Personal Blogs

Previous Page 1 … 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 … 17 Next

Be a refuge to yourself

Tuesday, 14 June 2022, 18:43

Visible to anyone in the world

There are moments and days when I feel flat, and wobble about in weakness and vulnerability. To rouse energy for meditation takes a lot of effort.

Yesterday I was flying high, today I trudged slow through the tortuous harassment of sloth and torpor.

At one point I noticed aversion rise up in me in response to a mistimed moment of clumsiness. And I noticed that the anger arose because I felt like I was swimming in fatigue and malaise, and there are chores which needed doing and my energy felt like a battery unable to hold its charge, everything felt impossible and all I wanted to do was liedown and retreat from it all. I felt harassed!

Which is another way of describing the five hindrances that stand in the way of meditation: greed, aversion, fatigue, agitation, doubt. These are the five harassments. When those five are gone from the the mind, one can easily settle into deeper states of meditation and enter a calm, lucid, steady stillness of attention and emotional well-being.

Loving-kindness meditation (Metta) felt impossible today. I struggled to get into it. Until it occurred to me that perhaps I should forget about sending Metta to others and instead generate some Metta for myself. Because right at that moment I surely needed it. How could I possibly hope to send Metta to others when my own well was dry. So that's what I did, I put my hand on my heart and said to myself: 'May you be well happy and peaceful.'

And it worked!

We in the West are often critical and judgemental of ourselves and others, and also tend to feel guilty at the thought of loving ourselves. It is a curse of this modern age I am finding, and I am by no means the only one who suffers from this lack of self love.

But it is wrong view.

When one feels friendliness towards oneself then that will naturally radiate out to others. So do not feel guilty for practising Metta for oneself.

Being a friend to oneself is very important on the spiritual path.

Tags: metta, loving-kindness, friendship, friendliness, love, mind, meditation

Permalink 2 comments (latest comment by Richie Cuthbertson, Friday, 17 June 2022, 14:37)

Right speech

Wednesday, 8 June 2022, 22:49

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Thursday, 9 June 2022, 14:57

Speech is not something to take lightly. We humans are social creatures who have developed a complex form of verbal communication, our language and the use of it is very important. Wrong speech can create great harm for ourselves and others. It creates social divisions, leads to violence, and can start wars.

However, right speech can heal, encourage, bring liberating knowledge, wisdom, comfort and peace.

Speech happens fast. Too fast for one to be able to plan their speech ahead. One must also be aware of timing and whether something is appropriate to say. As a general guide, is what one is about to say true, beneficial, and kind?

***

The four right speeches:

‘I will refrain from false speech,

I will refrain from malicious and divisive speech,

I will refrain from harsh unkind speech,

I will refrain from idle pointless chatter.’

***

‘I will refrain from false speech...’

It is very important to be truthful. Telling lies, even white ones, are bad for one’s psyche. If you tell a lie for long enough you start to believe it, and this leads to dangerous delusions about reality and creates an awful split in the mind. If one wants to progress on the spiritual path, one needs to be able to see reality for what it is, and if one is telling lies one is not getting an accurate account of reality. The spiritual path is all about seeking the truth, and to do that one has to be honest with oneself, about one’s experience and what is really happening. To become lucid requires complete truthfulness. When one thinks it is okay to lie, one’s spiritual achievement is meaningless.

‘I will refrain from malicious and divisive speech…’

Malicious and divisive speech causes harm, splits communities and creates disharmony. Even what might be considered harmless gossip is not conducive to beneficial outcomes. Everything we intend, say and do leads to consequences, both for ourselves and others. Gossip divides communities, friends and families.

Why do we become so quick to judge others? To virtue signal, to want to criticise, to shame, to blame. What is that all about? Does that lead to peace of mind? To meaningful social connections? To harmony?

‘I will refrain from harsh unkind speech…’

Harsh words even if they are true can harm the one they are directed at. Sometimes it is better to remain silent than speak the truth. One does not have to answer a question if speaking the truth may cause harm to oneself or another. Harsh unkind words never really help, especially if they are not beneficial for the person hearing them.

We should also try to remember not to be so quick to judge others. No-one has ever got where they are without making mistakes. There’s a saying that I like which goes:

‘A thorn of experience, is worth more than a wilderness of warnings.’

We have all had our less-than-graceful moments. There’s another saying I like which goes: ‘One should not judge another until they have walked the trail of life in their shoes.’

It is true that sometimes people need to hear things they may not want to hear. These difficult conversations happen better when coming from the heart and done with loving-friendliness, from a heart that genuinely wants the best for that person. If one comes from the heart one’s speech will be gentle, peaceful and not cause harm.

‘I will refrain from idle pointless chatter.’

Idle pointless speech is tiring to listen to. It can drain one’s energy, and put one in a dull fatigued state of mind. Time is precious. So don’t waste it with frivolous speech.

Sometimes there’s the urge to fill the air with words because one feels uncomfortable with silence. But instead one should learn to appreciate the silence, there is something deeper and more subtle in the silence. If one wants to get into deep states of meditation, one needs to learn to appreciate silence. There’s a place one’s consciousness can go to that is much deeper and more profound than words can convey.

Everything on the eightfold path is informed by right view

If one notices their speech is unskilful, then one should check their intentions. And if one’s intentions are wrong, then that means one is holding to a wrong view. So always check if speech is coming from greed, hatred, or delusion. If so, try to come from a place of generosity, kindness, and clarity instead, and remember the four noble truths.

As a rule of thumb. If one is coming from the heart, from a place of loving-kindness. Then one’s speech will be right. As it will not cause harm and will want only the best for the other person.

Right speech also applies to the way we talk to ourselves.

Tags: buddhism, meditation, mind, noble eightfold path, right speech

Permalink

Free online meditation retreat starting tomorrow

Tuesday, 7 June 2022, 14:11

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Tuesday, 7 June 2022, 14:19

There is a free virtual online meditation retreat happening on Wednesday the 8th June (tomorrow) till 13th June 2022.

