I find speech to be a very rich area of practice. Observing the ways in which we speak can be a guide to observing what is going on in our minds. What comes out of our mouths may be quite different from what we want to come out, or may be very different from what we think is coming out. We can use awareness of speech as a guide to the inner life, as a vehicle leading to self-understanding. It is also an essential area in which to express harmlessness. In the Buddha's discourses there are four … [Read more...]
Narayan Liebenson
Cultivating Equanimity
Excerpted from talks given during an 8-week course at CIMC on Equanimity. As human beings we are subject to continual changes in life. The Taoists spoke about the ten thousand sorrows and the ten thousand joys. Joy turns to sorrow. Sorrow turns to joy. No one is exempt. Equanimity is the liberating quality that allows us to keep our hearts open and balanced, quiet and steady, in the midst of all these changes. We develop equanimity through being mindful of our reactions to what the Buddha … [Read more...]
What Can I Learn From This?
How did you first encounter Buddhism? To talk about that I need to go into how I first began to meditate in general. I had a kind of intense inner life when I was a child....maybe because of a difficult home life I was drawn to stay inside, to stay quite inward. There was a kind of orientation to concentrate on different objects or be present with things in a certain way. I spent a lot of time alone and there was a sense of trying to use what was around me. In other words, I was brought … [Read more...]
