Confidence in the Dhamma begins with a temporary conviction of a morally wholesome object, but gradually it develops to a form of unshakeable trust in the Perfect One, his teaching, and his noble order. The Buddha has denounced blind faith and pointed out that it cannot help his follower in any way in his self-purification. He always emphasized that one should believe in his teaching only after having understood it. He often praised the one who is endowed with confidence based on knowledge. This confidence is called saddhd in Buddhist terminology. The understanding on which it is based may sometimes be weak and sometimes strong. The Buddha has compared saddhd to the confidence which a patient has in his doctor, or a student in his teacher. The more benefits the patient receives from his doctor’s treatment and advice, the more saddhd he has in him. Similarly, the more easily the student learns his lessons and the more successfully he passes his examination, the more confidence he has in his teacher. If the doctor’s prescription does his patient no good, the patient begins to lose his saddha. In his own teaching the Buddha has said:
“As a wise man tests gold on a touchstone, heating and cutting, so you monks should test my words by practice, and not accept them simply due to the reverence towards me.”
“As a wise man tests gold on a touchstone, heating and cutting, so you monks should test my words by practice, and not accept them simply due to the reverence towards me.”
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Just Concentrating on any part of your body affects it, it is known empirically. Increased blood circulation increasing oxygen and action potential. Rate of Transmission through the nerves increases. Every plexus, chakra or cluster has known domains and sensations that can be mastered through awareness, observation of causality, feedback.
With a map of the nervous system, there is a lot to be explored.
With a map of the nervous system, there is a lot to be explored.
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Forwarded from Tibetan Buddhism Vajrayana Tantrayana esoteric tradition
Why Meditation Is Vital
Pema explains why it helps, and how to do it.
MEDITATION PRACTIC E AWAKENS our trust that the wisdom and compassion that we need are already within us. It helps us to know ourselves: our rough parts and our smooth parts, our passion, aggression, ignorance, and wisdom. The reason that people harm other people, the reason that the planet is polluted and people and animals are not doing so well these days is that individuals don’t know or trust or love themselves enough.
The technique of sitting meditation called shamatha-vipashyana (“tranquility-insight”) is like a golden key that helps us to know ourselves. In shamatha-vipashyana meditation, we sit upright with legs crossed and eyes open, hands resting on our thighs. Then we simply become aware of our breath as it goes out. It requires precision to be right there with that breath. On the other hand, it’s extremely relaxed and soft. Saying, “Be right there with the breath as it goes out,” is the same thing as saying, “Be fully present.” Be right here with whatever is going on. Being aware of the breath as it goes out, we may also be aware of other things going on—sounds on the street, the light on the walls. These things capture our attention slightly, but they don’t need to draw us off. We can continue to sit right here, aware of the breath going out.
But being with the breath is only part of the technique. These thoughts that run through our minds continually are the other part. We sit here talking to ourselves. The instruction is that when you realize you’ve been thinking you label it “thinking.” When your mind wanders off, you say to yourself, “thinking.” Whether your thoughts are violent or passionate or full of ignorance and denial; whether your thoughts are worried or fearful; whether your thoughts are spiritual thoughts, pleasing thoughts of how well you’re doing, comforting thoughts, uplifting thoughts, whatever they are—without judgment or harshness simply label it all “thinking,” and do that with honesty and gentleness.
The touch on the breath is light: only about 25 percent of the awareness is on the breath. You’re not grasping and fixating on it. You’re opening, letting the breath mix with the space of the room, letting your breath just go out into space. Then there’s something like a pause, a gap until the next breath goes out again. While you’re breathing in, there could be some sense of just opening and waiting. It is like pushing the doorbell and waiting for someone to answer. Then you push the doorbell again and wait for someone to answer.
Then probably your mind wanders off and you realize you’re thinking again—at this point use the labeling technique.
It’s important to be faithful to the technique. If you find that your labeling has a harsh, negative tone to it, as if you were saying, “Dammit!,” that you’re giving yourself a hard time, say it again and lighten up. It’s not like trying to shoot down the thoughts as if they were clay pigeons. Instead, be gentle. Use the labeling part of the technique as an opportunity to develop softness and compassion for yourself. Anything that comes up is okay in the arena of meditation. The point is, you can see it honestly and make friends with it.
Although it is embarrassing and painful, it is very healing to stop hiding from yourself. It is healing to know all the ways that you’re sneaky, all the ways that you hide out, all the ways that you shut down, deny, close off, criticize people, all your weird little ways. You can know all of that with some sense of humor and kindness. By knowing yourself, you’re coming to know humanness altogether. We are all up against these things. So when you realize that you’re talking to yourself, label it “thinking” and notice your tone of voice. Let it be compassionate and gentle and humorous. Then you’ll be changing old stuck patterns that are shared by the whole human race. Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.