The theme will be on the elements: wind, fire, water, earth and the primary colours found in nature, and how these can be used to help bring stillness and clarity to the mind as meditation subjects. The Buddha called them kasinas.

Retreat info available here: https://birken.ca/elements/

Open to everyone! Can be taken from home and fitted round your household schedule. The talks will also be recorded, so you can catch up later if you miss anything live or because of timezone differences.

A PDF of the schedule is available here:

https://birken.ca/.../2022/06/Elements-Retreat-SCHEDULE.pdf

N.b. the times listed in the schedule are PDT (Pacific Standard time). We are 8 hours ahead in the UK.

You can use this tool to convert times to your local time:

https://dateful.com/time-zone-converter

The events will be available to watch at the times in the schedule here: https://www.youtube.com/AjahnSona

Anyway, putting the info out there for anyone who might be interested.

Keep it real and

Be well, peaceful, and happy (-:

Tags: retreat, elements, meditation, mind, buddhism

Permalink

Worldly winds

Thursday, 2 June 2022, 22:30

Visible to anyone in the world

Time
Memory
Flows
Now gone
The second hand ticking.

Self-streams
A narrative
Clarative
Breathing.

Notice
the wanting.

Pulled by the eight wordly winds:

'Pain and pleasure;
Wealth and misfortune;
Success and failure;
Fame and disrepute.'

These are the eight worldly winds.
That pull one's craving
This way and that
That way and this

Freedom from desire is bliss.

To learn to gently let go of the clinging.
And be kind to each moment
Making peace.

Tags: peace, poem, poetry, richie, richie sea, craving, worldly winds.

Permalink

The Very Short Sutra on the Meeting of the Buddha and the Goddess

Wednesday, 25 May 2022, 18:06

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Wednesday, 25 May 2022, 18:07

" This I have made up:

Once the Buddha was walking along the

forest path in the Oak Grove at Ojai, walking without

arriving anywhere

or having any thought of arriving or not arriving

and lotuses shining with the morning dew

miraculously appeared under each step

soft as silk under the toes of the Buddha

When suddenly, out of the turquoise sky,

dancing in front of his half-shut inward-looking

eyes, shimmering like a rainbow

or a spider's web

transparent as the dew on a lotus flower

--the Goddess appeared quivering

like a hummingbird in the air before him

She, for she was surely a she

as the Buddha could clearly see

with his eye of discriminating awareness wisdom,

was mostly red in color

though when the light shifted

she flashed like a rainbow

She was naked except

for the usual flower ornaments

Goddesses wear.

Her long hair

was deep blue, her two eyes fathomless pits of space

and her third eye a bloodshot

ring of fire.

The Buddha folded his hands together

and greeted the Goddess thus:

"O Goddess, why are you blocking my path.

Before I saw you I was happily going nowhere.

Now I'm not sure where I want to go."

"You can go around me."

said the Goddess, twirling on her heels like a bird

darting away, "or you can come after me.

This is my forest too,

you can't pretend that I'm not here."

With that the Buddha sat

supple as a snake

solid as a rock

beneath a Bo tree

that had sprang full-leaved

to shade him.

"Perhaps we should have a chat,"

he said.

After years of arduous practice

at the time of the morning star

I penetrated reality, and now..."

"Not so fast, Buddha.

I am reality."

The Earth stood still,

the oceans paused,

the wind itself listened

--a thousand arhats, bodhisattva, and dakinis

magically appeared to hear

what would happen in the conversation.

"I know I take my life in my hands,"

said the Buddha.

"But I am known as the Fearless One

--so here goes."

And he and the Goddess

without further words

exchanged glances.

Light rays like sunbeams

shot forth

so bright that even

Sariputra, the All-Seeing One,

had to turn away.

And then they exchanged thoughts

and the illumination was as bright as a diamond candle.

And then they changed mind

And then there was a great silence as vast as the universe

that contains everything.

And then they exchanged bodies

And clothes

And the Buddha arose

as the Goddess

and the Goddess arose as the Buddha

and so on back and forth

for a hundred thousand hundred thousand kalpas.

If you meet the Buddha

you meet the Goddess,

the Goddess is the Buddha.

And not only that. This:

The Buddha is the Goddess,

the Goddess is the Buddha.

And not only that:This:

The Buddha is emptiness

The Goddess is bliss,

the Goddess is emptiness

the Buddha is bliss.

And that is what

and what-not you are

it's true.

So here comes the mantra of the Goddess and the Buddha, the unsurpassed non-dual mantra, just to say this mantra, just to hear this mantra once, just to hear one word of this mantra once makes everything the way it truly is: OK.

So here it is:

Earth-walker/sky-walker

Hey, silent one, Hey, great talker

Not two/not one

Not separate/Not apart

That is the heart

Bliss is emptiness

Emptiness is bliss.

Be your breath, Ah

Smile, Hey

And relax, Ho

And remember this: You can't miss. "

- Rick Fields, Dharma Gaia, pp.3-7

Tags: buddhism, equanimity, serenity, love, peace, environment, artwork, gaia, poetry, mind

Permalink

Energy

Thursday, 19 May 2022, 21:52

Visible to anyone in the world

Tags: energy, painting, paintings, richie, richie sea, art, artist, abstract painting, artwork

Permalink

Tranquil wisdom meditation

Monday, 9 May 2022, 13:33

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Monday, 9 May 2022, 17:38

Here is a link to a free book that explains much better what I was trying to describe in my previous article. I have found it helpful to practise this and it has brought me results. I am making great progress with weakening both aversion and sensuality, it's great!

This technique also makes mind wandering a more interesting part of meditation practise.

