Our human life will never be without sorrows, struggles or difficulties. The Buddha called our mixed bag of sorrows, beauty, joy and great difficulties, the eight worldly winds: gain and loss, pleasure and pain, praise and blame, fame and disrepute. It is possible to discover Equanimity, the seventh factor of awakening, not apart from, but in the midst of these changing winds.
The fourth factor of Awakening is Piti—the third of the uplifting or energizing factors along with Investigation and Energy.
On the night of the Buddha’s awakening, he vowed: “I shall not give up my efforts until I have attained liberation by perseverance, energy and endeavor.” I imagine from this, that he was singly focused on liberation, with the wherewithal to apply all of his energy to it.
Last week, we recommitted to our practice of Mindfulness, the first of the Seven Factors of Awakening (qualities of mind/heart that lead to awakening). From these mental factors an awakened perspective emerges.
At the recent International Vipassana Teachers’ meeting, “Earth Care Week” was born. Each year, during the first week of October, teachers and members of the greater community will come together to celebrate our planet and engage with environmental issues, including climate change. We will explore ways to bring care for the Earth into our practice.
In the fundamental teachings of the Dharma, the practice of giving, or dana, in all forms is considered an important pillar of practice. It is the first of the 10 Paramis (heart/mind qualities of an awakened being), and the first of the three pillars of Dharma—giving, ethics and the cultivation of wisdom. Development of a heart of generosity (Pali: caga), from which dana naturally flows, is viewed in the teachings as the ground upon which virtue and wisdom are developed, the path to and the expression of enlightenment. Caring and selfless offering of time, attention, resources, and support is an expression of interdependence and a letting go that leads to happiness. Fundamentally, it is a template for the heart that lets go, frees itself from attachment and thus, dukkha.
Mindfulness is the seventh aspect of the Eightfold Path. Through mindfulness, we develop awareness of all phenomena coming and going. We develop a kind and spacious mind by cultivating mental qualities of: awareness (recognizing what is true right here and now), interest (penetrating with awareness what is true) and acceptance without dependence or clinging (without taking experience on as an identity). In this way, our mindfulness practice is not superficial—it is penetrating.
On the night of the Buddha’s awakening, he vowed: “I shall not give up my efforts until I have attained liberation by perseverance, energy and endeavor.” This quality of samaviriya, wise effort or courageous energy, is the first step of the meditative aspect (wise effort, mindfulness and concentration) of the Eightfold Path. The Buddha’s awakening demonstrated the power of indefatigable and balanced energy arising from spiritual urgency—the recognition that now is the only reality.
Wise Livelihood is often discussed in terms of “shoulds.” We should earn our living in a righteous way, gain wealth by legal, peaceful, honest and harmless means. And there are 5 specific kinds of livelihood the Buddha said should be avoided: dealing in weapons, living beings, meat production and butchery, poisons, and intoxicants. These point to noble relationship to work. Yet, there is a risk that we will reflect on wise livelihood as a series of rules that, if we follow the “shoulds” and avoid the “should nots”, will mean we can check off that limb of the Path as fulfilled.
Last week, we reflected on offering the gift of fearlessness to every being by “acting in accordance with the deep aspiration toward radiant and inclusive unselfishness and integrity...”
