About me

This blog is created by a Buddhist living in Singapore. He embraces the Mahayana spirit of Bodhicitta, deeply respecting all Buddhist Traditions as expressions of Kindness guiding us on the path towards human perfection ~ Buddhahood.

He likes to post stuff that he had read or think is good to share here, sometimes he adds a little comments here and there... just sometimes..

ひらめき電球 Contact Me

Labels


“Sariputra, if there are people who have already made the vow, who now make the vow, or who are about to make the vow, ‘I desire to be born in Amitabha’s country,’ these people, whether born in the past, now being born, or to be born in the future, all will irreversibly attain to anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Therefore, Sariputra, all good men and good women, if they are among those who have faith, should make the vow, ‘I will be born in that country.’”

~ Amitabha Sutra

When I obtain the Buddhahood, any being of the boundless and inconceivable Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters whose body if be touched by the rays of my splendour should not make his body and mind gentle and peaceful, in such a state that he is far more sublime than the gods and men, then may I not attain the enlightenment.

~ Amitabha Buddha's Thirty-Third Vow

Monday, October 30, 2006

MSN conversation with my depressed friend

Here is a MSN conversation with my depressed friend (with his kind permission). Hope it helps anyone in any way. It's done in raw Singapore language full of typo errors, please bear with it. :)



Friend says:
depression sucks

Friend says:
urggh ..its like a black grey fog in my mind..can't see anything at all

Friend says:
n its so cold

Me says:
yeah...

Me says:
well i cant really expect 'depression' to be any better... it cant be enjoyable and joyious wan ma


Friend says:
yea...and when i try to be positive n think of the good things..somethin in my mind will juz say.."juz accept u are the most miserable man on earth"..

Me says:
yep, thts how depression is, n its doing its best to perform its role as the depressor

Me says:
its oso ur choice to believe in that thot tt u're miserable or not. playing ur role as well

Friend says:
ok...i understand

Friend says:
i'm tryin so hard

Friend says:
tryin hard to not hate myself

Me says:
no need to resist depression

Friend says:
sayin i love myself in front of mirror is not enough..

Me says:
no need to force urself to say u love urself

Me says:
allow the depression to be as it is.

Friend says:
orr oki ..then wat can i do...haiz

Me says:
as u already noe, it is performing its role, it is as it is, dun ask it to be otherwise. just like asking cat to bark, depression cant be joy

Me says:
wot we can do, is to understand our role

Friend says:
humm..our role?

Me says:
ppl can say wotever they want, we cant ctrl nor change them. accept them as this too.. like u understand depression

Me says:
we r just a witness, n let things flow as they are, without asking them to change... bcos we cant change them.

Friend says:
yea gossip always try to hurt ppl

Me says:
yes, they r undesirable, they suck. but asking them to change in accordance to our wishes... getting upset if they dun do wot we want

Me says:
we're oso not v kind...

Friend says:
ok..yea we can't change others ...

Me says:
we take ourselves as centre of universe, we set rules for others to follow

Me says:
when they dun act accordingly, we get upset

Friend says:
yeea lor

Me says:
everything in job or family has to follow our rules n wishes

Friend says:
yea..

Me says:
if not, our family dun love us. our colleagues suck

Me says:
see how selfish we are?

Friend says:
i feel no control at job and at home..tats y i feel miserable

Me says:
how self centred we are

Me says:
u feel miserable bcos u dun recognise the fact that u dun need to ctrl them

Me says:
things just flow as they will whether u happy with it or not

Me says:
u're meddling in others' biz

Friend says:
icic oki

Me says:
its their biz whether they wanna say nice things or do gd things

Me says:
just like its ur biz to do wotever u want. no one can force u wat

Friend says:
yea

Me says:
so when u want others or things to fall into place according to wot u want, u suffer. bcos u cant ctrl it

Friend says:
like i try to talk nicely to my mum and she still bark at me..so i stay away from her now...its not my fault oso..i tried liao but she won;t change

Me says:
wotever happens is reality... tts the way they are. look at an orange... u can scold it all u want, it wont change into an apple

Friend says:
feel she is not the mum tat used to be

Me says:
its the same, u can substitute ur mom into the equation

Me says:
or wotever it is

Me says:
u can say wotever u want, detest it, scold it, hate it... reality is reality.

Friend says:
oki...

Me says:
argue with reality, we lose. 100% of the time

Me says:
how simple yet hard to accept

Friend says:
yea i can't change ..if my parents dun communicate ..oso i can't help

Me says:
yep

Me says:
as u already noe v v well... their pattern is like tat

Friend says:
yeah

Me says:
so u're suffering bcos u want the orange to be apple

Me says:
n u wonder why it cant change

Friend says:
the problem is this...i am their children after all..it hurts real bad to see them like this..no love in my family at all...

Me says:
yep

Me says:
this is a fact

Me says:
they are suffering from it

Me says:
bcos they want the other party to behave the way they want too.

