-Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world: a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream; a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, a flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.

- That which can be called the Tao ( The way ) is not the Eternal Tao. That which can be called the Name is not the eternal Name. Tao is both one and many; as One, it is the nameless root of heaven and miracle of Tao. A mind lost in its own desire, sees only the forms of this world. Tao and this world seem different, but in truth they are one and the same. The only difference is in the name we give them. How deep and mysterious this unity is. How profound, how great! It is the truth beyond the truth, the mystery beyond the mind. It is the path to all wonders, the gate to the ecstatic nature of everything! The whole world we travel with our thoughts, finding nowhere anyone as precious as one’s own self. Since every person is so precious to themselves, let the self-respecting harm no other being.

(Tao Te Ching)

- The Buddha said, “ To be attached to a certain view and to look down upon other views as inferior-this the wise call a fetter ( chain ).

idle chatter =  闲话

Until we have all the sufficient information, we shouldn't anyhow speculate things.

 

 

Right Speech

 

As my teacher once said, "If you can't control your mouth, there's no way you can hope to control your mind.' This is why right speech is so important in day-to-day practice.

Right speech, explained in negative terms, means avoiding four types of harmful speech: lies (words spoken with the intent of misrepresenting the truth); divisive speech (spoken with the intent of creating rifts between people); harsh speech (spoken with the intent of hurting another person's feelings); and idle chatter (spoken with no purposeful intent at all).

Notice the focus on intent: this is where the practice of right speech intersects with the training of the mind. Before you speak, you focus on why you want to speak. This helps get you in touch with all the machinations taking place in the committee of voices running your mind. If you see any unskillful motives lurking behind the committee's decisions, you veto them. As a result, you become more aware of yourself, more honest with yourself, more firm with yourself. You also save yourself from saying things that you'll later regret. In this way you strengthen qualities of mind that will be helpful in meditation, at the same time avoiding any potentially painful memories that would get in the way of being attentive to the present moment when the time comes to meditate.

In positive terms, right speech means speaking in ways that are trustworthy, harmonious, comforting, and worth taking to heart. When you make a practice of these positive forms of right speech, your words become a gift to others. In response, other people will start listening more to what you say, and will be more likely to respond in kind. This gives you a sense of the power of your actions: the way you act in the present moment does shape the world of your experience. You don't need to be a victim of past events.

 

 

For many of us, the most difficult part of practicing right speech lies in how we express our sense of humor. Especially here in America, we're used to getting laughs with exaggeration, sarcasm, group stereotypes, and pure silliness — all classic examples of wrong speech. If people get used to these sorts of careless humor, they stop listening carefully to what we say. In this way, we cheapen our own discourse. Actually, there's enough irony in the state of the world that we don't need to exaggerate or be sarcastic. The greatest humorists are the ones who simply make us look directly at the way things are.

Expressing our humor in ways that are truthful, useful, and wise may require thought and effort, but when we master this sort of wit we find that the effort is well spent. We've sharpened our own minds and have improved our verbal environment. In this way, even our jokes become part of our practice: an opportunity to develop positive qualities of mind and to offer something of intelligent value to the people around us.

So pay close attention to what you say — and to why you say it. When you do, you'll discover that an open mouth doesn't have to be a mistake.

Originally posted by Forrest_Gump:

anyone going?

tks lsis for letting us know.

 

hmmmm i will be going...

Originally posted by winnie^_^:

i agree and i also know, but sometimes i just canot help it, only until i calm down then i think abt it, i think it is very silly to react in this way.

I need to learn and practice more.

Thanks! May you be well and happy too!

Thank you too.

 

Originally posted by winnie^_^:

sometimes i think i am back to square one, like i start to have negative thots, i will think of those pple who piss me, i will lose temper easily, etc. all the buddhism teachings that i read for a beginner like me has gone wasted. :( tht's y i tell myself i must read and practice everyday! canot like "3mins hot degree". anyway, i am still a very new beginner.

 

The people might have pissed you off but it is not happening right now and the past is already over. Why does one has to be angry with something that is already over ?

