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Growing Wisdom Through Right Understanding
When someone instructs me to do something without providing clear information or direction and uses a demanding tone, it often triggers a negative response in the mind. However, when another person gives the same instructions with patience and provides Right Information, the mind remains calm and attentive, reducing confusion and anxiety.
Experiencing or Understanding Suffering?
`I don’t like what is happening in my space.’ From targeting the outside, it is now aware of its own internal happenings. Aversion and intense discomfort are experienced. The wanting to push them away is so strong.
The Illusion of Silence
Understanding our attachment to silence and calmness can be challenging, especially given the persistent thoughts and feelings that often dominate our minds. While a quiet mind is frequently perceived as a sign of spiritual progress and stability, this is not always the case.
In the End
How often do we think we know what is best for us and sometimes even for others? I dare to say most of the time. We seldom or never pause to consider if what we think or know is true, to begin with.
Forgive the Error
It is often said that to be human means to live and experience everything to its fullest potential—to be able to think and to feel every emotion. Hence, if one is unable to experience, think, or feel something, then one is less of a human than another who is able to do all that abundantly.
Police and Thieves
As I progress in my practice of understanding the workings of the mind better, the analogy of playing a game of police and thieves rings true. You see – it is not enough to learn the principles taught to us by our teachers. The Right Information about the nature of the mind is often not easily understood.
Why Do I Call It The Right Practice?
Since small, I sensed this person here was peculiar, quiet, and not `normal’. As it grew up, it felt out of place most of the time. It wanted to fit in but couldn’t. So, that was what it went through till I came to Buddhism much later when I was studying in college.
Seeing the Bigger Picture
One obvious benefit while walking this Path is having a wider field of vision. Previously, I had not noticed the mechanics of seeing; my seeing was always "zooming-in" onto something, oblivious to the broader context. This limited perception poses risks and fosters automatic reactions, rendering us mindless.
How Do You Know It is the Right Practice?
The question was not about navigating through the myriad of spiritual paths to finally find the right one, but rather, how can I discern whether a new path does not merely offer a different perspective on life, albeit a more authentic one? A startling revelation dawned in this mind that there is no difference in reality between having faith in the Truth and lacking faith in it as each person's perspective constitutes their truth, grounded in their unique belief system.
Seeing the Truth is Learning with Right View
Now the mind can see the reality of causes and conditions in a deeper perspective. The letting go within happens for things are understood as nature happening, no one is in control. The mind can come either from an understanding or merely regurgitating what it thought it had understood. No one can tell except the one who is doing it.
Sports Day and Personalness
As I was at the corner taking a break and checking the status of my mind, I came to wonder if winning and losing really existed. If they are man-made concepts, why are they man-made concepts? Can I say that winning-losing is mind-made, not a reality? If yes, how so?
Just Another Life Episode
There was a strong sense of curiosity to experiment, despite it all, in order to find out what might come out of it and also interest to try something different as an opportunity for learning if it is beneficial for my meditation practice. So I decided to just do it. What is the worst that could happen, right?
Beware and Be Aware
Nothing is the norm. There is always a story to tell – whether it is a story spun to perpetuate defilements or for us to see the reality of how our minds function. All is not what it seems and we are never upset for the reason we think it is. Every moment is the chance to make a decision.
Outcome is Certain
I had the meaning that potential, though possibly inherent, necessitates deliberate harnessing before it becomes evident. Yet, there was no certainty surrounding the outcome, viewing potential more as a possibility with varying degrees of probability.
Transcending Preferences
When I first came to understand about dualism and how this principle influences our tendency to operate from a state of preference, I was taken aback by the realization that I had been incessantly wishing for circumstances to be otherwise. I felt compelled to address this pattern. Little did I anticipate the findings that ensued.
Nature as You Have Never Known
My sense of peace was disrupted and many thoughts of how nature may be a curse popped up one after another. They range from minor inconveniences like rain or heat to catastrophic natural disasters such as tornadoes or blizzards. How quickly I changed my mind about nature being such a blessing. The contrast was like day and night.
What Does 2024 Hold?
It can hold little, much, abundant, or nothing. It all depends on which juncture your mind is at. Time forward has much to do with the mind state happening at this moment. It is a bridge to what is in store for the future. If you feel lousy now, the future may look bleak or meaningless. If you feel excited about it, surely there must be something you are looking forward to.
A White Christmas
Something special is working and I observed more intently. There was a thought that reminded how each moment lived is just a memory now. It was an understanding of how it had had to happen the way it did because of how I lived before that. It was perfect as it was and could not have been otherwise.
The World as a Learning Classroom
The convergence of the Covid pandemic and advancing technology has transformed my room into a home retreat space over the past three years, courtesy of Zoom. While I initially believed my mindfulness practice was progressing well, it wasn't until my relocation to Saigon this year that things changed.
The Upside-Down Reality
We often find ourselves placing belief in certain assumptions, only to later uncover that reality doesn't conform with our initial convictions. For instance, we may experience frustration over our children's misbehavior, yet through open and honest communication with them, we come to realize that our judgments are rooted in preconceived notions of their behavior.
Start your journey
A thousand mile journey starts with a baby step. Start yours today!