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...]
You Call Yourself a Farmer?: Kasibhāradvāja Sutta (SN 76-80)
Andrew Olendzki
At one time the Buddha was living in Magadha, just below the hills, near a brahman village called Ekanāla. At that time the brahman Kasibhāradvāja had yoked together a number of plows, for it was planting time. The Buddha arose in the morning, and having dressed and taken up his bowl he went up to where the brahman Kasibhāradvāja was working. At that time the farmer was feeding his workers. So the Buddha went up to where that feeding was taking place and stood to one side. Seeing the … [Read more...]
The Foolish Monkey (Samyutta Nikāya 47.7)
Andrew Olendzki
There is, on Himavat, king of mountains, a rugged and uneven land where monkeys do not wander —and nor do men. And there is, on Himavat, king of mountains, a rugged and uneven land where monkeys do indeed wander –but men do not. And there is, on Himavat, king of mountains, a level stretch of ground, quite pleasing, where monkeys do wander –and so do men. There a hunter set a trap on the trails used by the monkeys, in order to capture those monkeys. There were monkeys there who … [Read more...]
Dependent Origination
Christina Feldman
This article has been excerpted from a program offered by Christina at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies on October 18,1998. Please note that this represents only a small portion of the material offered in the full program. In the Buddha's teachings, the second noble truth is not a theory about what happens to somebody else, but is a process which is going on over and over again in our own lives—through all our days, and countless times every single day. This process in Pali is called … [Read more...]
Practicing for Awakening Part 2
Jack Engler
The following remarks continue the excerpt of a daylong workshop given by Jack Engler at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies on November l, 1997. Jack is on the study center board of directors, teaches at Harvard Medical School and practices psychotherapy in Cambridge. ASPIRATION AND AMBIVALENCE I was fortunate in having a teacher who talked about awakening as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Munindra-ji assumed practice would lead to enlightenment. He had no illusions … [Read more...]
The Wisdom of the Ordinary Mind
Larry Rosenberg
Larry, you have been involved with the dharma for some time now, and you have studied, practiced, and taught in a number of different ways. How would you describe your current interest in dharma practice? Where is your greatest passion these days? In recent years I have mostly been working with people who practice dharma in the context of householder life. This has required a great deal of flexibility and creativity, insofar as every practitioner finds himself or herself in unique … [Read more...]
