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Category Archives: Mindfulness
Kamma (1)
One of the thorniest topics in Buddhist thinking and teaching is the principle of kamma (in Sanskrit: karma). Don’t expect a pat definition here, but it’s worth digging into what the Buddha taught on the subject and how we could … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Dukkha, Karma, Mindfulness, Wisdom
Tagged cause and effect, kamma, Karma
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Internal and External Supports
Just as admirable friendship is the most important external factor in the practice, appropriate attention is the most important internal one. “Attention,” in the Buddha’s vocabulary, is a matter of which questions you take to heart – the ones you … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Dukkha, Friendships, Mindfulness, Relationships, Wisdom
Tagged good friendship, Intention, Mindfulness
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Refuge in the Sangha
And finally we come to the sangha as refuge. The word sangha has more than one meaning, but at its root, it means the community of practitioners, whether ordained or lay, male or female. Originally it referred only to the … Continue reading
Posted in Faith, Friendships, Mindfulness, Refuges, The 8-fold path
Tagged Buddhist, refuge, Refuge in the sangha, sangha
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Impermanence and Time
Impermanence is intimately connected with time: … But “later” is the safest of all time frames. It can be safely ignored because it’s not now—it’s later, and later never comes. And even if it does, we don’t have to worry … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Mindfulness, Patience, Wisdom
Tagged anicca, Impermanence, impermanence and time, Time
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Whatever IS will be WAS (Bhikkhu Nanamoli)
Title from: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/various/wheel186.html Bhikkhu Nanamoli gives the pithiest possible explanation of anicca, the characteristic of impermanence that permeates all existence, all the world as we can experience it. In terms of how we might come to understand the truth of … Continue reading
Posted in Dukkha, Mindfulness, Patience, Wisdom
Tagged anicca, Impermanence, nothing lasts
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Other Auspicious Actions
From: http://www.suttas.com/10-meritorious-deeds.html In the previous post, we talked about half of the “auspicious actions” that had to do with giving. The remaining items on the list involve other sorts of actions. 2. keeping the precepts 3. meditation 8. teaching the … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Karma, Mindfulness, Precepts, The 8-fold path, Wisdom
Tagged Buddhadhamma, Dhamma, meditation, Precepts, Right view
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Ten auspicious actions
The beginning of the path to awakening is giving, letting go, shifting our focus from a me-centred framework to a relational framework. We start to notice how we feel when we are generous, and how we feel when we are … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Hindrances, Mindfulness, Non-taking, Relationships
Tagged generosity, Giving, sharing, showing respect
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Karma and Self
A question we’ve heard before came up again recently: “If there’s no self, then who gets the karma of our actions?” It’s a tricky question because the answer requires trading in our presumption of a self-centred world for a completely … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Karma, Mindfulness, Speech, The 8-fold path, Wisdom
Tagged Karma, Mindfulness, selfing, The Buddha's Path, the self
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The Wet Log Sutta
From MN 36: https://suttacentral.net/mn36/en/sujato? Suppose there was a green, sappy log, and it was lying in water. Then a person comes along with a drill-stick, thinking to light a fire and produce heat. What do you think, Aggivessana? By drilling the stick against that green, … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Dukkha, Hindrances, Mindfulness, Precepts, Wisdom
Tagged defilements, Mindfulness, unwholesome roots
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The Buddha's Advice to Laypeople 