl=en
Link to sign up for CIMC Newsletters: www.tinyurl.com/cimcaffinitygroups
Five Wisdom Treasures: Reflections on Practice
1) Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay)
“Approach your practice with a joyful heart. For me, breathing in and out is a great joy. Organize your practice so it is very joyful.”
2) Thay “Bring a unique dimension of love and devotion to your practice. You need your own love very much. When you sit for meditation, you practice love.”
3) Inspiring our practice: how do you do that? Know all your sources of inspiration: teachers, teachings, books, friends, situations, nature, etc.
4) Cultivating the quality of acceptance toward whatever arises either in meditation or during the day. A spontaneous mantra: “accept the losses”
5) Thay’s response to someone in pain: “Trust in the energy of mindfulness to hold everything that arises… Your wounded heart, your pain – that’s what brings you to the heart of the Buddha.”
Contemplate and experience the subtle power of Thay’s phrase “the energy of mindfulness”
Richard Rohr: “Your True Self is Life and Being and Love. Love is what you were made for and love is what you are.”
Homework:
** Choose a couple of ways to inspire your practice.
** If your meditation practice has been intermittent, make a commitment to deepen it. Even 5-10 minutes a day (best at the same time and in the same place), is better than no meditation at all.
** Remember: you can come home to yourself at any moment by simply pausing and tuning into the preciousness of your breath.
** When challenged by difficult circumstances or emotions, remember Thay’s phrase “the energy of mindfulness” and trust that it is stronger than the pain.
Remembering wise view: see impermanence of everything
Seeing world as play of consciousness
Everyone is a holy mystery:
Lakota Chief Noble Red Man
“Everyone is sacred. You are sacred. I am sacred. Every time you blink your eye or I blink my eye, God blinks Her eye. God see through your eyes and my eyes. We are sacred.”