Dear Friends, On the theme of the right intention of renunciation, Phillip Moffitt says, “the ultimate purpose of skillful renunciation practices is to help you regain a connection to the sacred.” He provides some examples of what to practice. Here is a brief snippet of the each of the three renunciations he mentions, with a link to the… Read More »
Dear Friends, Gil’s fifth talk on viriya looks at “effortless effort.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11105 He describes the progression of effort as “deeper layers of letting go.” Effortless effort is a continuation of this flow of effort in a profound way. There is equanimity, non-reactivity, non-attachment. An analogy Gil shares is that of something tethered outside with a rope. Over time, the… Read More »
Dear Friends, There’s a Pāli word, dukkha, that Christina Feldman discusses in the context of compassion. Dukkha has many different translations. Some of the original translators used the word “suffering”, but more recent translators use words like unsatisfactoriness, stress, dis-ease. (An article by Glenn Wallis lists several alternative translations:https://www.lionsroar.com/what-is-dukkha/ ) Joseph Goldstein has described the origins of the… Read More »
Dear Friends, One of my big tasks at work this month will be working with my team to our articulate goals for 2016. Goal setting is something many people do. Intentions are different than goals. I found a good description of the distinction between goals and intentions, by Phillip Moffitt: Goal making is a valuable skill; it involves… Read More »