In a nutshell:

1. Recognise the mind has wandered.

2. Let go of the distraction.

3. Become aware of the body.

4. Relax any tension in the body.

5. Smile and gladden the mind.

6. Reflect on the four noble truths. I.e. noticing the craving, letting go of the craving, experiencing the mind free from craving, and the development of the eightfold path

7. Return to meditation object.

8. Rinse and repeat if mind wanders.

I find when I re-engage with the meditation object after this process it is much easier to stay with it and more enjoyable. You only need to do this when the mind has wandered for some time and the meditation object has been forgotten, for short distractions just go back to the meditation object. This process gets faster and more intuitive the more you practise.

While meditating you want to keep that feeling of bodily ease and pleasure going. Eventually it feels natural to let go of applied and sustained attention to the meditation object and to allow awareness to become more expansive. The joy and pleasure gradually gets more and more refined, changing to tranquillity and stillness, until it reaches equanimity. Equanimity is how the mind feels when all the different energies that pull us this way or that are perfectly balanced. Like everything is tuned just right and in harmony. There is an exquisite stillness and clarity of mind that is hard to put into words but you will have felt it in your own practise at times I am sure, and will know what I am talking about.

I don't know if any of this is helpful to you, don't worry if it isn't, I won't be offended lol. I just send it in case it is helpful to others. I don't like keeping things to myself. And I could die at any moment so would be a shame not to share this with others.

I am not a normal person lol. I spend an unnatural amount of time researching and practising this stuff. I have never really been that into the material world to be honest, it doesn't do much for me, nothing lasts in this world and death comes for all. I have always found the inner spiritual life more interesting.

Although I don't judge anyone else for not being the same and I am not trying to proselytise anyone, that's the nice thing about Buddhism one is under no obligation to share the dhamma with others or change the world in any way, there is none of that stressful evangelical stuff trying to convert others - thank goodness. I think this is just my way of giving, or trying to be generous with what I know because I don't have much else to offer really.

And I can say with certainty now that this stuff really works, I have definitely changed. I have not got angry about anything for a good while now and the craving for sense pleasure is also not as powerful a force as it once was and seems to be getting weaker each day.

It feels great! The mind just becomes more peaceful, lucid and freer.

Be well anyway and sending you good wishes and energy for you own journey to nibanna.

Tags: spiritual path, freedom, vipasanna, insight, mindfulness, wisdom, buddhism, samhadi, serenity, tranquility, mind, meditation, nibanna, enlightenment

Permalink

Serenity practise

Saturday, 7 May 2022, 22:45

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Saturday, 7 May 2022, 22:52

This is something I have been practising during my own meditation and it has been very helpful and I quite like it.

When the mind becomes distracted in meditation and loses awareness of the meditation object, follow this simple algorithm below:

1. Notice with friendliness towards the mind, without any judgement or shame towards oneself, (always be gentle, be a friend to the mind and it will be a friend back) just become aware that the mind has wandered from the meditation object. Then...

2. Let go of whatever the distraction was, it doesn't matter what it was, the details are irrelevant, there's no need to tie up any lose ends or tidy up the thoughts. Just let go of the distraction and become aware of the body.

3. Relax any tension you feel in the body, remembering also to relax the face and head, as thoughts can bring tension to those areas. Spend some time doing this, take as long as feels natural. One is purposefully calming the body, and bringing into awareness a sense of bodily ease and pleasure.

4. Gladden the mind, like the zesty zingy feeling of a refreshing spring breeze. Kindle some joy in the mind. Smile inwardly, smile with your heart, and turn the corners of your mouth up, even if it's just a little, teeny slight barely-noticeable smile. That'll do! It doesn't matter if at first it feels fake, smiling releases endorphins and the mind will catch on and the smile will eventually become genuine. Then let that warm pleasant energy spread throughout the whole body. Saturate the entire body with it.

5. Then reflect for a moment on how the mind feels when it is lucid, serene and free from craving.

There are two sides to craving: craving for sense pleasure, and craving for circumstances to be different. They are both two sides of the same coin.

These are the four noble truths:

Knowledge of suffering (which is to be understood).

Knowledge of the cause of suffering (which is to be abandoned).

Knowledge of the end of suffering (which is to be realised).

Knowledge of the way that leads to the end of suffering (which is to be developed).

Can you see the four noble truths in your meditation practise: noticing the craving, letting go of the craving, experiencing freedom from the craving, and the cultivation of the noble eightfold path that leads to the end of craving.

6. Return to focusing on the meditation object.

7. Rinse and repeat every time the mind wanders.

Samma Samhadi (Right Concentration) can be translated as lucid serenity. Unfortunately, Right Concentration can create the wrong impression of meditation practise. Samma Samhadi is not a hard tunnel-vision focus. One is not concentrating so hard that it blocks out everything else from conscious awareness, that just creates tension in the mind and the body. No, Samma Samhadi is a still, calm, lucid, relaxed, expansive and serene awareness. Anchored in the body, so the mind does not float off like a helium balloon. One meditates with awareness of the body in the background. This is what is meant by one pointed attention, it means wholehearted attention grounded in the body, it is an embodied attention. A unification of mind, all of the mind collected and gathered together, attending to the meditation object together as one. The four jhanas which the Buddha defined as Samma Samhadi are known as the rupa jhanas because they are embodied, i.e. awareness of the body is present throughout.

Samhadi (lucid serenity) and vipassana (insight) are actually one and the same, they are not two distinct separate practises. They are part of the same meditation. They are like two wings of a bird that take you to nibanna. Nibanna in a nutshell means irreversible freedom from suffering. I.e. there's no comedown from it, the freedom is permanent. And nibanna can be experienced here and now in this very life if one practises ardently enough. Different stages of enlightenment bring progressively greater freedom from suffering.

In Buddhist practise there's nothing magical happening, although it can certainly feel like that at times, (encounters with the unconscious parts of the mind can often feel magical,) one is just simply training the mind. If one puts in the right causes and conditions, one gets the results. In the case of Buddhist training, the final result is irreversible freedom from suffering.