Me says:
we're all suffering bcos we wanna change orange to apple

Friend says:
and they are feeling miserable now..and my mum says those hurting words to me ..saying she shld get a daughter instead of a son...

Me says:
so u see their eg liao, u wanna join in the fun to get more suffering too huh

Me says:
no need to get into these stories again

Friend says:
dun wan ..urghh

Me says:
wotever happens r like that

Friend says:
tats why i wan to move out

Me says:
they are like that, u cant change them...

Friend says:
orr oki

Me says:
put the stories abt them aside 1st. we r mixing everything into the pot, we cant recognise the priorities here is u want urself to be happy

Friend says:
yea...too many things to think liao..confusing

Me says:
tts rite

Me says:
so put ur priorities right

Me says:
u hv to be able to be happy, noe how to be happy. b4 u want to help ur parents in any possible way

Me says:
if not, u'll only behave in a frustrated manner n make things worse in all the efforts u make

Friend says:
ok...

Friend says:
anti depressant helps a bit...but then if i start to take again i need to get it from my doctor...

Me says:
u r programmer u noe v well, tt if u set wrong conditions n assumptions at 1st, u'll not get desired results

Me says:
so now wot happens is tt u set wrong conditions n priorities liao... u set so many conditions (which u dun hv ctrl over) must be met b4 u can be happy

Me says:
tts y u r always unhappy

Friend says:
oki

Me says:
dun let wot u cant change affect wot u can change

Friend says:
but human beings are social beings oso..i feel i severly lack of social ...its hard to survive...

Me says:
im pointing to ur root causes of unhappiness

Me says:
even if u're surrounded by ppl n frens, u'll still be unhappy. the cause isnt ur small social circle. but wot i told u just now... those wrong conditions n priorities u set, tts limiting ur social circle

Friend says:
humm dun let what i can't change affect wat i can change...

Me says:
lets say u hv a gf now

Me says:
n she's v nice, has everything u looking for

Friend says:
yea oki

Me says:
yet inside u, u always find things tht u cant accept, n u cant accept her as who she is. ur relationship wont be happy, n u'll only hurt her.

Me says:
everyday u'll still be unhappy n depress over ur family, work, colleagues, society, etc. n how can u bring happiness to her?

Me says:
it is not a gf who can bring u happiness

Me says:
even a change of job wont bring u happiness

Friend says:
*sigh....

Me says:
tts y i pt to u the root causes

Me says:
read wot i told u just now again bah

Friend says:
orr oki

Friend says:
so how do to change my priorites...?

Me says:
set out clearly 3 set of businesses - your own business, others' business, & reality's business - both u cant change.

Me says:
recognise things tt r in ur own business, n those in others' business... n things happening tt u cant change

Me says:
ur priorities naturally shld be ur own business. isn it

Friend says:
yeah

Me says:
whenever u habitually want to mess with others' business.. eg. u want the lady to act or say things to ur wishes, tell urself this is their biz, not urs. let them be

Friend says:
i shld not be too kpo (busybody) ..care abt other's business

Me says:
kpo or not isnt the issue here

Me says:
by messing with others' business, u suffer

Friend says:
icic oki

Friend says:
humm

Me says:
its not as if i set this rule telling u, u'll suffer if u do this. u've already expereience it.

Friend says:
if tats the case...issint job as a counsollor messing with other business?

Me says:
counsellors r not messing with others' businesses

Friend says:
yea i understand

Me says:
they listen n give advices. but they dun do it with intentions of ctrl, or wanting the persons to change

Me says:
if they hv desires of their clients to change, they'll oso suffer bcos they r messing with others' biz

Me says:
this isnt a theory of telling u to bo chap

Friend says:
icic

Me says:
this is a way of knowing wot u do tt causes u suffering

Me says:
everyday u want to ctrl things n ppl ard u, u're messing with their biz. tts y u're suffering

Friend says:
oki...good pt

Me says:
u can be concern n care. but accept them as they r, bcos they are like tat. u cant change.

Me says:
like now, i noe tt u're suffering. i noe u hv ur weaknesses n faults. i accept u as u r, i dun expect u to change, bcos this is ur biz. outside my ctrl. hence i dun feel negative if u dun change

Friend says:
yea u are right...why do we have wars...cos this country and another country not happy with each other...wan to mess with bizness

Me says:
yes

Friend says:
so sad...y not all people understand this..haiz

Me says:
so even as u noe this now, ur habitual tendencies to mess with others' biz is showing now

Me says:
bcos u say "so sad...y not all people understand this..haiz"


Me says:
u're messing with others.

Friend says:
oops oki

Me says:
hehe

Friend says:
thinnk i too used liao

Friend says:
lol

Me says:
yep, me too.

Me says:
bcos i go thru the same things i m able to tell u

Friend says:
tats y i hated the army

Me says:
the army is like that, u let them be. its their biz

Friend says:
in army everything is to follow orders ..no control

Friend says:
i prefer some freedom ..not control

Me says:
this is wot we say the 3rd category, reality's biz

Me says:
the society, or co is like that, as it is.

