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The Buddha via the Bible | Head & Heart Togetherhttps://www.dhammatalks.org/books/Head&HeartTogether/Section0015.html
Brownson, for instance, followed the French socialist, Pierre Leroux, in interpreting the Last Supper as Jesus' call to all Christians to drop artificial social divisions caused by wage labor, capitalist exploitation, external signs of status, etc., and to construct a new social system that would allow all humanity to celebrate their mutual ...
Pācittaya One: The Lie Chapter | The Buddhist Monastic ...https://www.dhammatalks.org/vinaya/bmc/Section0016.html
CHAPTER EIGHT. Pācittiya. As explained in the preceding chapter, this term is most probably related to the verb pacinati, "to know," and means "to be made known" or "to be confessed." There are 92 rules in this category, divided into eight chapters of ten, and one of twelve.
Foundations for Mindfulness | The Karma of Mindfulness ...https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/KarmaOfMindfulness/Section0007.html
One, your doctor is not an American capitalist. There are many things he could recommend that are better than Coke Light: San Pelligrino, Orangina, Schweppes Tonic, and many others. Two, why do friendships need alcohol? Before you meet with your friends, spread lots of goodwill in their direction, and everyone will get along much better ...
2020/08/31
"capitalist" site:www.dhammatalks.org
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Beyond Right & Wrong | Inner Strength & Parting Gifts ...
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/InnerStrength/Section0019.html
It's like the equality of democracy. Their home is the same as our home, with no differences at all. People commit burglaries and robberies these days because they don't see equality. They think that this person is good, that person isn't; this house is a good place to eat, that house isn't; this house is a good place to sleep, that ...
The Buddha via the Bible | Head & Heart Together
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/Head&HeartTogether/Section0015.html
Many are the lessons, they say, that the Dhamma must learn from the West, among them: democracy, equality, Gandhian nonviolence, humanistic psychology, ecofeminism, sustainable economics, systems theory, deep ecology, new paradigm science, and the Christian and Jewish examples of religious social action.
The Meaning of Happiness | Meditations8 : Dhamma Talks
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/Meditations8/Section0026.html
He was talking about how, when he started out his career, things seemed to be heading toward greater and greater freedom, greater equality, and greater goodness in general, but then the tide turned, and he saw all his accomplishments being frittered away by one court case after another.
Dramatis Personae | Buddhist Romanticism
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/BuddhistRomanticism/Section0006.html
The Revolution was something of a mirror image of the changes in the time of the Buddha, in that it attempted to replace the absolute rule of monarchies and oligarchies with a new order that would embody the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. As for religion, the Europe of the Romantics was much more monolithic than the Buddha's India.
PDF 141106 Dissolving Your Thoughts
https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/CrossIndexed/Published/Meditations11/141106_Dissolving_Your_Thoughts.pdf
He has you ponder those thoughts to develop an attitude of equality with other beings, so that you don't look down on the people who are suffering and you're not jealous of the people who are ahead of you. And you can use the same attitude with your thoughts. Wonderful thoughts come through the mind, you've been there before. Horrible ...
The Outer Space of the Mind | Things as They Are : A ...
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/ThingsAsTheyAre/Section0015.html
He gave equality to all living beings. He didn't lean, because his mind didn't have anything to lean. It didn't have any defilements infiltrating it that could make it lean. The things leaning this way and that are all affairs of defilement. When there's pure Dhamma, the mind keeps its balance with pure fairness, so there's no leaning.
I. Discernment | Ten Perfections: A Study Guide
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/TenPerfections/Section0006.html
Ten Perfections: A Study Guide by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. I. Discernment § 1. Three types of discernment: discernment that comes from listening (sutamaya-paññā). discernment that comes from thinking (cintāmaya-paññā). discernment that comes from developing/meditation (bhāvanāmaya-paññā) — DN 33
On Multiple Ordination : Second Letter | The Question of ...
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/QuestionofBhikkhuniOrdination/Section0009.html
a) The Buddha did not establish the Bhikkhunī Saṅgha on an equal footing with the Bhikkhu Saṅgha. It's not the case that the idea for women's equality with men was unthinkable in his time: After all, Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī is quoted as having thought of it soon after the Bhikkhunī Saṅgha was founded (Cv.X.3).
An Age of Tendencies | Buddhist Romanticism
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/BuddhistRomanticism/Section0008.html
In terms later popularized by the French Revolution, there was a felt lack of liberty, equality, and fraternity. With little practical hope of attaining the first two of these three ideals, many educated Germans focused their energies on the third. Here, leadership came first from another consequence of the Thirty Years War: the growth of Pietism.
