Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Flow in Mindfulness Meditation


      Shinzen Young defines 'flow' - the technical term in Basic Mindfulness Training (not Csikszentmihalyi's construct) - "as the movement, change, energy, or force present within a sensory experience. ... Flow is not something separate from specific sensory experiences; it is a characteristic that appears within a specific sensory experience as a result of continuously bringing clarity and equanimity to that experience."

     The downloadable pdf "What is Flow" found under "For Students", then "Further Reference",  
http://www.shinzen.org/index.htm contains very useful information for those deeply engaged in meditation.

pocoloco   www.dpreview.com
 

Monday, March 30, 2015

Basis of Mental Illness & Suffering from a Buddhist Perspective


     These four are distortions of perception, thought & view:

               • Sensing no change in the changing, 
               • Sensing pleasure in suffering, 
               • Assuming "self" where there's no self, 
               • Sensing the un-lovely as lovely.

     Delusion is a mental illness that causes all sorts of suffering; mental health can be restored by correcting the flaws in how the mind operates.

       "Vipallasa Sutta: Distortions of the Mind" (AN 4.49), translated from the Pali by Andrew Olendzki. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 2 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.049.olen.html .


ShopVac   www.dpreview.com

Sunday, March 29, 2015

The Problem of Evil - a Zen Perspective

     "In Zen language, 'the great death' stands for the nondual sense of life as one. All things, good or bad, desirable or undesirable, express that oneness. To experience the great death is to see, face to face and for oneself, that everything is real, everything is true, everything is just as it is. ...
     The great death, oneness, enlightenment, total acceptance of reality beyond good and evil - this is a necessary step in Zen or any other profound spiritual practice. But although this may be ultimate, it is only a step. Zen calls it 'the great death' for a good reason. It is a kind of 'death.' It requires a complete letting go, a complete relinquishment, in trust, of everything that one has identified as one's life.
     To be truly alive, as Zen sees it, one has to die - to let go of life. But until we are physically dead we can't remain dead. We have to be alive. We can't remain in the darkness and purity of beyond-good-and-evil. We have to arrive in the daylight of this physical, limited world of distinctions and moral choices. Difficult though it may be, there is no escape and no alternative. And yet we celebrate. Having died the great death, we know what a miracle it is to be alive, and how strange and marvelous it is - even with its difficult and sad challenges, which are themselves miraculous."

       Norman Fischer "The Problem of Evil" Shambhala Sun, May 2015. http://www.lionsroar.com/category/shambhala-sun/


     The 'great death' also appears in other wisdom traditions: 
     “At three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46)
http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Apr2004/Feature1.asp

MLPhoto88   www.dpreview.com

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Everyone Acts from their Buddhanature



     “In Suzuki Roshi’s book Not Always So, he says, 

‘A Zen teacher must recognize that everything the student says or does comes from their buddhanature. If the teacher doesn’t know that, he can’t be a Zen teacher.’ 

     This is deep teaching …”

       Lewis Richmond, “Zen Lessons for a Lifetime” Shambhala Sun, May 2015.

 
Akos Stiller   www.stillerakos.com

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Essence of Zazen - and Life

     "Zazen is the practice and realization of manifesting our body as Bodhi, as enlightenment. It is both the practice and the realization, for when we truly do zazen, there is no distinction between practice and realization. It is wisdom as is, as things are. This zazen, the practice of the Buddha Way, is none other than the practice of one's life.
     The best way to practice is to forget the self. By forgetting the self, we can appreciate our life not in the narrow, restricted, isolated way that we usually live but rather as a life of unity, a life that is unsurpassable. Another way to explain what we mean by forgetting the self is that we are transcending the subject-object relationship or the I-Other relationship. We are transcending duality."

       Adapted from "Appreciate Your Life: The Essence of Zen Practice" by Taizan Maezumi Roshi, Shambhala, 2002.
       Shambhala Sun, May 2015                      www.lionsroar.com/category/shambhala-sun/

Yeow Kwang Yeo FRPS   www.dpreview.com

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Embracing My Own Mortality


     "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. 
     Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. 
     You are already naked. 
     There is no reason not to follow your heart."  

       Steve Jobs (Feb 24, 1955 – Oct 5, 2011) co-founder, chairman, & CEO of Apple Inc.

 
Erez Marom   www.dpreview.com

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

What Do I Really Trust?

     What do you ultimately trust? What do you truly believe in? In what do you take refuge from life's craziness?