Me says:
the world runs as it is

Friend says:
icic

Me says:
u mess with how the world suppose to run in ur will, u think u can ctrl it?

Me says:
u'll suffer tts all

Friend says:
haha cos not

Friend says:
yeah ..die worse

Me says:
everything happens in the world happens due to causes n conditions

Me says:
whatever n whenever things happen, its no mistake

Me says:
not as if someone made a mistake out there

Me says:
bcos this happen, that happens

Friend says:
icic

Me says:
this is cause n conditions

Me says:
so when things out in the world happens, its not whether we like or not like. it is so.

Me says:
tts why bcos we see reality in the wrong way, we label things with 'i like', 'i dislike'

Me says:
tts why we suffer. bcos reality unfolds as it will, outside our ctrl

Me says:
this is y messing with reality, wanting it to be as our wishes causes us suffering.

Me says:
n as u hv successfully demostrated just now.... u hv messed with others biz, n reality's biz. its no surprise at all u're suffering everyday.

Friend says:
ok

Friend says:
can give me eg. where i have messed with others biz n reality biz?

Me says:
messing with reality's biz:

Friend says:
tats y i hated the army

Friend says:
in army everything is to follow orders ..no control

Friend says:
i prefer some freedom ..not control

Friend says:
icic ok haha

Me says:
messing with others' biz:
u always wanted ur parents to behave as u want...

Me says:
ppl suffer... whoever it is, this is oso no mistake. they behave in a way tt causes suffering

Friend says:
ok

Me says:
this is how reality works

Friend says:
ya..

Me says:
so how can u stop them from suffering

Me says:
if we can change others, Buddha or God wld hv changed us, no more suffering liao

Me says:
but they minded their own biz, they do wot they cld n they r free from suffering. while at tsame time they advise us how to leave suffering. its up to us to do wots taught ourselves. its our biz

--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

++++++++++++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Treasury of Truth ~ Dhammapada ~ Look Inwards And Not At Others (Verse 50)


Verse 50. Look Inwards And Not At Others

Not others’ opposition
nor what they did or failed to do,
but in oneself should be sought
things done, things left undone.

Explanation: Do not find fault with others. Do not worry about what others do or not do. Rather, look within yourself to find out what you yourself have done or left undone. Stop doing evil; do good.

UnawakenOne's Comments:
Inner reality is of primary importance, external reality is secondary. When our inner reality is place, external reality must follow. When our inner world is pure, we'll realise here indeed is a pureland, of Sakyamuni Buddha. Easily said, but so very hard to do!

We tend to hope for others to change attitude towards us, treat us nicer, show us approval, etc. When people behave or say things against our wishes, we get upset, angry, disappointed. Are you like that? I think I am. The world revolves around me, and I set the rules. If people don't act as I wish, I get really upset! But can I control others and how they think?

Gradually our day's mood, even our happiness is determined by how others behave! Maybe we should just mind our own business and own responsibilities, and let their actions, speech and thoughts be theirs - instead of trying to control them, and want them to act according to our wishes, our value system... Let them talk all they want about us behind our back, stare at us all they want and however they like, its outside our control, hence outside outside our scope responsibilities. Ahh... that really lightens our load doesn't it...


--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

+++++++++
+++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!

The Work - Bryon Katie

These days I've been reading Bryon Katie's The Work. One of the 1st things I notice when I entered her website was her mention of 'God'. 1st thought that comes to me was, 'oh this is a Christian site.' I put aside this thought and read further, and I discover a gem. Due to religious and cultural differences, she mentions God quite a bit in her work. However, she defines God as 'reality', and not the 'creator' which is the common context known. Hence, I find her work enhancing for practitioners of all religions and free thinkers alike.

While reading her work, I freely interpret or substitute her 'God' with Buddhist terms of Buddha, condition arising, cause and effect, etc. I also take her work with a pinch of salt, trying out her inquiry method to understand my thoughts (its delusive nature) as well as my 'self' better. What I thought about others, how I judge them... Really is a reflection of myself. I believe my thoughts, as if it is the truth, I defend it as if it is a part of me. How foolish! :)

Introduction to The Work
An Excerpt from Loving What Is

Her work doesn't teach us Bodhicitta and other Shantideva goodness, so please don't expect to attain ultimate liberation, enlightenment or Buddhahood from practising The Work. These new age psychology works are brilliant, works very well for modern context and problems. Actually I find The Work works so well in clearing our troubles that there might be even danger to mistake it as a replacement for practising the Dharma. Let's not forget to resolve the root of 'suffering' in this cyclic existence of rebirth. There's no shortcut for it, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path is the Way. If there's a shortcut Buddha would have compassionately taught us. (The following reminder is for myself: collect as many teachings, mantras, (MP3s, animes, TV series, money, books, knowledge, news, hmm what else..) and methods as you may, when death suddenly appears in front of you, nothing can save you from the messengers of Death! Triple Gems, my true refuge of fearlessness.)

