The Refinement of Mind

     The step-wise process of refining the mind is comparable to refining gold - removing the grossest impurities first, then progressively more subtle impurities, until only pure gold remains.

     "... in the case of a practitioner devoted to practice, there may be such gross impurities as unskillful conduct in deeds, words, and thoughts. Such conduct the follower of the way gives up, puts away, lets go, and relinquishes.
     When one has abandoned these there may still remain such impurities of a moderate degree as lustful, angry, and violent thoughts. Such thoughts the follower of the way gives up, puts away, lets go, and relinquishes.
     When one has abandoned these, there may still remain grasping to special states of meditation.
     Thus concentration is not yet properly calm or refined; it has not attained to full tranquillity, nor has it achieved mental unification. But there comes a time when the practitioner's mind gains firmness within, settles down, becomes unified and concentrated. With such a concentration the practitioner is able to direct the mind to states of higher insight.
     Having completed this initial purification, a follower of the way devoted to practice should from time to time direct attention to three qualities of mind ... concentration, energetic effort, and equanimity. If one gives regular attention to these, then one's mind will become pliant, workable, lucid, and not unwieldy, and it will be well concentrated upon overcoming all fetters and attachments."
       adapted from the Anguttara Nikaya, translated by Nyanaponika Thera 
       Jack Kornfield, Gil Fronsdal eds. “Teachings of the Buddha.” Shambhala, Boston, 2007.
 

On Crossing Over

Few cross over the river.
Most are stranded on this side.
On the riverbank they run up and down.

But the wise person, following the way,
Crosses over, beyond the reach of death.

Free from desire,
Free from possessions,
Free from attachment and appetite,
Following the seven lights of awakening,
And rejoicing greatly in one's freedom,
In this world the wise person
Becomes oneself a light,
Pure, shining, free.
 
adapted from the Dhammapada, translated by Thomas Byrom
Jack Kornfield, Gil Fronsdal eds. “Teachings of the Buddha.” Shambhala, Boston, 2007.

New York - image by Moinain

Sand Castles

     “Some children were playing beside a river. They made castles of sand, and each child defended his castle and said, ‘This one is mine.’ They kept their castles separate and would not allow any mistakes about which was whose. 

     When the castles were all finished, one child kicked over someone else’s castle and completely destroyed it. The owner of the castle flew into a rage, pulled the other child’s hair, struck him with his fist and bawled out, ‘He has spoiled my castle! Come along all of you and help me to punish him as he deserves.’ The others all came to his help. They beat the child with a stick and then stamped on him as he lay on the ground. … Then they went on playing in their sand castles, each saying, ‘This is mine; no one else may have it. Keep away! Don’t touch my castle!’ 

     But evening came; it was getting dark and they all thought they ought to be going home. No one now cared what became of his castle. One child stomped on his, another pushed his over with both hands. Then they turned away and went back, each to his home.”

       from the Yogacara Bhumi Sutra, translated by Arthur Waley
          Jack Kornfield, Gil Fronsdal eds. “Teachings of the Buddha.” Shambhala, Boston, 2007. 

from the web

Importance of Feelings

     “When our feelings become free of emotional reactions and dwell in love and compassion as their natural abode, our mind will be open to the great truths of universal significance.”

       Ayya Khema. “Being Nobody, Going Nowhere. Meditations on the Buddhist Path.” Wisdom Publications, 2016.

 

Intimacy

     "I am part of the sun as my eyes are part of me. That I am part of the earth my feet know perfectly, and my blood is part of the sea. There is nothing of me that is alone and absolute except my mind, and we shall find that the mind has no existence by itself, it is only the glitter of the sun on the surface of the water."                D.H. Lawrence 


      “... love, peace and happiness are not something that come and go any more than our self, aware presence, comes and goes. However, they are sometimes seemingly veiled.”
     Rupert Spira. “Presence, Volume II: The Intimacy of All Experience.” Non-duality Press, Salisbury, UK, 2011.

Love, Peace and Happiness

     “Seeking and resistance veil our true nature, aware presence, and therefore veil the love, peace and happiness that is inherent within it or rather that is it.”

       Rupert Spira. “Presence, Volume II: The Intimacy of All Experience.” Non-duality Press, Salisbury, UK, 2011. 

     Greed (craving), aversion (hatred) & delusion (ignorance) are, in Buddhism, considered to be the "three poisons" - the basic mental states that cloud the mind, manifest in unwholesome actions, and cause suffering.

Love

"Love ... is the natural condition of all experience."

 

Rupert Spira. “Presence, Volume II: The Intimacy of All Experience.” Non-duality Press, Salisbury, UK, 2011.