 

Sometime, life isn't easy. Have a little patient, with the situation, with others and yourself. May you be well and happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Originally posted by knightlll:

What stuffs can keep ants away eh ?

Some of the most effective natural remedies to keep antsantsants out of your house can be found in your kitchen. AntsAntsAnts will crawl away from cinnamon, mint, red chili powder, and black pepper. All of them can be sprinkled on countertops or cupboards, as they're not poisonous and highly effective. Planting mint and cloves in windowsills or outdoor gardens around the home will also help keep antsantsants out of your house. Bay leaves, especially when dipped into mint mouthwash and placed around the food pantry, are another helpful option.

Creating a ring of Vaseline or chalkchalkchalk around windows and doors also helps, as antsantsants will not cross lines draw with any of these products. While this may not help you get rid of the antsantsants already present in your home, it will certainly discourage other ones to join the invasion. Baby powder is another great ant repellent. Sprinkling some on doors will keep antsantsants out of your house.

AntsAntsAnts also hate vinegar. For an easy solution, just mix equal parts of vinegar and water and then sprinkle on counters and other food storage and preparation areas. If there are no small children or pets in the house, you can also use glass cleaner to spray areas in other rooms outside of the kitchen.

 

When we call ourselves Buddhists, we mean we are the followers of Buddha. The most important aspect of being a Buddhist is that we should follow the path of Buddha and always reflect as Buddhists. Buddha is a Sanskrit word. It refers to one who has awakened from the ignorant mind and who has accomplished knowledge and wisdom. The Tibetan word for this is 'Sangye'.

Every Buddhist has ambitions and goals to attain the state of Buddhahood. The attainment of Buddhahood is the achievement and development of one's potential to liberate all sentient beings from suffering.

Those who have not yet achieved Buddhahood, have conflicting emotions such as desire, hatred, jealousy, ignorance and countless types of defilements. All these defilements come from ignorance; that is, being without wisdom and not knowing the true nature of mind. This ignorance causes all kinds of complications and confusion in the samsara. But ignorance is not permanent. It can be removed by applying wisdom. By turning ignorance to wisdom, one will be able to understand the truth. This will gradually lead one to the state of the enlightenment. Therefore, as a Buddhist, the most important goal is to develop wisdom and understand the basic teachings of Buddha dharma, such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eight Fold Paths; and then the practice of Bodhisattva paths and Vajrayana methods. An understanding of these will help us to develop wisdom.

Besides absorbing the knowledge of dharma,application of the teachings is also important. Whatever knowledge of the dharma we have absorbed into our mind streams, we must apply. For example, we all know that we should be generous. The knowledge of this is insufficient. We must implement that knowledge and practise generosity at all times.

Similarly, morality is equally important and we should implement and practise it. It is only through applying the teachings that we will reach the stage of enlightenment.

The more we understand the dharma, the more we will know when and where to apply it. Every moment in any situation of our daily lives is an opportunity for us to practise in order to develop ourselves spiritually. The more unfavourable circumstances we experience, the greater our chances of success in our dharma practice.

For example, you may have an enemy who causes you alot of discomfort through hatred and curses. Generally, this is perceived as a bad situation as nobody wants to be hated or cursed as it causes discomfort and misery to oneself. However, from a spiritual-practice point of view, it is a good moment of challenge as it gives us the opportunity to develop and strengthen the positive attitude towards dharma. Patience is the important teaching in dharma and we can apply it in all circumstances. Especially when facing our enemies, we have to be tolerant and patient. If we can apply these principles, we will succeed in our practice.

Suffering is the path to happiness. Basically, the more difficulties we experience, the better are the results we gain; just as we must work hard in order to achieve good results. Though we may experience alot of difficulties, obstacles and hindrances, this is the passage to success. Dharma is very precious, as it helps us to overcome all kinds of difficulties, regardless of whether they are emotional or physical in nature. Dharma is actually the only treasure that leads us to success in our practice.