B. The Four Frames of Reference | The Wings to Awakening
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/Wings/Section0011.html
This perception of the equality of all bodies, if handled properly, is healthy in that it helps liberate one not only from feelings of inferiority and superiority, but also from the disease of lust and desire, promoting a sense of dispassion toward lustful thoughts in general.
Showing results from:www.dhammatalks.orgAll Results
Beyond Right & Wrong | Inner Strength & Parting Gifts ...
It's like the equality of democracy. Their home is the same as our home, with no differences at all. People commit burglaries and robberies these days because they don't see equality. They think that this person is good, that person isn't; this house is a good place to eat, that house isn't; this house is a good place to sleep, that ...
The Buddha via the Bible | Head & Heart Together
Many are the lessons, they say, that the Dhamma must learn from the West, among them: democracy, equality, Gandhian nonviolence, humanistic psychology, ecofeminism, sustainable economics, systems theory, deep ecology, new paradigm science, and the Christian and Jewish examples of religious social action.
The Meaning of Happiness | Meditations8 : Dhamma Talks
He was talking about how, when he started out his career, things seemed to be heading toward greater and greater freedom, greater equality, and greater goodness in general, but then the tide turned, and he saw all his accomplishments being frittered away by one court case after another.
Dramatis Personae | Buddhist Romanticism
The Revolution was something of a mirror image of the changes in the time of the Buddha, in that it attempted to replace the absolute rule of monarchies and oligarchies with a new order that would embody the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. As for religion, the Europe of the Romantics was much more monolithic than the Buddha's India.
PDF 141106 Dissolving Your Thoughts
He has you ponder those thoughts to develop an attitude of equality with other beings, so that you don't look down on the people who are suffering and you're not jealous of the people who are ahead of you. And you can use the same attitude with your thoughts. Wonderful thoughts come through the mind, you've been there before. Horrible ...
The Outer Space of the Mind | Things as They Are : A ...
He gave equality to all living beings. He didn't lean, because his mind didn't have anything to lean. It didn't have any defilements infiltrating it that could make it lean. The things leaning this way and that are all affairs of defilement. When there's pure Dhamma, the mind keeps its balance with pure fairness, so there's no leaning.
I. Discernment | Ten Perfections: A Study Guide
Ten Perfections: A Study Guide by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. I. Discernment § 1. Three types of discernment: discernment that comes from listening (sutamaya-paññā). discernment that comes from thinking (cintāmaya-paññā). discernment that comes from developing/meditation (bhāvanāmaya-paññā) — DN 33
On Multiple Ordination : Second Letter | The Question of ...
a) The Buddha did not establish the Bhikkhunī Saṅgha on an equal footing with the Bhikkhu Saṅgha. It's not the case that the idea for women's equality with men was unthinkable in his time: After all, Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī is quoted as having thought of it soon after the Bhikkhunī Saṅgha was founded (Cv.X.3).
An Age of Tendencies | Buddhist Romanticism
In terms later popularized by the French Revolution, there was a felt lack of liberty, equality, and fraternity. With little practical hope of attaining the first two of these three ideals, many educated Germans focused their energies on the third. Here, leadership came first from another consequence of the Thirty Years War: the growth of Pietism.
B. The Four Frames of Reference | The Wings to Awakening
This perception of the equality of all bodies, if handled properly, is healthy in that it helps liberate one not only from feelings of inferiority and superiority, but also from the disease of lust and desire, promoting a sense of dispassion toward lustful thoughts in general.
- X
"exploitation" site:www.dhammatalks.org at DuckDuckGo
"exploitation" site:www.dhammatalks.org at DuckDuckGo
Buddhist Romanticism | Buddhist Romanticism
And the path actually fosters habits designed not to leave messes. To begin with, it teaches contentment with few material things, a quality that helps to slow the exploitation of the Earth's resources. When people are content with only what they really need, they leave a small footprint behind.
Safety in a Duality
This might not prevent the exploitation of students in all cases. After all, there will always be people, both students and teachers, who see rules as an incitement to rebel. But—unlike the blanket teachings of ego-destruction and the non-duality of right and wrong—the clear distinction between what should and shouldn't be done would ...
The Buddha via the Bible | Head & Heart Together
Brownson, for instance, followed the French socialist, Pierre Leroux, in interpreting the Last Supper as Jesus' call to all Christians to drop artificial social divisions caused by wage labor, capitalist exploitation, external signs of status, etc., and to construct a new social system that would allow all humanity to celebrate their mutual ...
