SimplyNumbers

Quote ~ Christina Feldman

What difference would it make in your life if you engaged the world with a conscious commitment to end sorrow or pain wherever you meet it? What difference would it make to wake in the morning and greet your family, the stranger beside you on the bus, the troublesome colleague, with the intention to listen to them wholeheartedly and be present for them?

Compassion doesn’t always call for grand or heroic gestures. It asks you to find in your heart the simple but profound willingness to be present, with a commitment to end sorrow and contribute to the well-being and ease of all beings. -- “The Buddha is Still Teaching”

Quote ~ Mark Epstein

When we seek happiness through accumulation, either outside of ourselves--from other people, relationships, or material goods--or from our own self-development, we are missing the essential point. In either case we are trying to find completion. But according to Buddhism, such a strategy is doomed. Completion comes not from adding another piece to ourselves but from surrendering our ideas of perfection.

Quote ~ Wes Nisker

As strange as it sounds, meditation may reveal that we are happier than we ever thought we were. We may discover that ancient conditioning rather than present circumstances is causing our dissatisfaction, and this moment is quite sufficient or even wonderful, and we simply hadn't noticed. ~ The Buddha is Still Teaching

Helping others to cope with Tonglen

Pema Chodron, author and American Buddhist nun, teaches that in order to truly have compassion for others, we have to first have developed compassion for ourselves. Once you're capable of having compassion for yourself, you're then better able to offer kindness and support to others. Once you can care for yourself, then you are prepared to support others.

Tonglen is a meditation practice that allows you to extend your support out to the world. It can be a powerfully moving practice, especially if you are already well versed in meditation. In this post, she discusses how to work with Tonglen. She writes, "The tonglen practice is a method for connecting with suffering —ours and that which is all around us— everywhere we go. It is a method for overcoming fear of suffering and for dissolving the tightness of our heart."

I don't believe that Tonglen is a process to take on lightly, as you are "taking on" the suffering of others with this practice. Every breath is an opportuntity to transform pain and suffering, but you're not storing this pain within yourself. Instead, you're visualizing the pain and suffering as being transformed in your heart. But, you're not taking ownership of it. With this meditation practice, you have the opportunity to breathe in pain, and breathe out freedom, joy and release.

Before you begin this practice, you may need to first find a strong support network for yourself.  Once you feel like you're strong enough and well supported, you may wish to utilize this practice to help with the various nations, including Japan, Haiti and Libya, who are experiencing dramatic hardships at this time.

Before beginning this practice for another culture, or person, you should find a way to respect and honor the values and practices of these people and cultures, as they may have values and beliefs that are far different than your own. Before proceeding, you may wish to spend some time in quiet reflection to consider whether it feels "okay" to do this practice. Be patient and don't feel as if you "must" work with Tonglen. Perhaps, you might first need to develop greater compassion for yourself before you feel like it is appropriate to work with Tonglen for another. Use your discernment, judgement and wisdom. If healing within yourself needs to take place first, then allow whatever needs to be healed to be healed. Proceed at your own pace.

Ganesha - Obstacle breaker

The above video is a Ganesha mantra. Mantras, otherwise known as chants, are Vedic in origin and can be very powerful in their own right. You might think of them as deeply personal, musical meditations. Their meaning and power depend on your application of them within your life. Working with them is about opening and allowing, rather than expecting immediate gratification.

There are many different types of mantras with different uses and purposes. It is a little difficult to find a precise date of the origin of mantra chanting. The teachings from the Vedas and Upanishads contain many mantras from the minds of the Rishis. The Rishis were known as the seers and brought the mantras into the world. Each one of these mantras begins with the sound of “Om” or “Aum”. This sound is said to have begun at the time of creation of the universe.

Ganesha Mantras in particular are full of the vitality, energy and power. Ganesha is known as the obstacle breaker. The purpose of chanting the Ganesha mantra is about removing challenges and obstacles from your path. You can work with this mantra over a period of time to overcome your challenges. You may wish to work with a set of inexpensive prayer beads (called mala / counting beads) to keep count of your chants, as ideally you will repeat the chant 108 times in a sitting. The number 108 is considered sacred in various belief systems, traditions and religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism.

Combining Buddhist teachings and modern neuroscience

"One way to practice mindfulness meditation and pay attention to present-moment experiences is to label your emotions by saying, for example, ‘I’m feeling angry right now’ or ‘I’m feeling a lot of stress right now’ or ‘this is joy’ or whatever the emotion is." ~ David Creswell, UCLA research scientist/Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior

In their anger research, scientists David Creswell and Matthew D. Lieberman have found that we can reduce the reactions that occur within the brain in the amygdala (which creates a fear response) simply by putting our feelings into words. When you put your feelings into words, it seems to slow down or "put the brakes on" for the intense emotional responses that you might normally feel, without labeling and identifying your feelings.

“This is such an exciting study because it brings together the Buddha’s teachings — more than 2,500 years ago, he talked about the benefits of labeling your experience — with modern neuroscience. Now, for the first time since those teachings, we have shown there is actually a neurological reason for doing mindfulness meditation. Our findings are consistent with what mindfulness meditation teachers have taught for thousands of years.” ~ David Creswell

Let us rise up and be thankful,
for if we didn't learn a lot today,
at least we learned a little,
and if we didn't learn a little,
at least we didn't get sick,
and if we got sick,
at least we didn't die;
so, let us all be thankful.

~ Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C

Food, overeating and noise

Many religions and disciplines, such as Buddhism, have a practice involving mindful eating. The practice often involves recognizing the food you eat, as you eat it. It involves the dedication of time and space to eating, such as sitting down to a meal you will savor, rather than eating a fast food burger as you speed down the highway.

Now, new research is showing that the level of noise around us can affect the overall taste of our food. Louder background noise seems to reduce the sweetness or saltiness of food. Also, it seems like the meal is more satisfying when the noise is not disruptive, and instead the sounds, such as background music, is enjoyed.

 

Resources:
The Center for Mindful eating
Mindful eating article, by Thich Nhat Hanh

Pema Chodron on friendship with ourselves

In the above video, Pema discusses developing unconditional friendship with ourselves, and how we are all really the same. Everybody can be critical of themselves. But, instead of acquiescing to this part of ourselves, and trying to cover it over, we can try to find a way to touch and heal the parts of ourselves that may be hurt and in need of compassion. When we try to run away from our true feelings, our old habits and addictions are reinforced

Thich Nhat Hanh - What is Nirvana?

Thich Nhat Hanh describes how to step away from fear In the video above. He says that Nirvana is freedom from wrong views and perceptions. In Buddhism, which teaches non attachment, all views are incorrect. He would have you work with a method like meditation to work toward a state of non attachment where you would be more free to begin the process of letting go of your anxieties and perceptions and see reality for what it is.