Cattāri Brahmavihārā

Posted by: Michael | 07/16/2017

The Nine-Point Meditation on Death

The Tibetan Buddhist tradition contains an extremely effective meditation on death called the nine-point meditation on death. It is presented with three root truths, three reasons for each truth, and three conclusions that follow from them:

Root: Death is certain. No being has ever escaped death.
I am constantly becoming closer to death. There is not much time to practice Dharma.

Conclusion: I must practice Dharma.

Root: The time of death is uncertain.
The lifespan of human beings is not fixed.

More conditions endanger life than support it.
This body is extremely fragile.

Conclusion: I must practice Dharma now.

Root: Nothing can help at the time of death except my Dharma practice.
Wealth can’t help.
Friends and relatives can’t help.
Your body can’t help.

Conclusion: I must practice Dharma purely.

Excerpt From: “Wholesome Fear: Transforming Your Anxiety About Impermanence and Death” by Thubten Zopa.

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Posted in Dhamma

Posted by: Michael | 07/14/2017

Hold to Love. Show Love.

It’s becoming increasingly clear to me that not only must I do my best to hold to love (as metta) as the guiding principle in my life but I need to go to whatever lengths to show my concern and care for all beings as well. This is especially true with my family, relatives and friends. This beings to whom I owe so much and with whom I share so much kamma deserve to know how much I am grateful for their presence and that they are loved. That they matter. Frankly, it’s what we all need.

May I spare no expense, dispense with any comfort and do whatever is necessary to show love to the beings in my life.

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Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Family Life, Gratitude, Karuna, Metta, Parenting, Theravada, Tibetan Buddhism | Tags: friends, love, relatives, show love

Posted by: Michael | 07/13/2017

The Necessity of Courage

It seems to me that, in the times that are upon us and those that are soon to come, we must do our best to cultivate a special kind of courage. Not the kind of courage that seeks to vanquish a foe through force or violence but that courage which faces a terrible fate determined to hold fast to what is right and good until the end. The courage not to give in to the cowardice of low-minded self-concern in the face of certain doom.

Everyday I reflect on the pain of millions of hungry, hopeless and bereft mothers, children, fathers, and grandparents and everyday I come to the inescapable conclusion that death, destruction, war, drought and famine will soon be upon us. At times I feel like crawling into a hole and pretending the world isn’t crumbling around us but I owe to my children, my parents, my teachers and friends to do what I can in these final years.

May I live my life with compassion and have the courage to do what is right and good no matter how painful it is.

May we live our lives so that we may die without regret.

“‘Just as a cow to be slaughtered being led to the slaughterhouse, with every step of its foot closer to its slaughtering, closer to death, in the same way, brahmans, the life of human beings is like a cow to be slaughtered — limited, trifling, of much stress & many despairs. One should touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the holy life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.’

Arakenanusasani Sutta: Araka’s Teaching

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Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dhamma, Sila, Theravada | Tags: climate chang, courage, death, life

Posted by: Michael | 07/12/2017

Painted Fruit

Carefully painting the outside of a piece of fruit might temporarily cause it to look beautiful and fresh, but inside it decays, loses its taste, shrivels up, and sours.

Excerpt From: “Wholesome Fear: Transforming Your Anxiety About Impermanence and Death” by Thubten Zopa.

Read this book on Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/265260533

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Posted in Anicca, Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Maranasati, Theravada, Tibetan Buddhism | Tags: aging, death, old age

Posted by: Michael | 07/11/2017

The Little I Can Do

Everyday the news gets worse and it’s beginning be nearly impossible for me to believe that the earth will be suitable for human habitation when my son is my age. I have been fearful and heartbroken for so long but all this has done is weaken my resolve and strengthened the tendencies to fear and dread. All conditioned things are impermanent and what is now happening is the result of a complex matrix of decisions made collectively by the beings on this planet. Now we cannot but reap what we have sown.
And yet, I must live in this world. I would like to do so in a way that is at once as compassionate as possible while furthering my practice. How can one live in a collapsing civilization in a way that minimizes harm? I’ve been thinking of actionable practices I can take up and we’ll share them. If anyone is moved to share their own ideas I would love to hear them.

