Best Of
Re: The longing for enlightenment
The longing for enlightenment - that is the type of longing that has an end unlike the other types of longing that just goes on and on and on.
Kamma that leads to the end of kamma aka right intention.
Chanda Sutta:Desire
"There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. For him, remaining focused on the body in and of itself, any desire for the body is abandoned. From the abandoning of desire, the deathless is realized.
"He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. For him, remaining focused on feelings in & of themselves, any desire for feelings is abandoned. From the abandoning of desire, the deathless is realized.
"He remains focused on the mind in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. For him, remaining focused on the mind in and of itself, any desire for the mind is abandoned. From the abandoning of desire, the deathless is realized.
"He remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. For him, remaining focused on mental qualities in & of themselves, any desire for mental qualities is abandoned. From the abandoning of desire, the deathless is realized."
Re: How is dependent origination different than determinism?
One view in a nutshell says that..
Dependent Origination intricately describes the interlinking causes and effects that result and propel all of life's suffering.
Buddhism uses Dependent Origination to show us where we can unlink from this process to result in suffering's diminishment. Here in a Buddhist practice, your free will to continue with or to delink in this process determines how much or how little suffering you will create.
Determinism proposes that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to one's free will.
A view that says that free will is irrelevant to life's outcome simply doesn't understand suffering's true causes.
how
Re: Two minutes of meditation?
Is one or two minutes of meditation, in the office or the car or the doctor's office, an actual meditation?
Yes ...as long as you don't close your eye while driving ...Thus have I heard, this can be a bit tricky 
On a more serious note... From what I gather meditation practice is a 24/7/365 thing, it is not restricted to cushion time....it's good to pop back into the present moment every now and again throughout the day...
In less than one minute one can do a quick body scan which helps to bring one's wandering thoughts back from the there and then into the present, the here and now...
Shoshin1
Re: Selflessness and Altruism
@IdleChater & @Jason, I appreciate the respectful correction. I'm a secular practitioner, and I approach Buddhism from a philosophical and psychological perspective. I think, maybe, I should begin some of my posted thoughts with a disclaimer 😜
You folks might not agree with this idea, but as far as I know there are lots of folks, who consider themselves to be Buddhists, who practice generosity in order to gather merit/"good karma" . Isn't that correct? If so, isn't that self-incentive?
Probably would be more skillful for me to leave descriptions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to folks who've learned more than I. Now I'm curious... What's the most efficient way to find how the Buddha described himself?
ScottPen
Re: Selflessness and Altruism
From the perspective of non-duality, altruism is incoherent because, as John Lennon said, "I am he as you are he as you are me, And we are all together." Fine, but it's valuable to explore from another POV.
Is there an inherent problem with there being a self-incentive aspect to generosity? I don't think so. I'm not a biologist, but as far as I know there's a self-incentive for almost every action that every organism, including a Buddha or Bodhisattva, takes. There's a self-incentive built into the 4NT, people! Karma, rebirth, enlightenment... All of them have a self-interest component.
We can care about our own well-being and that of others simultaneously. It works better that way.
ScottPen
Re: Selflessness and Altruism
From the Buddhist perspective of the gradual path, teachings on generosity start with giving where you feel inclined; and even if it is done with an expectation of some personal benefit, it's better than not being generous at all (e.g., SN 3.24, AN 7.49). And eventually, when one breaks down their attachment to self and sees the interconnectedness of all tbings, the distinction between self and other disappears and generosity becomes 'altruistic,' done without expectation of praise or reward, but spontaneously out of kindness and compassion. The path is often started for self-interested reasons, but ends with selflessness—our well-being becomes everyone's well-being. And this is the foundation of the golden rule to treat others as yourself, whether it be Mt 7:12 or SN 3.8.
Jason
Re: Selflessness and Altruism
@ScottPen said:
Karma, rebirth, enlightenment... All of them have a self-interest component.
I dunno. According to Buddhist teachings (again), karma, rebirth, and enlightenment, do not include a "self" component. Our interest in such things involves self-interest, but not the things, themselves.
We can care about our own well-being and that of others simultaneously. It works better that way.
In Buddhism, is compassion, and the ideal, pure compassion is without giver, given, or gift. Again, no self, as such.
I'm not a biologist,
Cool! What are you? Lolz
but as far as I know there's a self-incentive for almost every action that every organism, including a Buddha or Bodhisattva, takes
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are beyond notions of self. They are beings of pure compassion.
Re: Two minutes of meditation?
I'd even go as far as to say that the benefits per minute are greater with micro-meditations than longer ones. This is often true with any endeavour - the law of diminishing returns.
marcitko
Re: Two minutes of meditation?
@Ren_in_black said:
@Jeroen said:
Then I start losing track of time and relaxing just being in a kind of eternal meditative space.That's interesting. When you say eternal, do you mean that it's there the whole time and you return to it when you meditate?
No, it’s just the feeling of timelessness which comes over me.
Jeroen
Re: On giving unsolicited advice
I think there is an element of wisdom involved in knowing when to do which actions. The more we step into the current moment rather than being so led by rules or habituated responses, the more we are able to emotionally read the situation and respond skillfully. This isn't an intellectually learned ability, it is skill developed slowly through meditation.
person