Right input equals right output. Bad input equals bad output.

Having a good teacher helps immensely, but the training is doable on one's own if one is determined enough, but honestly find a teacher and some good spiritual friends, it will save you a lot of time and make the practise much richer and joyful. There are many Buddhist teachers and groups available online and one does not need to travel great distances to find one anymore, one can now train virtually via the Internet for free from one's home without having to travel anywhere or go on a lengthy retreat. All my teachers and spiritual friends are online.

The noble eightfold path is the training one undertakes to become a Buddha. The Buddha famously once said: 'One who sees the dhamma sees me. And one who sees me sees the dhamma.' The dhamma is the mind of the Buddha, and one who has mastered the dhamma, becomes a Buddha.

Not a clone though, one still has whatever personality traits one had before, but now freed from greed, hatred, and delusion. A bit like how there is a recipe to bake bread, but there can be different kinds of bread, they all however follow the same basic recipe and use the same core ingredients. The loaves of bread can look different when they come out of the oven, but despite their difference in appearance, one can still see and know it is bread.

Peace and metta!

Tags: meditation, mind, noble eightfold path, four noble truths, serenity, samhadi, training, enlightenment, buddha, buddhism, richie, richie sea

Permalink

Tranquil metta

Friday, 6 May 2022, 23:11

Visible to anyone in the world

Wishing,

longing,

craving for things to be different.

Like a downcast elephant in the corner of the room.

Won't budge

So I gave up trying,

sat with it as a friend.

'Ah! Sadness be at ease.'

And relaxing,

letting go.

It was gone

transformed

into joy.

Tags: poem, richie, richie sea, elephant, sadness, joy, metta, compassion, peace

Permalink

Soap dragon

Thursday, 5 May 2022, 21:57

Visible to anyone in the world

What appeared to look like a water dragon made out of bubbles.

Free download of scan available here

Tags: painting, paintings, abstract, art, richie, richie sea, water, bubbles, artwork

Permalink 2 comments (latest comment by Richie Cuthbertson, Friday, 6 May 2022, 09:33)

Stardust

Friday, 29 Apr 2022, 23:05

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Friday, 29 Apr 2022, 23:23

Walking inner streets
Alive with techno beats
Expanded heart and mind
Explore a deeper world within
The elements echo
An ancient feeling
A timeless
Wordless
Memory
Something altogether unworldly

A golden peace.

Tags: mind, music, poem, richie, richie sea, peace, meditation

Permalink 1 comment (latest comment by Gill Burrell, Saturday, 30 Apr 2022, 15:45)

Footsteps

Wednesday, 27 Apr 2022, 21:36

Visible to anyone in the world

Light and breezy
Tranquil sound of waves
As invisible air shapes its
Sign on skin and water
Seagulls call glide
Circle high above
These worn sandy shoes
With feet bright
Like Spring.

Tags: poem, mind, spiritual, samhadi, walk, richie, richie sea, peace, ocean

Permalink

Kraken Wakes

Monday, 25 Apr 2022, 13:33

Visible to anyone in the world

A deep sea mining operation drills a little too deep...

Free download of a 300 dpi scan for personal non-commercial use is available at: https://thestonecub.wordpress.com/2022/04/25/kraken-wakes/

Tags: kraken, cephalopod, ocean, sea, richie, richie sea, artist, painting, colourful, paintings, art, artwork

Permalink

Go on singing

Sunday, 24 Apr 2022, 13:59

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Sunday, 24 Apr 2022, 16:58

a photo of cherry blossoms

‘ I hate a song that makes you think that you’re not any good. A song that makes you think you are born to lose, bound to lose. No good to nobody. No good for nothing. Because you’re either too old, or too young, or too fat, or too slim, or too ugly, or too this or too that.
Songs that run you down.
Songs that poke fun at you on account of your bad luck, or your hard travelling.
I’m out to fight those kinds of songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood.
I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world.
And yes it can hit you pretty hard and knock you down for a dozen loops; but no matter how hard it runs you down, or rolls over you. No matter what colour, what size you are, how you’re built. I’m out to sing the songs that will make you take pride in yourself, in your work.
The songs I sing are made up for the most part by all sorts of folks, just about like you. ‘

Rise up for the revolution.
A revolution of friendship and love.

Can you hear that?

‘ This grand shout of affirmation. To mark where we’ve been. To testify to what we have within us, what we can accomplish.

And yes in the end everything must finally fall to the universal fact of life. But be of good hearts. Our songs will all be silenced, but what of it? Go on singing. '

Tags: photo, flowers, cherry blossoms, music, revolution, friendship, love, metta, peace, richie, richie sea

Permalink

A good home

Saturday, 23 Apr 2022, 12:36

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Saturday, 23 Apr 2022, 13:10

Was ruminating just now over feelings of regret and longing. These can pop up and disrupt the flow of peace at times. How to deal with those?

I have been practising telling myself each time that I can't change the past. What has happened has happened, there's no super-power I have that can turn back the clock and make me do things different. And even if I could, would I want to?

Past mistakes were done by a younger self that didn't know any better. But now you do know better, and it is because of your younger self that you know better. So stop punishing yourself, take a bow to your younger self and resolve to honour the mistake by being wiser from now on. And remembering your less-than-graceful moments can help one to be humble, which is helpful for overcoming conceit. But the guilt, longing, aversion, anxiety and remorse is not helpful, that can be let go of.

Your younger self is not who you are now. And it is who you are now that's important. Who you are now is what's generating the kamma for your future self.

Putting oneself down and feeling guilt, shame and anxiety will become a habit when repeated over a lengthy period of time, and it is a habit that is no good for the mind. It depresses it, and a depressed mind is no fun to be in at all. Our mind is our home, and so we should make it the kind of home that is warm, friendly, welcoming, wise, peaceful, and a refuge even when times are shit.

