Think lightly not of evil,
‘It will not come to me’,
for by the falling of water drops
a water jar is filled.
The fool with evil fills himself,
he soaks up little by little.
I had a thought this morning that I was convinced was a nothing of consequence but, as I pondered the possible outcomes of following it, I recalled the verses above. Drop by drop water fills a jug, so too with my little, evil deeds.
Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: Dhammapada, evil, kamma
One day in and I am nose to nose with dukkha. By constraining myself to the form of two hours of formal meditation daily, I’m able to see more clearly how the mind tries to bolt at the first opportunity. This morning was almost purely an exercise in resolve and a test of will but I was able to do it.
Was it perfect? No. In fact, for 15 minutes I felt compelled to meditate in the lion’s pose but I followed buddho with the breath to the best of my ability for the hour. The one thing that did occur to me was that I could either pick apart my effort when I was done or simply focus on the good aspects of the session and build from there. Today, I’ll choose the latter as I need no help in locating areas in need of improvement. Happy Uposatha!
I have come to the conclusion that the only way to address my doubts, lack of energy and consternation is to redouble my efforts. I’ve decided therefore to commit to two hours of formal meditation every day.
Posted in Aditthana, Dhamma | Tags: meditation
I don’t know what it is but I feel like so much of what I do is just a waste of time. Reading this. Writing that. Fascinated with this form, disguised by that one. All of it wasted when the mind is distracted and not unified.
What to do? How to change that? I would aver that I’m at an ebb ay present so it feels hopeless; as if nothing were effective and all is for naught. But, I know, I have faith that this isn’t quite right. I put my trusty in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha as practice in whatever small ways I can.
May we all find a way out of the labyrinthine depths of samsara.
For a variety of reasons, I have felt the need to take a break and a step back from this blog. For some time I’ve behaved as if I were anonymous when there are plenty of people who know who I am here. That can be problematic for obvious reasons. I believe I’m going to scale back posting here and, when I do, will use it solely to reflect on teachings I find useful rather than to indulge in narratives about my personal life.
Wishing you all well.
Posted in Dhamma
Learning to drop work at a moment’s notice is one of the great spiritual disciplines practiced in Catholic convents and monasteries. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux tells us that when the bell for prayer rang, she trained herself to put down her sewing without even finishing the stitch she was on. Imagine the patience and effort required to master this art of dropping work without so much as a ripple of protest in the mind! Most of us, when we are caught in something we like and we hear the call for dinner, say, “Oh, all right; just let me finish the page I’m reading.” And we probably read a few pages more in the bargain.
-Eknath Easwaran
I’ve been reading his book on mantra and found it helpful as I have been I sing buddho in formal and daily life practice. I stumbled across this passage and found it inspiring. I mean, how often do I linger over a task or fail to really ever put it down. Good stuff and a reminder of the spiritual treasures to be found in reading about the lives of monastics in any tradition.
Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Buddho, Dhamma, Meditation Word, Theravada | Tags: Catholic, Eknath Easwaran, letting-go, Ste. Thérèse
Thus have I heard:
On one occasion the Blessed One was living near Savatthi, at Jetavana, at Anathapindika’s monastery. Now when the night was far advanced, a certain deity, whose surpassing radiance illuminated the whole of Jetavana, came to the presence of the Blessed One, respectfully saluted him, and stood beside him. Standing thus he addressed the Blessed One in verse:
[The Deity:]1. About the declining man we question thee, Gotama. We have come to ask the Blessed One: What is the cause of his downfall?
[The Buddha:]2. Easily known is the progressive one, easily known is the declining one. The lover of the Dhamma prospers. The hater of the Dhamma declines.
3. We understand this as explained (by thee); this is the first cause of his downfall. Tell us the second, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
4. The vicious are dear to him. He likes not the virtuous; he approves the teachings of the ill-natured — this is the cause of his downfall.
5. We understand this as explained by thee; this is the second cause of his downfall. Tell us the third, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
6. The man who is fond of sleep and company, inactive and lazy, and manifesting anger —this is the cause of his downfall.
7. We understand this as explained by thee; this is the third cause of his downfall. Tell us the fourth, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
8. Whoever being affluent, does not support his mother and father who are old, and past their prime — this is the cause of his downfall.
9. We understand this as explained by thee; this is the fourth cause of his downfall. Tell us the fifth, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
10. Whoever by falsehood deceives either a brahmana, or a samana (a holy man), or any other mendicant — this is the cause of his downfall.
11. We understand this as explained by thee; this is the fifth cause of his downfall. Tell us the six, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
12. The person who is possessed of much wealth, who has gold, and who has an abundance of food, but enjoys his delicacies all by himself — this is the cause of his downfall.
13. We understand this as explained by thee; this is the sixth cause of his downfall. Tell us the seventh, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
14. The man who, proud of his birth, of his wealth, and of his clan, despises his relations — this is the cause of his downfall.
15. We understand this as explained by thee; this is the seventh cause of his downfall. Tell us the eighth, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
16. The man who is addicted to women (given to a life of debauchery), is a drunkard, a gambler, and a squanderer of his earnings — this is the cause of his downfall.
17. We understand this as explained by thee; this is the eighth cause of his downfall. Tell us the ninth, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
18. Not satisfied with one’s own wives,[2] he is seen among the whores and the wives of others — this is the cause of his downfall.
19. We understand this as explained by thee; this is the ninth cause of his downfall. Tell us the tenth, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
20. A person past his youth takes as wife, a girl in her teens, and sleeps not being jealous of her[3] — this is the cause of his downfall.
21. We understand this as explained by thee; this is the tenth cause of his downfall. Tell us the eleventh, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
22. He who places in authority a woman given to drink and squandering, or a man of similar nature — this is the cause of his downfall.
23. We understand this as explained by thee; this is the eleventh cause of his downfall. Tell us the twelfth, O Blessed One. What is the cause of his downfall?
24. He who having but little possessions but great ambition (greed), is of warrior birth and aspires selfishly to (an unattainable) sovereignty — this is the cause of his downfall.
25. Fully realizing these (twelve) causes of downfall in the world, the sage, endowed with ariyan insight, shares a realm of security (Nibbana).
“Lacking forgiveness is the worst of deficiencies and hastening in vengeance is (among) the greatest (of all) sins.” — Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (ع)
Posted in Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Forgiveness, Islam, Theravada | Tags: anger, compassion, Imam Ali, loving-kindness, revenge
Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: “Whoever of the believers that bears patiently with a tribulation that befalls him, has the reward of a thousand martyrs.”
[Al-Kulayni, al‑Kafi, vol.2, bab al‑Sabr, hadith # 17]
“Monks, even if bandits were to savagely sever you, limb by limb, with a double-handled saw, even then, whoever of you harbors ill will at heart would not be upholding my Teaching.
Monks, even in such a situation you should train yourselves thus: ‘Neither shall our minds be affected by this, nor for this matter shall we give vent to evil words, but we shall remain full of concern and pity, with a mind of love, and we shall not give in to hatred.
On the contrary, we shall live projecting thoughts of universal love to those very persons, making them as well as the whole world the object of our thoughts of universal love — thoughts that have grown great, exalted and measureless.
Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dhamma, Metta, Theravada | Tags: endurance, forebearance, Kakacupama Sutta, loving-kindness, Parable of the Saw, simile of the saw
Improving Lives through Generosity
A hub for the music, culture, knowledge, and practice of Irish stick-fighting, past and present.
Cattāri Brahmavihārā 