Category — uncategorized

September 12, 2011

There is a Buddhist meditation practice called Tonglen. In Tibetan, tong means “sending out” and len means “receiving.” So Tonglen is known as the practice of sending and taking, or of exchanging self for other. Instead of inhaling what makes us feel good and exhaling what makes us feel bad, this practice asks that we do the opposite. We breathe in the suffering of others by visualizing it as dark, hot, sticky, soot and smoke coming into our lungs. We breathe out what is positive in the form of air that is light, bright, clean, and cool. In this way, we volunteer to take in some portion of the world’s suffering and offer up to it whatever good we possess.

On this day ten years ago, I decided to drive into Manhattan. [Read more →]

Or what I think.

I’d like to say a few words about the 6th and final paramita, which is called wisdom or knowledge.

It is pretty much impossible to say what this “wisdom” is and anything you say about it pretty much points in the opposite direction of what it is, simply by the act of trying to capture it. The best thing I can say–and I don’t even know that I understand what I’m about to say–is that the transcendent action called “wisdom” has to do with continuously abiding in the state of non-duality. [Read more →]

If you were to ask on Twitter, “What is your #1 book on meditation or spirituality?” this is what you would get. At least from my Twitterverse. Enjoy! Read them all! Or just read one with absolute comprehension! Become enlightened! [Read more →]

I want to say a few words about the 5th paramita or transcendent action, which is called “meditation.”

Here, meditation means something other than our formal on-the-cushion practice. It means the effort to extend meditative awareness off the cushion, in all circumstances of course. And what is required to extend such awareness? Something kind of scary and cool and very deep and completely ordinary: letting go of our ideas, agendas, hopes, fears, and all manner of projections to instead attend to the present moment. [Read more →]

The paramitas (or “transcendent actions”) are 6 things that you can do to change the world. I hope that after reviewing the first 3: generosity, discipline, and patience, you’re beginning to see that I’m not exaggerating.

Paramita #4 is called exertion, which doesn’t necessarily mean trying super hard even when you’ve run out of energy or being really busy or front loading your schedule with things to do, no matter how meritorious. It has more to do with relaxing and taking an interest in everything that happens. When things go well, you take an interest in that. When things go poorly, you can take an interest in that too. When you’re sick and tired of everything and unable to take an interest in anything, you can take an interest in that, too. Even if just for a moment. [Read more →]

As you may recall from our past two sessions, I mentioned that there are 6 actions that you and I can take that will transform the world into a more peaceful and kindhearted place.

The first was called “generosity,” which simply means the willingness to let down your guard. Rather than holding yourself back from your world until it meets some kind of requirements, you open to it exactly as it is. This is pretty generous.

The second paramita was called “discipline” and, here, rather than referring to some kind of rigid adherence to, well, anything: a code of ethics, a schedule, a personal agenda, as a way of creating happiness for yourself, we abandon any such intellectualized view in favor of placing attention on the present moment and allowing ourselves to be guided by it. Here, discipline simply means coming back. Starting over. Taking a fresh view, again and again.

The third paramita is called patience and, here, patience isn’t so much about forbearance or tolerating people and things you don’t like with a stiff upper lip—here, patience is more about giving up expectations, of rolling with things exactly as they are. When circumstances make you happy, you notice that, take it in, lean into it, don’t try to hold on. When they make you unhappy, you do the same. Repeat, repeat, repeat. As Choygam Trungpa says in Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, “Not expecting anything, we do not get impatient.” Which sounds great, but how the hell do you actually do that?

Check out the video for more info!

The other day, I introduced you to the first of the six paramitas (transcendent actions), generosity. Today, here are a few words about the second paramita, discipline.

I don’t know about you, but I had always assumed that discipline meant I had to punish myself to get myself to do what I knew I ought to. Oddly, this never worked… But when I discovered the Buddhist definition of discipline and that it had way more to do with relaxing than tightening up, I found my path to getting things done. [Read more →]

On Monday, I wrote a little about my response to Osama bin Laden’s killing. Upon hearing of his death, most people expressed heartfelt and understandable relief that our hunt for one who wished to destroy us was over. Others participated in “celebrations” that seemed tinged with what could be described kindly as poor sportsmanship. The question I was trying to raise was this: if we must kill (as in this case), is there a way to do so that will increase chances for peace (which is why we did it in the first place) rather than violence?

[Read more →]

The practice of sitting meditation begins to shed some light on the Buddhist view of discipline. In meditation, you cultivate focus and awareness by placing your attention on your breath rather than your thoughts. PS It has nothing to do with emptying the mind of thought!! Almost impossible!! Stop trying!! Big hoax!! Instead, you take a different view of your thoughts by seeing them as passing phenomena while your primary allegiance, attention-wise, is to your breath as it flows in and out through your nose. When you forget to do this and become wholly absorbed in thought again, it’s not a problem. You simply come back, with kindness toward yourself and your thought.

This gentle coming back is our first clue as to what true discipline is. It has nothing to do with bullying yourself. It has nothing do with being “good” or “bad.” In fact, it has nothing to do with anything other than simply coming back. There is no narrative attached to this action, it is what it is. [Read more →]