Nissaggiya Pācittiya | The Buddhist Monastic Code, Volumes ...
If all other bhikkhus could request cloth for his sake, there is no limit to the amount of cloth they could request, and this would be an unfair exploitation of the donors' generosity. Summary: Asking for and receiving excess robe-cloth from unrelated lay people when one's robes have been snatched away or destroyed is a nissaggiya ...
The Transmission of Romantic Religion | Buddhist Romanticism
"The reason why the world lacks unity is because man is disunited with himself.… We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meanwhile, within man is the soul of the whole, the wise silence, the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related, the eternal One.
An Age of Tendencies | Buddhist Romanticism
Ideally, governments would direct the economic order so that people were not alienated from their labor—as when they had no control over the objects they made—or from one another through unfair exploitation.
Interconnectedness | ePublished Dhamma Talks : Volume I
You're running way from a mode of existence that depends on the exploitation of others. That's not a bad thing to run away from. It's not a bad thing to abandon. Especially when running away in the proper way puts you in a position where you can still be giving. Then the way you continue to participate in this interconnected system until ...
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Q&A | The Five Faculties : Putting Wisdom in Charge of the ...
Remember, the goal of an ideal society is never going to be attained, so we can't use that ideal as a goal that justifies unskillful means. What we leave behind are the means by which we try to improve society. So focus on the means by which you are trying to attain your good goals, and in that way—even though the goal may be out of reach ...
Q&A
NAVIGATIONBooks/Five Faculties/Q&A
Q: This morning when they turned off the sound system, there was a sudden noise that startled me. How do I resolve or cure the situation?
A: There is a relationship between the levels of concentration you’re in and the extent to which you’ll be startled by loud noises. The tradition talks about three levels of concentration. The first level, momentary concentration, is your ordinary, everyday level of concentration when you’re listening to people or reading. The second level, access concentration, is a phase the mind goes through as it’s beginning to settle down. And the third level, fixed penetration, is when you’re firmly settled on your object. It’s in that second level that you’re most easily startled by sounds. So it’s normal that, as you’re beginning to settle down, the noises will have more of an impact on you.
I once heard one ajaan in Thailand explain the three levels of concentration in this way: Momentary concentration cannot stand pain. As soon as it runs into the slightest bit of pain, it changes to something else. And “pain” here can mean the slightest displeasure, even just the displeasure of boredom. However, if you can learn how to stitch those moments of concentration together, you’ll get to the second level, which can withstand pain but it can’t withstand pleasure. As soon as it hits pleasure, it goes for the pleasure and loses its focus. The third level is the level that can withstand both pleasure and pain. Whatever comes up, it can maintain its focus. That’s the level we’re aiming for.
Q: I have lots of persistence and conviction. I think I also have pretty good discernment, but as for concentration, it’s more difficult. I stay at what you describe as the second level. This is in spite of being assiduous. I really put a lot of effort into my daily practice. What can I do to alleviate the situation?
A: One thing you might want to look into is the question of sense restraint. In other words, as you’re looking at things in the course of the day, ask yourself, “Why am I looking at this?” When you’re listening to things, “Why am I listening to this?” If the motivation is neutral, then it’s okay. However, if you find that you’re looking or listening for the purpose of greed, lust, or anger, then you should change the way you look and listen. This applies especially to the media. We look at the TV, we look at the Internet, and it’s not that they pull our minds in. We’re the ones who turn them on, looking for trouble. So, the more you can control the input you get from the senses and the reasons for going out for these things, then you’ll begin to see the issues that are getting in the way of your concentration. Again, think of the mind like a committee. You have to ask yourself who’s doing the looking and listening. Often they won’t let you know who they are until you get in their way. Then they’ll complain—and that’s when you’ll know who they are.
Q: What can one do when one has doubts about one’s own spiritual practice even if one wants to stay on that particular path?
A: Try to look at what in your particular path encourages skillful thoughts, skillful words, and skillful deeds. If you see that they actually do give rise to more skillful thoughts, words, and deeds, that will help to alleviate some of your doubts.
Q: Should dispassion be better translated as non-attachment rather than disillusionment?
A: You have to realize that when the Buddha’s talking about dispassion, he’s talking about the quality that forces us to step back and look at why we like to create states of becoming. It’s because we have a passion for wanting a particular thing or a particular identity that we keep on creating those things. To get rid of that drive to keep creating these things, we have to see that there really is a negative side to what we’re creating. This means that we have to develop dispassion for them.