Unfortunately pain, sickness, fatigue, loss and separation is inevitable in this world. That is the kamma of having a body. Noone escapes this, not even enlightened beings. The Buddha aged, got sick, had back problems, had a toxic cousin intent on murdering him, and he died.

It is the fate of all living beings.

What is the most important thing to have with us when we die?

Our time here is short and one could die at any moment, old age is not guaranteed, people die at different ages and that's normal; across the many species of life on Earth both young and old die. Noone knows how much time they have here.

And it isn't these things that are the problem. They are inevitable, they are outside our control, that's the way it is in a changing universe of interdependence and entropy.

The problem is how we feel about these things. It is the hostility in the mind towards them that is the problem. Aversion is an unpleasant emotion, it comes with unpleasant sensations, unpleasant feelings and thoughts. It makes one's consciousness feel toxic and unhappy. To the point where one would do anything to get rid of it. And it brings us negative consequences - one's kamma, setting us up for more misery in the future. And yet we can't see that it is this hostility in the mind, this craving for things to be different that causes the suffering.

The good news is that aversion is not necessary and can be removed from the mind. And why wouldn't one want to remove it from the mind? It is not helpful, and one can live perfectly well without it.

Aversion is generated by the mind. And because it is generated by the mind, it is possible to train one's mind to let go of it, and feel the relief of a mind that is not hostile. A serene happy mind filled with unconditional love instead of fear. It is easier to feel love for others when the mind is less hostile, when you realise all beings value their lives. That all beings want to feel safe, loved, and at peace. Just like you do.

Our mind is our true home. It is what we take with us when we die.

It might take time, a lot of practise, perseverance and a huge helping of patience. But continue putting in the right causes and conditions even when it feels like a desert and a trudge, and eventually the garden will flower and fruit all by itself. But remember to be gentle with the mind, a friend to it, take regular breaks and rest from the work. Impatience and overdoing it won't make anything grow faster.

Tags: peace, serenity, aversion, buddhism, love, mind, richie sea, richie, happiness, suffering, freedom, home, spiritual path, enlightenment, buddha

Permalink

Right intention

Friday, 22 Apr 2022, 17:11

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Friday, 22 Apr 2022, 17:28

What is intention?

Does intention come before thought, like a wordless impulse?

For me it feels like that, but thankfully one does not need to understand what it is to any great depth. Basically what we need to remember is: intention is the generator of kamma. Our intentions lead to actions, and repeated actions become habits. From intention comes speech and action -- our behaviour. What we think about reflects our intentions, and we can change our intentions by changing our thoughts.

Changing our thoughts can also alter our perceptions. For example, Ajahn Sona in a talk during a mindfulness retreat (available both as a podcast and on YouTube), talked about how as a monk one of the first things they are taught is to break the body up into the five parts we are most attracted to and memorise them. This becomes a mental tool one can use to help free the mind of lust and attachment to one's body. These five parts are: head hair, body hair, nails, skin, and teeth. When you separate them by themselves, they are not that attractive or appealing really. Our perception of them changes. There's something else interesting about them as well, they are also the dead parts of the body. And isn't it odd how we are not attracted to the live parts of the human body? The squishy inners underneath the skin, we find the living parts of the body repulsive and horrifying. One never praises one's romantic love's kidneys or the shape of their pancreas, or finds the real beating lump of their heart that appealing. When you break it down the whole thing about attraction can be turned on its head and one's perception can be altered.

During the talk Ajahn Sona likens skin to being like a leaky spandex suit. And I carried out a thought experiment with this whilst I was watching a movie with my family, and as I looked at the Hollywood actors and actresses on the screen I kept thinking: 'Leaky spandex suit', and you know what it worked! My perception was altered and the human body suddenly became quite repulsive to me, I even excitedly shared this with my family, who looked at me strangely lol. Alas they do not share my enthusiasm for the spiritual life.

Anyway to return back to topic, right intention is the second factor of the noble eight-fold path and is guided by right view. These two folds of the path are known as the wisdom faculties. They come at the beginning for a reason, because they act like a compass to steer one in the right direction. They are also at the end of the path after right samhadi and grow deeper and wiser as one's practise of the noble eightfold path develops. The noble eight-fold path cycles, and one's understanding of it grows deeper on each iteration. The eight path factors also support each other outside of the numbered order. I.e. the work of right intention is supported by the four right efforts, which in turn instruct right mindfulness.

Luckily the Buddha simplifies what one needs to remember to just three right intentions. These are: the intention of renunciation (letting go), the intention of non-illwill, and the intention of harmlessness. These are the three directions one should steer the herd of thoughts towards.

It doesn't have to be a stressful exercise, and one does not need to be an enemy or control freak with oneself. I sort of imagine it as a sailing boat following a course bearing. And at times I might go off course, but once I am aware I am going in the wrong direction, I simpy correct course and bring the herd of thoughts back in line with the three right intentions.

I don't judge myself for going in the wrong direction, I don't punish myself, or feel I have to tie up any loose thoughts I was having. I just simply interrupt the thought processes, let go of whatever it was, and simply steer the herd back in the right direction without an iota of judgement for having those thoughts. The Buddha is kind in that he gives us a 'get out of jail free' card which lets us out of the dungeon of guilt and shame. We are allowed to not ruminate over our mistakes. Gleam what wisdom one can from them and let them go. They were done by a younger self and are not who you are now. So let go of aversion towards oneself. Try to be a friend to the mind instead, don't fight it, train it gently with kindness, and it will be a friend back to you. It will become your best friend (-:

In fact metta practice (metta means friendship and loving-kindness) can help weaken the mind's tendency towards aversion, which is helpful for bringing into being the three right intentions. So metta can be part of the practise of right intention also.

It can help also to think of right intention as being like guiding a herd of cattle, when one notices the thoughts are going off course, one imagines oneself to be like a cowherd steering them back in the right direction. This metaphor comes from the Buddha in the Dvedhavitakka sutta - Two sorts of thinking (MN19).

