A scant thee days have passed and I already feel myself succumbing to the pressures of family and the exigencies of work. Still, I have managed to fulfill many of my aditthana today and not to backslide on any of them. Nonetheless, on a day like this when my heart is racing a million miles a minute it is hard not to feel like much of what I’m doing is simply going through the motions. It reminds me of a Chaz DiCapua talk where he describes this part of the practice as the purification side–it’s the part of the practice where you’re not seeing the results and it’s easy to et discouraged. So, may I be mindful of my feelings of doubt and uncertainty (vicchikiccha) and may I not allow it to swamp me. Sukhitaa hontu!
Posted by: Michael | 11/16/2012
Losing the Thread
Posted in Buddhism, Daily Practice, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: aditthana, mindfulness, vicchikiccha
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Cattāri Brahmavihārā 
The thing that helped me the most in practice was recalling that it wasn’t the apparent success or not of practice that mattered, but rather what’s the alternative ?
I knew the alternative very well, and that wasn’t where I wanted this life to go.
Discouragement was not really a problem for me, not because it wasn’t frequently present (it was), but because it did not become a hindrance.
Really, does discouragement bring you correct information about what to do with your life ? What direction do you want this life to move ? This beautiful blog does not read like it comes from an aimless place.
As practice goes on, discouragement may also become less of an issue for another reason; that practice looks less and less like a doing, and more and more like a happening.
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By: dominic724 on 11/17/2012
at 3:43 pm
Thank you! It’s always good to be reminded that there really is no viable alternative to practice. Mettaya!
By: Upāsaka on 11/17/2012
at 6:55 pm