Messages In This Digest (4 Messages)
- 1.
- What Do You Have To Wear To Practice Yoga and Buddhism? From: John Kimbrough
- 2.
- Buddhism: What Are We Asked to Renounce? From: John Kimbrough
- 3.
- Reflections on Teaching Yoga and Buddhism in Cambodia The Pris From: John Kimbrough
- 4.
- The Wisdom of The Buddhist Teachings: The Hindrances and Our Health From: John Kimbrough
Messages
- 1.
-
What Do You Have To Wear To Practice Yoga and Buddhism?
Posted by: "John Kimbrough" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:24 pm (PST)
What Do You Have To Wear To Practice Yoga and
Buddhism?
Like many westerners who developed an interest in
Yoga, Buddhism and Indian philosophies and lifestyles,
there was a period of time when I started to wear
Indian clothing. That period of time is largely in the
last now though my clothing is a bit unusual being an
adaptation of both Indian and Pakistani Islamic
clothing, that being loose and comfortable for
teaching Yoga in, but also neat and presentable in all
circumstances and occasions.
In order to practice the Yoga postures, it is best to
wear loose clothing, preferably cotton. This kind of
clothing is also suitable and comfortable for doing
any kind of meditation practice.
But as both Yoga and Buddhist scripture tells us more
then once, what we wear and how we look has little if
any influence on how far we have worked on ourselves
in order to weaken and destroy those aspects of our
being that cause suffering.
In fact, there are a number of scriptures in The
Dhammapada that say that the robe that the Buddhist
monk wears means little or nothing if the man who
wears it is lax in his practice or dishonest and has
desires of various kinds.
The reality is that we can wear anything and be
anywhere and be practicing Yoga and Buddhism.
We can wear blue jeans and a hard hat and do
construction work in Texas, or work on an oilrig at
sea. We can wear a business suit and live and work in
Singapore, Shanghai or New York.
We can wear a chefs outfit, a blouse and skirt, a
school, football or baseball uniform or even nothing
at all.
Practicing Yoga and Buddhism has little to do with
what we wear and all to do with our mindfulness and
our ability to look at ourselves with mindfulness and
stop those fluctuations of mind and consciousness that
lead to suffering and problems.
This can be achieved and in doing it we are engaged in
an ongoing effort to purify ourselves.
What we wear is not a factor.
©2006 John C. Kimbrough
Yours in Yoga,
John
_____________________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
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- 2.
-
Buddhism: What Are We Asked to Renounce?
Posted by: "John Kimbrough" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:27 pm (PST)
Buddhism: What Are We Asked to Renounce?
Many of our anxieties regarding learning about and
implementing any religious or spiritual discipline
stem from thinking that we will have to make great or
painful changes and adjustments in our life and ways
of thinking, speaking and acting.
In Buddhism we are not asked to renounce a certain
lifestyle but asked to live with greater mindfulness
and compassion within that lifestyle.
We can practice mindfulness, meditation, compassion
and loving - kindness regardless of our status in
life, or profession, social and educational
background.
The things that Buddhism asks us to make an effort to
renounce are those states of mind that create
suffering and perhaps ill health for us as
individuals and interfere with cultivating respectful
and harmonious relationships with others.
This requires knowing what those things are and
looking within to see them as they arise, and then
making an effort to weaken and destroy them though the
application of mindfulness.
In the application of the mental, verbal, physical and
behavioral disciplines as put forth in The Noble
Eightfold Path of Buddhism, this is known as right
effort and right mindfulness.
Through the changes that such a practice brings about,
we may later wish to renounce other aspects of our
current life experience and situation. This may mean
changing our job, letting go of or getting rid of
various material possessions or even changing the
nature of our relationships with other people.
This could lead to some changes that may seem to be
radical or extreme to others such as ending a
relationship or marriage or leaving ones family.
Here in Thailand there is one famous case of a woman
who became interested in meditation and Buddhism and
as a result of that, eventually left her family and
started a temple that women could come to and learn
and practice Buddhism at.
In the overall scheme of things in life, it is much
better to leave ones marriage and family for the
pursuit of Buddhist teachings and disciplines then to
be a unskillful parent and partner because of fear,
anxiety, anger or a habit such as drinking, drug or
gambling, or to be someone who is habitually
adulterous.