Thus, being a good Buddhist does not mean always appearing in the temple. In fact, a good Buddhist can be in anywhere, such as a business place, the street or a restaurant. In other words, as long as one can apply and practise dharma at all times, one is considered a good Buddhist. To use every moment of our experiences to develop one's practice is to be a pure Buddhist. One who does not apply dharma effectively but who always appears in the temple is called a physical Buddhist or an outlook Buddhist. One who practices and applies dharma regularly and correctly and, at the same time, always visit the temple is a very good Buddhist and a practitioner.

When any defilement arises, the practitioner can recognise it instantly. After recognising that the defilement, one should implement mindfulness and awareness to apply the antidote and be free from that particular defilement. Hence, whatever emotion and defilement arises, one must take it as a challenge and overcome it and that is the correct method for us to follow.

However, application is not as easy as we may think.It can be very tough and difficult to recognise our defilement. Even we recognise it, it may be difficult to recall or apply the antidote effectively. As the force of defilement is very strong in comparison to the weakness of an antidote, we may not be able to remove the defilement so quickly. Actually, we all want to purify our numerous defilements but the defilements are too much to be overcome all at once.Constant effort and hard work will help us to succeed in overcoming our defilements. Eventually, our effort will become positive habits and we will be able to succeed one day.

Once there was a Tibetan merchant named Norbu Zangpo, who lost all his money in his business. Due to his failure in the business, he felt very upset and disappointed and wanted to quit. Feeling so depressed, he lay down on the ground and he noticed that an ant was trying to climb a blade of grass. Halfway up, it fell down. It tried again and again many times and the merchant counted 79 times of the ant falling. At last on the 80th time, it managed to climb on to the tip of the grass. Suddenly, the merchant realised that without constant effort, one cannot succeed in anything. From then on, he put a lot of effort and hard work into his business and he succeeded. He became the richest and most successful businessman in Tibet. The tiny insect Ant gave that inspiration to him.

The story reminds us to exert effort constantly and not to be afraid of failure. In the process, even one does not succeed initially, one needs to practice until one succeeds. We all lack mindfulness and constant effort. We expect immediate results without exerting much effort. This is not possible. Dharma is mental training and cannot be bought or transferred. It is very simple if we know how to apply dharma to act as an antidote to purify defilement. If dharma becomes supplementary to one's pride or defilement, that will develop a negative effect against oneself. If dharma is practised through proper application, it will become the antidote to defilement. That is to say, with right implementation, one can reduce one's defilements like hatred, ignorance, desire, and all other kinds of confusions.

Basically, through all these processes we are able to distinguish whether a person is a true Buddhist or not. A true Buddhist is one who does not only just understand the teachings of dharma, but who implements them and experiences the results. Not being a true Buddhist means that we do not implement the teachings of dharma and never change our attitude towards the spiritual path. Instead, we show off our pride of knowing dharma and look down on others and this increases further our negative thoughts.

Listening to dharma teachings with contemplation and meditation covers the whole practice. We must try to understand the meaning of Buddha's teachings, then contemplate and investigate the dharma. After investigating the logic of truth, then we must implement and apply whatever we have learnt and meditate on it. With these methods, our practice of dharma can be effective and we will be able to achieve enlightenment.

Meditation does not mean only sitting down and placing our palms together. Meditation can be practised in many different ways such as development of generosity, patience, and morality. In fact, all these practices are related to meditation, which requires awareness and mindfulness. For instance, if a person is cooking and he says that he is meditating, you will not believe him because you do not expect meditation to be like this. How can he be meditating while he is cooking? However, if he applies the qualities of mindfulness and awareness to the process of cooking, then he is indeed meditating.

In Vajrayana, we have lots of chanting, musical instruments playing and many different hand mudras etc. All these are also part of the meditation. Through these meditation and actions we are able to realise the nature of mind more effectively.

Finally, a true Buddhist is one who applies the teachings of Buddha to his mind-steam and every day life. By doing that, one is mindful towards every thought and action. Once you have that quality, you will not make any mistake and you will continue increasing your positive thoughts as well as merits or wisdom. When you have those qualities, the inner bliss will arise and then you will be fully satisfied and find the purpose of life.

