Community Blog
Freedom and Emptiness
For the last two days, I sat with His Holiness (“HH”) the Dalai Lama to receive his teachings. I have been receiving teachings from him since 1980. This year, the quality of his teachings seemed to take on more urgency—certainly he always sees the need to urge us on to deeper meditation, contemplation, reflection and action. Yet, I was struck by the immediacy of his pleas that we practice with spiritual urgency, study to realize more deeply “true nature” and reflect and contemplate in such a way that our practice and study are not superficial but more deeply investigative of the nature of this precious human birth and its world.
Dear Abhi–Dhamma: Where Do My Needs Fit?
Dear Abhi–dhamma: Where do my needs fit into a relationship? How to understand if I'm feeling - reacting to a story in my mind vs the energy/tone from someone else? If the other person in a relationship asserts her intentions are good and kind, is it still possible some other tonality is coming through? How do I know when I'm asking for something unreasonable or not? Am I meant to not ask for anything?
Arouse Energy Now
Once faith in the Path is established, “heroic effort,” the second of the Five Spiritual Faculties, is an indispensible ingredient in our quest for freedom and happiness.
Open Heart, Faithful Life
When it comes to generosity it seems there’s always an internal battle going on in my mind. Why do I offer to do things? How much should I give? What are my real intentions? I can honestly say that I have never really been at peace with my relationship to gift. There are a great deal of entanglements here for me.
Powerful Faculties
As we enter the Autumn season, we contemplate landscapes that remind us that we, as part of nature are shedding the Summer season to make room for Winter, inevitably giving way to renewal and light. We reflect together on what can empower the mind in its journey toward illumination, “enlightenment.” One group of factors given prominence in the Buddha’s discourses on the thirty-seven requisites of enlightenment is the Five Spiritual Faculties: faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom.
Look Deeply, Be Free
This waking life is like a dream. If we know we’re dreaming, will we hold on to the people in the dream? get upset about how we feel or that we lost something in that dream? Son to Mom: “Pretend you are surrounded by monsters and they are all coming at you. You’re really frightened. You think they’re going to attack you. What would you do?” Mom: “I don’t know—What would you do?” Son: “Stop pretending!”