Dear Friends, The first factor is called right (or wise) view, sometimes also called wise understanding. A note about the word “right” in these descriptions: it’s not a moralistic “I’m right and you’re wrong” attitude, but one of “what’s appropriate in this context”. If want to put a nail in a piece of wood, then the right tool… Read More »
Dear Friends, It’s all over the media how mindfulness can have a positive impact in our lives. We probably know that from our own experience. And yet, there’s more we can do to live happier lives! In 8 Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha’s Path, by Bhante Gunaratana writes, “Mindfulness can much improve our lives, but the… Read More »
Dear Friends, Thank you for choosing to be part of this January email offering. This is the ninth year I have been doing this, and I continue to be inspired by the teachings, and by knowing you are here with me on this journey. I’m looking forward to exploring the eightfold path with you this month. We’ll start… Read More »
Dear friends, I will be offering daily meditation emails again for January 2024. Are you interested in participating? Similar to previous years, I’ll send out an email each day in January. My idea this year is to cover a topic over three days – one day focused reading/listening, one day focused on reflection, and the third day for… Read More »
Dear Friends, Thank you for being part of this month-long exploration of the five faculties. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to dive deep into the topic, and I hope you found it interesting as well. Special thanks to the teachers and poets who generously post recordings (and sometimes transcripts) of their teachings online for us to follow… Read More »
Dear Friends, I was inspired to look at the five faculties this month because they can guide us in practice and in daily life. I like how Elizabeth Day described the applicability: This particular framework of the five faculties can be a framework for success in anything that we do. It is a succinct summary of a sophisticated… Read More »
Dear Friends, Over the course of the month, we have looked at each of the five faculties and their progression, as described in a series of talks from Gil Fronsdal. Whenever there are lists like this, it can feel overwhelming, like we have to study for an exam in order to pass. If that’s arising for you, please… Read More »
Dear Friends, As Gil mentioned several times, the five faculties are capacities we all have. Through our practice we continue to strengthen them. We might start with a little faith and put in a little effort to develop some awareness, then find a little calm, and some improved discernment. This gives us more faith to put in more… Read More »
Dear Friends, We have concluded the series of talks from Gil on each of the faculties, so I’ll wrap up the month with a few closing reflections to pull everything together (I hope). The first thing to I want to visit is the idea of balance. The comments that follow are informed by an article from Edward Conze,… Read More »
Dear Friends, The fifth kind of wisdom Gil discusses is what he calls liberative wisdom.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11207 We start practice often from a place of suffering – we initiate practice from this motivation to find freedom from suffering. As we practice, there is more clarity and we can start to distinguish what is happening. That gives us more capabilities to… Read More »
Dear Friends, Gil’s fourth dimension of wisdom is something he calls “revelatory wisdom.” He uses this phrase because things are revealed to us as we practice.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11199 The calming and settling of the mind that we may experience through practice allows us to see more clearly. Something that was always there is clear. Gil uses an example of when… Read More »
Dear Friends, The third form of wisdom Gil discusses is “decisive wisdom.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11192 As we sit and practice, there is more clarity in the mind to see what is happening, and we start to see what is helpful and what is not helpful, and the consequences of our actions. When we see the what is happening and we have… Read More »
Dear Friends, The second aspect of the faculty of paññā, wisdom, that Gil reflects on is what he calls distinguishing wisdom.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11182 As we start to see our experience with more clarity, we can begin to tease it apart into its component parts. Gil gives the example of getting more clarity on something like “I feel terrible.” To look… Read More »
Dear Friends, The fifth faculty is paññā, often translated as wisdom, and Gil offers other words like discernment or insight.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11407 Although the word “wisdom” may sound lofty, it’s a faculty we all possess. Gil says “as we settle in and listen deeply, … our psychophysical system will begin to discern what’s happening. We’ll begin to see more and… Read More »
Dear Friends, Gil’s final talk on the faculty of samadhi first reminds us that this is something closer to our natural state when we relax all artifice. “We just settle into a very relaxed, deep, attentive way of being.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11157 The progression discussed so far has gone from the initial ways we begin, over and over, to center the… Read More »