By Venerable Shangpa Rinpoche

 

 

 Cultivating A Skilful Attitude

 

Having answered the thirteen questions, I will give an admonition so that

the right attitude and motives can be cultivated. Serious consideration should

be given to the essential guidelines taught in the Bālapaṇḍita Sutta (M. iii.

169). The simile of the blind turtle should be remembered by everyone.

 

The Simile of the Blind Turtle

“O monks, I will give you a simile: A man makes a hole in a log and sets it

adrift in the ocean. When the wind comes from the east the log drifts

westwards. When the wind blows from the west, it drifts eastward. Similarly,

north winds push it to the south, and south winds push it to the north. In the

ocean is a blind turtle who surfaces only once every hundred years. Is it

possible that the blind turtle would put his head up through the hole in the

log?”

 

The monks replied that normally it would be impossible, but in the infinite

duration of saṃsāra a chance might occur. Yet it would be very difficult for the

blind turtle to meet up with the drifting log. Then the Buddha explained.

“Monks this rare chance, this freak occurrence is possible, but for a bad

man who is reborn as an animal or in hell to become a human being again is

rarer and more difficult.”

 

Rarest is the human status. Once this rare status is gone one finds greatest

difficulty to be reborn again as a human being. Why? In the lower realms such

as hell, no opportunities exist for the performance of wholesome deeds. So,

lacking good conduct, a person in hell has to suffer for countless aeons. Those

who are reborn in the animal kingdom have to struggle for existence, preying

upon each other. Animals do mostly harmful deeds with their low intelligence,

and the strong persecute the weak. So there is little chance for them to be

reborn in the human world. The lowest probability exists for them to upgrade

themselves.

 

For a blind turtle wandering in the ocean to encounter the hole in the log

is possible only if the log never rots, and only if he lives for millions of years.

Yet a much smaller chance exists for a sufferer in hell to achieve human status

again, for very few wholesome kammas are possible in the lower abodes. This is

explained in the commentary.

 

Indeed, this is true. When close to death, a human being urgently needs

good thoughts to achieve a good status in the next existence. During one’s last

thought moments, previous wholesome kammas produce good mental objects,

enabling one to be reborn in the fortunate realms of existence. Otherwise bad

kammas will predominate at this crucial moment, and bad mental objects will

send one to hell. In the four lower realms of existence a sentient being knows

nothing of the value of almsgiving, keeping moral precepts, or practising

meditation. Lower beings who find themselves lacking wholesome kamma are

further hampered by the lack of opportunities to do good. Observe the daily

behaviour of dogs, pigs, cows, buffaloes, crows and other animals. Their moral

sense is very limited, so they often indulge in evil deeds. They have little

chance to do good.

 

Therefore a dying being in the lower realms has a very slim chance of

experiencing good mental objects to gain higher existences. Evil kammas

usually manifest, leading again to realms of misery. Even a virtuous person in

this human world cannot safely say that, at the moment of death, immoral

kammas will not influence the next rebirth. Although one may have given

alms, observed morality, and performed other meritorious deeds, one may

experience very bad thoughts at death. Without regular practice of the four

right efforts, no one can guarantee the arising of good thoughts. Every ordinary

person has done countless unwholesome kammas in past lives and in this

existence, which can mature at any time, producing corresponding results. For

the majority of people today, wholesome kammas are relatively few. So their

past immoral kammas will have to produce results in future lives.

 

One’s present wholesome deeds may not stem the tide of past

unwholesome kammas with their impending results, which must give

appropriate results at some time. As a universal principle everybody is subject

to moral responsibility. All types of kammas are waiting for their chance to

mature at any time. Thus, countless past kammas of various types remain for

each person as latent forces. If a foolish person now gathers fresh evils, the

chance of past misdeeds giving their effects increases, for like begets like.

