It seems to me that the mind is continually seducing the awareness into paying attention to it. It says, here is something you could do. Or, here is an interesting thought. Or, here is something that is worrisome. Playing on restlessness, curiosity, a yearning for safety. But this means that the stream of thoughts that is the mind is continually center stage in awareness. You may find yourself for long moments paying no attention to your surroundings while you are completely focussed on the mind. It’s almost like a blackout if the focus is intense. That goes against the practice of balancing t ..read more

It seems to me that the Buddhist doctrine of rebirth is somewhat simplistic. From observing the natural world it seems to me that all things continually transform… the tree leaves become mulch, the cloud becomes rain, the nectar becomes honey… the world is full of things that are naturally becoming other things. It feels to me that the same thing is true for humans. Our bodies become ash on a woodpile in a burning ghat along the Ganges, and the ash is strewn out to feed the trees or the algae in the water, eventually to become part of a bush or other plant. My nighttime wanderings have left me ..read more

So I came across a meditation practice in Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now that I wanted to try out: The practice is to feel the body from within, slowly noticing all the places where you feel the body, and then to feel the inside, and the outside, the skin. The idea is to maintain an awareness of the inside energy of the body at all times. The conclusion I came to is that the inside of the body is very quiet. It is a place of silence, where you can bring your awareness only if you are not easily distracted. Because the outside, the skin is very noisy with all kinds of phantom touches, tingles ..read more

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July 8, 2024 A Verse sharing Compassionate Advice and Cautions, quoted from ‘In Praise of Pratyutpanna’ by Master Shandao 善導大師《般舟讚》慈悲勸誡 Being blind to important truths, we reincarnate life after life according to our karma. Thus, we fall into the deep trenches of painful rebirths because of our past karma. Constantly entrapped by our fires of greed and hatred, We harm ourselves and other people. We sink deeper and deeper into the sea of ignorance, Without any karmic conditions to enable us to find a piece of wood that will prevent us from sinking ever more deeply ..read more

Off shoot from the game thread. Is theatre wrong/unskillful ? This scripture was presented in that thread theatre: “Thus the actor — himself intoxicated & heedless, having made others intoxicated & heedless — with the breakup of the body, after death, is reborn in what is called the hell of laughter. But if he holds such a view as this: 'When an actor on the stage, in the midst of a festival, makes people laugh & gives them delight with his imitation of reality, then with the breakup of the body, after death, he is reborn in the company of the laughing devas,' that is his wrong vie ..read more

“If you renounce something, it imprisons you for the rest of your life.” — Anthony de Mello In the book I was reading, called Awareness by Anthony de Mello, he goes on to say that the only way to be rid of negative impulses is to see through them, to look deeply into their causes and effects and understand their lack of benefits. I have found this to be true as well in my life, for example in my approach to letting go of computer games, that it’s only when you deeply understand it that it finally disappears. Renouncing on the other hand creates strongly held opinions which absorb a lot of your ..read more

In my experience, the most used phrase at the Buddha water cooler and vegetarian pot luck is…Let Go. You see, that’s what you have to do. It’s so easy. Just do it. ( not an ad, hahaha). Let’s get a little simple with this. We all need refresher courses. -I am right, the other person is wrong -That person is living their life in the wrong way, they should change -My preference is the best way, others are wrong -This is the thing I want, I don’t want anything else -I really don’t like that, it sucks -I should have that person in my life, loving me -I shouldn’t be alone, shouldn’t be overweight ..read more

Dear Friends of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, As we may have guessed, we are not all going to be, in this very moment, lifetime or other indications, capable of giving up... For example I am: Never going to be a Nun Unable to fly, Not seen any alien Buddhas at tea time No enlightened AI to be sentient in my lifetime Maybe it is time to give up extraordinary and be just so? Iz plan! Maybe will give it up... https://tinybuddha.com/blog/letting-go-of-attachment-from-a-to-zen ..read more

My happiness cannot be bought. What satisfies me is not the possession of the wanted object, but putting an end to the painfullness of desire. I remind myself of this when considering a purchase. —201 Little Buddhist Reminders Do you have any conversations with yourself before u buy something? I’ve gotten a lot better as I’ve gotten older…I ask myself If I really need it? How often will I use it? And most importantly…is it because I’m bored? Is it because I saw someone else have it and I feel the need to fit in…am I using this thing to invoke some type of feeling?? Will the ads ever stop??, ha ..read more