Preliminary & Ultimate Objectives of Practice

      Our task is to discover a freedom that's independent of all circumstances & times.
      Kornfield J, Breiter P. "A still forest pool. The insight meditation of Achaan Chah." Quest Books, Wheaton IL, 1985. 

     As such, the object of the path is awareness and not clinging to anything. But initially, our objective is not clinging to that which is unsatisfactory, stressful and doesn't belong to us.                                Joseph Goldstein

     So what can we hold onto?

     “If you let go a little, you will have a little peace.
      If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.
      And if you let go completely, you will have complete peace.”

        Ajahn Chah. “The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah - Single Volume.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=4CEF53DF37C241A3AE9327D1D40921BD

      See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2014/10/two-levels-of-practice.html

Rays of light are ephemeral; other things less obviously so.

Levels of Consciousness & Being

     "The sense of wonder is based on the admission that our intellect is a limited and finite instrument of information and expression, reserved for specific practical uses, but not fit to represent the completeness of our being. ... It is here that we come in direct touch with a reality which may baffle our intellect, but which fills us with that sense of wonder which opens the way to the inner sanctuary of the mind, to the heart of the great mystery of life and death, and beyond into the plenum void of inner space from which we derive our conception of an outer universe that we mistake for the only genuine reality. In other words, our reality is our own creation, the creation of our senses as well as of our mind, and both depend on the level and the dimensions of our present state of consciousness."                                         Anagarika Govinda

From: Mindful Living Facebook page

Transcending "Ordinary Unhappiness"

      “… all of a sudden a vision of life that you hadn’t known opens. But more often, one undertakes a practice, a training, a discipline to open the small sense of self, the ‘body of fear’ it’s called, this limited identity, and begin to sense something else that’s possible. And it can be as simple as beginning to sit in meditation and beginning to see the insanity of your own thought stream.”

        Jack Kornfield. “Awakening is Real. A Guide to the Deeper Dimensions of the Inner Journey.” Sounds True (Podcast #1 The Sacred Journey), 2012. 

Come Together ...

    "It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual.
     The next Buddha may take the form of a community - a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living.
     This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the earth."                                                       Thich Nhat Hanh

www.wisdomatwork.com

Responsibility, Self-sufficiency & Agency on our Journey

     "... a buddha's ultimate function is to keep reminding us that we must do the work of becoming a buddha ourselves. There will be no final confirmation of our enlightenment from our teacher. There will be no one to congratulate us at the spiritual finish line. In fact, there will be no finish line!"        Frank Berliner

       Frank Berliner. Falling in Love with a Buddha. Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, Spring 2014. p43

 

Moon over Pancole, Tuscany, Italy

Calm, Tranquility, Serenity, Composure - Important but

     "Calm ... plays a crucial and powerful role on the path of liberation, yet it is often overlooked or underemphasized in our practice. ... It is the soothing factor of mind that quiets the disturbances. It manifests as peacefulness or coolness in both the mind & body. It is what a tired worker feels upon sitting down in the cool shade of a tree on a sweltering day, or what a child feels when her mother lays a cool, soothing hand on her feverish forehead.

     Passaddhi (Pali term for calm) encompasses both physical composure & mental tranquility. It is this quality of calm that keeps the mind composed & unruffled in times of difficulty. Buddhist psychology describes how it brings along with it other wholesome states, such as lightness, wieldiness, proficiency, and sincerity. While the first three of these associated states seem obvious concomitants of calm, it is interesting to reflect on the last. Why does calm bring sincerity? When our minds are tranquil, a natural genuineness, honesty, and freedom from duplicity are also present.

     In meditation teachings, we sometimes hear of the danger of becoming attached to this wonderfully calming, peaceful state of mind. When we first touch this space of tranquility in our meditation, there is a profound sense of relaxation, relief, and ease, especially as we contrast it with the speed and distractedness of our daily lives, and with the difficulties and struggles we sometimes experience in practice. The tranquility can be so enticing that we might start practicing only for the calm, becoming attached to it and identified with it, and forget that it, too, is a constructed state. We can easily sink into the enjoyment of it and forget to bring mindfulness to it.

     Although this is an important caution, the Buddha clearly emphasized the importance of calm in the list of the awakening factors. The happiness of a tranquil mind plays a key role in the path of awakening. Here, the instructions on the factors of enlightenment, found in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, provide crucial guidance: 

     If the tranquility awakening factor [or any of the others] is present [in him], one knows, “the tranquility awakening factor is present in me”; if the tranquility awakening factor is not present [in him], one knows “there is no tranquility awakening factor present in me.” One knows how the unarisen tranquility factor can arise, and how the arisen tranquility factor can be perfected by development. 

     It is mindfulness that knows whether tranquility is present or not. And investigation, energy, & interest — what we might call 'meditative intelligence' — lead onward to its development & fullness, but without becoming identified with or ensnared by it."

 
       Goldstein J. "Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening." Sounds True, 2013. 

       http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/Mindfulness/4436.pd

 

Steve McCurry   http://stevemccurry.com

Energy Awareness & Micromanagement

So slowly we learn
to invest our finite time & energy
not just generally - but moment-by-moment
in directions that serve
to decrease suffering
and increase meaning & joy

These healthy direction choices
are always fresh
without momentum
appropriate in this specific moment
and differ from the tired momentum of our lives

The energy rescued
from habitual sufferings
is now available
for opening to real life
as it arises fresh in each unique moment

Our fictitious stories of 'me, myself & I'
we drag around - for a while
but nothing real is solid
we are free, changing, growing
so much more than we're now capable of knowing
everything is flowing expanding energy
manage & guide it wisely

microsurgeon   www.dpreview.com

Doubt & the Path

     "'True love and prayer are learned in the moment when prayer has become impossible and the heart has turned to stone.' Thomas Merton

     This is something I experienced myself after about 12 years of practice, when I went through a period of several months where nothing made sense anymore. By just staying with the experience and not buying into the story that everything was wrong - that I was wrong, the practice was wrong, the teacher was wrong - I pulled out of it and entered into practice much more deeply than I ever had before. So I think it's really important for all of us to understand that dry spots are a very natural part of practice and that they don't mean we're a failure on the path."     Ezra Bayda, Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, Summer 2013

     See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/06/embracing-difficulties.html

Martha on her path

 

Embracing Difficulties

     "One of the most crucial things for students to learn, not just at the beginning of the practice but at any point along the path, is that obstacles are the path. Whenever an obstacle arises, we need to ask ourselves, Can I see this as my path? Can I see it not as an obstacle on the path, but as the path itself? Can I welcome this as the way to become free? But we have such an instinctual aversion to discomfort that when an obstacle arises, we forget to ask the simple question, Can I see this as my path?"     Ezra Bayda, Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, Summer 2013

     Toni Packer's wise words: http://www.johnlovas.com/2011/12/undefinable.html

Ryan Creary   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/

Studying the way

"To study the way is to study the self
To study the self is to forget the self
To forget the self is to be enlightened
by all things of the universe.
To be enlightened by all things is to
transcend the distinction of self and other
and to go on in ceaseless enlightenment forever."

Dogen Kigen Zenji

www.aszc.org

Y Bagourdas   www.dpreview.com