     You probably didn't immediately come up with things like: eating, coffee, texting, gossiping, ethanol, wealth, fame, sex, shopping, working compulsively, etc. Whatever we immediately turn to for comfort is our refuge - what we actually trust.
     Our choices may embarrass us, even privately. We may vehemently deny our addictive relationship with the "substances" we abuse. But what happens if we try to end these relationships - either suddenly or by tapering off? 

     Ultimately, this is not a matter of morals - we're not "bad" or "sinners." The problem is one of frustration. We're "looking for love in all the wrong places." We exhaust ourselves sucking on pebbles, while starving for profound nourishment. Hitting rock bottom is finally realizing, not just intellectually, but ACTUALLY GETTING THE FACT that what we need is not in the pebbles.

     See: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/11/self-defeating-behaviours-repression.html
     and: http://www.johnlovas.com/2014/11/fear-based-rigidity-wisdom-paths-to.html
 

Rutger Bus   www.dpreview.com

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Levels of Practice - from Seeking Comfort to Seeking Liberation


     “There are two levels of practice. 

               The first is the foundation, a development of precepts, virtue, or morality in order to bring happiness, comfort, and harmony among people. 

               The second, more intensive and unconcerned with comfort, is the practice of Buddha Dharma directed solely toward awakening, toward the liberation of the heart. This liberation is the source of wisdom and compassion and the true reason for the Buddha’s teaching.”
        Kornfield J, Breiter P. “A Still Forest Pool. The Insight Meditation of Achaan Chah.” Quest Books, 1985.



     Even dedicated, long-term meditators start practicing in order to self-regulate ie for stress management. 
     With continued practice, a gradual shift occurs in one's intention for practicing - from self-regulation, to self-exploration, and finally self-liberation.
       Shapiro DH. "A Preliminary Study of Long-term Meditators: Goals, Effects, Religious Orientation, Cognitions. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 1992; 24(1): 23-39.

Java Blend Coffee, Halifax Seaport Farmer's Market

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Finding Our Way Home



     “When sitting in meditation, you may have strange experiences or visions such as seeing lights, angels, or buddhas. When you see such things, you should observe yourself first to find out what state the mind is in. Do not forget the basic point. Pay attention. Do not wish for visions to arise or not to arise. 
     If you go running after such experiences, you may end up babbling senselessly because the mind has fled the stable. When such things do come, contemplate them, do not be deluded by them. You should consider that they are not yourself; they too are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not yourself. 
     Though they have come about, do not take them seriously. If they do not go away, re-establish your mindfulness, fix your attention on your breathing, and take at least three long inhalations and exhalations – then you can cut them off. 
     Whatever arises, keep re-establishing your attention. Do not take anything as yourself – everything is only a vision or a construction of the mind, a deception that causes you to like, grasp, or fear. When you see such constructions, do not get involved. 
     All unusual experiences and visions are of value to the wise person but harmful to the unwise. Keep practicing until you are not stirred by them.”

       Kornfield J, Breiter P. “A still forest pool. The insight meditation of Achaan Chah.” Quest Books, Wheaton IL, 1985.


      “Your true home is wakefulness. Go home!”            Ashin Tejaniya


Peter O pics   www.dpreview.com

Thursday, March 19, 2015

with Penetrating Awareness ...


     "As concentration and attention increase, the mind becomes clear and balanced. More and more sharply we see how things are changing in each instant, how these are ultimately not a source of lasting happiness, and how the whole mind-body process flows according to certain laws empty of any permanent self. . . . 
     These profound insights become clear simply from increasing mindfulness, penetrating awareness of our own process. With these insights wisdom arises, bringing equanimity, loving-kindness, and compassion, for in experiencing the emptiness of self we see the unity of all things."                             Jack Kornfield

WisdomAtWork.com


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

'Ordinary Unhappiness' - OR - Mystical Experiences ??


     “A householder who was nevertheless engaged in an advanced meditation practice known as tantra, Manibhadra attained enlightenment while carrying water from the village well back to her home. Dropping her pitcher one day and seeing the water gush out of the broken gourd, she was suddenly liberated. The broken pitcher served as a powerful model of what her meditation was trying to show her. Like the water breaking forth, her consciousness flowed out and merged with all of reality. This jarring loose, or breaking free – this going to pieces without falling apart – is what Buddhism acknowledges as one of the self’s secret needs – to be released from a belief in its own absolute reality.”
 

       Epstein M. "Psychotherapy without the Self. A Buddhist Perspective." Yale University Press, New Haven CT, 2007.
 

