We rarely take a breath without making a judgment.
Don’t mistake naming for knowing.
Ezra Bayda, Saying Yes to Life
Tag: Awareness
Part of the path
Our habitual patterns are, of course, well established, seductive, and comforting. Just wishing for them to be ventilated isn’t enough. Mindfulness and awareness are key. Do we see the stories that we’re telling ourselves and question their validity? When we are distracted by a strong emotion, do we remember that it is part of our path? Can we feel the emotion and breathe it into our hearts for ourselves and everyone else? If we can remember to experiment like this even occasionally, we are training as a warrior. And when we can’t practice when distracted but know that we can’t, we are still training well.
Pema Chodron
photo calle eklund
Windy weather
It has been very windy the past few days, here in Ireland and across the water in England causing coastal surges and flooding. The wind blowing through is another commonly used metaphor for thoughts – how to let them pass without believing their content – and for the stillness of a mind that can hold all things in awareness:
One windy day two monks were arguing about a flapping banner. The first said, “I say the banner is moving, not the wind.” The second said, “I say the wind is moving, not the banner.” A third monk passed by and said, “The wind is not moving. The banner is not moving. Your minds are moving.”
Raymond Kurzweil, The Singularity is Near
photo henning leweke
Passing by
The towns and the countryside that the traveler sees through a train window does not slow down the train, nor does the train affect them. Neither disturbs the other. This is how to should see the thoughts that pass through your mind when you meditate.
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
photo miguel pires da rosa
A New Years intention: Friendliness towards ourselves…
There is a classic text which tells of a sitar or lute player who gets discouraged in his meditation practice and asks the Buddha for advice. “What happens when you tune your instrument too tightly?” the Buddha asked, to which the musician answered “The strings break,”. “And what happens when you string it too loosely?”, the Buddha continued, “When it’s too loose, no sound comes out,” the musician answered, “the best tune comes from a string that is not too tight and not too loose.” “That,” said the Buddha, “is how to practice: not too tight and not too loose.”
That should be our resolution for meditation for this year – not too loose but also not too tight. Too loose means that we do not make it a priority and do not structure it into our schedule; however too tight means that we are harsh with ourselves when we fail or it becomes another thing to feel bad about. The Cookie Monster does not have it completely right – we do not wish to nourish our familiar patterns of avoidance by running away from difficult moments, but wish to look at everything that arises in our every moment. However, he makes us smile and take things – and ourselves – a bit lighter and in that he is a good teacher.
Not running after special…
Experiencing,
rather than trying to have special experiences,
is where real freedom lies
Ezra Bayda, At Home in the Muddy Water
photo berit
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