----- Original Message -----

From: Sharon <shar_63@...>

To: Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 11:41 AM

Subject: [Buddhaviharas] Equanimity

"The Buddha mentioned [the eight worldly dharmas - pleasure and pain,
gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disrepute] as a pathway
towards equanimity.  Equanimity is the highest of all emotions.  It's
one of the seven factors of enlightenment, and we certainly will only
get it in its complete form if there has been enlightenment.  But,
just as with the defilements we can work on them; we can also work on
equanimity.  These eight give us an excellent opportunity to work on
our inner equanimity, which not only means not to get irate when
there is blame, but also not to get all excited when there is
praise.  It means both.  And not to get all upset when there is loss,
but not to get really high when there is gain.  They are just
happening.  We perfect this path toward equanimity, and they are very
worthwhile remembering because of that, because we all confront all
of them alternately in our lives again and again and again.  And if
we haven't learned that there is a pathway to equanimity we will
respond to them in the old familiar way.  I like it; I don't like
it.  This one I'll have, this one I want to get rid of.  As long as
we do that, we are guaranteed to be caught in samsara, the round of
birth and death, which actually means the round of duality."

~ Ayya Khema, online lecture

(This and other lectures can be found at
http://watthai.net/sounds.htm)



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"The Buddha mentioned [the eight worldly dharmas - pleasure and pain,
gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disrepute] as a pathway
towards equanimity.  Equanimity is the highest of all emotions.  It's
one of the seven factors of enlightenment, and we certainly will only
get it in its complete form if there has been enlightenment.  But,
just as with the defilements we can work on them; we can also work on
equanimity.  These eight give us an excellent opportunity to work on
our inner equanimity, which not only means not to get irate when
there is blame, but also not to get all excited when there is
praise.  It means both.  And not to get all upset when there is loss,
but not to get really high when there is gain.  They are just
happening.  We perfect this path toward equanimity, and they are very
worthwhile remembering because of that, because we all confront all
of them alternately in our lives again and again and again.  And if
we haven't learned that there is a pathway to equanimity we will
respond to them in the old familiar way.  I like it; I don't like
it.  This one I'll have, this one I want to get rid of.  As long as
we do that, we are guaranteed to be caught in samsara, the round of
birth and death, which actually means the round of duality."

~ Ayya Khema, online lecture

(This and other lectures can be found at
http://watthai.net/sounds.htm)

"[Sympathetic joy] is a sure antidote for depression.  Anybody who
suffers from depression is suffering from the lack of joy with
others, the lack of sympathetic joy.  One cannot always have joyful
occasions, joyful thoughts in one's own life, but if one has joy with
other people one can surely find something to be happy about."

". . . Joy with others is also good kamma-making.  I was in a little
village once where there was a special bell attached to the temple.
Whenever anyone in that village had some good fortune, they would go
and ring that bell.  If the harvest was brought in, or the daughter
got married, if someone came back from the hospital, or a good
business deal had been arranged, if the roof had been reshingled,
anything at all that gave them joy.  When the bell was rung everybody
would come out, look in the direction of the person who was ringing
the bell and say, "Well done!  Well done!"  The one who was ringing
the bell was making good kamma by making it possible for others to
share his joy.  The others were making good kamma by sharing
another's joy."

  ~ Ayya Khema, "Being Nobody, Going Nowhere: Meditations on the
Buddhist Path", Wisdom Publications, 1987

Philip wrote:

>I may be heading down the wrong track
> if I see Upekka as some kind of base camp from whence the others
> spread out into the world.

Maybe not . . . If I can find the exact quotation I'll send it, but
it seems that in one of Ayya Khema's writings she referred to
equanimity as the "supreme Brahmavihara.  From the context of the
statement, it seemed as though she was stating something similar.
Certainly without equanimity the rest of the immeasurables would seem
to fall into bias (having compassion for one group and hatred for
another) or that old Hallmark sentimentality.

I really think that a person could spend their entire lifetime
studying just the Brahmaviharas, because the rest of the path seems
to be involved in truly understanding them.  I could easily spend my
life, anyway, just trying to understand all of the nuances of the
practice!