     The latest scientific research on the neurobiology of psilocybin-induced mystical experience raises the possibility that human beings may actually suffer if DEPRIVED of mystical experiences: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2015/03/650-effective-management-for.html


Bess

Mysticism Deprivation


     “A householder who was nevertheless engaged in an advanced meditation practice known as tantra, Manibhadra attained enlightenment while carrying water from the village well back to her home. Dropping her pitcher one day and seeing the water gush out of the broken gourd, she was suddenly liberated. The broken pitcher served as a powerful model of what her meditation was trying to show her. Like the water breaking forth, her consciousness flowed out and merged with all of reality. This jarring loose, or breaking free – this going to pieces without falling apart – is what Buddhism acknowledges as one of the self’s secret needs – to be released from a belief in its own absolute reality.”
 

       Epstein M. "Psychotherapy without the Self. A Buddhist Perspective." Yale University Press, New Haven CT, 2007.
 

     The latest scientific research on the neurobiology of psilocybin-induced mystical experience raises the possibility that human beings may actually suffer if DEPRIVED of mystical experiences: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2015/03/650-effective-management-for.html



Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Impact of Self-concepts


     “Ordinarily, we assume that our feelings of having a self mean that the self is utterly real: unbreakable, enduring, permanent, and absolute. ‘Really real,’ as Professor Robert Thurman likes to say. 
     But the Buddhist understanding is that, although the self appears to be real, it is only the appearance that is real. The self is not a lasting entity in its own right. It is not separate and distinct from the circumstances that give rise to its appearance.
     Understanding this crucial distinction enables one to enjoy the self’s manifestations without trying to make them more than they really are. 
     The glass can be valued, even treated as precious, while knowing that it is already broken.”
 
       Epstein M. "Psychotherapy without the Self. A Buddhist Perspective." Yale University Press, New Haven CT, 2007


Sunday, March 15, 2015

Invitation from the Living Universe

     by Duane Elgin http://fujideclaration.org/invitation-from-the-living-universe/

      A living universe paradigm: A self-consistent pattern of thoughts, concepts, and assumptions about the nature of reality is rapidly emerging. Simply stated, we are seeing a profound shift from a non-living view of the universe to a view that regards the universe as uniquely alive. This is not a “new” perspective as, more than two thousand years ago, Plato said that, “the universe is a single living creature that encompasses all living creatures within it.” What is new is how a living systems perspective is drawing upon insights from science to validate this emerging paradigm that regards the universe as a unified system that is sustained continuously by the flow-through of phenomenal amounts of energy and whose essential nature includes consciousness or a self-reflective capacity that enables systems at every scale of existence to exercise some freedom of choice.

      A bio-cosmic identity: The paradigm of a living universe reveals that we are much more than biological beings whose identity extends no further than our skin. Instead, we are “bio-cosmic” beings that participate in the aliveness of a living universe. The energy of divine aliveness pours through and sustains the entire universe. Awakening to our identity as both distinct and intimately interconnected within a living universe transforms the feelings of existential separation and species-arrogance that threaten our future. We are participants in a cosmic garden of life the universe has been patiently nurturing over billions of years. A living universe invites us to shift from feelings of indifference, fear, and cynicism to feelings of curiosity, love, awe, and participation.

      A surpassing purpose: Living is more than “only not dying.” Our purpose in being here is to learn how to live sustainably and compassionately within a living universe. Our life is our gift from the universe and how we choose to live is our gift to the universe. We are on a sacred journey of discovery. In freedom, we are discovering our identity as beings of both earthly and cosmic dimensions. After nearly 14 billion years of evolution, we stand upon the Earth as agents of self-reflective and creative action at a time of great transition for the entire Earth community.

      A thriving planetary civilization: Through history, humanity’s capacity for self-reflective consciousness has developed progressively—from the magical world of the hunter-gatherer, to the nature-based world of the agrarian farmer, then into the dynamic world of the urban-industrial society, and now into a holistic perspective and collective consciousness rapidly awakening within our global brain. This new consciousness provides the basis for a new, global civilization. If our lives are nested within the larger aliveness of a living universe, then it is only fitting that we treat everything that exists as alive and worthy of respect. Every action has ethical consequences that reverberate throughout the ecosystem of the living cosmos. Our collective purpose shifts from seeking high-consumption lifestyles toward simpler ways of living that enable us to connect more directly with a living universe of which we are an integral part. Humanity’s journey of awakening has reached a critical turning point. We now confront the supreme test of living sustainably on the Earth, in harmony with one another, and in communion with the living universe.