The Work is a nice read and practice to watch and inquire our thoughts. I also find The Work helpful in explaining Dharma to beginners or non-buddhists by applying the simple framework lovingly shared by Katie.



Here's some quotes that I like... Taken from her book, 'Losing the Moon'

Wanting keeps me from the awareness.
I already have it.
I already am it.


Acceptance is the sweetest word -
it means aligning with what is -
That's all.


We can only have what we let go of.


Our story about form attracts or repulses.


There's nothing that comes through
that I don't adore
a cough
a sneeze
a breath
you.
It's all me!


The worst thing that has ever happened on this planet
is to attach to a concept
Nothing else has ever really happened.


Reality is much kinder
than thoughts about reality.


Except for the story
There's no reality to it -
Ever!


Every thought is about body identification
Every thought is about "I" -
Survival - comfort - pleasure.


The amount you attach to your story
indicates the amount you can let go -
The duality is equal.


This moment.
The presence of this moment.
Only that.
Who am I without my beliefs?
Now. Now. Now.


You don't lose the moon.
You lose it to get it.
You are the moon already.
Lose the story of the moon
and know.


Your story is your existence.


--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

++++++++++++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Has Vipassana reached the end of the road?

I found this interesting article from http://www.insightmeditation.org. I feel that it's a very good read with great insights, and it brings our views and motivations doing and teaching the Vipassana practice back to proper perspective. There are other good articles on the website that is worth a visit.

~ UnawakenOne

The article:

Has Vipassana reached the end of the road?

A Personal Reflection after 30 years
Christopher Titmuss
April 2006.

I have had the privilege of teaching Vipassana (Insight) Meditation for 30 years in the West, as well as for 32 years in Bodh Gaya and eight years in Sarnath, India. My first retreat in the West was in northern New South Wales, Australia, organised in the summer of 1976 by a 21 year-old woman named Sue from Northern Rivers who is now Subhana, a fellow Dharma teacher, much loved and respected in the Dharma world.


I’ve long since lost count of the number of Vipassana retreats that I’ve offered, probably somewhere between 500 – 750 ranging from one month to one day. However it is many years since I have described myself as a Vipassana teacher, preferring the much broader term, Dharma teacher. The word Vipassana has become too closely identified with certain methods and techniques, and is thus far removed from its original meaning, namely insight – bearing no connection whatsoever for the Buddha with a meditation technique. That doesn’t disqualify Vipassana as a healthy and challenging practice. There is no telling how many individuals have entered a course or retreat, residential or non-residential, East or West, but the number certainly runs at least into hundreds of thousands or a million or two in the last three decades or so.

A Vipassana retreat continues to be a powerful catalyst in people’s lives, a major stepping stone into the depths of meditation and a transformative experience. People have arrived for a weekend retreat on a Friday evening and left on Sunday afternoon with a different sense of themselves, of the here and now, of life, and of what matters. Vipassana changes lives significantly and sometimes dramatically, and is a powerful resource to dissolve so-called personal problems, open the heart and find clarity of mind. A growing number with regular guidance from a teacher, have also entered into the discipline of a personal retreat with its emphasis on silence and solitude lasting from weeks to a year or more. This is another powerful resource for depths of insight.

But has Vipassana reached the end of the road? Are the teachings and practices on an Insight Meditation retreat exploring the fulfilment of all profound aspirations?

The background to all Vipassana practices relies heavily and appropriately on a discourse of the Buddha called the Satipatthana Sutta, the Discourse on the Applications of Mindfulness, namely body, feelings, states of mind and the Dharma. It is the tenth discourse of the 152 in the Middle Length Discourses. Different Vipassana methods are based on various interpretations of this discourse. Despite the claims to purity of technique, reliance on Theravada commentarial interpretation, or strict following of the breadth and depth of the discourse, every Vipassana teacher has his or her own distinctive flavour even if that teacher has had the same teacher(s).

Teachers use the form of a retreat (or course) to enable dharma students to learn to use the powerful resource of Vipassana to cultivate an authentic depth of calm (samatha) and insight (vipassana) into impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and the impersonal characteristics of existence. The practice is powerful because it emphasises moment to moment attention, that is direct observation of immediate experience.

There is a general principle in the Buddhist tradition of Vipassana that such a Dharma training involves three primary areas of life –

1. Observing and upholding five precepts.
2. The practice of mindfulness and formal meditation, especially sitting and walking. Some teachers also include standing and reclining meditation.
3. Wisdom. In this context, it generally means seeing things clearly, free from projection and obsessive attitudes, with calm and insight into heart, mind and body.

Vipassana meditation includes developing the capacity to sit still, stay steady with the breath, observe the arising and passing of pleasure and pain in the body with equanimity, let go of troublesome meditation states, dissolve the arising of any ego, develop the power of meditative concentration to go to subtle levels of the inner life and abide with a choiceless awareness with all phenomena.

