On the Cushion

Silent Illumination in Work Meditation

2017-01-09T07:56:05-05:00

Practice is not limited to sitting meditation. In the Chan tradition, it is taught that the “Silent Illumination” evoked by practice can cover all our activities so that life does not become stressful as soon as we arise from the cushion. This is heart advice for “Silent Illumination” while working. The principles are the same for all activity:

Silent Illumination in Work Meditation2017-01-09T07:56:05-05:00

Appropriate Response

2017-01-09T07:56:29-05:00

What is the best response to our share of the joy and pain of the world? Are we tossed by the winds, inclining to exuberance when things go our way or to depression when they don’t? What evokes appropriate and balanced response?

Appropriate Response2017-01-09T07:56:29-05:00

Joy to the World

2017-01-09T07:57:37-05:00

Everyone’s life is, by nature, continually vulnerable to pain. Remembering this is the gateway to mudita (often translated as appreciative joy or joy for the joy of others), the third of the four Brahmaviharas (Boundless or Supreme States).

Joy to the World2017-01-09T07:57:37-05:00

Got Compassion?

2017-01-09T07:58:02-05:00

Compassion (Pali: karuna), the second of the four Brahmaviharas (Divine or Supreme states), is the spontaneous response of the heart of metta to suffering it encounters. Etymologically, “com” is “with” and “passion” is “suffering.” We are WITH the suffering, not above it with pity or rejecting it in fear. Compassionate response is based on the dignity, integrity and well being we know belongs to every creature, including ourselves, our feeling of mutual resonance and natural connectedness in the face of the universal experience of loss and pain.

Got Compassion?2017-01-09T07:58:02-05:00

Loving Unconditionally

2017-01-09T07:58:29-05:00

What do we usually consider love to be? We conventionally "love" based on desire and attachment—unreliable because it is fundamentally about grasping—one of the roots of suffering. This "love" is conditioned on what returns to us. Love with attachment or mixed with expectation, by definition, contains unskillful mind states. At first, the attraction and grasping can feel exciting, which veils the underlying suffering.

Loving Unconditionally2017-01-09T07:58:29-05:00

The Safe Place

2017-01-09T07:58:52-05:00

Maya Angelou said, “The ache for home lives in all of us—the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” Loving-kindness (metta), Compassion (karuna), Sympathetic Joy (mudita), Equanimity (upekkha). In Pali, the language of the Buddhist scriptures, these four are known as Brahmaviharas—Divine (Brahma) abodes (vihara) or more commonly, high or sublime states of mind/heart—safe home.

The Safe Place2017-01-09T07:58:52-05:00

Space for Restlessness and Worry

2017-01-09T07:59:18-05:00

The fourth hindrance of restlessness and worry, encountered in meditation and in daily life, is nervous unsettled physical energy, characterized by quickly changing thoughts, anxiety, agitation and worry in the mind, and difficulty sitting still.

Space for Restlessness and Worry2017-01-09T07:59:18-05:00

Re-energize and Awaken Now

2017-01-09T07:59:36-05:00

Sleepiness, a/k/a sloth and torpor (the phrase admirably describes the state)—is the third of the five hindrances or difficult energies that arise in practice. Training the mind to work with them in meditation is a template for arousing energy for quotidian tasks.

Re-energize and Awaken Now2017-01-09T07:59:36-05:00

Aversion is Our Teacher

2017-01-09T08:00:02-05:00

Aversion, the opposite of desire, is the second hindrance encountered in meditation as well as daily life. Anger, fear, boredom and judgment are facets of aversion. Anger is outflowing, expressive, energized; and fear is held in, frozen, imploding—both striking-out against what is happening, wanting to declare it not-to-be-so, separating from it, pushing it away.

Aversion is Our Teacher2017-01-09T08:00:02-05:00

Wanting Mind

2017-01-09T08:00:22-05:00

The first hindrance is desire for sense pleasure—pleasant sounds, sights, tastes, smells and bodily sensations. Desire in itself is not wrong or a problem—it is the concomitant mentality in which we believe that if we can string together enough pleasant experiences—the right job, relationship, personality, looks, amount of money, etc., we will have a permanently happy life without cease—the “if only...” mentality.

Wanting Mind2017-01-09T08:00:22-05:00
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