Now, dispassion is not aversion. It’s more a matter of sobering up, of outgrowing your addiction to what you’re creating. This also relates to the image that the Buddha likes to use, which is that we like to feed on certain pleasures. As long as you find that that pleasure is delicious, you’re going to keep going for it. You’re going to keep creating a becoming around it. But when you begin to see that it’s something really bad to feed on, you can say, “I’m not going to feed on this anymore.” You really have to lose your taste for these things. If you have any background in America, it’s like when you were a child and you liked to eat Twinkies, which is a mass-produced cake with a false-cream filling. Children love it because it’s very sweet. When I was a child, I would save my money to buy Twinkies. But nowadays if I think about a Twinkie, it’s very disgusting. So that dispassion is the attitude you have to develop to all your feeding habits, for all the becomings that you keep creating.
The term “non-attachment” gives the image that you are simply a passive observer of your experience and that you can say, “I can live with this experience or not, it’s all equal to me.” But in the Buddha’s analysis of the mind, we’re not simply passive recipients or observers. We’re out there creating things. And passion is what fuels the drive to keep creating. To overcome this drive to be creative in this way requires something stronger than just non-attachment.
Q: Buddhist masters teach us not to give any importance to our ideas or opinions. But when one is an activist or militant for a noble cause, ideas have their importance. Certain ideas, like those of Hitler, have caused a lot of horrendous suffering to millions of people. As we still live in our conventional society because we have not yet reached awakening, don’t we have to combat these ideas?
A: The Buddha never said to give no importance to your ideas or opinions. After all, he taught right view, which is composed of opinions, the opinions that are helpful for awakening. As for your opinions about how the world should be run, when you want to create a better condition in the society around you, one, be sure that your opinions really are helpful, and then, two, be skillful in how you hold to them. Learn how to hold to them in areas where it really would be helpful, and to let go of them in other areas where they are not. Also, learn how to take some time out to feed your mind with some quiet time in meditation, to give it some time out from carrying its opinions around, and so that, when returning to them, it can look at them with more objectivity.
It’s important to realize that views are necessary, simply that you have to learn how to hold to them in a way that doesn’t cause suffering, with a sense of the right time and right place. As for your activism, think of it as generosity. You’re giving this to the world, and as the Buddha said, give where you feel inspired. But he also advised that you give in a way that doesn’t cause harm to yourself or to others. Remember, the goal of an ideal society is never going to be attained, so we can’t use that ideal as a goal that justifies unskillful means. What we leave behind are the means by which we try to improve society. So focus on the means by which you are trying to attain your good goals, and in that way—even though the goal may be out of reach—at least you’ve accomplished some goodness through leaving behind a good example. If you regard your opinions as means in this way, you can then learn how to use them skillfully.
"ideal society" site:www.dhammatalks.org at DuckDuckGo
"ideal society" site:www.dhammatalks.org at DuckDuckGo
Showing results from:www.dhammatalks.orgAll Results
Q&A | The Five Faculties : Putting Wisdom in Charge of the ...
Remember, the goal of an ideal society is never going to be attained, so we can't use that ideal as a goal that justifies unskillful means. What we leave behind are the means by which we try to improve society. So focus on the means by which you are trying to attain your good goals, and in that way—even though the goal may be out of reach ...
Q&A
NAVIGATIONBooks/Five Faculties/Q&A
Q: This morning when they turned off the sound system, there was a sudden noise that startled me. How do I resolve or cure the situation?
A: There is a relationship between the levels of concentration you’re in and the extent to which you’ll be startled by loud noises. The tradition talks about three levels of concentration. The first level, momentary concentration, is your ordinary, everyday level of concentration when you’re listening to people or reading. The second level, access concentration, is a phase the mind goes through as it’s beginning to settle down. And the third level, fixed penetration, is when you’re firmly settled on your object. It’s in that second level that you’re most easily startled by sounds. So it’s normal that, as you’re beginning to settle down, the noises will have more of an impact on you.
I once heard one ajaan in Thailand explain the three levels of concentration in this way: Momentary concentration cannot stand pain. As soon as it runs into the slightest bit of pain, it changes to something else. And “pain” here can mean the slightest displeasure, even just the displeasure of boredom. However, if you can learn how to stitch those moments of concentration together, you’ll get to the second level, which can withstand pain but it can’t withstand pleasure. As soon as it hits pleasure, it goes for the pleasure and loses its focus. The third level is the level that can withstand both pleasure and pain. Whatever comes up, it can maintain its focus. That’s the level we’re aiming for.
