C T

~ anon. ~

~ Paramito ~ The grasping mind is one which is closed to, or has closed around, an experience. It is a cold, contracted, claustrophobic state of being, which is dukkha (unsatisfactory and unpleasant).

Sifus answer:

~ Patrul Rinpoche ~ To an experienced practitioner, still mind is mind and moving mind is mind. Once the empty nature of mind has been recognised, Moving mind and still mind are not two different things. No matter what thought arises, no matter what appears, it is empty of nature; it it the play of primordial wisdom; it is the profound understanding of the Victorious Ones.

There's absolutely no compelling reason to fret over the duration of sitting practice. In the system of Buddhist yoga & meditation I follow, its said that short durations of undistracted awareness repeated many times is easier to cultivate than attempts at sitting for extended periods - after 10 minutes, one's outer & inner being takes on the same state as a piece of driftwood. If anything, its more reasonable to make mind training a priority. As this training progresses, one will intuitively know how to sit, and for how long. And a lot of spiritual development hinges on trusting this intuitive knowing. If incapable of a certain mental confidence and poise, or if lethargic, it will be quite impossible to harness that intuitive ability.

Worth a listen

This is precisely the sort of conditioned dualistic views that ensnares the unawares.

I don't mean to be curt by offering a short answer to what seems like a vast & profound subject. Lately it seems that I'm getting to be quite sensitive to having lots to say on things. The rippling effect continues long after the interactions cease, and this usually drains vital energy. In brief, I think.... Spirituality is the task one undertakes to resolve dualistic notions & views. It involves the dropping or letting go of gross & subtle tendencies, as habits, of fixation, opinions, and clinging to positions.

Indeed, there are quite a few *energetic* practices related to Secret Mantra/Vajrayana, but on a practical level, the simple yet profound yantra yoga, or just a daily routine of prostrations for an extended period (of years), is more than sufficient to bring about mind/body balance, alignment and flow.

Fleeting unless calm Life... in the face of a croc No thinking needed

~ The Mandala ~ The origin of the mandala is the center, a dot. It is a symbol apparently free of dimensions. It means a 'seed', 'sperm', 'drop', the salient starting point. It is the gathering center in which the outside energies are drawn, and in the act of drawing the forces, the devotee's own energies unfold and are also drawn. Thus it represents the outer and inner spaces. Its purpose is to remove the object-subject dichotomy. In the process, the mandala is consecrated to a deity. In its creation, a line materializes out of a dot. Other lines are drawn until they intersect, creating triangular geometrical patterns. The circle drawn around stands for the dynamic consciousness of the initiated. The outlying square symbolizes the physical world bound in four directions, represented by the four gates; and the midmost or central area is the residence of the deity. Thus the center is visualized as the essence and the circumference as grasping, thus in its complete picture a mandala means grasping the essence.

The real trauma will be not convicting Trump. Without accountability, actions like his are covertly sanctioned, putting our future in peril. Yes, I am a Buddhist, and compassion tells us that love and justice do not have to be separate. ~ Joan Halifax (Joan Jiko Halifax is an American Zen Buddhist teacher, anthropologist, ecologist, civil rights activist, hospice caregiver, and the author of several books on Buddhism and spirituality.)

It'd be a waste to eliminate something so powerful that, with effort & awareness, can be transmuted into fuel for enlightenment. Thrangu Rinpoche explains, "While the mind is under the influence of the negative emotions, one continues with dualistic mind to wander in the six realms of samsara. When the negative emotions are eliminated, the five wisdoms shine forth. When the five wisdoms are realized, the five dhyana buddhas are realized. One can also look at this process as our mind consisting of eight consciousnesses. When these consciousnesses are purified, five wisdoms shine forth. When the five wisdoms are realized, the five dhyana buddhas are realized. We may ask, “Why do we experience suffering in samsara?” What causes suffering is obviously the five negative emotions. Furthermore, we may wonder, “If the five negative emotions can be overcome, is it really possible to become liberated from the suffering in samsara?” Yes, it is possible to overcome the suffering of samsara. These five negative emotions aren’t simply thrown out or discarded, rather they are transformed from a state of affliction into a state of wisdom by engaging the skillful methods of the Buddhadharma. Transformation of the five negative emotions into the five wisdoms brings realization of enlightenment. Likewise, if we remain perceiving phenomena or reality in a state of ignorance, we will never recognize these consciousnesses and will continue to be in the suffering samsara entails. When the consciousnesses are understood, we are able to transform them into the five wisdoms, the essential nature of the five dhyana buddhas." Five Dhyani Buddhas

Yeah, we seem to regard the expressions of it differently. To my mind, and experience, lust is a neurotic form of desire. While the energetic manifestations may have similar footprints, the end result of each could be vastly different.