Any individual who has a mindful understanding of the
Buddhist teachings and disciplines and is practicing
them is someone who is an asset to the world and
mankind and in the long run, what he or she is asked
to or willing to renounce must be something that they
will evolve to on their own and embrace in a natural
and comfortable manner.
©2006 John C. Kimbrough
Yours in Yoga,
John
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- 3.
-
Reflections on Teaching Yoga and Buddhism in Cambodia The Pris
Posted by: "John Kimbrough" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:31 pm (PST)
Reflections on Teaching Yoga and Buddhism in Cambodia
The Prison is the Temple
Existence in a provincial prison in Cambodia can be a
dismal affair, but after having taught Yoga and
Buddhism in one on a part - time and volunteer basis
over the last year, one can not help but be impressed
by the spirit of the men and women who serve time in
one.
This writer has also found that the men and women
there do appreciate the efforts of others to assist
them in anyway possible.
During this writers most recent experience of
teaching Yoga and Buddhism there, I was told more then
once thankyou for things that had been taught and
shared with the men and women, or some of the things
such as hats, clothing, books, magazines and food that
I had been able to give to them.
Perhaps that is because they recognize the commitment
and effort of this writer or more fully understand and
appreciate the need and benefits of the Yoga and
Buddhist teachings and practices.
Anyone who has practiced Yoga and meditation
extensively or taught them has experienced and knows
the mental and physical benefits that is can bring an
individual and there is no reason there to think that
men and women in prison can not experience such a
thing also.
One of the things that we have tried to make the men
and women in prison more mindful about is that it is
where we are at the moment, be it a prison, our home,
a club or restaurant, or in a bus, plane or train is
our temple and that we need to serve in it and act in
a way that reflects that understanding.
In many respects, a prison is the highest
manifestation of a temple, providing that the men and
women in it are provided with clean clothing, a safe,
secure and clean living and sleeping environment,
healthy and adequate food and an opportunity to both
work and educate themselves. Sadly, these things are
lacking and not being worked to being provided in
Cambodian prisons and it is more through the effort of
individuals and private organizations to bring about
such a thing.
But a prison does provide one with the discipline and
opportunity to live a regulated lifestyle with there
being regular times for bathing, sleeping and eating,
and through that, a positive evolution of ones mind
and consciousness can occur.
This is what we want to happen when we practice Yoga
and Buddhism and what many of us have sought out and
committed ourselves to over the years, be it a weekend
or month - long retreat in upstate New York or
Massachusetts, or a trip to and stay in a temple in
Thailand or Sri Lanka.
We have been taught or learned to recognize that a
sparse and simple environment and a disciplined
approach to daily life and living bring about
benefits.
Perhaps if instead of wanting more and more and not
being satisfied unless we have those things to indulge
in or confuse and overwhelm us, we worked to
simplicity and contentment, we could make our own
house, home and our community and the world as a whole
a temple.
©2006 John C. Kimbrough
Yours in Yoga,
John
_____________________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
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- 4.
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The Wisdom of The Buddhist Teachings: The Hindrances and Our Health
Posted by: "John Kimbrough" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:32 pm (PST)
The Wisdom of The Buddhist Teachings: The Hindrances
and Our Health
We can teach about and explain the Buddhist teachings
and disciplines in different ways depending on what we
think is most important or suitable to our students
and their interest, level and ability to understand.
Other factors such as the environment and situation in
which we teach and the amount of time available will
also influence what we say and how we say it.
Some teachers may emphasize the importance of
meditation, while others stress the need for
compassion in all situations and to all people.
Ajahn Chah, a forest monk of both great humility and
repute in Thailand some years back always emphasized
right speech to the lay people who came to see him, as
he knew that they did not have the capacity, interest
or time to devote themselves to meditation.
He recognized that speech is something that has great
power over the present and future actions of both the
person who says things and those people that he or she
may say things about.
An approach that this writer has used with some
success in making individuals more mindful about
Buddhist teachings and disciplines is to make them
aware of what those things are that the Buddha teaches
us are the causes of our suffering.