While Vipassana and mindfulness meditations are valuable practices in themselves, it is the task of teachers to show new practitioners outside of retreats as well as within them – without fear of being misunderstood – the breadth and depth of Dharma teachings, ethics and practices. Without this wider context, meditation may be applied with aims that are seriously in contradiction with the Dharma; for example some years ago a senior officer in the US army approached a Vipassana teacher about teaching soldiers to handle pain when unable to move in a battle, and businesses want to use the practices so staff can develop single pointed concentration to improve efficiency and productivity, and Vipassana practice was offered – without the breadth and depth of the Path - as the culmination of dynamic or movement meditations, such as the late Osho directed in Poona, India.

I remember Jon Kabat-Zinn, a seasoned meditator with various Vipassana teachers and founder of the internationally respected MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme) coming to my room for a one to one interview in 1979 during a retreat with me at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, USA. He reported his sudden flash of insight and vision on the retreat to bring mindfulness and insight meditation practices to the lives of people in pain. It was inspiring to listen to him and I could only offer Jon full encouragement. He returned home from that retreat determined to actualise the Dharma for the deep welfare of others without diluting the teachings. He still remains committed to that vision.

The teaching of mindfulness meditation, such as MBSR programmes, to alleviate stress, ill-health and pain is an important application of the Dharma; however it would be a great pity if such mindfulness practice had the same fate as yoga which in the West has often been reduced to a system of healthy physical exercises, extricated from its context as a profound spiritual discipline addressing the whole person.

It would be equally a great pity if Vipassana meditation became another kind of psychotherapy. I remember several years ago writing to Spirit Rock Meditation Centre in Marin County near San Francisco, where perhaps 30% or more are therapists on a retreat, to ask the centre to add a brief footnote to the description of my retreat. I wrote for the footnote: “Please do not bring your inner child. There is no adult supervision on this retreat.”

To its credit, Spirit Rock published the footnote.

Calm and insight (samatha and vipassana) are offered in the Buddha’s teachings as a feature of the Way to liberation, not as THE way. Some secular teachers treat mindfulness and daily meditation as an aid to living a well-adjusted life but a well-adjusted life is far from the end of the road. Again, such an attitude effectively takes Vipassana meditation out of its wider vision of total liberation.

Certainly the Truth of things, the Dharma of life, is hard enough to comprehend as it is, as the Buddha said on frequent occasions. Teachers show no service to the Dharma by clinging to a narrow view about the supremacy of Vipassana, nor by inflating the importance of mindfulness and meditation over the immensity of the challenge of the Way, as can be seen by reading and reflecting on all the subtle and deep communications from the Buddha on each link of the Noble Eightfold Path or 12 links of Dependent Arising.

These are teachings to ensure that we bring our life on this earth to complete fulfilment. Sitting on top of a cushion and walking slowly up and down to contemplate our existence is a fine and profound exploration into ‘self’ and ‘non-self’ but what is going on with the rest of our lives?

Diet, exercise, use of resources, moderation in living, livelihood, money, relationships, contact with nature, intentions, place of effort, solitude, Dharma reading, writing, contact with the sangha, contact with realised teachers, insights into truth, dependent arising, non-duality, emptiness and living an awakened life deserve our total attention and interest.

No teacher, no one tradition, no school, no satsang, no therapy can possibly address all these issues and many others. We live in times when it is important that the Dharma investigates daily realities, rather than putting so much effort into the preservation of the religious past or feeding identification with the doer or the non-doer.

I recall being grateful in 1982 that our trustees in South Devon, UK agreed to my suggestion to call our new centre Gaia House (it means Living Earth, a metaphor for our inter-dependent existence) and is pronounced the same as (Bodh) Gaya, the area of the Buddha’s enlightenment. We also worked carefully on our vision statement as part of the process to become a charitable trust – a vision statement that excluded the promotion of Buddhism, in order to keep our Dharma centre free from identification with the religion of Buddhism.

Vipassana teachers need to take stock and beware of any watering down of teachings and the use of such meaningless terms as ‘Western Buddhism’. For example, I’ve heard it said by certain Vipassana teachers that there is nothing wrong with desire, nothing wrong with being open to desire, as long as we are not attached to results. Such statements reject the Buddha’s teachings that:

• dependent on contact arises feelings,
• dependent on feelings arises desire,
• dependent on desire arises attachment
• dependent on attachment arises what becomes in the present and future, with all the ‘mass of suffering’ associated with this process.

There are many hard truths in the Buddha’s teachings that are uncomfortable for consumers who do not really want the Dharma to disturb their lifestyle. More and more Western Dharma centres have become middle class spiritual hotels with accompanying pressure to market Dharma centres as centres for Buddhism.

