Dear Friends, One last message for this series of emails, to express my deep appreciation and gratitude for being part of this month with me. As the Buddha said to Ananda, “Good friends, companions, and associates are the whole of the spiritual life. ” (SN 45.2) It is inspiring for me to know that there were people from… Read More »
Dear Friends, Closing off this month by finishing up the talk by Kamala Masters titled “The Power of Patience.” I like the way Kamala shows a link between equanimity and patience in this talk. Kamala says that in India, she has heard a colloquial translation of equanimity as “seeing with patience.” I like that description. Patience – to… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with the talk by Kamala Masters titled, “The Power of Patience.” Kamala talked about a period of time she practiced as a nun because she wanted to live a simple life for a while. She describes her experience: “I just did the practice in a simple way. When something arose, just being able to see… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with the talk by Kamala Masters titled, “The Power of Patience.” Kamala shared a reflection that resonated with me: You might have noticed that there’s no joy when there’s impatience in the practice. … When we can go at good pace with ourselves, just allowing things to arise that are already arising, and our only… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with the talk by Kamala Masters titled, “The Power of Patience.” Kamala tells a story of a time she was having a “rolling up the mat” period of practice. She told the teacher, “I can’t do this!” The teacher and translator discussed for a bit, and the translator said, “Sayadaw-ji says that when you’re feeling… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with the talk by Kamala Masters titled, “The Power of Patience.” Kamala says [Patience] gives us this gentle effort of endurance, to not only remember to stay open to the ever present changing moments in retreat, but also to remain with that quiet faith inside of us that we can do it. To keep our… Read More »
Dear Friends, We’ll spend the last few days of this month with the talk by Kamala Masters titled, “The Power of Patience.” Kamala starts out by saying that patience is of the qualities that’s “so basic and humble that we often underestimate their power.” She also says, “it’s such an important part of our home life, and such… Read More »
Dear Friends, Concluding this dive into Sally Armstrong’s talk, “Facets of Equanimity,” and this exploration of equanimity as an expression of wisdom, and in particular into the notion of karma (kamma). Sally read a passage from Thanissaro Bhikkhu, instead of promoting resigned powerlessness, the early Buddhist notion of karma focused on the liberating potential of what the mind… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Sally Armstrong’s talk, “Facets of Equanimity,” continuing this exploration of equanimity as an expression of wisdom, and in particular into the notion of karma (kamma). Both Sally and Kamala have mentioned this teaching from the Buddha: Whatever one frequently thinks and ponders upon, that will become an inclination of the mind. ~ Two Kinds… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Sally Armstrong’s talk, “Facets of Equanimity,” looking at equanimity as an expression of wisdom, and in particular into the notion of karma (kamma). I appreciate that Sally spends a bit of time debunking some of the misunderstandings around the Buddha’s teachings on karma. I recall a meme that was circulating a while ago that… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Sally Armstrong’s talk, “Facets of Equanimity,” looking at equanimity as an expression of wisdom. One of the lists Sally includes in this section on equanimity and wisdom is the five remembrances. This is the version she shared: I am of the nature to age, I have not gone beyond aging.I am of the nature… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Sally Armstrong’s talk, “Facets of Equanimity,” looking at some of the ways equanimity might be experienced in our meditation practice. She states, “Any moment of true or clear mindfulness has equanimity in it.” You can hear this balance of equanimity in the definitions of mindfulness Sally shares. Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of… Read More »
Dear Friends, Turning now to Sally Armstrong’s talk, “Facets of Equanimity,” which looks at some ways to categorize the many ways equanimity is part of our meditation practices. Sally again mentions her list of lists. I don’t have her handout, but it likely incorporates items similar to those listed here:https://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/dhamma-lists/ I appreciate her invitation that each of us… Read More »
Dear Friends, To finish Kamala’s talk, “The Five Spiritual Faculties’ relationship to Equanimity” with the fifth faculty of wisdom. Kamaly says the calm and steady collected mind can “pierce through the illusion of solidity and permanence.” She says, “When [the mind] pierces through the illusion of permanence, the deep understanding and wisdom of impermanence is known. Not theoretically,… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Kamala’s talk, “The Five Spiritual Faculties’ relationship to Equanimity,” and the fourth faculty of concentration. Several teachers, talks, and articles on this subject frequently comment that the word “concentration” may not be the best translation for samadhi. When I was on retreat with Susie Harrington last August, she said that the word “concentration” has… Read More »
