THE ENDING OF SUMMER AND OTHER THINGS

In case you haven’t noticed, summer is really starting to wane. It’s actually been happening since June 22nd, but now it’s getting noticeable. The energy of late spring and early summer is past and the biosphere is quieting down. This is happening, and will continue to happen regardless of our relationship to it. It’s just what is so.

The Dharma, as in the Buddha’s teachings, tells us that all things are of the same nature. They are born or arise, live for some period of time, and then pass away. The Dharma, as in the natural world, manifests those teachings clearly and endlessly. While it’s simply what’s so, the passing away part can be challenging for us. …

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DUKKHA IS NOT A BAD THING

When we hear the word Dukkha, what comes to mind? Probably not something good or preferable. We can perceive Dukkha as something that we want to get or stay away from. If Sukkha is sweet, then Dukkha definitely must be bitter. Yet, the Buddha said that Dukkha must be known, experienced and understood. Why would we want to experience Dukkha? The answer to that is summed up in this famous quote from the Buddha, “I teach one thing and one thing only, Dukkha and the ending of Dukkha”. We see that the ending of Dukkha, which is the aim of this practice and the inevitable outcome of cultivating the Noble Eightfold Path, is inextricably connected to knowing Dukkha.

In order to know Dukkha, we must be able to understand it. Unreliable, Unsatisfactory, Unstable, Subject to change, Vulnerable, and, yes, Suffering, are all words that round out what this Pali word is pointing to. …

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SUPPORTING DAILY LIFE PRACTICE

In addition to your formal meditation periods, here are multiple practice options to deepen mindfulness in daily life:

BODY BASED

Body Awareness - Pick something you do every day that lasts for 5-10 minutes. Say, making breakfast. Be ultra aware of your body movements during that time. Don’t just be aware of them, feel them.

10% Slower - Form the intention to move 10% slower than you normally do …

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CALM IN THE STORM

When I went to meditate during a particularly stormy day recently, I felt the warmth, safety, and relative calm that our house provided. On one level that’s what we are doing with our meditation practice; we’re cultivating calm in the midst of the storm.

There are various types and levels of calm and storminess. Some storminess could be associated with more outer conditions, such as other people’s behavior or particular situations we find ourselves in. These could be challenging, difficult, or even dangerous. Within these conditions there are different degrees of storminess. Some are mildly ruffling, while other situations can feel like they are going to blow us over….

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A RADICAL FORM OF SOCIAL ACTIVISM

As I watched the tortured expressions of rage on the faces of the rioters at the Capital Building last week, I thought to myself, “This is why we practice”. We practice to not suffer or create suffering on gross levels such as we witnessed, and on increasingly subtler levels. We practice until the heart and mind are free of what in Buddhism are sometimes called the “defilements”: Greed, hatred, and delusion.

When there is no mindfulness and thus no ability to know what is entering one’s heart and mind, we are vulnerable to being overtaken by the defilements. That defilements visit the heart/mind is not necessarily the problem. This will continue to happen until the seeds of greed, hatred, and delusion have been uprooted and transformed completely. The problem is when there isn’t any mindfulness to know the defilements are present….

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A MICROWAVE TEACHING

We have a microwave in the kitchen that emits loud, shrill beeps when the timer goes off. It used to be that when I put something in the microwave, I kept an eye on the timer to catch it in time to stop it before the beeps occurred. One day, I noticed that I was tense and constricted as I rushed through doing something just so that I could get to the microwave in time to turn it off. The suffering was obvious, as was the need to have a different relationship to the beeps.

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SITTING STEADILY ON THE EARTH

In our formal practice we take our seat (or stand, walk or lie down) on the earth. This may be stating the obvious, but it is well worth being keenly aware of. We are not animals of the skies or oceans, but of the earth. We spend our living years in intimate connection with the earth, and therefore cultivate the Eightfold Path in connection with the earth. An important question is: “Are we aware of this connection at any given moment?”

