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Wise Effort

2017-01-09T10:35:15-05:00

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 Effort2017-01-09T10:35:15-05:00

Generosity

2017-01-09T10:35:39-05:00

This was a conversation with my dad about my metta experiments last year. Let me back up. I was starting to feel too obsessed with money. And although probably no more than the average person in New York. As many of us know, it can be hard to make your rent each month. And, like many of us know, you can count yourself lucky if you have an apartment to pay rent on.

Generosity2017-01-09T10:35:39-05:00

Dear Abhi-Dhamma: The Long Game of Practice

2017-01-09T10:36:13-05:00

Dear Abhi-dhamma, I have been practicing meditation and studying the Dharma regularly for the last 5 years. I made a lot of very quick progress in my practice as I've tried to be dedicated and have been told by teachers I have a very high level of natural samadhi (concentration) which has helped some insights to arise.

Dear Abhi-Dhamma: The Long Game of Practice2017-01-09T10:36:13-05:00

Wise Livelihood

2017-01-09T10:36:31-05:00

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.

Wise Livelihood2017-01-09T10:36:31-05:00

First Retreat: Waking Up from the Haze

2017-01-09T10:36:56-05:00

There is a rock wall that decorates the front yard at Insight Meditation Center. One morning, I decided to go sit there under the sun and sip on my tea. It's a great spot to warm up, as mornings in Barre, MA can be quite chilly even in the midst of summer. After sitting there for a few minutes, I started noticing these bees flying around me.

First Retreat: Waking Up from the Haze2017-01-09T10:36:56-05:00

Modern Womanhood, Dating and the Dharma

2017-01-09T10:38:16-05:00

The end of my ten-year relationship brought with it a sea of feelings and experiences. At times, it felt as if I was being pulled in with such voracity that I had no ability to anchor myself to any shoreline. I found refuge in meditation and later in the Dharma. It certainly hasn’t been a consistent practice but one that has given me a home to return to when I am struggling. Lately, my thoughts keep coming back to navigating urban living as a single woman.

Modern Womanhood, Dating and the Dharma2017-01-09T10:38:16-05:00

Indeterminate Zones: Christ or Buddha?

2017-01-09T10:38:35-05:00

During the 1960s and ‘70s, Western seekers of all backgrounds journeyed to the birthplace of Buddhism in search of awakening. Among these were Jan Willis, acclaimed Baptist-Buddhist author and teacher whose work resounds with me, as well as many others who in large part are responsible for the development of Buddhism in the West. For many years, I wanted to take this journey too until I realized that the hybridity is already alive in my present experience. Wherever I go (especially in New York), it seems there is no avoiding the grand convergence of ideas and traditions. Stepping into this confluence of signals, I make no resistance to the intertextual tide.

Indeterminate Zones: Christ or Buddha?2017-01-09T10:38:35-05:00

Wise Action

2017-01-09T10:38:55-05:00

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...”

Wise Action2017-01-09T10:38:55-05:00

Taking Responsibility

2017-01-09T10:39:39-05:00

Our world is at risk; we are the world. The renowned humanist Vaclav Havel (Czech playwright, essayist, poet and dissident, ]the ninth and last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic) once said that morality means taking responsibility, not only for our own life, but for all life. Martin Luther King expressed it as our being “tied together in an inescapable network of mutuality.”

Taking Responsibility2017-01-09T10:39:39-05:00

The Mindfulness Retreat Glossary

2017-01-09T10:39:58-05:00

Sometimes on meditation retreats I have no choice but to amuse my mind with my own hilarious inventions. Of course, most of my ideas lend themselves much less to the label “hilarious” when I get home, so I encourage you to read this tongue-in-cheek Vipassana glossary just as you come back from a retreat and it is fresh in your mind! And, for a fun mindfulness break, add your own terms to this list (retreat related or not).

The Mindfulness Retreat Glossary2017-01-09T10:39:58-05:00
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