      by Duane Elgin http://fujideclaration.org/invitation-from-the-living-universe/



A living universe paradigm: A self-consistent pattern of thoughts, concepts, and assumptions about the nature of reality is rapidly emerging. Simply stated, we are seeing a profound shift from a non-living view of the universe to a view that regards the universe as uniquely alive. This is not a “new” perspective as, more than two thousand years ago, Plato said that, “the universe is a single living creature that encompasses all living creatures within it.” What is new is how a living systems perspective is drawing upon insights from science to validate this emerging paradigm that regards the universe as a unified system that is sustained continuously by the flow-through of phenomenal amounts of energy and whose essential nature includes consciousness or a self-reflective capacity that enables systems at every scale of existence to exercise some freedom of choice.
A bio-cosmic identity: The paradigm of a living universe reveals that we are much more than biological beings whose identity extends no further than our skin. Instead, we are “bio-cosmic” beings that participate in the aliveness of a living universe. The energy of divine aliveness pours through and sustains the entire universe. Awakening to our identity as both distinct and intimately interconnected within a living universe transforms the feelings of existential separation and species-arrogance that threaten our future. We are participants in a cosmic garden of life the universe has been patiently nurturing over billions of years. A living universe invites us to shift from feelings of indifference, fear, and cynicism to feelings of curiosity, love, awe, and participation.
A surpassing purpose: Living is more than “only not dying.” Our purpose in being here is to learn how to live sustainably and compassionately within a living universe. Our life is our gift from the universe and how we choose to live is our gift to the universe. We are on a sacred journey of discovery. In freedom, we are discovering our identity as beings of both earthly and cosmic dimensions. After nearly 14 billion years of evolution, we stand upon the Earth as agents of self-reflective and creative action at a time of great transition for the entire Earth community.
A thriving planetary civilization: Through history, humanity’s capacity for self-reflective consciousness has developed progressively—from the magical world of the hunter-gatherer, to the nature-based world of the agrarian farmer, then into the dynamic world of the urban-industrial society, and now into a holistic perspective and collective consciousness rapidly awakening within our global brain. This new consciousness provides the basis for a new, global civilization. If our lives are nested within the larger aliveness of a living universe, then it is only fitting that we treat everything that exists as alive and worthy of respect. Every action has ethical consequences that reverberate throughout the ecosystem of the living cosmos. Our collective purpose shifts from seeking high-consumption lifestyles toward simpler ways of living that enable us to connect more directly with a living universe of which we are an integral part. Humanity’s journey of awakening has reached a critical turning point. We now confront the supreme test of living sustainably on the Earth, in harmony with one another, and in communion with the living universe.

Join the Global Conversation

We want to hear from you!

- See more at: http://fujideclaration.org/invitation-from-the-living-universe/#sthash.KebE1Yfh.dpuf

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

What is Mindfulness Practice?


     by Tim Burnett, January 2013
     "Mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment, non-judgmentally." Jon Kabat-Zinn (1990)

     The practice of mindfulness encourages us to pay attention to the process of our experience – not just the content. We learn to study the feeling and flow of experience and be less caught on our opinions and desires around how we feel experience should be. In other words, mindfulness practices support us in taking a small but important step back – a “breathing space.” And this supports the arising of curiosity and a fresh perspective on our life. 
     When something happens, anything at all, the mind and our senses have a fast and complex interaction. The sum of all of these momentary experiences is our experience of living. You could even say that our mind’s ongoing narrative summary of everything that is happening, has happened, and is imagined to be coming soon, is our experience of self. Too often all we notice is the final result of this interaction and we miss the complex unfolding that just happened. 
     All of this doesn’t happen in mental isolation. Our engagement with experience is embodied. When events happen they happen through the body. And the body is hard-wired for vigilance; ready to respond to threats. When the threat protection mechanisms of the body are triggered by a rapid cascade of events, our systems (nervous, hormonal, digestive) rev us up quickly and ready us to fight, run, or freeze. Our higher level cognitive systems have been shown to go into a restricted mode during these times, lest we ruin our chances for survival by standing there trying to figure things out when we should be running for the hills! 
     Mindfulness practice is a way of exploring the processes that often run our lives. It is a way of bringing these semi-automatic processes into the open and working with them in a way that usually leads to:
          • less time spent in “automatic pilot”
          • more awareness of the details within experiences
          • less energy spent worrying about the future or ruminating about the past
          • greater resilience and an increased ability to moderate our reactivity
          • reduced risk of a long list of stress-related diseases
          • an increased sense of presence – really being there for ourselves and others
          • an increase in a “spacious” type of joy which is able to hold life’s ups and downs more fully and kindly, including experiences we do not like