It would be lovely to report that the challenges in the Vipassana world end here.
I would suggest that the Vipassana world has other problems that need attention but get neglected. These include:

• a growing belief that Vipassana is another kind of therapy
• a narrow view that morality is confined to the five precepts
• a view on ethics akin to institutional religion where blame, self-righteousness and moralizing ignore understanding of the human condition,
• belief in meditation, meditation, meditation
• belief in striving
• belief that the path of Vipassana meditation leads to enlightenment without attention to the whole of life
• getting stuck in the same method and technique and going over the same old ground in the mind
• inability to cope with the wide variety of emotions
• need to explore openly the energies and place of sexuality in the Sangha
• rigidity of view and an inability to lighten up
• rigidness and dryness of the practice,
• students of one major Vipassana tradition (U Ba Khin tradition) are not permitted to meditate with other Vipassana teacher, other Vipassana students or practices to preserve the ‘purity of the technique’.

Despite the above concerns, the Insight Meditation tradition continues to provide a depth of practice second to none. Vipassana teacher meetings are not exactly a thrill a minute, with a collective hesitancy to say anything remotely politically incorrect. Believe me, this poor wallah is speaking from years of first hand experience at such meetings.

After 30 years as a small servant of the Dharma, I find it a pity to write some aspects of this personal report to Dharma students. Please don’t imagine for a single moment that this response to the state of Vipassana shows disillusionment with the practice. Far from it. Vipassana is a tradition of seeing clearly. It is powerful. It is effective. It is transformative. There is no fluffing around for the dedicated Vipassana meditator. While making allowances for generalised statements, we surely have the capacity to offer an honest reflection of the Dharma and the world of Vipassana. Criticism is nothing to do with getting on the high throne and preaching; on the contrary, a sincere critique of that which is close to our hearts contributes to upholding what is of value and discerning questionable areas.

All of the above pales into insignificance when the question is asked: Has Vipassana reached the end of the road? Yes, it is a double edged question.

• Can Vipassana practice with its dependency on form and technique reveal the Emptiness of form and technique?
• Can the construction of the method reveal the Unconstructed?
• Can the perception that more sitting is the answer be an expression of the Buddha’s warning about grabbing the poisonous snake by the tail?
• Is there a sense, either conscious or unconscious, among dedicated Vipassana students that there is something limited about their practice?
• Does Vipassana meditation feed the notion of identification with the doer in the form of continual effort and striving?
• Does Vipassana meditation feed the notion of the non-doer in the form of a suppressed state of mind masked as equanimity?
• Does Vipassana meditation reinforce the notion there is a doer, something to be done and something to be gained for the doer?
• Does the Vipassana meditator settle for a radiant awareness as the end of the road?
• Where is the resolution of the duality that faces all serious meditators, namely the experience of being in a silent retreat and going back into the so-called ‘real world’? A 30 minute talk on the closing morning of a retreat is clearly not resolving this duality.

Are these concerns being addressed? Some senior Vipassana (Insight Meditation) teachers enter into other teachings and practices such as various forms of psychotherapy, Advaita, Dzogchen, Ridhwan or Zen for varying lengths of time. It would appear that these teachers also find that Vipassana is not completely fulfilling – something they share with a number of senior students. It is not that these other approaches are ultimately any more fulfilling. Yet something is amiss. All these teachers and students share the same dualistic plight:

• those who feed the notion of the doer and those who feed the notion of the non-doer,
• those who feed the notion of the self (with a capital S or small self) and those who feed the notion of no-self,
• those who work on aspects of the personality and those who don’t
• those who attach to form and those who attach to the formless

If Vipassana has not reached the end of the road, that unshakeable and fulfilling liberation, then where is the end of the path? It is vital that Vipassana teachers speak much more about the end of the Way, as well as the Way. Such teachers need to draw on their experiences, their understanding and insights into freedom of being, liberation from “I” and “my” and the awakening that is close at hand. Students feel inspired to explore deeply when they know that their teachers have the confidence to talk about the Supreme Goal of practice.

Authentic glimpses, as much as profound realisations, are important to share. The Buddha said that the raindrop, the pond and the great lake all share the same taste – the taste of water. Although ordained Buddhist teachers must show great restraint about speaking from personal experience about the ultimate truth, non-ordained teachers can share their ‘personal’ realisations at the deepest level. At one Vipassana teachers meeting, the great majority of teachers reported they had tasted ‘Nirvana.’

The end of the road reveals the dissolution of the construction of the duality of the doer and non-doer, the story around the retreat and going back into daily life. The resolution is not about being in the now and not about not being in the now, nothing to do with the doer or the non-doer, the self or no-self. It’s that simple. The constructions of emotions, mind and personality are small waves in the Ocean.


MAY LIBERATION SHINE THROUGH ALL EVENTS


--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

++++++++++++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

What Does it Mean to be Mindful?

James: I'm honored to be guest posting and this is my first post. I hope that It works o.k. otherwise you can delete it friend. :)

What does it mean to be mindful? It means to be fully aware right here, concentrating on what is going on inside. . . . Mindfulness is not necessarily concentrating on an object. Being aware of confusion is also being mindful. If we have all kind of things coming at our senses--noises, people demanding this and that--we cannot concentrate on any one of them for very long. But we can be aware of the confusion, or the excitement, or the impingement; we can be aware of the reactions in our own minds. That is what we call being mindful.

