Cattāri Brahmavihārā

Posted by: Michael | 09/13/2014

Sisters and Mothers in Suffering | Abhaya-cariya

I undertake the training rule to view all members of the opposite sex except my partner as my children, parents and siblings and to cultivate a heart of concern and care for them.

As I walk the streets and ride the trains through the city I constantly find my darting this way and that looking for pleasing female forms. What is particularly irritating about this deeply conditioned habit is that I know it serves no purpose other than to destoy my peace of mind. This is especially true for me as a married man practicing a spiritual discipline: there is simply nothing to be gained from it. But, unless I literally gouge out my eyes, there’s no way to avoid seeing roughly fifty percent of NYC’s adult population everyday. Besides even if I had a way of shielding them from view that would do nothing to uproot the latent tendencies within.

May I learn, through the gate of compassion, to view all women as my sisters, mothers and daughters each one suffering and looking for respite.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Aditthana, Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Sensual Desire, Sila, Theravada

Posted by: Michael | 09/10/2014

Propriety | Abhaya-cariya

I undertake the training rule to refrain from being alone with a member of the opposite sex who is not my partner.

Despite the fact that all of the training rules are voluntary I am probably the most ambivalent about this one and yet I would not have included it if I did not feel it had value. For me not only does the rule to refrain from being alone with a member of the opposite sex (a lthough it would apply just as well to another male if that were the slant of my desire) aid my mindfulness but it is also a protection of my reputation. All of which is fo say that I am not so concerned that I would act improperly if I were left alone with a beautiful woman but that, by avoiding th situation entirely, there will never be a question of impropriety.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Aditthana, Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Sila, Theravada | Tags: adultery, impropriety, temptation

Posted by: Michael | 09/09/2014

Appropriate Attention | Abhaya-cariya

I undertake the training rule to refrain from intentionally viewing any images or otherwise exposing myself to any media that inflame lust.

I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that we are inundated with media whose sole purpose is to create desire. In our consumer society this desire is usually ordered to the acquisition of goods but regardless of its purpose it is safe to say we live in a state of near constant inflammation and excitation. Sex sells they say and at no time in history has the allure of it been more pervasive and readily available than it is now. Television, internet, billboards, magazines, streaming video and more colonize our consciousness and we become slaves to the freedom of desire.

As a result, I can think of few training rules more important for my own spiritual growth than a precept to guaed the mind and never intentionally steer it towards lust. May we all find true peace.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Sila, Theravada | Tags: desire, lust

Posted by: Michael | 09/08/2014

Sexual Misconduct | Abhaya-cariya

I undertake the training rule to refrain from sexual misconduct and excessive sensuality.

I the Five Precepts, the rule to refrain from sexual misconduct is a pretty straightforward affair: don’t engage in adultery or criminal sexual behavior. In the traditional formulation things like autoeroticism and viewing pornographic media fall outside the bounds of the rule but adding the phrase “excessive sensuality” brings all of these things within the scope of training. But because sensuality has such a strong pull on my mind and behavior I have further developed the theme with aditional training rules aimed to protect my practice and shield me from fearful states as a result of unbridled sexual energy.

May we all learn to relate skillfully to our sexuality until we can give it up completely.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Sila, Theravada | Tags: adultery, restraint, sensuality, Sexuality

Posted by: Michael | 09/08/2014

Thrift and Frugality | Abhaya-cariya

I undertake the training rule not to waste the resources upon which other beings depend.

I have admired restraint and thrift for as long as I can remember and have often toyed with the idea of somehow formally incorporating such a rule into my daily practice but was never able to find a suitable expression for it. I think the above does a pretty good job however but I can;t take credit because I found it on a site tat I can’t for the life of me remember. Still, this particular formulation speaks to both the personal experience of mindful consumption and the dangers that mindless consumerism and wastefulness pose for all beings on this fragile rock spinning in space.

1 Comment

Posted in Abhaya-cariya, Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: Andy Warhol, Carl Sagan, Charity shop, Consumerism, DiGiorno, Gross domestic product, Nestlé, United States

Posted by: Michael | 09/06/2014

The Wants of Others | Abhaya-cariya

I undertake the training rule to put the wants of others before my own, being ever concerned with their happiness.

This training has given me a lot of grist for the mill even if it has proven to be uncomfortable at times. For some reason, when I reflect on this training rule the words of the 5th Zen Patriarch come to mind:

The great Way is not difficult for those who are have no preferences.
Let go of wanting and avoiding, and everything will be perfectly clear.
But make the slightest distinction and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.