For those who have to suffer in hell even once, the floodgate of past evil

kamma opens, letting in the bad effects. So, generally speaking, various powerful evil kammas make the suffering in hell very long and tedious, as

successive bad results get their chance to mature in various ways. Bad kammic

results predominate in the lower realms. One has to undergo long-term

sufferings for the evils of past lives too. Consider the evils done in the present

life to evaluate the nature of impending bad results. Therefore, in the

Sammohavinodanī, the commentary on the Dhammasaṅganī, a note of

warning is struck for this awful possibility. Some persons have to take rebirth

in hell due to minor or slight misconduct. Once in hell, other grave kammas of

the previous existences make their appearance too and their sufferings

increases a thousand-fold. Past evil kammas are waiting for chances to

manifest their influences and powers especially in the lower existences. The

moral is, “don’t let evil takes its chance” or “don’t open the doors of evil.”

The present life is very important.

 

The Simile of the King’s Favourite

 

For clearer understanding a simile is given here. The king’s favourite,

having been empowered with great authority, misuses his office for his own

selfish ends. He confiscates other peoples’ property, sexually abuses girls,

accepts bribes, etc., but no one dares to complain. As the king’s favourite he

escapes arrest and punishment although his crimes are serious. Due to the

king’s influence he lives in safety for a long time. However, one day, he

happens to commit a minor wrong that enrages the king, who orders his arrest

and prompt punishment. As soon as the news of his arrest is known, all his

past victims make their complaints to the king. The king orders investigations

and inflicts severe punishments when the cases are proven. Yet more victims

now come to the king to seek redress. This is an analogy for the accumulation

of bad effects for an evil person when his destiny is downgraded by a minor or

major fault, as the case may be.

 

 

Note that even a small misdeed can give hellish results. Once in hell, one

suffers for longer as the serious results of long dormant evil kammas mature to

give appropriate results at what is now the right time and place. In the eight

great hells, countless millions of sufferers are tortured for aeons. Any

opportunity for them to return to this human world is very remote as no good

kammas can be practised there. This accumulative nature of kamma must be

studied alongside the Simile of the Blind Turtle. This analogy agrees with

them.

 

The Most Urgent Task

 

Today, every ordinary person possesses the five mental hindrances to a

great extent. Due to their power, many people break rules of discipline and

universal moral principles, as they did in the past. These are symptoms of

modern times. The majority of Buddhists, though believers who acknowledge

the importance of insight, still maintain the hindrances in their hearts. Even

most Dhamma teachers, though they teach the true Dhamma regarding life’s

three characteristics, cannot eradicate these five hindrances completely.

Defilements still arise in their hearts, so they lack insight into impermanence,

unsatisfactoriness, and not-self. The only way to overcome these moral failures

and inherent weaknesses, is to practise concentration (samatha) according to

the teaching of the Buddha. With this mental discipline, the wavering mind

and distracting thoughts are inhibited. Then the mind can be turned towards

insight practice, which reveals the universal characteristics of impermanence,

unsatisfactoriness, and not-self.

 

The troublesome mental hindrances should be suppressed by means of

kasina meditation, contemplation on the foulness of the body, or some other

meditation. This moral effort to suppress evil thoughts is called concentration

or tranquillity (samatha). Tranquillity of mind fixed on a single object is the

goal at this stage of mental development. The next stage aims to penetrate the

true nature of the five groups of existence, or the mind and body.

This wisdom can see the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and insubstantial nature of existence with insight.

 

These two features, concentration and wisdom, exist while the Buddha’s

dispensation lasts. This practice and its goal help all devotees to get rid of

personality view — the persistent belief in a soul, the dogma of self-view, selfcentredness, base egoism. All ordinary persons, since they still believe in a soul

or self, are under the influence of ignorance and craving. By destroying this

wrong-view of a permanent self, one also destroys, in due course, all ignorance

and craving. As long as self-view remains in the heart, one cannot completely

escape from the stigma of being shameless and immoral. Though one attains

morality, one can maintain it only for a short duration due to self-view. One

fails to attain stable, natural morality due to this wrong-view. This failure to

attain natural and stable morality is to be feared. Those who, without right

view, attain morality and goodness, will certainly kill an Arahant in future

lives, or commit the gravest evils such as killing their mother or father.

