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, 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, Just a few concluding reflections on Sally Armstrong’s talk, “The roles of mindfulness, metta and equanimity in our practice“. Here are Sally’s closing comments in this talk: That’s the possibility of these practices. Landing in the present moment, knowing what’s happening, in our direct experience. Feeling that connectedness with the external, with other, with the world,… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Sally Armstrong’s talk, “The roles of mindfulness, metta and equanimity in our practice” – about the practice of metta – and also to balance out the negativity in the news… Sally says, We can be very overwhelmed by the dukkha, the suffering, in the world, the negativity. … where we know every disaster that’s… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Sally Armstrong’s talk, “The roles of mindfulness, metta and equanimity in our practice” – now turning to the practice of metta. There are many ways to translate metta: lovingkindness, friendliness, goodwill, benevolence, acceptance, heartfulness. I was first taught this as “lovingkindness”, but as Sally mentions, “If we use the term “lovingkindness” – as soon… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Sally Armstrong’s talk, “The roles of mindfulness, metta and equanimity in our practice“, and her discussion on mindfulness… Sally shares various definitions of mindfulness, but I really resonate with the definition that Jeanne Corrigal offers: Mindfulness is paying attention, with open, curious interest, to what is happening within and around us, with the intention… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Sally Armstrong’s talk, “The roles of mindfulness, metta and equanimity in our practice“, can you relate to this sentiment… What we often see is our minds are messy. They are relentless. They never stop. Unless we do this deliberate turning towards presence, towards the body, towards simplicity. ~ Sally Armstrong Or perhaps you recognize… Read More »
Dear Friends, For the next few days, I’ll be picking a few tidbits out of a talk by Sally Armstrong on “The roles of mindfulness, metta and equanimity in our practice” from the Equanimity and Awareness retreat. Sally mentions that it’s helpful to begin with basic teachings and practices of mindfulness. She highlights how mindfulness informs metta (kindness),… Read More »
Dear Friends, In Chapter 2 of The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English, Bhante Gunaratana discusses various postures in which one can meditate: sitting, standing, walking, and lying down.Even experienced meditators can benefit from reviewing their posture on occasion, so I invite you to really pay attention to your body, no matter what position you are in. Today,… Read More »
