GREETINGS
Welcome to the Meditation Circle site. This longtime Buddhist-oriented meditation group based at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 520 Kanawha Boulevard W., in Charleston, West Virginia, will be closing down its meetings for good effective with the end of June 2022, after a good run. See the ‘RESOURCES’ page for tips on setting up or deepening meditation practice. Be well!
Categories
Helpful Sites
Tag Cloud
- ajahn chah
- Anapanasati
- article
- Audio
- Bhante G
- body
- Books
- Buddha
- Buddhist nuns
- cartoon
- dana
- dhamma
- Dhamma Talk
- Events
- fear
- mediation
- Meditation
- memes
- Metta
- mindfu
- mindfulness
- Mistakes
- Ordination
- qigong
- Quotes
- Rahula
- Readings
- Retreats
- Right Speech
- suffering
- sumedho
- Suttas
- Video
- virtue
- walking meditation
Category Archives: Readings
Summer 2016 “Forest Path” Newsletter Online
The Summer 2016 edition of “The Forest Path,” the online newsletter of the Bhavana Society Therevadan Buddhist Monastery and retreat center in High View, W.Va., in Hampshire County, is now online at this link. From the introduction to this newsletter: … Continue reading
mindfulness just accepts it
“It is psychologically impossible for us to objectively observe what is going on within us if we do not at the same time accept the occurrence of our various states of mind. This is especially true with unpleasant states of … Continue reading
The heart of our true nature
“…To forgive does not necessarily mean to forget. Sometimes to forget is not wise, but to forgive is wise. And it is at times not easy. It can, in fact, be quite challenging. It will come as no surprise that … Continue reading
Walking to Lhasa
“… The mind is very powerful. There’s a tremendous strength there, and it makes such a big difference how this mind, this will, this intention is being steered. And everything depends on whether it allows itself to relax and be … Continue reading
Hold to your precepts
Here’s a wonderful interview from Mask Magazine with the Buddhist scholar monk, Thanissaro Bhikku. The whole thing is worth a read, but these paragraphs really stuck out: “Try to have a part of your mind that doesn’t buy into everything … Continue reading
Acknowledging the problem
“We carry addictions. The first step is acknowledging that. The acknowledgment itself is the purpose of the First Noble Truth. If you really look at the Buddhist tradition, the First Noble Truth is to understand the truth of suffering, which … Continue reading
Understanding Cause & Effect
Bhante Gunaratana “Once we understand that everything we think, say or do is a cause that leads inevitably to some effect, now or in the future, we will naturally want to think, say, and do things that lead to … Continue reading
When Fear Arises WITHIN OUR MEDITATION
Image from WikiMedia When fear arises within our meditation, we apply an antidote. Recognizing what is happening at each instant as mind, we remain in the present. It is important to remember that patterns don’t have to repeat themselves. Through … Continue reading
Purifying the Mind
pixshark.com “Nibbana is not a location or condition somewhere outside of us. Rather, it is within. Nibbana is the total destruction of all defilements. The very moment our greed, hatred and ignorance are destroyed, nibbana arises. The key to overcoming … Continue reading
The Five Wonderful Precepts
Here is Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh‘s take on the Five Precepts in Buddhism, which expands their definition to include some wonderful nuances. (Thanks to Robin Wilson for passing these on). The Five Wonderful Precepts FIRST PRECEPT Aware of the … Continue reading
Posted in Readings
Comments Off on The Five Wonderful Precepts
A primer on karma
Check out this Tricycle article on the much misunderstood Buddhist concept of karma. It’s an interview with Matthieu Ricard, born in France in 1946, and who trained as a molecular biologist at the Institute Pasteur before taking up robes as … Continue reading
Excerpt: Breathing Life into the Suttas
Except from the article “From Thought to Stillness: Breathing Life Into the Suttas,” by Rodney Smith | TRICYCLE, Winter 2012 | Read the whole article by becoming a Tricycle online member By Rodney Smith | Tricycle Winter 2012 |The constant … Continue reading
Posted in Meditation, Readings
Tagged Meditation
Comments Off on Excerpt: Breathing Life into the Suttas
Links to the Buddha’s teachings on breath-centered meditation
“Getting to Know the Breath” is the ongoing theme for 2012 we’ll be considering in the weekly 6 p.m. Tuesday gatherings of the Meditation Circle of Charleston at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation building in Charleston, W.Va. In past weeks. Thad … Continue reading
Posted in Meditation, Readings
Tagged Dhamma Talk, Meditation
Comments Off on Links to the Buddha’s teachings on breath-centered meditation
An inescapable fact and challenge
In this uncertain political season, full of angst, anger and fear, I have wondered what to remark about the current agitated national scene in America. I will not use a Buddhist blog to share my own particular points of view … Continue reading
“A Pilgrimage in Autumn”
NOTE: An earlier posting of this excerpt contained several misspellings. This one fixes them! Regular readers of this occasional blog will know of my current infatuation with the book “Longing For Certainty: Reflections on the Buddhist Life,” (Wisdom Publications) by … Continue reading