Moreover, due to self-view they will change their faith in various ways,

accepting eternalistic or nihilistic views. The universal ways of most ordinary

persons are like this. They cannot safely say that they will always refrain from

killing. Their mental processes remain wide open to various types of good and

evil kamma. Both tendencies exist in every ordinary person who is not a Noble

One, and has not realised the Four Noble Truths.

 

Therefore the most urgent task for everyone is to strive for the final

liberation from shamelessness and immorality, to attain stable and natural

morality. Starting from this present life during the Buddha’s dispensation one

must arouse the unarisen wholesome deeds of concentration and insight with

fresh, vigorous moral effort.

 

This section explains the nature and case of unarisen wholesome deeds.

Here ends the ways to practice the four great moral efforts (sammappadhāna).

I was reading on the manual of Dhamma and come across this portion

For sharing:

 

Page 58 and 59

 

What is Stable Morality?

The moral conduct that culminates in the attainment of path

consciousness is called stable morality. Morality is a supporting condition for

the path. With the attainment of the path, morality becomes stable and

irreversible. From this time onwards, a person will not kill any sentient being,

great or small, under any circumstances. He or she always maintains morality

with steadfast confidence and wisdom. The precept to abstain from killing

living beings becomes stable, so he or she is totally free from suffering in lower

realms. In future lives too he or she will never be shameless or immoral. The

Noble One is firmly established in natural morality and natural goodness, so

can never become a robber, a murderer, a hunter, or a thief. A Noble One

cannot be reborn in hell, as an animal, hungry ghost, or demon. Due to stable

morality, a Noble One avoids these inferior existences. These are the powers

and benefits of stable morality, which is only achievable in this dispensation.

This stable morality becomes known only when a Buddha appears in the

world for the unique benefit and welfare of all, and remains only during the

Buddha’s dispensation. It is the essence of the Omniscient Buddha’s teaching,

so those who claim to follow the Buddha’s teaching, whether they are lay

persons or monks, must emulate this rare type of morality. Only stable morality

is worthy of respect. One should not rest content with temporary morality nor

should one emulate it. Why not? Even those who keep the millions of

bhikkhus’ precepts, still live under the sway of temporary morality if they fail

to attain the path. Even very pious and venerable monks also suffer from the

effects of temporary morality. Sooner or later, they will become robbers,

murderers thieves, liars, etc. Moreover, possessors of temporary morality will

have to suffer in hell. These so-called holy men are not so much different to

others regarding their destinies. All of them value and maintain temporary

morality. All of them are fallible, and all are subject to life’s vicissitudes due to

loss of their morality.

 

Therefore a disciple of the Buddha, while this unique dispensation still

exists, should appreciate the defect of the commonplace arisen wholesome

deed of refraining from killing, which means temporary morality. One should

not be satisfied with this state of affairs as it lacks any genuine or lasting value.

Common morality is like a piece of sodium in water, it flares brightly for a

moment, then dies instantly. What each person urgently needs is the unique,

stable morality so that true, secure moral purity will be established.

The real taking of refuge is in stable morality. Everyone has a duty to transcend the

unreliable temporary restraint, and to eradicate the possibility of becoming

shameless or immoral due to the bad roots in the heart. To attain stable

morality one must make great efforts so that complete liberation from

shamelessness and immorality is gained in this life.

 

Nowadays good moral conduct is only momentary. Everywhere, good

people observe the five precepts and some good monks train themselves in the

millions of Pāṭimokkha rules. Both these householders’ and monks’ moral

conduct are just temporary morality. However if they develop wisdom to

achieve stable morality, they get a wholesome deed that has never arisen

before. Each precept can be classed as “temporary” or “stable.” So one should

reflect deeply on the true nature of the good deeds that have already arisen in

oneself.