To me, desire and lust are not the same. Desire has a healthy, even necessary, side to it.

I got what you mean. But in my view, 'dabbling' in fantasies and infatuations, which is what you consider as mild forms of lust, is just not the same. Imo, there has to be a degree of wantonness and habitual indulgence attached to justify the term. Maybe the kind you want to talk about is the milder form, where it only pops up the odd time. What I'm referring to is actually more bothersome, rooted deeper, and is overall more detrimental to cultivation. If its not unbridled, then why even talk about it?

I'm looking at the root of lust, which is craving. Lust is just a very intense aspect of craving. And cravings tend to be quite elusive. One could at times even create an addiction or two in order to bring about a situation that presents opportunities to tackle the seeming *issue*, for the sole purpose of lulling oneself into a false sense of control, of growth, of sanity even. This is how neuroses plays out most of the time. One could always have unbridled intentions. They don't always get acted out.

Yes, I think so because there's always a level of intensity to it, otherwise it could not be lust. Imo.

Unbridled craving blindly driven by a vicious cycle/circle of habit tendencies and to which surrender is often the outcome.

The folly of youth Dives deep into chocolates Swayed by the moonlight...

~ Paramito Ladakh ~ Sounds pass through silence, and the silence is undisturbed. Appearances pass through awareness, and the awareness is undisturbed. Manifestations play through Mind, and Mind is undisturbed. The immutability of the non-dual is displayed effortlessly....

AJAHN SUCITTO - THE WISDOM OF THE BODY: A BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE We asked the Ajahn a most simple, and straightforward question; why meditate? And you can sense his equally straightforward, clear, warm and joyful reply in this post. Elaborating on the mechanism in his book ‘Samadhi is Pure Enjoyment’ he writes - "The body is something that can be trusted much more than the mind. And as one learns to trust the body, one learns to receive the blessings of what is good and conducive to the heart’s welfare. This brings joy. The enjoyment of embodied presence - of opening and settling in the body, rather than thinking about it - causes the mind to stop creating injunctions, controls and distractions, just because the underlying agitations that cause the mind to do all that get soothed by the direct experience of the body. And as the body begins to feel settled, the mind also settles - it doesn’t have conflicting interests and doubts. In this way, release in terms of the body - release from tension and staleness - supports release of mind. Overall, practicing meditation entails introducing awareness to body, thought and mood in a mindful way. This requires a clear commitment of intention: to being here, being with the body and the feeling. You use bodily sense, especially the breathing sense, to get grounded in the here and now. Then when you are settled into this embodied awareness, you can stand at the door of the heart and be with what arises in the mind without holding, favouring or resisting. You let things pass. This dispassion is also a ‘sign’ that calms the heart; it loses interest in what passes, it doesn’t get involved. Pretty soon, the distracting inner visitors stop coming."

Cooked dinner tonight for the family. Our spread is always communal, in the sense that all the dishes are laid out on the table, and everyone gets a plate of rice and help themselves to what they fancy, in whatever portion size they like. Most days we prepare more than enough, and the leftovers are then eaten for lunch the next day. Thats the cycle we observe - very very seldom does a dish get re-introduced at next evening's dinner, unless its a big pot of herbed pork rib soup, braised pork belly in soy sauce, or some form of curry. Apparently, meat curries always taste better overnight. So, tonight we had.... Steamed whole marbled goby with ginger, scallion & coriander, drizzled with slightly sweetened soy sauce and doused in sizzling hot oil to release the aromas of the herbs, which then infuse the fish. This was the star of the meal. Additionally, I made a pot of Chinese soup with air-dried bok choy (the large variety) from China, pork bones, pork, and red dates. The piece of pork is taken out earlier, cooled, and then sliced up to be eaten with a blended condiment of fresh garlic, green chillies (home grown), apple cider vinegar & a bit of sugar. To lift the taste, a few drops of fish sauce can be added to make it more Thai, but my family are not really fond of fish sauce in any chilli dips. Then I stir-fried some choy sum (lit. *heart of vegetable* - Chinese flowering cabbage, although it looks nothing like cabbage) with garlic & oyster sauce, together with an Asian style scrambled eggs with garlic & tomatoes. All these accompanied by a bowl of fresh iceberg lettuce, which is quite a regular feature at our family table. Recipe for the soup here https://www.ohmyfoodrecipes.com/dried-bok-choy-soup/ Steamed marbled goby Tomato scrambled egg recipe: https://rasamalaysia.com/tomato-eggs/ As always, we try to eat mindfully, with a grateful heart.

Enlightening vision sees from every conceivable angle. ~ Paramito ~