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Re: Sexuality and Desire in Buddhist teaching
Sexuality and desire or any attachment.
Some compass notes on Life, in or out of the soap opera of self.
One of the best meditative aids in addressing our susceptibility to craving, aversion or the deliberate ignoring of any phenomena is learning how to meditatively discern the difference between our natural thoughts and our deliberate thoughts.
Natural thoughts allow for the plain observation of the arrival, life, and departure of any data past our sense gates, while deliberate thought reflects the ways and means by which we coerce any of that data to effect a specific ego-confirming result.
Natural thought allows for acceptance and equanimity in the presence of those data flows.
Deliberate thought reflects how our habituated impulses to control those data streams, inevitably imprison one within an identity's dream structure.
One allows for the potential of selflessness to reflect how we relate to anything.
The other adds the complication of a dream's agenda to muddy any waters of clarity.
Herein with every new nanosecond of thought, another opportunity awaits to either head towards a deeper slumber of dissatisfaction or head towards what the Buddha called an awakening.
how
Re: How do you find the end of the mind?
All that you can ever find is the ending of phenomena or things.
The rays of consciousness alight on things other itself. That is all that can be noticed.
It is not that the rays can turn back and illuminate itself.
Much like the finger can only feel things other than itself.
Alight means "land on," or "step on," or "stick to momentarily."
Consciousness keeps landing on things -
it is that landing that creates a name and form or an object.
There is no ending of this until one has completed all that needs to be done.
Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā manoseṭṭhā manomayā
Mind precedes created things; mind’s their chief; from the mind they spring.
"Just as if there were a roofed house or a roofed hall having windows on the north, the south, or the east. When the sun rises, and a ray has entered by way of the window, where does it land?"
"On the western wall, lord."
"And if there is no western wall, where does it land?"
"On the ground, lord."
"And if there is no ground, where does it land?"
"On the water, lord."
"And if there is no water, where does it land?"
"It does not land, lord."
"In the same way, where there is no passion for the nutriment of physical food... contact... intellectual intention... consciousness, where there is no delight, no craving, then consciousness does not land there or grow. Where consciousness does not land or grow, name-&-form does not alight. Where name-&-form does not alight, there is no growth of fabrications. Where there is no growth of fabrications, there is no production of renewed becoming in the future. Where there is no production of renewed becoming in the future, there is no future birth, aging, & death. That, I tell you, has no sorrow, affliction, or despair."
— SN 12.64
Re: How do you find the end of the mind?
"How do you find the end of the mind?"
You don't
If you try, you fail.
Lionduck
Re: Sexuality and Desire in Buddhist teaching
@how said:
The most common experience of finding oneself face-planting about it, again, on such a path occurs whenever one's preceding thoughts have been that they've finally got a handle on it.
A side question (for all): I found this paragraph by @how very interesting since when trying to adopt good habits/behaviors and avoid bad ones I frequently notice that it is easy to resist while it is difficult (while under "attack") but once the "attack" subsides and I think "nice, it's passed"... I still succumb. A strange phenomenon that I do not quite understand.
marcitko
Re: Is the middle way comfortable?
I think the closest answer I can share is one of an astronaut being propelled up into space. And the song "Momentum" by Origin.
At moments at peace,
others at awe, with thw sweaty chance of sudden death dribbling through your mind....
And then hungry.
I sit. And it is hard. I have so many things to do. But I sit, because when you sit for sometime, then you really begin to finally slow down l.
Kotishka
Re: Our personal quotes
The eyes take a sight, the mind's vision becomes that sight,
The ears take a sound, the mind's voice becomes that sound,
The nose takes a smell, the mind's scent becomes that smell,
The body takes a touch, the mind's sensitivity becomes that touch,
The tongue takes a taste, the mind's flavor becomes that taste,
The mind becomes the signs of the other five, nothing there but still alive.
Re: A dream about jealousy
On further reflection, what is hiding behind this is the inner child’s need for appreciation, and ultimately the desire to be loved. Reward for work is appreciation, is love deep within. The key to finding this out was this short quote from an article in Lion’s Roar about dealing with difficult emotions:
As you do this practice, you may discover, as I did, that these tenacious thoughts represent a part of you that longs to be seen and acknowledged. Kind awareness, even toward unwanted thoughts, goes a long way when other approaches are unworkable.
https://www.lionsroar.com/offer-kindness-toward-difficult-thoughts/
I read the quote, thinking, I wonder what was hiding behind that jealousy, with kindness, and suddenly there was a cascade of insights.
A good day’s work.
Jeroen
Re: A religion of warmth
The theme of Buddhism being a practice of not just peace, but also of joy goes to it's origin. in th Lotus Sutra, for example, in the chapter describing the Bodhisattvas emerging from the earth, the leader of these Bodhisattvas emerges dancing in joy.
Buddhism has alwas been intended as a practice of celebration, of joy, embracing the unity of life, both within and without.
Peace to all
Lionduck
Re: No Buddhist Quotes
“Well-being is realized by small steps, but is truly no small thing.” – Zeno (a Stoic philosopher)
marcitko
Re: No Buddhist Quotes
“The traditional method of vipassana is a very cold, dull and dead way, and because it is cold it takes a longer time – perhaps a few lives to become awakened.
But because all the religions of the world have praised coldness in their saints, in their seekers, searchers, they have all delayed progress, delayed the evolution of consciousness.
Energy moves better when it is warmer.
This is one of my contributions, which will be condemned by all the religions – the religions of the cold. I teach you a religion of warmth, love, singing, dancing, music. These are all tremendously helpful to make you alert, wakeful.”
— Osho, ‘The Transmission of the Lamp’
Jeroen