Messages In This Digest (3 Messages)
- 1.
- Creativity Sphere From: anna
- 2.
- Discard What Today? From: John Kimbrough
- 3.
- The Dhammapada is Always Dependable From: John Kimbrough
Messages
- 1.
-
Creativity Sphere
Posted by: "anna" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mon Oct 2, 2006 8:53 pm (PST)
Dear All
Dear All
Creativity Sphere (CS, June - August 2006/43) is being sent.
Thanks for your responses to the earlier issue and also for sending more names for inclusion in the mailing list. Looking forward to your comments for this issue as well.
Please reply to annamalai_n@vsnl.com .
The earlier issues. CS - 34, 35, 36 , 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 and 42 are available in the archives of the site 'www.creativitysphere.com.'
If you are not interested in receiving future issues of CS, please inform me. I will stop sending the future issues.
Regards, Anna
Dr N Annamalai
Tel: 044 23719267, Mobile: 09444269395
Email: annamalai_n@vsnl.com
- 2.
-
Discard What Today?
Posted by: "John Kimbrough" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mon Oct 2, 2006 8:53 pm (PST)
Discard What Today?
I have got into this habit of every day looking around
and going through my environment and seeing what I no
longer need and discarding it.
It does not take much time and effort, and really only
requires a bit of mindfulness and focus.
In doing such a thing, I create more space in the
small environment in which I live, plus make better
use of the things that I have.
As human beings many of us seem to accumulate more
then we need or can use. In fact, a recent study
showed that a number of us are what are know as
compulsive shoppers and that in being such a way we
suffer from a number of painful results and
realizations, such as wasting money, getting into
debt, remorse and regret.
But one thing that I have become more mindful about
each day that I continue with my study of and practice
of Yoga and Buddhism is that there are other things
that I need to work on discarding.
These are things such as ill will, restlessness,
laziness and desire.
Dealing with and discarding these things is a lot more
difficult then throwing away a shirt that is old and
does not fit anymore.
They require that one be mindful, focused and healthy
as regards themselves.
They also require that one has the discipline to do
the things that get them to such a state and allow
them to maintain it.
This involves a number of things such as reading,
study, meditation and posture practice, among other
things.
Some of these things require greater effort then
others, especially when we are in an environment or
around people who are not mindful about or focusing on
themselves and direct most of their energy towards
others and the outside world.
Many times such a direction of energy is done in a way
that can be impatient, condemning and critical.
The world is unfortunately filled with a number of
people who are not at peace with themselves, and
because of that lack of peace, they run to stimulants
and other sensual and mood changing experiences to
attain it.
This kind of peace is many times nothing more then a
state of temporary escape, relaxation or pleasure.
Maybe the habit of being mindful about what it is
within ourselves that we can and should discard each
day, or at least work to discard is a worthwhile one
to cultivate.
At the very least, it may make us more mindful about
who and how we are, instead of allowing us to get
caught up in or cultivate unwholesome states that have
arisen and developed already.
©2006 John C. Kimbrough
Yours in Yoga,
John
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- 3.
-
The Dhammapada is Always Dependable
Posted by: "John Kimbrough" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mon Oct 2, 2006 8:59 pm (PST)
The Dhammapada is Always Dependable
The Dhammapada is a set of scriptures consisting of 26
chapters and 423 verses and is considered to be the
scriptural authority regarding the learning, study and
practice of Therevadan Buddhism.
It is considered to be one of the most insightful set
of scriptures in the history of mankind and compares
itself on very equal footing with The Holy Bible of
Christianity, The Holy Quran of Islam, and The
Bhagvad Gita of Hinduism and Yoga.
In fact, it is not necessary to even make such a
comparison, since in essence they all call our
attention to having the same mental, verbal, physical
and behavioral habits and tell us how to cultivate
them.
We can think of and call the Dhammapada dependable
because it is something that we can trust.
This may be more important in the modern world then
ever before when so much of what we think and feel is
based on a mistrust of others and their motives.
Sadly, in the confusing and conflicting situations and
environments that we are raised in or find ourselves
around, we may also lack trust in or doubt ourselves.
This can lead to real problems such as anxiety,
excessive worry and depression.
The wise person will seek guidance and most of us do,
but we are unsure of our fellow man and his or her
words and teachings in these modern times.
The Buddha was a man who sacrificed what most of us
endlessly chase after in life, that being wealth,
security and pleasure.
Instead, he sought out wisdom as a way to deal with,
minimize and end suffering.
His long - term effort and dedication to such a thing
resulted in a number of realizations, one being that
much of our suffering is caused by our own ignorance.
He learned and taught us that meditation helps us
awaken from this ignorance.
He was able to condense his realizations into a set of
teachings that tells us what causes suffering, what
hinders our ability to overcome it, what we can do to
overcome it and what are those things that we achieve
because of this effort.
He basically taught us to live a moral, mindful and
compassionate existence.
The teachings that are put forth in scriptural form in
the Dhammapada for the most part expand on these
teachings.
They offer guidance to the seeker, clarification to
the confused, and simple wisdom to those who feel
overburdened by their conditioning, responsibilities,
needs and desires.
We can think of them as being dependable because they
are unchanging regardless of where we find ourselves
in life and show us a way to think, speak and act that
brings wholesome, skillful and healthy results.
For those who wish to have a clearer idea of how to
proceed in life, be it as a student of Buddhism or
just a human being, it is something that we can depend
on for assistance.
©2006 John C. Kimbrough
Yours in Yoga,
John
_____________________ _________ _________ _________ __
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