Metta,

Sharon

Philip wrote:

>If you could send any more links to guided meditations that
> have inspired you, I would be grateful. I wish I could return the
>favour.
>  Philip
>


I almost forgot to answer this request!  Here is a link to more
meditations from the Tibetan tradition guided by the same teacher
(Ven. Chodron) who led the meditation on the eight wordly concerns:

http://www.thubtenchodron.org/Meditation/meditation.html

There are audio meditation instructions leading up to each session,
followed by the meditations themselves - guided meditation sessions
on mindfulness of breathing; lovingkindness; a session on  Love,
Compassion & Altruism: Meditations on Kindness, Gratitude & Love
(this is a favorite of mind); Taking and Giving meditation (Tonglen,
a form of meditation on compassion), and a few guided visualization-
based meditations.  With the exception of mindfulness of breathing
these are analytical (or contemplative) meditations.  They are
available in streaming audio or for download.

You can find additional guided meditations from the Theravada
tradition at:

http://www.vipassana.com/audio_files/

(This web site also includes some chanting in Pali - opening and
closing chants for meditation session and a chant on the
Brahmaviharas.)

Enjoy!

In Metta,

Sharon

Chanterkyo/Betty Lu Buck page


  The url below is from the first page of a 6 page letter I send to all the new
  Buddhist
  inmates that write to BIS {Buddhist Inmate Sangha} it tells a little about me.
  Enjoy the music. I look forward to participating with all of you,
  deep gassho to all.

       [EarthsKins] My friend Kathleen {Earth Momma} created this page for me,

       http://geocities.com/earthmommak/Chanter.html

       The website for BIS http://BuddhistInmates.net




__________________________________________________
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Scott/Philip asks where is everyone?

I am here in Oregon enjoying list list very much! I am just very busy at this
time so reading and following the threads and all the great posts, some I share
with other groups, friends and some I will include in my letters to Buddhist
Inmates. I agree with what you have said regarding LOVE, the word can throw
people off as they relate it to a different understanding  unrelated to
Buddhist
concepts such as metta or jihi, mercy/compassion. Anyway gotta go here, back to
lurk. I will send an introduction website made by a friend on another favorite
list Earths Kin. I have found these smaller lists are often the healthest and
most productive. Namaste

=====
http://BuddhistInmates.net
Free Your Mind! The Rest Will Follow!
http://www.geocities.com/tac828/insi.html

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Thanks for that!  Not only can we avoid any kind of copyright
infringements this way, but if we know the sources of the quotations
posted we can more easily get our hands on the books we're interested
in!

:o)

Much Metta,

Sharon

--- In Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com, "philofillet <bunnyboo@j...>"
<bunnyboo@j...> wrote:
>
>   Hello again. Just came to this home page for the first time and
saw
> that you asked for members to indentify sources.
>   All my Thich Nhat Hahn quotations come from the same book: "The
> heart of Buddha's Teaching." (Broadway Books, l998)
>
>   Philip

Philip wrote:

. . . could I ask what kind of bookstore you work in? I spent about 8
years working in bookstores before I became an ESL teacher. Many
happy memories.

***

I worked for a few years at one of the larger bookstore chains in the
States.  The store had a phenomenal Eastern Philosophy section, and
studying the books on Buddhism I found there is what really inspired
my practice.  (Unfortunately - or fortunately - I spent a fair amount
of my after-bills income on dharma books.  I have quite a collection
now.)  Eventually the religion section became mine to stock and
merchandise, and I was in seventh heaven.  I will always be grateful
for the exposure I had to the dharma via that job.

What kind of stores did you work in?

How about anyone else out there?  How did you come to meet the
dharma?  What inspires your practice?  Why are you interested in the
Brahmaviharas?

With Metta,

Sharon

Philip wrote:

>   About 3 months ago, in my morning commutes, as I sat in the quiet
train
> (Japanese trains are beautifully quiet...about half of the people
> snooze...very peaceful) I found the simple phrase "Everybody wants
to be
> happy!" kept coming into my head as I looked around at the snoozing
people,
> most exhausted from working or studying too hard. After many
attempts to
> artificially conjure a mantra during meditation, and failing to
hold on to
> one, a very simple want came into my head just like that. Now I
suppose I
> should translate it into Pali or something to give it a more
sonorous ring!
> Any Pali or Sanskrit translators out there? ;)
>
>   Philip
>

I can't translate directly, but the traditional metta phrase in Pali
is "Sabbe satta bhavantu sukhitatta."  (By the way, you can find some
traditional Pali translations and chanting at
http://www.budsas.org/ebud/chant-bswa/chantbook.htm and also at
http://www.vipassana.com/audio_files/)

I like your experience of meditating on the train commuting!  It is
an amazing experience to look around and realize our kinship with
others.  Most of my life I've noticed what other people and I *don't*
have in common, sadly.  Then one day after listening to a dharma
lecture on the fact that all being want happiness equally and want to
avoid suffering equally, I walked past a bar full of people I
wouldn't usually consider to have anything in common with me.  The
phrase "Sentient being wanting to be happy and avoid suffering"
popped into my head and I literally stopped in my tracks!  Suddenly
they didn't seem like "other", they seemed like me.