The Buddha also mentions in the sutta that excessive thinking, even about good things, can be tiring after a while. And encourages one to quieten down the thought energies when one is tired and rest in Samhadi. This lucid stillness refreshes the mind and brings relief to the body, which helps with the work of right intention, so the eighth factor: right samhadi is also supporting it.

Calming thoughts down is not always easy though, the habit of thinking can be a hard one to shake, especially for us modern humans. We are conditioned by this industrial world to live constantly in our heads, and the constant thinking becomes a torture. Which is why it feels such a relief when one can let go of the thought processes for a bit and just dwell in another consciousness outside of speech. It feels freeing, refreshing.

To be able to stop thinking when I want, and to only think what I want, when I want. To train and master the thought processes. That is the noble aspiration here with right intention.

The Buddha says that training one's thoughts to follow the three right intentions will lead one to helpful kamma that is conducive to reaching the goal of realising nibanna. Whilst allowing them to wander about untrained in the opposite directions of: craving, hostility, and harmfulness will lead one to unhelpful kamma.

The three right intentions:

Intention of renunciation.

Intention of non-hostility.

Intention of not causing harm.

Tags: richie sea, richie, buddha, awakening, enlightenment, spiritual path, metta, mindfulness, meditation, wisdom, noble eightfold path, buddhism, mind, right intention

Permalink

Streams

Tuesday, 19 Apr 2022, 19:41

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Tuesday, 19 Apr 2022, 19:43

I become someone new
each and every moment.
Who am I?
What am I?
Just streams,
always changing,
rearranging.
Insubstantial.
Interdependent.
Energy.
Flows.

for decorative purposes: A scan of my painting called: 'Streams'

for decorative purposes: A scan of my painting called: 'Streams'

A free download of painting as 300dpi scan is available here from my website for personal, non-commercial use.

May you be filled with serenity, peace and infinite wellbeing.

Tags: richie, richie sea, painting, paintings, abstract art, colourful painting, mind, poem, music, meditation, buddhism

Permalink 1 comment (latest comment by Richie Cuthbertson, Tuesday, 26 Apr 2022, 12:14)

Process

Saturday, 16 Apr 2022, 22:01

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Saturday, 16 Apr 2022, 22:02

Things are always changing.

https://thestonecub.wordpress.com/2022/04/16/process/

Tags: richie, artist, art, abstract, painting

Permalink

The key to enlightenment

Friday, 15 Apr 2022, 18:07

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Friday, 15 Apr 2022, 22:18

To greatly weaken the mind’s tendency to aversion is wonderful. But nothing magical, it is just training the mind. If anyone with enough determination puts in the right causes and condtions, they will get the results.

I still have much work to do to go further on the path. I must now weaken sensuality, the next guardian at the gate. And there seems to be a strong resistance to do this in my mind. It is quite attached to sense pleasures. The Buddha said that sense-desire is a lesser stain on the personality than aversion. But comes with a trade-off in that it is harder to remove. And he is right, it is proving tricky to go beyond this guardian at the gate.

But I can see a strategy for overcoming sense desire. It will involve a great deal of patience and playing the long game, it will involve the four right efforts, right mindfulness, and the eighth factor of the noble path: Right Samhadi (right concentration). Right Samhadi is defined by the Buddha as the four jhanas. And jhana is described as a delicious state of consciousness by meditators who have learnt how to get into them.

Once one has learnt how to get in and out of jhana quickly, and can sustain these states of mind indefinitely, as well as come out of them at will. They discover a bliss they can generate all by themselves within, something that is described as being a greater bliss than anything external or that the world can offer. Then one can naturally let go of sense desire. A person at this stage of enlightenment who has completely cut off the two fetters of: greed(sense-desire) and aversion is known as an anagami (non-returner). They are never again born into this world. And in their next life they are reincarnated in the higher heavens, living very long lives there (aeons). They are born there because of their attachment to jhana. But this is absolutely fine, because what happens is they just carry on practising and make it to the fourth stage of enlightenment, realise nibanna and become fully liberated in the higher heavens - like celestial Buddhas (-:

There are some teachers of Buddhism who have been misguided about the jhanas, and some who even say they are not necessary. Whilst it is true that the jhanas aren’t necessary to reach the first and second stages of enlightenment (stream-enterer and once-returner), if one wants to go further, beyond the second stage of enlightenment, one needs to learn and get good at jhana (right samhadi). At least that’s my understanding, and some will disagree, but intuitively what I am thinking here feels right to me (on my journey anyway).

To learn jhana though one needs to be very determined and seclude themselves from sensuality (at least for a set time). The first verse goes: ‘Quite secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states of mind. One enters and abides in the first jhana. Which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, and has the rapture and pleasure born from seclusion from the world and letting go.’

The way I practise this is when I meditate I go outside somewhere quiet away from everyone. Which secludes me from other people’s energies and also from all the technological devices in my room, and the kettle (cups of tea lol). Doing this forces me to concentrate wholeheartedly on the meditation with nothing around me to tempt or distract me. This is what it means to become quite secluded from sense pleasures.

Secluded from unwholesome states of mind, means to let go of the five hindrances (worldy-desire, aversion, stagnation (or lack of motivation), agitation, doubt); and also means to let go of all the stress of the day and problems we encounter in the world and the kamma of having a body. Put that heavy suitcase down for a moment and feel the relief. Refuse to pick up or inspect the contents of the suitcase, just leave it be. No harm will come if you let go of it for a time. We let go of our worries and thoughts every night when we go to sleep, nothing bad happens when we do. Give yourself permission to let go. Then when the body feels relaxed and at ease it naturally starts to feel some joy and pleasure. When this happens meditation becomes more enjoyable, an indulgence, a way to quieten down the thought energies and refresh one’s mind in the jhanic consciousnesses of right samhadi.