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10% SLOWER

I wanted to share a practice that I’ve been doing for a while with you. Practicing “10% Slower.” This is sort of a re-branded version of one of the most basic Dharma practices there is. That is, being present for what you are physically doing. (First foundation of Mindfulness: Changing Postures) As is often the case, the most basic teachings, when followed through fully and diligently, can have a very positive impact on our practice and our happiness….

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FEELING THE WEIGHT OF OUR TIMES

There are a number of very difficult stressors happening simultaneously in our world. While not every person or group of people is impacted equally, the combined influence of these stressors affects almost everyone in some substantial way. That such a large percentage of the population is under this level of duress at the same time is really quite extraordinary and deserving of our attention and care. That last statement can be read as coming from a privileged perspective because marginalized communities have always been under duress. It didn’t start with COVID-19. While that is true, the breadth of the current unrest is still worthy of consideration for everyone.

These stressors include ….

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SLOWLY WINS THE RACE

The first day of fall started one month ago, if you mark the seasons as they relate to the length of days. August 7 started the three months of fastest reduction in daylight as we slide towards winter. Or, what’s left of winter, these days. If fall is a time of change, then the time of greatest change is September 21 (or whenever the equinox is). This is when the days are getting shorter at their greatest rate. From this perspective, September 21 is the middle of fall with fall extending 6 weeks before and after that date. Which brings us to today, September 7, as one month into the fall season of 2020.

The days have been getting shorter since June 21, albeit starting at a very slow pace (seconds per day). The pace has continued to quicken and we are currently losing approximately 3 minutes of light each day. And yet, it’s likely that we are only just starting to notice the changes that have been taking place since June 21. Go outside in the morning or in the early evening and notice how quiet things are. Not just the sounds, but the general feel or vibe of the biosphere is quietening down.

Why is this important? Because our Dharma practice unfolds in a very similar way….

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WEEDING WITHOUT JUDGMENT

It’s the time of year when many people spend time weeding their vegetable and/or flower gardens. As I was weeding the other day, I reflected that this is similar to what we do in our Dharma practice. Cultivate what is wholesome, and let go of what is unwholesome. Calm, generosity, equanimity… keep it. Anger, worry, greed… don’t feed them, let them go.

There’s a bit more nuance with the Dharma practice than with the garden. With the garden, it’s clear cut. Weed, out. Broccoli, in. When we are being mindful of our heart and mind states and we notice something unwholesome, however, we don’t necessarily throw that mind state out (although we could). We don’t want to add aversion to the unwholesome. We pay attention to understand, not to judge.

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WISDOM, COMPASSION, AND COVID-19

As many of us are seeing more clearly, the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing home the truth of change, stress, and interconnectedness (Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta). Wise/Right View sees that this truth is, and has always been, the case.

The degree to which we have cultivated Wise View is the degree to which we don’t suffer unnecessarily during this time. Yes, our lives are drastically changed. Yes, all bets are off for future plans. Yet, with the wisdom of Wise View we can avoid thinking/feeling that this should not be happening. Basically, we don’t resist it (or, at least not as much) and therefore don’t pile unnecessary suffering on top of an already difficult situation….

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MINDFULNESS AND CONCENTRATION: PARTS OF A WHOLE

For the past few months, Chas has been offering teaching to support development of the steadiness of mind that is Right Concentration, including exploration of jhana states. In December 2019, we began to investigate the relationship between mindfulness meditation and concentration meditation.

CLICK HERE to access the first part of an article by Thanissaro Bhikkhu that Chas introduced in December and will continue working with in January 2020 and beyond. (Depending on your browser, the article may open as a downloaded separate file.)

GRATITUDE

It’s common when Thanksgiving comes around to think about what we are grateful for. Of course, there are many, many things to be grateful for. Like your next in-breath. 

As Dharma practitioners, it can be helpful to reflect on just what good fortune it is to have come into contact with the Buddha’s teachings on Mindfulness, Concentration, Wisdom, and Compassion. You know your mind. Imagine what your life might be like right now if you didn’t have these practices to guide you through this world. Yes, it’s not pretty. 