Pema explains why it helps, and how to do it.
MEDITATION PRACTIC E AWAKENS our trust that the wisdom and compassion that we need are already within us. It helps us to know ourselves: our rough parts and our smooth parts, our passion, aggression, ignorance, and wisdom. The reason that people harm other people, the reason that the planet is polluted and people and animals are not doing so well these days is that individuals don’t know or trust or love themselves enough.
The technique of sitting meditation called shamatha-vipashyana (“tranquility-insight”) is like a golden key that helps us to know ourselves. In shamatha-vipashyana meditation, we sit upright with legs crossed and eyes open, hands resting on our thighs. Then we simply become aware of our breath as it goes out. It requires precision to be right there with that breath. On the other hand, it’s extremely relaxed and soft. Saying, “Be right there with the breath as it goes out,” is the same thing as saying, “Be fully present.” Be right here with whatever is going on. Being aware of the breath as it goes out, we may also be aware of other things going on—sounds on the street, the light on the walls. These things capture our attention slightly, but they don’t need to draw us off. We can continue to sit right here, aware of the breath going out.
But being with the breath is only part of the technique. These thoughts that run through our minds continually are the other part. We sit here talking to ourselves. The instruction is that when you realize you’ve been thinking you label it “thinking.” When your mind wanders off, you say to yourself, “thinking.” Whether your thoughts are violent or passionate or full of ignorance and denial; whether your thoughts are worried or fearful; whether your thoughts are spiritual thoughts, pleasing thoughts of how well you’re doing, comforting thoughts, uplifting thoughts, whatever they are—without judgment or harshness simply label it all “thinking,” and do that with honesty and gentleness.
The touch on the breath is light: only about 25 percent of the awareness is on the breath. You’re not grasping and fixating on it. You’re opening, letting the breath mix with the space of the room, letting your breath just go out into space. Then there’s something like a pause, a gap until the next breath goes out again. While you’re breathing in, there could be some sense of just opening and waiting. It is like pushing the doorbell and waiting for someone to answer. Then you push the doorbell again and wait for someone to answer.
Then probably your mind wanders off and you realize you’re thinking again—at this point use the labeling technique.
It’s important to be faithful to the technique. If you find that your labeling has a harsh, negative tone to it, as if you were saying, “Dammit!,” that you’re giving yourself a hard time, say it again and lighten up. It’s not like trying to shoot down the thoughts as if they were clay pigeons. Instead, be gentle. Use the labeling part of the technique as an opportunity to develop softness and compassion for yourself. Anything that comes up is okay in the arena of meditation. The point is, you can see it honestly and make friends with it.
Although it is embarrassing and painful, it is very healing to stop hiding from yourself. It is healing to know all the ways that you’re sneaky, all the ways that you hide out, all the ways that you shut down, deny, close off, criticize people, all your weird little ways. You can know all of that with some sense of humor and kindness. By knowing yourself, you’re coming to know humanness altogether. We are all up against these things. So when you realize that you’re talking to yourself, label it “thinking” and notice your tone of voice. Let it be compassionate and gentle and humorous. Then you’ll be changing old stuck patterns that are shared by the whole human race. Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.
❤9
Forwarded from Esoteric Dixie Dharma
I like remembering the perspective that the elites are only a force that facilitates what the people do to themselves. This keeps the focus on one's own sphere of influence and away from "muh look what they're doing to me" victim mentality. Own your shit and fix it.
Take responsibility and work within what you have influence over. This is not saying don't be aware of outside forces, it only means that you realize what you're experiencing in life is due to your own karma. Karmic law applies on the macro or collective level as well. And when the host becomes virile and conscious enough the parasite will be plucked as a matter of course.
Focus on the order of operations.
Take responsibility and work within what you have influence over. This is not saying don't be aware of outside forces, it only means that you realize what you're experiencing in life is due to your own karma. Karmic law applies on the macro or collective level as well. And when the host becomes virile and conscious enough the parasite will be plucked as a matter of course.
Focus on the order of operations.
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Practitioners should know that when we talk about “no-self”, we talk about the lack of an independent and non-changing self. When we say anatman we don’t say “no soul” we say that all phenomena/appearances are impermanent, meaning they are in intermittent states of becoming or, let’s say begoing. No independent self means, among else, that the attributes ascribed to you are in relation to other people and conditions. A practical example of this is how you are a different person with family than with friends and different between different friends.
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