     Fundamentally, mindfulness practice works by bringing attention back to the present moment. 
     We can think of attention as a theatrical spotlight. In the back of the darkened theater the spotlight is on, casting its circle of light somewhere on the stage. The part of the stage that’s lit up is what is accessible to our conscious awareness. The spotlight of attention is very compelling and when it’s focused in on something that is often all we are aware of. 
     The spotlight of attention might be focused on a sensory event, something we are seeing or hearing for example, but all too often the spotlight of attention is focused on a mental “event.” Our attention is caught by a memory, a worry, or an anxious vision of the future. Have you had the experience of the mind being so caught by this ruminative kind of thinking that you hardly notice your surroundings? Have you pulled up in the car at your destination not remembering how exactly you got there? This capacity of mind to have the spotlight of attention completely trapped – enraptured even – by the thinking is sometimes called being caught in “automatic pilot.” 
     We don’t have to be run by the thoughts and memories that happen to pop into our minds distracting us from our work and activities. We can move the spotlight of attention. We can choose in the place to which we aim. We can also choose how tightly to focus the spotlight. We can zoom in on a detail in our activity/work, or opening it up wide to take in a sunset or the experience of being relaxed and happy with a loved-one undefined not worrying about anything in particular. 
     And yet all too often we lose track of this possibility. Our attention veers off – out of control. A funny look from a colleague, a car veering in front of us on the road, a memory, a worry, - many different events can trigger us to forget all about our powerful ability to influence attention and we are lost to the present moment again.
     Mindfulness practice has two key elements: formal and informal. Formal mindfulness practice is a central element of our time together in mindfulness class. In formal practice we take up particular instructions for working with attention and train ourselves to attend to something steadily for a structured period of time. We set everything else aside and just practice. 
     In formal practice we also train ourselves in a positive way of relating to our habits of wandering attention. When our attention drifts away we work to bring it back gently and kindly, with a spirit of steadiness and persistence. With less blame and recrimination. And in the simplified circumstances we create during formal practice it’s more obvious when attention has drifted away. 
     You could say that the root of mindfulness is developing the ability to remember. To remember that attention is in operation. To remember that there’s more happening on stage than whatever the spotlight is currently illuminating. To remember that we are sitting behind the spotlight of our attention and able to direct it to some extent. To remember that in the darkness at the edges of the stage are many possibilities, some known, some not. We can touch into the many dimensions to our lives beyond our usual story line. 
     As we develop the ability to return attention to present-moment phenomena we are often surprised to see that whatever it is that happening is not the same as what we were worried about. Often actual experience is richer, more interesting, and less problematic than we imagined. What a relief this can be! 
     We can even notice a lack of reactivity, less stress, fewer times when we make assumptions that tie ourselves in knots. And when we do get tangled, with practice we can identify our “tangled-ness” and take it a little less personally and a little less seriously. We develop more patience with our conditioning and habit patterns.
     Where formal mindfulness practice is a kind of an intensive “lab of attention,” informal practices help us to bring this work out into the world. Into the middle of our day. Into those moments that can be so loaded for us. There are many ways to remember to practice mindfulness in daily life. Pausing to take a breath before entering a new room where something requires your full attention, for example. We will discuss others in class. And we will also discuss the ways in which this process is non-linear, organic, and often surprising. 
     Becoming more aware of the embodied nature of experience is profoundly helpful. We learn to listen more to our body. We feel the tightness in our shoulders; the pinch in our gut. Rather than soldiering on, we pause. We breathe into the experience. We listen to the “wisdom” of the body and appreciate it as a kind of early warning system. Often well before the mind catches on to what is happening, our body is lets us know that something is amiss. And responding sooner than later to this helps us right the ship well before it capsizes. 
     Mindfulness is a creative re-engagement with our actual experience. We put aside our sense of knowing exactly who were are and what is happening. We set all of that history and personality down, or at least hold is a little more lightly. We take a fresh look. “I wonder what is happening here?” We see with fresh eyes as we re-inhabit our life. And this freshness, this openness, brings us great gifts, even in the middle of our most challenging moments. 
     One way of thinking of this life is that it’s all happening in this moment. In this very moment. And if we are lost in some other moment we are very literally missing our life.

     “Make the moment vital and worth living… do not let it slip away unnoticed and unused.” Martha Graham


     What is Mindfulness Practice?
     by Tim Burnett, January 2013

Monday, March 9, 2015

Porousness, Fluency

     "The great Buddhist scholar D.T. Suzuki came to Columbia to teach [in 1951] and I went for two years to his classes. From Suzuki's teaching I began to understand that a sober and quiet mind is one in which the ego does not obstruct the fluency of things that come in through the senses and up through our dreams. Our business in living is to become fluent with the life we are living, and art can help this."                                                      John Cage

       Epstein M. "Psychotherapy without the Self. A Buddhist Perspective." Yale University Press, New Haven CT, 2007.