Cattāri Brahmavihārā

This morning I spent some time revisiting my daily practice outline to reflect my renewed commitment and to realign my actual and ideal practice regimen. Much of of this consisted in firmly fixing times of day for particular meditation themes as well as the duration of each in order to cultivate deeper states of concentration capable of providing liberative insights. Granted, such a goal may be a tad out of reach at present but you have to start somewhere. A new addition to the daily practice outline are three determinations (aditthana) I have made which are long term goals realized in the course of daily practice. In short they are (1) not indulging in media or imagery which fans thhe flames of lust or (2) anger and not (3) eating after 8pm. All three of these aditthana really have nekkhama as their main thrust and aim but I feel the first of the trio will be the most challenging. so, what exactly do I mean by refraining from viewing or listening to media that will enflame the passions? Well, on the most course level it would be not intentionally seeking out erotic or pornographic materials. However, I also mean for this resolve to include an effort not to intenionally linger upon pretty faces and attractive physiques whether they be in vivo, in an ad or on represented by means of audio-visual media. Luckily, and quite economically, all of the above applies to the 2nd aseveration as well so there’s no need to go into any further detail. May we all strive to overcome the flood of delusion and sensuality!