These are the mental defilements, known as the
kleshas, and their offspring, the mental hindrances.
In teaching the mental hindrances to people and giving
examples of how they create problems, individuals are
given a good foundation for their understanding and
practice of Buddhism, as they see what it is that they
must work against and try to both weaken and destroy.
It allows us to clearly see what and who the enemy is
and we find something that has always been the case
throughout the history of mankind, that being that
these things are within.
The hindrances are fivefold. They are sensual desire,
ill will, restlessness and worry, sloth and torpor
and doubt.
Since in these modern times we have a deeper
understanding of the relationship between our states
of mind and our health, and we are also more likely to
accept such a thing, we can see that these hindrances
can create a range of both physical and behavioral
problems and disorders which may in the long - run
compromise and harm our health.
A physical problem can be something such as high blood
pressure, diabetes, chronic tension and migraine
headaches, constipation, excessive anxiety and worry,
and backaches, among other things.
Behavioral problems can be something such as chronic
overeating or using food as an escape from
uncomfortable states of mind and feelings, daily,
excessive and habitual use of drugs and alcohol,
compulsive and obsessive shopping, tendencies to
sexual promiscuity and using sex as an escape from
uncomfortable states of mind and feelings, engaging in
sexual activities that demean or harm other people
physically or mentally, excessive television viewing
and chronic and addictive attitudes to gambling, among
others.
There is a relationship between the play and
fluctuations of the defilements and hindrances and our
mental and physical health and our behavior.
Sensual desire can lead to attachments and obsessions
that create addictions or a lack of feeling of peace
or satisfaction unless we are engaged in a specific
action or activity.
Ill will can create tendencies to hostility, fear
and anger that bring about disharmony within and in
our relationships with others. It is easy to see how
we can act on that in ways that will only be harmful
to all.
Restlessness and worry keeps us from finding focus and
peace at the moment and applying ourselves to things
that can bring us both joy and a development of our
mind and consciousness. It can keep us from educating
ourselves and instead allow us to think that lazy and
restless acting and living is somehow worthwhile to
pursue or overindulge in.
Sloth and torpor keeps us from doing things that need
to be done and many times if we do do those things, we
do them with an air or feeling like we are being
victimized, or with resentment, or even anger. In
addition we may not do them as well as we should or
could do them. We may also find ourselves needing
stimulants such as drugs or alcohol in order find
peace or enjoyment in life.
Doubt can keep us from finding the esteem and
confidence within that many of us need to live life
with a focused and enthusiastic purpose. It also does
not allow us to work or live based on a set of healthy
and constructive values, instead making us cynical or
people who do things only based on our moods and
feelings of the moment.
Any of these states of mind and consciousness can
bring about an over or under stimulation of our
nervous and endocrine systems which can affect both
our health and behavior in a detrimental manner.
In learning and studying about, and dealing with the
play of the hindrances, we benefit when we understand
two other points. The first is what we achieve from
such an effort, and perhaps more importantly how we
minimize their affect on us in a negative manner.
The main weapon for combating the play of the
hindrances is mindfulness, a state of mind that we all
possess but one that is both compromised and
strengthened though our actions each day.
We have to work to cultivate mindfulness.
This cultivation occurs through study and reflection
in addition to the performance of various actions on a
mental, verbal, physical and behavioral level.
We achieve and strengthen it through meditation, the
performance of Yoga postures and other Yoga
techniques, compassion and loving - kindness to other
people, healthy and respectful relationships and
interactions with others, and a wise and balanced use
of our free time and energy.
To understand and see the play and fluctuations of the
hindrances is an important stage to achieve in our
practice of Buddhism.
In achieving such a thing and applying mindfulness to
stop their movement is something that truly works to
bring about the purification of mind and consciousness
and the accessing and cultivation of concentration,
tranquility, balance, insight and wisdom.
On a more desirable, practical and understandable
level for some, it allows us to live a more mentally,
physically and behaviorally healthy life.
The two attached charts may be helpful for some in
developing their understanding of and ability to deal
with the hindrances.
©2006 John C. Kimbrough
Yours in Yoga,
John
_____________________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
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