--Ajahn Sumedho, in Teachings of a Buddhist Monk
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book.

James: This is one of the best descriptions of mindfulness that I have read. It shows me that I shouldn't feel inadequate for feeling confusion. That I shouldn't feel that I'm not being mindful because I'm experiencing confusing emotions. That mindfulness isn't only for when we are experiencing "good" emotions and experiences. How wonderful this teaching!!

Experiencing confusion can be a constructive occurence when we embrace it with mindfulness. This is such a beautifully simple teaching and yet I have been seeing past it's simplicity for some time now. As usual I've been making it too hard. Seeing past the obvious not believing that it would be that simple to understand. There is a part of me that wants to make Buddhist teachings more esoteric then true wisdom, mindfulness and right view reveal. It's interesting how one can read all kinds of talks and teachings about a subject but not grasp its core until it is worded a certain way where it breaks through the snares of one's ego. One explanation may hit home for someone but not for someone else.

One has to experience the Dharma teachings for themselves to gain a testimony of right wisdom.

Then again I'm no expert on the Dharma nor Buddhism.

~Peace to all beings~

Read more!

Friday, October 13, 2006

Video Clip - 'Birth and Death are Just a Game of Hide and Seek' by Ven Thich Nhat Hanh



As you can see, this is a video by Vietnamese Master Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh lasting 1 hr 42 min. (Hint: He starts talking after 6 min 45 secs.) Take patience to (bookmark this page if you want) to finish the clip over time, its worth it. :)

Also look at recommended books of Thich Nhat Hanh by fellow practitioners.

~ UnAwakenOne


--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

++++++++++++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Buddhism and Eckhart Tolle




This is an interesting video by Eckhart Tolle. Not all things taught by him are Dharma, I posted their things here because it's good to learn about awareness and mindfulness practices from his modern way of explanation. You'll see me quoting or posting stuff from Eckhart Tolle and other 'new age' teachers. While reading into teachings of Eckhart Tolle and other teachers such as Nisargadatta Maharaj, it's interesting and important to note that he emphasizes alot on the stage of 'I AM', which is a path avoided by Buddha.

Many of Eckhart's students mistake 'I AM' as the absolute true self, whereas in buddhism 'true self' is only a name but does not have inherent existence, and must not deviate from the 3 dharma seals, as the zen saying goes, 'no self is (true) self' - these are major flaws that Buddhist practitioners must avoid. Their realisation of 'enlightenment' is definitely different and definitely far from the Enlightenment Buddha and His disciples attained.

The Buddha taught us the 3 Dharma Seals (Impermanence, No-self and Nirvana) as the 3 fundamentals that all true Dharma teachings must not deviate from. In this era where there are plenty of fake 'gurus' around, it is important that we understand these Dharma Seals in order to differentiate the Jewels from the rest.

Although Eckhart's teachings are not as thorough as Dharma, I certainly like his teaching (I'm actually one of his loyal fans) and will continue looking through them as reference like other self-help and inspiration books. I sincerely wish for Eckhart's continuous breakthrough in his cultivation path, and lead his students towards true liberation. For cultivation wise, I'll follow strictly what the Buddha taught - He already taught everything we need to know, all we need is learn it from the Sangha and then do it. No matter what people claim, no one sees reality as clear as Buddha, the Triple Gems is our only reliable refuge.

~ UnAwakenOne



--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

++++++++++++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!

The Body Scan Meditation


Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Click for book details & reviews:


One very powerful technique we use to reestablish contact with the body is known as body scanning. Because of the thorough and minute focus on the body in body scanning, it is an effective technique for developing both concentration and flexibility of attention simultaneously. It involves lying on your back and moving your mind through the different regions of your body.

Here's how to do it:
We start with the toes of the left foot and slowly move up the foot and leg, feeling the sensations as we go and directing the breath in to and out from the different regions. From the pelvis, we go to the toes of the right foot and move up the right leg back to the pelvis. From there, we move up through the torso, through the low back and abdomen, the upper back and chest, and the shoulders. Then we go to the fingers of both hands and move up simultaneously in both arms, returning to the shoulders.

Then we move through the neck and throat, and finally all the regions of the face, the back of the head, and the top of the head. We wind up breathing through an imaginary "hole" in the very top of the head, as if we were a whale with a blowhole. We let our breathing move through the entire body from one end to the other, as if it were flowing in through the top of the head and out through the toes, and then in through the toes and out through the top of the head.

By the time we have completed the body scan, it can feel as if the entire body has dropped away or has become transparent, as if its substance were in some way erased. It can feel as if there is nothing but breath flowing freely across all the boundaries of the body.

As we complete the body scan, we let ourselves dwell in silence and stillness, in an awareness that may have by this point gone beyond the body altogether. After a time, when we feel ready to, we return to our body, to a sense of it as a whole. We feel it as solid again. We move our hands and feet intentionally. We might also massage the face and rock a little from side to side before opening our eyes and returning to the activities of the day.

