Just Waves


Photo by Dan Stark on Unsplash

“It will take quite a long time before you find your calm, serene mind in your practice. Many sensations come, many thoughts or images arise, but they are just waves of your own mind.”

~ Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

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Step-by-Step

Photo by Max on Unsplash

“So, don’t be in a hurry and try to push or rush your practice. Do your meditation gently and gradually, step-by-step. In regard to peacefulness, if you become peaceful, then accept it; if you don’t become peaceful, then accept that also. That’s the nature of the mind. We must find our own practice and persistently keep at it.”

~ Ajahn Chah (from the book “Bodhinyana”)

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Got breath?

“If we have presence of mind then whatever work we do will be the very tool which enables us to know right and wrong continually. There is plenty of time to meditate, we just don’t fully understand the practice, that’s all. While sleeping we breathe, eating we breathe, don’t we? Why don’t we have time to meditate? Wherever we are we breathe. If we think like this, then our life has as much value as our breath, and wherever we are we have time.”

– Ajahn Chah, from “A Taste of Freedom”
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IMAGE: @graesmagazine from unsplash.com

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Observe & Notice

“When we practice, we observe how much peace, happiness, and lightness we already have. We notice whether we are anxious about accidents or misfortunes, and how much anger, irritation, fear, anxiety, or worry are already in us. As we become aware of the feelings in us, our self-understanding will deepen. We will see how our fears and lack of peace contribute to our unhappiness, and we will see the value of loving ourselves and cultivating a heart of compassion.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh⠀| Quote and image courtesy Tricycle

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Enough to just know about it

You don’t need to avoid or deny anything. It is enough to just know about it. When you are busy trying to avoid something, it’s still affecting you. Simply cease to be affected or impelled by anything, and you’ll find you are free.

~ Caoshan
DailyZen entry for feb14.2021

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Touch your nose

Marina Vitale photo from Unsplash.com

Advising People to Enter the Way

Then spring now autumn,
the four seasons revolve.
Then young now old,
you see the hair turn white. Then wealthy and nobility,
now a long dream.
Years and months go by,
Carrying ten thousand pecks of sorrow.
In the path of suffering,
The wheel of rebirth rolls endlessly.
In the river of passion,
We swim like bubbles
forming and popping.
Now coming to the right place
To learn the Way,
Why don’t you touch your nose?
See that this is your very good
Chance of a million lifetimes.

~ Tue Trung Thuong Si (1230-1291)
from DailyZen.com for nov17.2020

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MEDITATION CIRCLE UPDATE | Oct. 17, 2020

NOTE: Apologies. A version of this post you may have just received (if an email subscriber to this site) did not include the password now required to enter the ZOOM meditations led by Bhante G. The pasword is listed below. | with metta, Douglas


AS IT APPEARS THE PANDEMIC continues unbated with no vaccine in the short term, The Meditation Circle of Charleston WV will remain on hiatus for the foreseeable future.

WE HIGHLY ENCOURAGE FOLKS INTERESTED in learning breath-centered meditation, or to deepen their current practice, to not miss the chance to join the guided meditation and Dhamma talks led by Bhante Gunaratana, abbot of the Bhavana Society in West Virginia, every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. on ZOOM.

The free ZOOM sessions are for anyone with a serious interest in meditation practice, as well as being a master class in the Buddha’s teachings. This is a rare opportunity to learn meditation from a master. You’ll also gain insights into the point of meditation and mindfulness practice in the Buddhist tradition, which is to gain deep understanding into how we cause ourselves suffering because of how we choose to focus our thoughts and live our lives. And, so, to attain liberation from all suffering.

This is also an opportunity not likely to present itself again. Bhante G, at age 92, remains at the peak of his prowess in being able to offer practical, straight-up instruction in how to meditate. That instruction is then deepened and enhanced by his discussions after the 30-minute meditation, which address why we meditate in the first place and deeper points of Buddhist teachings. Among other subjects, he has been discussing the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Noble Truths, Dependent Origination, and other core Buddhist topics.


BHANTE G ZOOM guided meditations and talks:
WHEN: 10 AM weekly on Thursdays, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
WHERE: Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us04web.zoom.us/j/668674778
DETAILS: Meeting ID: 668 674 778
PASSWORD TO ENTER MEETING (all lowercase): metta


Bhante G is author of the classic guide to starting a meditation practice, “Mindfulness in Plain English,” now translated into more than 25 languages, as well as many other books. A new 2020 Wisdom Publications book distills his answers to common questions from 50 years of teaching about meditation, mindfulness and Buddhism. It is titled WHAT WHY HOW: Answers To Your Questions About Buddhism, Meditation, and Living Mindfully.” (Wisdom is featuring a free article series based on the book, at the link above.)