There’s nothing wrong with that at all. If one becomes attached to jhana, that also is fine, it won’t stop one getting enlightened, in fact it is actually the way to enlightenment, or at least to full enlightenment anyway. One who is attached to jhana is in the third stage of enlightenment and close to the end of the path. So enjoy jhana fully and keep asking the mind for more joy and pleasure, keep asking until you couldn't ask for more. Don’t feel guilty or be told you shouldn’t get attached to the pleasure of jhana. The Buddha said that jhana was not a pleasure to be feared. He also recalls in MN 36: “… when my father the Sakyan was working, and I was sitting in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree, then — quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful mental qualities — I entered & remained in the first jhana where there was rapture & pleasure born from seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation, and wondered, could that be the path to Awakening?’ Then following on from that memory came the realization: ‘That is the path to Awakening.”

The four jhanas take you on a tour of (mind-generated) pleasure which can be safely explored without fear. When the mind has had its fill and feels content and satisfied, it naturally inclines itself more and more to calming and refining the pleasure bit by bit, till it reaches complete stillness and equanimity in the fourth jhana, which has neither pain nor pleasure. When one has sufficiently mastered the fourth jhana, and calmed the energies of aversion and sensuality to a hush, one’s vision is no longer clouded by them and one can clearly see the root of the problem: delusion, which comes from ignorance. Then one can unlock the door to full enlightenment using a key with three teeth that fits perfectly into the lock: knowledge of suffering, knowledge of change/impermanence, knowledge of no-self. These three knowledges are interlinked, and hence part of the same key. They are the key to freeing oneself from delusion.

That’s the plan anyway. I haven’t got that far yet, and I am only just starting to get what jhana is, and sustaining one is challenging, quite tiring actually. But I know if I keep at it for long enough, and keep putting in the right causes and conditions, it is only a matter of time (-:

Tags: nibanna, peace, freedom, spirituality, mind, meditation, jhana, buddha, buddhism, richie, spiritual path, enlightenment, wisdom

Permalink

Like the moon in the blue heaven

Thursday, 14 Apr 2022, 19:26

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Friday, 15 Apr 2022, 14:47

James Holden - I have put out the light (original mix)

Tags: connection, love, music

Permalink

Loved up

Monday, 11 Apr 2022, 22:05

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Monday, 11 Apr 2022, 22:08

I am happy to love you
Even if you don't love me back
Love expects nothing in return
Love is its own reward
That lush euphoric state of mind
Is the benefit I receive
When I wish you well
Makes the world glow.

Tags: love, peace, mind, poem, richie, richie sea, music

Permalink

Mindfulness of breathing (practising the anapana sati sutta)

Monday, 11 Apr 2022, 17:53

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Wednesday, 20 Apr 2022, 11:39

There is a teaching passed down from the Buddha that is known in all the different Buddhist traditions. It is a complete self-contained training that can take you all the way to the end of suffering. It is called the 'Anapana sati sutta' (teaching on mindfulness of breathing). There are also many different interpretations from different teachers on how to practise this sutta. So it is good to shop around and try out different techniques and see what works well for you.

I have found a way of practising that suits me and I feel comfortable with. I set myself a length of time, and cycle through the sequence over and over till the alarm goes off. If I am just doing a short meditation I will cycle through it once.

For the first cycle I do each step for three complete breaths, as I want to go over it all, as it is a training exercise. This also helps me memorise the sequence and helps with the modern day human deficit of having a short attention span at times.

For the second cycle I slow down a bit and increase the amount of time to about 5 – 10 breaths for each step. Then for subsequent cycles I don’t count the breaths anymore, I just stay with each step for as long as feels good, taking my time and naturally moving on when it feels right to do so. Sometimes I am not even worrying about the sequence, it just all seems to happen naturally like a flow.

But when first starting to learn I found it helpful to practise 3 breaths per step, as going through the sequence like this can easily be fitted into a ten minute break. Then when one has memorised the sequence and knows it well enough and has the luxury of time, one can let go of the counting and just enjoy going through it at whatever pace feels good, I find sometimes I do it rapidly and other times I really go over it slowly and get deeply absorbed in it.

Learning this sutta is a bit like learning to play a piece of music. It has four tetrads. First you’re learning to calm and bring ease to the body.

Then you are working with feelings (in Buddhism feelings are bodily sensations and a mental feeling tone that accompanies them which can be either: pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral). In this tetrad one is deliberately and shamelessly bringing into being feelings of joy, bodily pleasure, and bliss.

Then one becomes sensitive to thoughts, watching them and calming them to a hush. (Thoughts are seen as sensations in Buddhism, they come from the mind sense.)

The third tetrad is about the emotions, our moods, our state of mind, noticing it and then satisfying and gladdening it.

Then one steadies the mind, and releases it - setting it free.

The fourth tetrad is where it gets deep and one focuses on change, both change here and now in the short term, how we are currently riding on the energy of the big bang, all these energies arising and passing in the moment, impossible to hold on to as they keep changing; and how things change in the long term: time, day and night, seasons, ageing, death, entropy, impermanence, how things fade away and decay, both in the short term and long term. And seeing that nothing lasts, one invokes dispassion for the senses, for the world, samsara, and the story of self.

One then focuses on cessation of suffering and the knowledge that there is a much greater happiness to be found within. What does the mind feel like when it is not craving?

And the last step is about letting go of the grasping. Moments are phantoms, there's nothing to cling to, they are insubstantial because they are always changing. My body changes, my sensations change, feelings change, perceptions change, thoughts change, emotions change, consciousness changes, and one day I will die and this body will rot, and whatever I leave behind will also in time fade away, nothing lasts, nothing is eternal. Everything I hold dear and everyone I love will become separated from me due to the nature of change. Understanding this, one lets go of the attachment to samsara, lets go of attachment to the world, lets go of aversion, of delight in the senses, of delusion. And instead learns the secret of how to cultivate a profound lasting bliss that does not rely on anything outside oneself. A state of mind that doesn’t suffer, that exists in a perpetual state of emotional well-being in spite of everything. Nibanna.