Here’s a glimpse of how fortunate we are in this way:

  • To be born as a human being requires very good Karma and is considered, in terms of awakening, the most precious realm to be born in. The human realm has a balance of pleasure and pain such that we don’t get overwhelmed with suffering, but also don’t get lost in having such abundant pleasure that we don’t consider practicing. 

  • To be born as a human and during a Buddha’s dispensation (Sasana) is considered extremely fortunate. It is said the current Sasna will last 5,000 years after the Buddha’s Parinibbana (death), so we’re about half way through. After which time the teachings will be lost. It will be up to the next Buddha to rediscover them, which may be a long, long way off. 

  • To be born as a human during the Buddha-Sasana, and to come into contact with the teachings (read a book, take a class, have a friend tell one about it, etc.) is even more fortunate. 

  • To be born as a human during the Buddha-Sasana, come into contact with the teachings, and take to them, is considered even more fortunate.

  • To be born as a human during the Buddha-Sasana, come into contact with the teachings, take to them, and continue to cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path throughout one’s life, is the most fortunate. 

So, you’re doing pretty good! Reflect on this. Consider how fortunate you are. That’s the practice – to reflect on what we have to be grateful for. It really doesn’t get much better than this. 

May our good fortune be for the benefit of all living beings. 

THE DHARMA & MARK TWAIN

At about 4 p.m. the other day, I was thinking about the calls I needed to make after work and a video conference I needed to be on after the calls, and I didn’t want to do any of it! I wished that I could just be done at 5pm. The feeling was one of definite suffering. Thankfully, with mindfulness I was able to redirect my attention to the present moment. I could make a conscious somatic connection to my body and …

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STARTING THE DAY wITH INTENTION

How we start our day is important. It puts us on a particular course, for better or for worse. In this age of 24-hour news and instant gratification through the internet, it can be tempting to wake up and turn on our phone/computer. While this may be entertaining (or at least distracting), in terms of our body and mind, it is one of the worst ways we can begin our day. 

Getting sucked into the latest news feed, or surfing the web, supports mind states of desire and aversion. The body tenses as it responds to these contracted mind states, and the nervous system gets ramped up. Throw in a cup of caffeinated drink, and the process is exacerbated. Now the day is beginning in a hyper-arousal state. The body and mind are rushing and racing, leading to short term agitation and long term disease. 

I would suggest a different way of starting your day that goes something like this:

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LAWFUL UNFOLDING

Signs that autumn is well underway are all around us. The experience at every sense door tells us the season is rapidly changing. While we may be noticing this now, the changes started long ago. In fact, the moment the sun crossed its zenith on the summer solstice, the movement towards winter began. As sunlight hours started to shorten each day, it created the conditions for change, and for change in a specific direction. Just after the solstice, the days were only seconds shorter, but day after day, the seconds compound and the sun gets lower and lower in the sky. What we are experiencing is a lawful consequence of that slow but inexorable process. 

Our Dharma practice follows the exact same unfolding…

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DHARMA PRACTICE IS RELATIONAL PRACTICE

Except for the approximately 4 hours of dreamless sleep we have each night, we are constantly in relationship with life. With ourselves, others and with everything that arises at the six sense doors, we are in relationship. As Dharma practitioners, the important question is,“How are we relating to what is present?”

The relationship we tend to have the most difficulty with, and which can produce so much suffering, is the relationship with other human beings. This is a huge subject and not necessarily the focus of this piece. What I would suggest is that you view your human relationships (whether it’s an encounter with a clerk at a store, or your most intimate relationship) as an important and integral part of your Dharma practice….

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LISTENING TO THE NATURAL RESPONSIVENESS OF THE HEART

One time the Buddha was giving teachings to his son Rahula. He said to Rahula that before, during, and after you think, say, or do something, you should contemplate: will this be, is this, was that, supportive to my happiness and the happiness of others? If you determine that it won’t be, isn’t, or wasn’t, then you should not do it, stop doing it, or don’t do it again. If you determine that it is supportive…….

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