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!
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Tag Archives: Quotes
Gradual training
“The gradual training essentially involves learning how to quiet down and observe your thoughts and behavior and then to change them into something more conductive to meditation and awareness. It is a slow process, not to be hurried.” p16-17 … Continue reading
Just stay
Image courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_meditation “In meditation we discover our inherent restlessness. The pith instruction is to stay….stay….just stay. So whenever we wander off we gently encourage ourselves to stay and settle down. Are we experiencing restlessness? Stay. Discursive mind? Stay. … Continue reading
On Spiritual Friends
“There is no big difference between a spiritual friend and a teacher, because one plays both roles in spiritual matters. Someone who strives for liberation from suffering needs a spiritual friend until they attain liberation. So a spiritual friend would … Continue reading
Your actions as experiments
“Treat your actions as experiments. Then, if you see the results aren’t good, you are free to change your ways!” ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu From “The Joy of Effort”
We can’t wait
“We can’t wait until the world gets straightened out before we straighten out our own minds, because the cause is in the mind. The world out there is the realm of effects. The realm of causes is in here: That’s … Continue reading
Sitting through fear
“States of fear sometimes arise during meditation for no discernible reason. It is a common phenomenon, and there can be a number of causes. You may be experiencing the effect of something repressed long ago. Remember, thoughts arise first in … 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
A Single Excellent Night
“Let not a person revive the past Or on the future build his hopes; For the past has been left behind And the future has not been reached. Instead with insight let him see Each presently arisen state; Let him … Continue reading
Contemplate the mind
Contemplate the mind; This king of emptiness Is subtle and abstruse. Without shape or form, It has great spiritual power. It can eliminate all calamities And accomplish all merits. Though its essence is empty, It is the measure of dharmas. … Continue reading
Shifting our focus
“Ethical action shifts our focus from what we personally want to what will most benefit us and others. When we are obsessed with our own desires, we are motivated primarily by hatred, greed, envy, lust and other selfish preoccupations. Then … 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
Impermanence is relentless
The Buddha’s supposed final words are given in many forms in different places. But this version, really cuts to the heart of his teachings: “Impermanence is relentless, decay inevitable. I have taught you all that is needed. Work diligently for … Continue reading
Defining ‘dukkha’
Image from globalcool.org/lifestyle/top-cycling-apps Here is an excerpt from a wonderful essay, “A Holistic Mindfulness,” by Ajahn Amaro on the Buddhist context of the word “mindfulness,” which is so much the rage these days. The whole essay is worth a read, … Continue reading
