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Dharma Practice....Changing the Mind where it Matters...
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
Dharma Practice ( in a nutshell)
Changing the Mind where it Matters...(Minding what Matters)
Right Understanding/View
Right Thought
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration
"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change-the neurons fire across the synapses, pathways start to rearrange"
..When it comes to the Dharma...
Can Dharma practice be separate from one's so-called "normal" daily life ?
What are your thoughts on Dharma Practice ?
6
Comments
Outstanding @Shoshin.
My thoughts are very simple. Dharma is self evident and obvious. My daily life is dharma and its failure and success. Normally I am not so perfect but the right direction/way is always preferred . . .
Many thanks
absolutely true, if you change how you look at things. It's so hard to relate to people who haven't learned how to start that process! I dedicate time to study and focus on dharma. But it is my whole life. Not in some romantic sense but truthfully, dharma is life, and life is dharma. There is no separation between them for me.
Relating to others is not so hard if we let them be. An unfolding process learned by travelers on the way.
Osho once said, when you truely meet a master the process is one of imbibing him, of taking him into your very being.
I think with the core of the lore of the Buddha it's the same, you can read the Eightfold Path just to take knowledge, but you can also say, "ah, but I have felt like this for a long time" and make it part of your life by starting to practice as you read. That is truly imbibing the Buddha.
@grackle So true. I struggle to relate to people who place themselves in my world and then say things like "enjoy burning in hell non-believer!" when they find we don't agree. I let them be, yes. But I can't relate to them, or others who are so firmly cemented in their place in life that they refuse to look at anyone, or anything possibly being different than what their preconceptions are. I don't pick fights or antagonize them. But relating to them is another story (for me). When I can't engage someone then they aren't a part of my life. I had in mind an interaction with a friend of a friend from yesterday when I wrote that. Someone who says if I don't understand all Muslims follow Sharia law and mutilate their babies then I'm a worthless human who deserves to burn in hell. A very vocal Christian, of course. She is praying for me, however, lol. So nope, can't relate to her. Let her be, sure. Understand logically she is in another place on her different path, sure. Even practice compassion for her, sure. Relate to her, no.
@karasti. To begin with I am sorry that anyone would see fit to suggest you are going to burn in Hell. I was once told by a Southern Baptist pastor that the reason I did not love the Lord was owing to my reprobate mind. Here in the small town where I live I am seen as a devil worshiping sodomite. How so? I live alone and have a house filled with icons. Senseless talk that reveals an unfulfilled life. Just to let you know you are not alone.
Thanks @grackle. I don't let it bother me, they are just reacting with fear. It just boggles my mind that they talk down about other people while harboring those kinds of sentiments. What good are your beliefs if you don't' use them to work on yourself? I know in many cases they are discouraged from doing so. It's just so much against my nature that I don't understand that desire to never question. It'd be one thing if they just sat in their own miserable corners, but it makes me...mad (for lack of better word) that they use those beliefs to make changes in other people's lives and it's all based on nothing but negative feelings they've developed over people they don't know.
To try and hold a discussion with those for whom the Dharma is a foreign language, is at times like talking to a brick wall, a wall made up of ego...
@karasti & @grackle I can sympathise with both of you ...
With compassion (not adding fuel to their fire) let them burn in their own hells,and in time, hopefully it will burn itself out... it's only they who can free themselves...We can only point the way by leading by example...
Sadly no amount of reason is going to reason a person out of something they were never reasoned into in the first place,,, Thus have I heard
The other day we were stopped by someone inviting us to her local church - just opening. I explained without taking a leaflet that I was a Buddhist and my companion an atheist. Without any dissapointment she thanked us and carried on, as did we. Fine Church.
I am lucky living somewhere that is possible.
We have a tiny group of Somalis living here and as you might guess in the eyes of many here they are terrorists just waiting to do harm. There is no curiosity about other cultures and people. Because the women dress very modestly they stand out as being different. The looks these woman receive as well as the comments are very rude.
Ah,,,a secular society..... what a godsend
The Body of Buddha/Christ/Cod
Amen
(A Catholic joke)
In a sense ... we are starving, we need a crutch, a begging bowl, a homeless way.
One day we look in the Buddha's bowl. Just scraps?
... and yet a feast ...
i'm definitely looking forward to going thru these links in the next couple days, thanks @Shoshin !
i like what @lobster said! i like what @Kerome said!
my practice being in the tweety bird stages......i'm just beginning to read about the 8 fold path and ask myself "What does this look like in action?" and then reflect upon that question with each part i read.
i'm also finding that instead of the dilemma of "ending" desire, i can instead pay attention to when it comes up and i can say "oh yeah, dukkha"
the Wheel is rollin'!
Excellent. i dig this a lot. It shines!