May I do my best today to bring happiness to those I meet and to give up my own petty concerns for their benefit.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Abhaya-cariya, Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada, Zen | Tags: Alex Salmond, Andy Burnham, Buddhism, Four Noble Truths, Gautama Buddha, Scotland, training, Zen, Zen Patriarch

Posted by: Michael | 09/05/2014

Mindfulness of Eating | Abhaya-cariya

I undertake the training rule to recite the Meal Gatha before eating and never to eat a meal without offering some of it to another being.

The training rule to be mindful of eating is surprisingly difficult for me. The simple act of pausing to consider, to give thanks for the labor and sacrifice that has gone into making the food possible is, at times, almost too much. It is literally as if I cannot stop myself which is all the more reason to practice restraint. I aam tempted to read into this aspect of my personality and try to divine additional meanings and speculate about what it means for my character but why? Practice and insight are really the only to see truth and know Liberation so I will put that burden down.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: eating, Food, meal gatha, mindfulness

Posted by: Michael | 09/04/2014

Charity | Abhaya-cariya

I undertake the training rule to perform one act of material charity each

day.

Dana sila bhavana. In other words, generosity, morality and meditation. Such is one traditional distillation of the core components of the Path. In my own experience there is no better way to uplift the mind than by giving to others which is why I selfishly included the injunction to perform one act of material charity each day.

Over the years my experience with dana has gone through several changes with it being very easy for me to give at some times and, at others, it being incredibly difficult. The reasons for this are not unique in the least and completely reasonable: during times when my income is not as good as I would like fear of not having enough has prevented me fro. Giving. And yet it is precisely at these time when I most need to practice generosity. The fear of scarcity and the impulse to hoard need to be challenged at all costs if I hope to make any progress on the Path at all let alone if I want to be a kind and good person. Seeing just how often my hand has been stilled by fear and anxiety I have made the commitment to give at least once a day.

May we fight the negativity that would bid us to close our eyes and hearts to the suffering of the world and be ever generous.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dana, Dhamma, Sila, Theravada

Posted by: Michael | 09/03/2014

Being of Service | Abhaya-cariya

I undertake the training rule to be of service to others, sacrificing my own comfort for their benefit.

Family life provides no end to opportunities for being of service, sacrificing one’s own comfort for the good of others and for helping others to assuage the myriad minor sufferings of quotidian existence. And yet I have spenr most of my life resentful of those closest to me, always feeling as if I had an unfair share of the burden while others were “getting away with it.” I shudder to think about the kammic inheritance I have left for mself but today at least things can change.

By realizing that my family now were strangers in a past lives and strangers may have been parents or children in another birth I can slowly chip away at the conditioning of a lifetime which, in modern American society at least, seeks to place blame on one’s family for the ills and injustices of life rather than regarding them with eyes of gratitude, love and devotion. Maybe it’s a sign of degenerate times or just a result of my own kamma but if we cannot serve and love our own families we are surely far from the path.

May we serve all beings and not least those who are closest to us in this life.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Aditthana, Dhamma, Sila, Theravada | Tags: abhaya-cariya, family, resentment, service

Posted by: Michael | 09/02/2014

Not Taking What Is Not Given | Abhaya-cariya

I undertake the training rule to refrain from taking that which is not given.

The training rule to refrain from taking that which is not given can be understood simply as refraining from theft and stealing but, if we pay close attention to the wording of the precept, we see that there are other possible interpretations which require a much more careful approach.

In daily life I don’t believe most of us reading this blog engage in outright theft (although I could be completely wrong on that count) so the Second Precept (its position in the traditional enumeration of the Panca Sila) may not be something we give much thought to. But look a little more closely and you may be disturbed by what you find.

Take, for example, the following cases:

You’re at your in-laws’ house and you forge
t to bring toothpaste so you use theirs.

There is a bottle of creamer in the office kitchen that belongs to someone else and you use a little in your coffee.

You download a PDF of a book that is on sale elsewhere without paying for it.

So, are any of these instances of sullied if not broken precepts? Clearly nothing was offered in these cases but to call it theft might feel like a stretch to some. I would suggest that, in my own limited wisdom and experience, we follow our conscience to the degree that it has been cultivated. I know that I will be working on just these types of scenarios in the coming weeks as I undertake a virtual Ango and prepare for Jukai at Treeleaf Zendo.

May we practice to perfect our generosity, purify our sila, deepen our samadhi and develop true wisdom.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Aditthana, Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Parami, Sila, Theravada