Category Archives: Dhamma Matters

208 – Ego and Self

Posted on August 9, 2012 by

From New Buddhist Poetry by T J Dayhuff, posted on Facebook: Ancients thought a self constrained by ego to be dwelling in ignorance, shackled to an identity based on distinction, rather than the manifold connections to the Large. Enlightenment was … Continue reading →

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207 – May your good fortune increase

Posted on June 20, 2012 by

At our group sit tonight, someone posed the question of how to open the heart towards difficult people with wishes for their success and good fortune.  Mudita is the brahmavihara practice of sympathetic or appreciative joy. (For a definition of … Continue reading →

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206 – Beware of Equanimity. . .

Posted on May 9, 2012 by

. . . when it is really complacency. It’s sometimes difficult to tell them apart, which is why we need to look carefully at all mind states all the time, inside and outside of formal practice. I was reminded of … Continue reading →

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205 – I am of the nature to die

Posted on April 10, 2012 by

Continuing with some thoughts on the Five Remembrances in post 202: For any concept to truly influence our worldview and how we live, it must go beyond the idea stage and be integrated into our very being. So it is … Continue reading →

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204 – The Importance of Form

Posted on April 1, 2012 by

Over the years, I’ve encountered many fellow practitioners who are very concerned with “proper sitting form.” When I first began formal practice, I also was concerned about achieving a respectable lotus or half lotus position, believing that this was the … Continue reading →

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203 – Transcendent Joy

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

i am spring delirious besotted with the scent of hyacinth outside my front door enamored of flowering trees amazed at new leaves not visible yesterday i am in love with spring what joy to have this early warm spell to … Continue reading →

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202 – The Five Remembrances

Posted on March 2, 2012 by

Also called the Five Daily Recollections, I’ve found this set of reflections to be a powerful tool for awakening to the teachings. Larry Rosenberg has written a book on them (Living in the Light of Death: On the Art of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dhamma Matters, Five Recollections, Four Noble Truths, Insight Practice, Teachers, Vipassana | 1 Comment

201 – Consciousness / Vinnana

Posted on February 7, 2012 by

Ever since the group sit last week, I’ve been mulling over what consciousness is and how we experience it. In the West, the term is defined in various ways, but most often as representing awareness of oneself as an entity … Continue reading →

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200 – Perspective

Posted on January 30, 2012 by

My husband and I have been married for 41 years and have known each other since high school. In fact, I’ve known him longer than anyone except for my family of origin. That’s a lot of shared memories and experience. … Continue reading →

Posted in Dhamma Matters, Insight Practice | 1 Comment

199 – It’s All About Me

Posted on December 16, 2011 by

No, really. It is all about me. How could it be otherwise when we each make contact with the world through our own sense doors, and then process that input through our individual and unique perceptual filters? For us worldlings, … Continue reading →

Posted in Background on Buddhism, Dhamma Discussion, Dhamma Matters | 1 Comment