Use water sparingly. Take short, cold showers every other day.
Use paper supplies sparingly. Get a handkerchief, use hand towels instead of paper towels.
Compost.
Go vegetarian, or better yet, vegan.
Be thrifty. Fix what’s broken. Only buy new things if you can’t.
Donate to humanitarian and environmental organizations.
Deal with the heat. Use AC sparingly.
Deal with the cold. Use heaters sparingly.
Fast. Consume less and share more. I dry fast according to Islamic tradition Mondays and Thursdays and one a week for the uposatha.
Practice the Dhamma. When we eventually make an end to suffering that’s one less mouth to feed.
Consume everything with care. Everything we consume depend on the suffering of other beings.
Be mindful of what they have given and moderate in what you impose upon them.

Clearly this list isn’t exhaustive and may not even make sense for everyone but it’s my own attempt to work out a way to live lightly while cultivating the paramis. Be well.

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Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Fasting, Islam, Karuna, Metta, Theravada | Tags: apocalypse, climate change, Consumerism, hope, Resistance

Posted by: Michael | 07/10/2017

Nonviolence in Practice

This weekend I drove my family up to New Hampshire do they could visit their cousins and attend some summer camps. While there, someone stole my nephew’s bike. Since the town they live in is so small we decided to take a ride around to see if we could find it. After about ten minutes of searching I spotted it behind a dumpster at an apartment building. We went to the door where my sister-in-law’s boyfriend knocked on the door. We ended up finding the culprit (a pre-adolescent boy) and speaking to him and his mother.

My issue is this: I basically felt like I was acting as back up for my friend. I have been in enough similar situations where I have brought the threat of physical violence just by my presence and I was disappointed to find myself taking up the same attitude. Rather than spending the time during the search cultivating metta, I was steeling myself for a possible confrontation. Luckily, it didn’t come to that but it easily could have and I think I would have acted poorly.

I’m grateful that I was able to see just how much I need to learn and that I was able to avoid causing harm. May I remember top cultivate metta and karuna before any word is spoken and deed undertaken.

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Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Daily Practice, Dhamma, Karuna, Metta, nonviolence, Theravada | Tags: compassion, nonviolence, practice, theft

Posted by: Michael | 07/08/2017

Happy Asalha Puja!

Today is the uposatha day that commemorates the first exposition of the Dhamma (the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta) to the five ascetics and the entry into the stream of Kondañña. In addition to taking the precepts, it’s customary to chant the sutta. Here’s the text in English and Pali: http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Texts-and-Translations/Short-Pieces/Dhammacakkappavattanasuttam.pdf

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Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada, Uposatha | Tags: dhammacakkappavattana sutta, Kondanna

Posted by: Michael | 07/07/2017

Pain Medicine & Compassion

I recently read an article that talks about the link between acetaminophen and the Image result for one pill makes you larger ability to feel empathy for others. In short, when you dull your pain with medicine you simultaneously dull your ability to feel compassion and concern for others. Tibetan masters of tonglen have often pointed to the necessity to use one’s pain as a springboard for developing universal compassion and it seems that without our own pain we simply can’t effectively confront and address the pain of any beings (ourselves included). Here is the link for your consideration:

http://www.npr.org/2016/07/06/484894653/researchers-examine-why-tylenol-affects-empathy

So, despite the fact that I have a headache this morning for which I would normally turn to a pain-killer (ibuprofen which has yet to be studied) I think I’ll take this as an opportunity to cultivate compassion for all beings suffering from head pain and illness. Sabbe satta sabba dukkha pamuccantu!

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Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Dukkha, Karuna, Theravada, Tibetan Buddhism | Tags: acetaminophen, compassion, empathy, headache, ibuprofen, Medicine, pain-killer, Tonglen

Posted by: Michael | 07/05/2017

A Powerful Tonglen Practice

On the in-breath, we unconditionally welcome all the pains of the six realms of existence. These enter us as black smoke that, without resistance, we allow to flow toward the heart chakra. At the very moment the smoke touches the center of our being, our energy of compassion transforms this energy of suffering. The smoke becomes light. The pain becomes bliss. And we breathe out this bliss, and we completely offer, without reservation, our happiness, and the causes of our happiness, to all beings.

-Phakyab Rinpoche

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Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Formal Meditation, Karuna, Metta, Tibetan Buddhism | Tags: compassion, loving-kindness, meditation, Phakyab Rinpoche, practice, Tonglen

Posted by: Michael | 07/05/2017

Guardians

They do not follow righteous ways

who resort to violence to achieve their purpose.

But those who lead others through nonviolent means,

knowing right and wrong,

are the guardians of righteous ways.

—Dhammapada 256–257