It occurred to me that life could be a completely different
experience viewed this way, and that it might be worth pursuing!

:o)

Philip wrote:

>   About 3 months ago, in my morning commutes, as I sat in the quiet
train
> (Japanese trains are beautifully quiet...about half of the people
> snooze...very peaceful) I found the simple phrase "Everybody wants
to be
> happy!" kept coming into my head as I looked around at the snoozing
people,
> most exhausted from working or studying too hard. After many
attempts to
> artificially conjure a mantra during meditation, and failing to
hold on to
> one, a very simple want came into my head just like that. Now I
suppose I
> should translate it into Pali or something to give it a more
sonorous ring!
> Any Pali or Sanskrit translators out there? ;)
>
>   Philip
>

I can't translate directly, but the traditional metta phrase in Pali
is "Sabbe satta bhavantu sukhitatta."  (By the way, you can find some
traditional Pali translations and chanting at
http://www.budsas.org/ebud/chant-bswa/chantbook.htm and also at
http://www.vipassana.com/audio_files/)

I like your experience of meditating on the train commuting!  It is
an amazing experience to look around and realize our kinship with
others.  Most of my life I've noticed what other people and I *don't*
have in common, sadly.  Then one day after listening to a dharma
lecture on the fact that all being want happiness equally and want to
avoid suffering equally, I walked past a bar full of people I
wouldn't usually consider to have anything in common with me.  The
phrase "Sentient being wanting to be happy and avoid suffering"
popped into my head and I literally stopped in my tracks!  Suddenly
they didn't seem like "other", they seemed like me.

It occurred to me that life could be a completely different
experience viewed this way, and that it might be worth pursuing!

:o)

Hello again. Just came to this home page for the first time and saw
that you asked for members to indentify sources.
   All my Thich Nhat Hahn quotations come from the same book: "The
heart of Buddha's Teaching." (Broadway Books, l998)

   Philip

----- Original Message -----

From: Sharon <shar_63@...>

To: Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2002 1:47 PM

Subject: [Buddhaviharas] Re: Flooded with gratitude, plus some words on Metta

Philip,

These are thought-provoking questions!  I know that in certain
traditions mindfulness, which is definitely the core of the dharma,
is considered to be the be-all and end-all of practice.  Zen
practioners and teachers have refined this to an art!  (And I have
profound respect for the tradition.)  It seems, though, that there is
more than one path up the mountain, even within Buddhism. 

As far as the teachers I most respect tell it, though, metta or
lovingkindness isn't about emotion as much as intention; that metta
is more of a sense of "goodwill" toward living beings rather than
Hallmark sentimentality.  I remember Jack Kornfield giving the
example that metta in this sense is apparent even in the way we
cooperative when driving; that is, if we didn't have a basic sense of
respect and goodwill toward each other there would be chaos on the
roads. :o)  This is the kind of "lovingkindness" I can understand! 

This comes from Ven. Sangye Khadro (Kathleen McDonald): 

"How do we come to love someone? What does it take for love to arise
in our hearts? I'm not talking about the sort of love we fall into
when we meet an attractive, charming or sexy person. That sort of
love does not usually run very deep or last very long. It can
disappear at the first disagreement!

"The sort of love involved in immeasurable love is a genuine feeling
of caring and respect for others. We wish them to be happy and to
have whatever they need for a healthy, satisfying life. It can also
be called loving-kindness."

(from The Practice of The Four Immeasurables, a wonderfully clear
article which can be found at www.bodhicitta.net, following the
links "Bodhicitta Teachings" and "Four Immeasurables".)

I'm also fond of this definition of Metta from Ajahn Sumedho of the
Theravada tradition:

"As it is generally translated in English, the word 'loving' is more
or less synonymous with 'liking.'  We say we love things -- we love
food, we love drinks, we love each other; actually, what we mean is
that we like things, we are attracted to them.  Metta is more like
Christian love, although this can be very idealistic, too.  Christian
love tends to come from an idea of how we should feel toward each
other.  We are told, 'Love your enemies.'  Consider what this means. 
Must you like your enemies?  Do you want to be near them? 
Clearly, 'love' does not mean the same thing as 'like' in all
situations.  In this sense, 'love' is a very over-used word in the
English language.