Q: I have lots of persistence and conviction. I think I also have pretty good discernment, but as for concentration, it’s more difficult. I stay at what you describe as the second level. This is in spite of being assiduous. I really put a lot of effort into my daily practice. What can I do to alleviate the situation?
A: One thing you might want to look into is the question of sense restraint. In other words, as you’re looking at things in the course of the day, ask yourself, “Why am I looking at this?” When you’re listening to things, “Why am I listening to this?” If the motivation is neutral, then it’s okay. However, if you find that you’re looking or listening for the purpose of greed, lust, or anger, then you should change the way you look and listen. This applies especially to the media. We look at the TV, we look at the Internet, and it’s not that they pull our minds in. We’re the ones who turn them on, looking for trouble. So, the more you can control the input you get from the senses and the reasons for going out for these things, then you’ll begin to see the issues that are getting in the way of your concentration. Again, think of the mind like a committee. You have to ask yourself who’s doing the looking and listening. Often they won’t let you know who they are until you get in their way. Then they’ll complain—and that’s when you’ll know who they are.
Q: What can one do when one has doubts about one’s own spiritual practice even if one wants to stay on that particular path?
A: Try to look at what in your particular path encourages skillful thoughts, skillful words, and skillful deeds. If you see that they actually do give rise to more skillful thoughts, words, and deeds, that will help to alleviate some of your doubts.
Q: Should dispassion be better translated as non-attachment rather than disillusionment?
A: You have to realize that when the Buddha’s talking about dispassion, he’s talking about the quality that forces us to step back and look at why we like to create states of becoming. It’s because we have a passion for wanting a particular thing or a particular identity that we keep on creating those things. To get rid of that drive to keep creating these things, we have to see that there really is a negative side to what we’re creating. This means that we have to develop dispassion for them.
Now, dispassion is not aversion. It’s more a matter of sobering up, of outgrowing your addiction to what you’re creating. This also relates to the image that the Buddha likes to use, which is that we like to feed on certain pleasures. As long as you find that that pleasure is delicious, you’re going to keep going for it. You’re going to keep creating a becoming around it. But when you begin to see that it’s something really bad to feed on, you can say, “I’m not going to feed on this anymore.” You really have to lose your taste for these things. If you have any background in America, it’s like when you were a child and you liked to eat Twinkies, which is a mass-produced cake with a false-cream filling. Children love it because it’s very sweet. When I was a child, I would save my money to buy Twinkies. But nowadays if I think about a Twinkie, it’s very disgusting. So that dispassion is the attitude you have to develop to all your feeding habits, for all the becomings that you keep creating.
The term “non-attachment” gives the image that you are simply a passive observer of your experience and that you can say, “I can live with this experience or not, it’s all equal to me.” But in the Buddha’s analysis of the mind, we’re not simply passive recipients or observers. We’re out there creating things. And passion is what fuels the drive to keep creating. To overcome this drive to be creative in this way requires something stronger than just non-attachment.
Q: Buddhist masters teach us not to give any importance to our ideas or opinions. But when one is an activist or militant for a noble cause, ideas have their importance. Certain ideas, like those of Hitler, have caused a lot of horrendous suffering to millions of people. As we still live in our conventional society because we have not yet reached awakening, don’t we have to combat these ideas?
A: The Buddha never said to give no importance to your ideas or opinions. After all, he taught right view, which is composed of opinions, the opinions that are helpful for awakening. As for your opinions about how the world should be run, when you want to create a better condition in the society around you, one, be sure that your opinions really are helpful, and then, two, be skillful in how you hold to them. Learn how to hold to them in areas where it really would be helpful, and to let go of them in other areas where they are not. Also, learn how to take some time out to feed your mind with some quiet time in meditation, to give it some time out from carrying its opinions around, and so that, when returning to them, it can look at them with more objectivity.
It’s important to realize that views are necessary, simply that you have to learn how to hold to them in a way that doesn’t cause suffering, with a sense of the right time and right place. As for your activism, think of it as generosity. You’re giving this to the world, and as the Buddha said, give where you feel inspired. But he also advised that you give in a way that doesn’t cause harm to yourself or to others. Remember, the goal of an ideal society is never going to be attained, so we can’t use that ideal as a goal that justifies unskillful means. What we leave behind are the means by which we try to improve society. So focus on the means by which you are trying to attain your good goals, and in that way—even though the goal may be out of reach—at least you’ve accomplished some goodness through leaving behind a good example. If you regard your opinions as means in this way, you can then learn how to use them skillfully.
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