It occurred to me as I sat trying to follow the breath at the nose this morning that forty minutes a day is an almost infinitesimally small amount of time compared to the eons spent heedlessly wandering through samsara. When considering the fact that this mindstream has been reborn through infinite expansions and contractions of the universe it’s hard to be too hard on oneself, especially having chosen the lay life which makes finding time to practice doubly hard. So, I’ll keep at, always trying to see more clearly, practice more and for longer but knowing that I have billions of years of conditioning to fight against. It’s no wonder that I can stay with the breath for only one minute out of forty five.
Posted by: Michael | 09/13/2018
Glacial
Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Buddho, Dhamma, Formal Meditation, Theravada | Tags: determination, Perseverance, rebirth, samsara
Posted by: Michael | 09/11/2018
Sexual Misconduct
Last night I shared a post by the Venerable Subhuti Bhikkhu (Bhante Subhuti) in which he discusses the meaning of the Third Precept. Clearly, much of what he said is anathema to current, Western ideas of sexuality and sexual liberation but it all struck home for me.
For most of my adult life, I have been fascinated in one way or another with women and sex. I have spent countless hours thinking about both and, before marriage, actually pursuing them. And, what do I now have to show for it? An addiction to the sense pleasure and an inclination that, if followed, can only lead me downward.
Perhaps the most poignant reflection discussed by Bhante is the fact that current sexual mores and practices are very new indeed and depend on this whole, unstable edifice of mass consumer capitalism to exist. Once the idea of material plenty evaporates and hardships begin, childbirth will again be fraught with mortal perils for mother and child. Without easy access to birth control and to abortion, how liberated will anyone truly be?
I, too, have at times bemoaned the date of a sexless marriage but, as I have been coming to see recently, this supposed curse truly is a blessing when handled correctly.
May I practice the path of brahmacariya well.
May I never be separated from the Dhamma.
May I always be reborn in favorable training circumstances.
May I enter the Stream in this very life.
Posted in brahmacariya, Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Family Life, Nekkhama, Sensual Desire, Taṇhā, Theravada | Tags: Bhikkhu Subhuti, celibacy, chastity, feminism, kamesu micchacara, sexual liberation, third precept
Posted by: Michael | 09/10/2018
Theravada Buddhism and Sex: Sexual Misconduct
Theravada Buddhism and Sex: Sexual Misconduct
https://americanmonk.org/theravada-buddhism-and-sex-sexual-misconduct/
— Read on americanmonk.org/theravada-buddhism-and-sex-sexual-misconduct/
Posted in Dhamma
Posted by: Michael | 09/10/2018
Feeling Sorry
It’s been awhile since I’ve done this but I completely missed the Uposatha observance yesterday. Talk about a global lapse of mindfulness. Anyway, as the title of today’s post implies, I’ve been feeling sorry for myself because of an apparent slight.
You see, I’ve been a board member of an organization and my responsibilities have been to update the site and manage communications. With the changing of the guard, a new commissioner and a new platform a number of things changed and I’ve been finding myself increasingly out of the loop. Really though, I have only myself to blame: I have never been able to make it to board meetings and my remote style doesn’t seem to work with with the new commissioner. So, why is it that I feel so hurt about it? Obviously, I’m holding onto ideas about being liked, being seen as competent and responsible. Once again, I’m mooring my well being to the vicissitudes of life so it’s best to purify my intentions and act accordingly while unbinding myself from praise and blame.
It seems too that there is a thread of wanting to be accepted and to feel a part of something that’s causing some pain. I assume this because thoughts about my aunts and cousin ignoring my texts keep arising along with the thoughts about the board. Really, though, this is no different from wanting to be praised and not blamed.
May I purify my intentions and conduct while fire bearing that which I have too little wisdom to dispel.
Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Family Life, Theravada, Uposatha | Tags: praise and blame, resentment, vicissitudes
Posted by: Michael | 09/07/2018
Falling Off the Renunciation Train
I can at least take comfort that I didn’t break any of the Five Precepts but I certainly did eat a whole bag of peanut M&Ms and broke my brahmacari commitments.
And why? Because I just didn’t have the wisdom to resist. Still, I was able to watch the mind as it first played with and then circled the ideas of these desired objects so there is at least that.
It is clear, however, that it will necessarily take more precious time to get back to where I was and I have detonated any calm I was building up. How can I expect to progress when I can’t control my impulses at the most basic of levels? I can’t and I need to remind myself of this when I spend a half an hour struggling to cut a path of clarity through the jungle of thoughts that crowd my mind.