It is a training, you are training the skills in this meditation to induce these states of mind, and it’s okay to use one’s imagination and memory to help invoke them. Find ways of talking yourself into these states of mind. It is a lot about the stories we tell ourselves. It isn’t easy at first, there’s a desert one must cross as one learns it, and it can take many hours of practise. But one day the Buddha promises it will yield great fruit, and be of great benefit.

As with anything we learn in life, with practise and perseverance it will become automatic, like second nature. And when one knows it off by heart, one can really get absorbed in it, and carried away in it’s melodies and increasing depth to beautiful states of higher mind, all conjured and brought into being by the meditator.

A concise summary of the steps taught in the anapana sati sutta:

First tetrad (body)

1. Breathing in long, one knows they are breathing in long. Breathing out long one knows they are breathing out long.

2. Breathing in short, one knows they are breathing in short. Breathing out short one knows they are breathing out short.

(Just simply notice if your breath is long or short, you are gently gathering the mind in.)

3. One trains thus: ‘I shall breathe in sensitive to the body and breath; one trains: ‘I shall breathe out sensitive to the body and breath.’ (The sense of the body is in background awareness whilst central focus is on the breath, this is known as one-pointed attention. It is not a narrow tunnel-vision focus. It is a whole-hearted attention involving the whole of one’s being. An embodied attention. )

4. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in calming the body; one trains: ‘I shall breathe out calming the body.’

Second tetrad (sensations and feelings)

5. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in sensitive to rapture (joy); one trains: ‘I shall breathe out sensitive to rapture (joy) .’

6. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in sensitive to pleasure ; one trains: ‘I shall breathe out sensitive to pleasure.’

7. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in sensitive to thoughts; one trains: ‘I shall breathe out sensitive to thoughts.’

8. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in calming thoughts; one trains: ‘I shall breathe out calming thoughts.’

Third tetrad Mind (Heart, emotions, mood, state of mind)

9. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in senstive to the mind; one trains: ‘I shall breathe out sensitive to the mind.’

10. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in gladdening and satisfying the mind; one trains: ‘I shall breathe out gladdening and satisfying the mind.’

11. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in steadying the mind; one trains: ‘I shall breathe out steadying the mind.’

12. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in releasing the mind; one trains: ‘I shall breathe out releasing the mind.’

Fourth tetrad (Dhamma, insight, knowledge, wisdom)

13. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in focusing on change; one trains: ‘I shall breathe out focusing on change.’

14. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in focusing on dispassion (because everything fades away); one trains: ‘I shall breathe out focusing on dispassion.’

15. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in focusing on cessation (of suffering); one trains: ‘I shall breathe out focusing on cessation.’

16. One trains: ‘I shall breathe in focusing on letting go (of the clinging); one trains: ‘I shall breathe out focusing on letting go.’

Tags: training the mind, practise, buddhism, meditation, richie sea, richie, anapana sati, breath meditation, mindfulness of breathing, mindfulness, mind

Permalink

Emancipation of the heart

Friday, 8 Apr 2022, 00:27

Visible to anyone in the world

Thinking even happy thoughts,
Gets tiring....
and I rest in footsteps,
Crossing over streams,
Nothing's what it seems.

Perception shifts to absorption
Unified awareness streaming on and on
it goes...
Flows... into a lucid state of mind
this river of consciousness refined
refreshed by samhadi
profound serenity
Hearing
as if for the first time
Colours and tactile sensations rhyme
with ethereal perceptions
beautified by luminosity
and a loved up bliss
cooled by equanimity.

Tags: samhadi, love, peace, mind, meditation, music, poem, richie, richie sea

Permalink 2 comments (latest comment by Richie Cuthbertson, Monday, 11 Apr 2022, 20:05)

Sublime abiding

Tuesday, 5 Apr 2022, 00:30

Visible to anyone in the world

Edited by Richie Cuthbertson, Tuesday, 5 Apr 2022, 13:42

Chest beat a surging flame of worry
I sit and meditate to chill me down
Breath centres open wide
Odd mix of pleasant unpleasant
I calm the energies to a hush and
Let go of the spiky aversion
Greet with love instead
Love does not ask for anything in return
It is its own reward
For it makes one's mind and home
A pleasure to be in
even when
The dark side approaches.

Tags: love, metta, loving-kindness, spiritual, mind, meditation, poem, richie sea, buddhism

Permalink

Inner sun

Monday, 4 Apr 2022, 22:26

Visible to anyone in the world

” This is your life.
This is on offer.
Give it all, give it all.
This is your hope.
This is your heaven.
Give it all, give it all.
Live like the sun, live like the sun.
Radiant and burning, burning.
Live like the sun, like the sun.
Radiant and burning.
Give it all, give it all. “

Tags: painting, richie sea, outlier richie, artist, acrylic, abstract painting, abstract art, colourful art, alive, sun, warmth, energy, spring

Permalink

Previous Page 1 … 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 … 17 Next

This blog might contain posts that are only visible to logged-in users, or where only logged-in users can comment. If you have an account on the system, please log in for full access.

Total visits to this blog: 686944

Personal Blogs

Most commented posts

Past month

Most visited

Active

Most posts

Past month

Most comments

Past month

Personal Blogs

Be a refuge to yourself

Right speech

Free online meditation retreat starting tomorrow

Worldly winds

The Very Short Sutra on the Meeting of the Buddha and the Goddess

Energy

Tranquil wisdom meditation

Serenity practise

Tranquil metta

Soap dragon

Stardust

Footsteps

Kraken Wakes

Go on singing

A good home

Right intention

Streams

Process

The key to enlightenment

Like the moon in the blue heaven

Loved up

Mindfulness of breathing (practising the anapana sati sutta)

Emancipation of the heart

Sublime abiding

Inner sun

Explore

Undergraduate

Postgraduate

Policy