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Just Pass This Life As Is

“Vitruvian Man, Toyed With,” original drawing by Leonardo Da Vinci | TheStoryIsTheThing.com illustration

Don’t seek fame or fortune,
Glory or prosperity.
Just pass this life as is,
According to circumstances.
When the breath is gone,
Who is in charge?
After the death of the body,
There is only an empty name.
When your clothes are worn,
Repair them over and over;
When you have no food,
Work to provide.
How long can a phantomlike Body last?
Would you increase your ignorance
For the sake of its idle concerns?

~ Tung-shan

QUOTE COURTESY: DailyZen.com

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Errant Thoughts

After awakening, it is necessary to always observe and examine yourself. When errant thoughts suddenly arise, do not go along with them at all; reduce them, reduce them, until you reach the point of noncontrivance, which alone is the ultimate end. This is the ox-herding practice carried on by all illuminates after their enlightenment. Even though there is subsequent cultivation, they have already realized sudden enlightenment.

~ Chinul (1158-1210)
From the website DailyZen.com for aug12.2020


Image: From this link: This is one of a series of ten images, generally known in English as the Ox-herding (or Bull-herding) pictures, by the 15th century Japanese Rinzai Zen monk Shubun. They are said to be copies of originals, now lost, traditionally attributed to Kakuan, a 12th century Chinese Zen Master.

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A Wise and Prudent Friend

“If for company you find a wise and prudent friend who leads a good life, you should, overcoming all impediments, keep their company joyously and mindfully.”

~ The Buddha | Dhammapada 23.328

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Drop by Drop

“Think not lightly of good, saying, “It will not come to me.”
Drop by drop is the water pot filled.
Likewise, the wise one, gathering it little by little,
fills oneself with good.”

~ The Buddha (The Dhammapada 9.122)

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The Bonds of Sympathy

Generosity, kind words,
doing a good turn for others,
and treating all people alike:
these bonds of sympathy are to the world
what the linchpin is to the
chariot wheel.

~ Jataka 20

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Bhante G’S ZOOM Meditation and Teachings

A HEADS UP. If you have not had the chance to join the daily ZOOM Buddhist teaching and guided meditation led by Bhante Gunaratana, abbot of the Bhavana Society in West Virginia, we encourage you to do so. The ZOOM sessions are for anyone with a serious interest in meditation practice, as well as being a master class in the Buddha’s teachings.

This is a rare opportunity to learn meditation from a master. You’ll also gain insights into the point of meditation and mindfulness practice in the Buddhist tradition, which is to gain deep understanding into how we cause ourselves suffering because of how we choose to focus our thoughts and live our lives. And, thus, to attain liberation from all suffering.

This is also an opportunity not likely to present itself again. Bhante G, at age 92, remains at the peak of his prowess in being able to offer practical, straight-up instruction in how to meditate. That instruction is then deepened and enhanced by his discussions before and after the 30-minute meditation, which address why we meditate in the first place.

His daily ZOOM sessions run from 10 to 11 am, but get there about 10-to-15 minutes in advance, and hang around after the meditation, for the series of talks Bhante G has been giving. Among other subjects, he has been discussing the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Noble Truths, Dependent Origination, and other core Buddhist topics.


Bhante G daily ZOOM guided meditations and talks:
10 AM: Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us04web.zoom.us/j/668674778
Meeting ID: 668 674 778


Bhante G is author of the classic guide to starting a meditation practice, “Mindfulness in Plain English,” now translated into more than 25 languages, as well as many other books. A new 2020 Wisdom Publications book distills his answers to common questions from 50 years of teaching about meditation, mindfulness and Buddhism. It is titled WHAT WHY HOW: Answers To Your Questions About Buddhism, Meditation, and Living Mindfully.” (Wisdom is featuring a free article series based on the book, at the link above.)

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Strong Back, Soft Front

On your inhale, gather your attention;
on your exhale, drop into the body.
Shift attention to your spine.
Your back exemplifies equanimity,
being present for whatever is unfolding right now.
“Strong back.”
Shift your attention to your chest.
Rest in this willingness to open to compassion.
“Soft front.”
Strong back, soft front. Equanimity, compassion.

– Roshi Joan Halifax
_____________________
Roshi Halifax is a Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and pioneer in the field of end-of-life care. She is Founder, Abbot, and Head Teacher of Upaya Institute and Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  She and Frank Ostaseski will lead three online webinars on “Bearing Witness Together in Troubled Times” from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) on: April 27, May 4 and May 11. More information here 

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Train Yourself in this Way

“You must bring yourself back to mindfulness wherever you are, all the time. Along with your regular meditation practice, add practices such as this one-minute meditation into your daily life. Train yourself in this way—as soon as some psychic irritant arises, stop and take care of it before you proceed with other activities in your day.”

~Bhante Gunaratana
(from “WHAT WHY HOW: Answers to Your Questions About Buddhism, Meditation, Mindfulness and Living Mindfully,” Wisdom Publications 2020. NOTE: See free article series based on this new book at this link)

IMAGE: Photo by Khadeeja Yasser on Unsplash

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