The idea in scanning your body is to actually feel each region you focus on and linger there with your mind right on it or in it. You breathe in to and out from each region a few times and then let go of it in your mind's eye as your attention moves on to the next region. As you let go of the sensations you find in each region and of any of the thoughts and/or images you may have found associated with it, the muscles in that region literally let go too, lengthening and releasing much of the tension they have accumulated. It helps if you can feel or imagine that the tension in your body and the feelings of fatigue associated with it are flowing out on each outbreath and that, on each inbreath, you are breathing in energy, vitality, and relaxation.

Public domain text taken from: http://satipatthana.org/kabatzinn.html

Although the instructions above is sufficient to perform the meditation, it is only an extract. It is strongly recommended to read the whole chapter in greater details (on relations to bodily pain, initial problems we'll face, using it as a purification process, etc) in the link provided if you're interested in doing this yourself.


Also take a look at books on Mindfulness recommended by fellow practitioners.

~ UnawakenOne

--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

++++++++++++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!

Bowing to the Buddha

Respectfully I bowed to the Buddha. With deepest faith, sincerity and reverence, I bowed with my total being. In this moment, nothing matters, I forget my name, my past and my future, all forgotten. Just aware, just be, just bow.

Bowing with this quality of mind helps to bring us down to the present, to awareness. Buddha means aware or awake. Bowing to Buddha is bowing to the awakeness within us which is our true self. It reminds us to live every moment of our life with the awakeness just as we did while bowing.

There are practices in various Buddhist traditions involving bowing as a means to reduce karmic obstacles or meditation, as well as to subdue our all-important proud egoistic selfish tendencies which are the prime source of troubles.

I bow to the Buddha within you.
Smile... :)

~UnawakenOne

--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

++++++++++++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!

Friday, October 06, 2006

I humbly bow to the Buddha Within You!

I humbly bow to the Buddha within you!

Whoever you are,
Whatever your name,
Whatever you have said and done,
Let not my selfish Ego label them and judge them with my likes or dislikes,
Let me honor you first by humbly bowing to the Buddha within you.

Whatever negative or postive emotions you appear to be,
Whatever pain bodies you appear to be,
Let not my selfish Ego label them and judge them with my likes or dislikes,
Let me honor them first by humbly bowing to the Buddha within them.

Whatever my senses present to me,
Whatever sights, sounds, smells, texture or tastes,
Let not my selfish Ego label them and judge them with my likes or dislikes,
Let me honor them first by humbly bowing to the Buddha within them.

~ UnAwakenOne


--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

++++++++++++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Practising Presence for Partners of Intimate Relationship

This is a practice to be done with your spouse or partner in an intimate relationship.

There are so many people having problems in their relationships. Many fights and disagreements occur over minor or major issues. Many times it is the pain bodies (negative emotions such as anger, fear, anxiety, stress, depression, etc) within either or both parties trying to provoke a fight in order to sustain itself.

A scenario could be the woman having menstruation cycle coming, feels a lot of pain and unease. She vents her emotional discomfort on others, almost to the point of picking a fight. A similar scenario for a man is when he accumulated stress and frustrations from the workplace and returns home venting them the wife or girlfriend.

Although men are generally less emotional, their pain bodies can be dissolved by our attention and presence in the same way. The human touch is an effective form of comfort and it melts down defensive barriers that we put up to protect our vulnerable ego.

During an argument, it is useless talking to him/her with that kind of mental state. Simply apply the following method as follows.

If possible, it will be helpful to explain to your partner beforehand that this is what you will do to comfort him in the event of conflicts. It will even be better if both of you work together on this technique as a form of growth, intimate exchange and communication that transcends words.

If your partner is not co-operative, you can still do this yourself. However, it is only the moment when the mind is willing to let go, that the presence that is described here can be felt and has effect. When the mind is willing to let go and let be, that presence becomes a natural state. The deep sensation has the effect of healing.

Here are the steps:


1. Take a deep breath, and give her a hug.

2. With your whole body, feel her presence totally - feel her body warmth, the smell of her hair, and bring yourself to this moment with her. Nothing is more real than this moment - not the past, not the future. Devote all your attention to being present at this moment.

3. Then open your heart to her totally and feel with your whole body the energy flowing through her.

4. Feel the pain bodies within her with unconditional acceptance, giving attention to them and giving them space allowing them to be as they are. Maintain this and stop when she's comfortable.

~ UnAwakenOne
--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

++++++++++++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!

I imagine the Buddha said to me...

And in my mind, I imagine the Buddha said to me,

"No matter what you do, whatever will become of you, I accept and love you as who you truly are.

No matter what trials and sufferings you go through, and whatever mistakes you make, I go through all of them with you.

No matter how long it takes for you to see me, even if you shall only see me at the End of Time, then so shall it be.

I am with you and watch over you forever, and you shall see me at the End of Time."

~ UnAwakenOne


--------------------------------------
This is a nice contribution, I want to share my reflections and experiences too!

++++++++++++++++++
Technorati:

Read more!