 

 

Hi, I  try to sweep away a small cockcroach who was crawling on my table to the floor. I was abit irritated then. I accidentally use too much strength and kill the cockcroach.

 

I don't feel particularly bad about IT. I wonder if this is a good thing ? Am i taking things too lightly. And at the back of my head, i have this thought "it is just another cockcroach"

hmm

 

Don't grasp at the appearance of these thought.They are not really real.

 

 

 

Wif he is a Sri Lankan Theravada monk ?

 

Hi,

Anyone can don the robe of a monk or nun..

How do you know if he is really a real monk or not ?

Do they have a letter or a cert that indicate so ?

Thanks

Hi,

I assume that the talk will be in English and Chinese..

?

isis

 

 

 

Noble Eightfold Path

Wisdom

1. Right View

2. RIght intention

 

Ethical Conduct

3. Right speech

4. Right Action

5. Right  Livelihood

 

Mental Development

6. Right Effort

7. Right Mindfulness

8. Right concentration

 

The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. Great emphasis is put on the practical aspect, because it is only through practice that one can attain a higher level of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the path are not to be understood as a sequence of single steps, instead they are highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other.

http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/eightfoldpath.html

Note the underlined.

 http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html 

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

http://www.springwatercenter.org/teachers/packer/articles/anger/

Anger

The following article was adapted from a talk by Toni Packer on Day 5 of the September 1998 retreat.

Let's talk about anger. Everyone experiences it at one time or another. Can something be done about anger?

A retreatant reported experiencing lots of energy during sittings, mostly generated by feeling angry about the sitting itself. Thoughts were running about wasting her time here while there was so much work to do at home. "What should I do with all this energy? At times I feel like screaming! Is it all right to scream?"

We have all agreed to maintain outward silence during retreats. Screams are disturbing. If one really feels like screaming that's OK, but maybe one can find a ravine in the woods where it would not impact others. But it's a good question, what to do with powerful energy like anger. My immediate response to the questioner was, "Let it be awareness! Awareness is energy!"

Years ago a man came to see me before applying for retreat, asking if it would be all right to express anger during a meeting. I said it was all right. So one day he entered the meeting room with a tense, flushed face, asking if he could vent his anger at me right then and there. I nodded, and quietly asked: "Have you ever looked at it directly?" No answer came just a charged silence. We sat wordlessly for what seemed to be an eternity, and then he burst out laughing: "It doesn't have to be expressed!" When a powerfully driving emotion gives way to simple awareness, it is like a miracle. What emerged from awareness wasn't screams, but laughter and insight.

Psychological theories about what to do with anger abound and change with time. I do not know if anger should be expressed or shouldn't be. The fact is that we do get angry, and it expresses itself instantly, verbally as well as non-verbally, throughout the body. So what is this anger? Can we go beyond the question, "What should I do with it?" and beyond answers like, "I should feel it in my body, or I should express it verbally, physically, or I ought to control it."

There is plenty to feel when we're angry. It mobilizes the entire organism, mentally and physically no single cell remains unaffected. Storylines run wildly, keeping the agitation going. Can we feel all these amazing physical and mental manifestations without resistance? If resistance is there, then feel it, look at it. Don't try to shut it down by telling yourself that it is dangerous to experience anger, or try to convince yourself that we are wholly justified in what we are feeling. We really don't know. Every thought, every judgment about it intensifies confusion and agitation! Can simple awareness shed light, create space?

Trace anger as it is happening! Why am I getting angry? What is at the base of it? Can it be irradiated with attention? By looking at it, questioning it, observing it in the light of the question, what reveals itself is that we function in rigid patterns that do not want to be interrupted. Memory structures in the brain and throughout the body about how we are, how things ought to be, what is right and what is wrong keep us functioning fairly smoothly, but when they are interfered with, anger results.

These memory structures are wired into us from day one. Even an infant, who does not yet understand the spoken word, understands judgments conveyed by mother's and father's voice, eyes, and touch. What brings smiles, warmth, and protection is good, is right, is worth repeating over and over again. What brings reject