Nothing to do now but pick myself up, dust myself off and begin again. What other option is there when the gaping maws of hell lie beneath our feet?
Posted by: Michael | 09/06/2018
Early Signs of Desire
Become mindful of the early signs of desire — that initial pull or force that pro-pels your attention toward the desirable object. Distinguish between the force of desire and the object or perception that is attractive to you. Is the force of crav-ing as pleasant as you hope the expe-rience of that object will be? Notice that in the moment of gratification, the de-sire simultaneously ceases.
Distinguish the difference between these two occur-rences — the attaining of the object and the ending of desire. Once you see these as two distinctive causes of happiness, then explore your experience to deter-mine if happiness comes from getting what you wanted or from the ending of the desire.
Excerpt From: “Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana” by Pa-Auk.
Posted in Buddhism, Dhamma, Sensual Desire, Taṇhā, Theravada | Tags: Shaila Catherine, Venerable Pa Auk, vipassana
Posted by: Michael | 09/05/2018
The Good Karma of a Bad Marriage
I feel almost unkind writing this but this realization has completely changed the way I look at my wife and marriage. What if my marriage was all that I could have hoped for? Filled with tenderness, intimacy and sexual compatibility? What if my wife treated me with love, deference and respect? What if we could talk for hours like best friends? I mean, this is what most married people in our society hope for isn’t it? Isn’t this drive to experience these pleasures the thing that impels people to rush through their lives testing and discarding partners like used tissue paper?
What a truly terrifying thought it seems to me now to actually get what you want from a marriage! A life spent cultivating a deep attachment to a person and pleasures that will have to break up with the progress of aging, the arising of sickness and the surety of death. Whereas I have resented my wife for years for not being a “good partner” I now feel actual gratitude for her helping me along the Path. Anytime I begin to feel close, to slip into the intoxication she is able to shock me out of it. But, I really don’t want to dwell on that aspect of it as it feels like a left-handed compliment.
May I be grateful for the conditions of this life that have kept turning me towards the Dhamma. May I never relent until I have a firm footing in the stream. May my wife quickly find release from suffering along with my children and all beings.
Posted by: Michael | 09/03/2018
Happy Uposatha – Panca Bala
Image Courtesy of Ven. Dhammadipa Bhikkhuni
Saddhā-balan bhāveti.
Viriya-balan bhāveti.
Sati-balan bhāveti.
Samādhi-balan bhāveti.
Pannā-balan bhāveti.
He develops the spiritual capability of faith.
He develops the spiritual capability of energy.
He develops the spiritual capability of mindfulness.
He develops the spiritual capability of concentration.
He develops the spiritual capability of wisdom.
My interest in the five powers and faculties is only increasing as the sense of samvega grows in my heart. I feel that I really haven’t been making the effort required to progress and free myself from suffering and that part of the reason was a hesitancy to commit time to study and practice. Why? It can only be delusion. I have stumbled on to this piece by a Sri Lankan mahathero and I hope you find it as useful as I do. https://www.dhammatalks.net/Books11/Ariyadhamma_Mahathera-The_Five_Spiritual_Capabilities-(Bala).pdf
Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada, Uposatha | Tags: five faculties, five powers, indriya bala, panca bala
Posted by: Michael | 09/02/2018
No Refuge
May we all find freedom from suffering.
Having now become animals, your fathers, mothers, siblings, and friends from previous lives tremble with fear in the butcher’s sinful hands, tears streaming from their eyes, and panting for breath. In that state, they wonder what to do. Alas, there is no refuge! There is nowhere to go!
Thinking that, right now in this place, they may be killed, their urgent suffering is great. In such a state, like one approaching a terrifying pit of hellfire, their body is turned upside down, their muzzle is tied up, and their eyes move wildly with lights shining forth. What they see is their stomach being opened up. With their feet perpendicular to the ground, they are set on the path to the next life without even a quiver of compassion.
—Jigme Lingpa
Posted in Dhamma
Posted by: Michael | 09/01/2018
Delight in heedfulness
Appamādaratā hotha!
Sacittamanurakkhatha!
Duggā uddharathattānaṃ,
paṅke sannova kuñjaro.
Listen: http://host.pariyatti.org/dwob/dhammapada_23_327.mp3
Delight in heedfulness!
Guard well your thoughts!
Draw yourself out of this bog of evil,
even as an elephant draws itself out of the mud.
Dhammapada 23.327
Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: heedfulness, sati
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