"Metta does not necessarily mean liking anything at all.  It means an
attitude of not dwelling on the unpleasantness or faults of any
situation.  Now with metta, one isn't blinding oneself with an
ideal.  Instead, one is witnessing the unpleasantness in a situation,
thing, person, or in oneself without creating anything around it. 
You simply stop the mind from thinking, 'I hate it, I don't want
it.'  That's what I consider to be metta."

- from "The Mind and the Way" by Ajahn Sumedho, Wisdom Publications,
1995. 

These are some teachings that have helped me to understand Metta. 
Interestingly, when I took an online vipassana course
(www.vipassana.com) the teacher established us in mindfulness of
breathing, then introduced meditations on the Brahmaviharas before
moving on to practices that could be considered "insight"
meditation.  We kept the Brahmavihara practices as a core practice
from that day onward; and in fact the teacher, Andrew, mentioned that
he had neglected these practices at first, thinking them
unnecessary.  Then he found that his practice was seeming dry and
heartless, and began to add these very traditional practices - which
stem from the earliest teachings attributed directly to the Buddha.

Well, I apologize for being long-winded!  This is a great subject for
discussion, and I am, also, immensely grateful for the "conversation"
we are all able to have here.

In Metta,

Sharon


--- In Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com, "scott" <bunnyboo@j...> wrote:
>   Hello Sharon,
>   Thank you for this wonderful guided meditation, and for all your
links the
> last few days. I'm feeling flooded with gratitude to you, and to
all the
> wonderful people I'm meeting here and at beliefnet.com. Also
overwhelmed by
> all the wisdom that's flooding into my computer these days.
Overwhelmed, and
> unable to properly process it, internalize it, put it on to go out
into the
> world, you know? I'm sure you've all dealt with that. Any advice
about that?
> Each one of the posts we're received in the last few days would be
enough to
> reflect on and breathe in for a day, or a week, and needs time and
space to
> fully appreciate. A plethora of good things. What to do, what to do?
>   Let me add to the flood of good things with some quotations on
Metta that
> I've picked up at beliefnet.
>  Well, this is how I tried to start a thread at beliefnet:
>
>   "I'm feeling more peace within and around myself these days
because of
> progress I've made in practicing mindfulness, but I'm wondering
about how to
> "practice love."
> Here are two quotations I've written down from the daily Buddhist
wisdom
> e-mails :
> "It is in this way that we must train ourselves: by liberation of
the self
> through love, we will develop love, we will practice it, we will
make it
> both a way and a basis, take our stand upon it, store it up and
thoroughly
> get it going." (Samyutta Nikaya)
> "Arouse your will, supreme and great, practice love, give joy and
> protection..." (Prajnaparamita)
> These are stirring words, but in a way they don't fall into the
kind of
> mindfulness I've been practicing. It seems I haven't had such a
consciously
> emotional aspect to my soul work. I feel that being as truly
present as
> possible, as mindful as possible as constantly as possible, seems
the
> Buddhist way, and that bringing in an emotional aspect could be
encouraging
> self rather than Self.
> Can I ask you, dear friends, do you consciously generate feelings
of love in
> your meditation, in your action through the day? Is it about metta?
I would
> deeply appreciate hearing about how people practice love."
>
>   The thread didn't take off, so I decided to open a discussion
group on the
> topic, which I mentioned the other day. Buddhist love has been
becoming
> clearer in the month or so since I posted the above. Starting the
day with a
> metta meditation certainly helps.
>   I like the active language of the quotations above. Goes against
the image
> most people who don't know any better have of Buddhism, all incense
wafting
> about and navel gazing. We are out there in the world, warm and
loving and
> active in our love.
>   I had a great metta/karuna experience yesterday. I finally went
to the
> hospital to check on a cancerous looking mole I'd been putting off
checking
> on for months. On the way to the hospital, in the train, I was
terrified of
> how the doctor would react when he or she saw it, but as soon as I
was in
> the lobby of the hospital, surrounded on all sides by people with
all kinds
> of things to be worried about, my own individual worries
disappeared, and I
> was awash in compassion for all of us. It was definitely a metta
bath in
> there! Very moving.
>  Thanks again.
>   Philip
>   P.S Doc said probably nothing to be worried about, but by the
time I saw
> her I wasn't worried anymore anyways!
>
>
>
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Sharon <shar_63@h...>
>   To: Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com
>   Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 10:29 AM
>   Subject: [Buddhaviharas] Link to Equanimity meditation
>
>
>   Here is a link to a short guided meditation on the subject of the
>   eight wordly concerns.  It was a really eye-opening meditation
for me!
>
>   :o)
>
>   http://www.dharmafriendship.org/index.html?/CD/sample.shtml
>
>
>   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>   Buddhaviharas-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.


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----- Original Message -----

From: Sharon <shar_63@...>

To: Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2002 1:54 PM

Subject: [Buddhaviharas] Compassion

"The importance of love and compassion is not an idea that is
particular to Buddhism. Everyone throughout the world talks about the
importance of love and compassion. There's no one who says love and
compassion are bad and we should try and get rid of them. However,
there is an uncommon element in the method or approach which is taken
to these by Buddhism. In general, when we think of compassion, we
think of a natural or spontaneous sympathy or empathy which we
experience when we perceive the suffering of someone else. And we
generally think of compassion as being a state of pain, of sadness,
because you see the suffering of someone else and you see what's
causing that suffering and you know you can't do anything to remove
the cause of that suffering and therefore the suffering itself. So,
whereas before you generated compassion, one person was miserable,
and after you generate compassion, two people are miserable. And this
actually happens.

"However, the approach [that the Buddhist tradition takes] to
compassion is a little bit different, because it's founded on the
recognition that, whether or not you can benefit that being or that
person in their immediate situation and circumstances, you can
generate the basis for their ultimate benefit. And the confidence in
that removes the frustration or the misery which otherwise somehow
afflicts ordinary compassion. So, when compassion is cultivated in
that way, it is experienced as delightful rather than miserable.

"The way that we cultivate compassion is called immeasurable
compassion. And, in fact, to be precise, there are four aspects of
what we would, in general, call compassion, that are called,
therefore, the four immeasurables. Now, normally, when we think of
something that's called immeasurable, we mean immeasurably vast.
Here, the primary connotation of the term is not vastness but
impartiality. And the point of saying immeasurable compassion is
compassion that is not going to help one person at the expense of
hurting another. It is a compassion that is felt equally for all
beings.

"The basis of the generation of such an impartial compassion is the
recognition of the fact that all beings without exception really want
and don't want the same things. All beings, without exception, want
to be happy and want to avoid suffering. There is no being anywhere
who really wants to suffer. And if you understand that, and to the
extent that you understand that, you will have the intense wish that
all beings be free from suffering. And there is no being anywhere who
does not want to be happy; and if you understand that, and to the
extent that you understand that, you will have the intense wish that
all beings actually achieve the happiness that they wish to achieve.
Now, because the experience of happiness and freedom from suffering
depend upon the generation of the causes of these, then the actual
form your aspiration takes is that all beings possess not only
happiness but the causes of happiness, that they not only be free of
suffering but of the causes of suffering."

"With this understanding of what Buddhists mean when they talk about
compassion, we can proceed to consider Chenrezig as an embodiment of
boundless loving kindness and compassion."

~ excerpted from The Reason We Practice Meditation, by Venerable
Thrangu
    (the entire article can be found at
http://www.rinpoche.com/reason.html)



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To: Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 10:29 AM

Subject: [Buddhaviharas] Link to Equanimity meditation

Here is a link to a short guided meditation on the subject of the
eight wordly concerns.  It was a really eye-opening meditation for me!

:o)

http://www.dharmafriendship.org/index.html?/CD/sample.shtml


To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Buddhaviharas-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

"The importance of love and compassion is not an idea that is
particular to Buddhism. Everyone throughout the world talks about the
importance of love and compassion. There's no one who says love and
compassion are bad and we should try and get rid of them. However,
there is an uncommon element in the method or approach which is taken
to these by Buddhism. In general, when we think of compassion, we
think of a natural or spontaneous sympathy or empathy which we
experience when we perceive the suffering of someone else. And we
generally think of compassion as being a state of pain, of sadness,
because you see the suffering of someone else and you see what's
causing that suffering and you know you can't do anything to remove
the cause of that suffering and therefore the suffering itself. So,
whereas before you generated compassion, one person was miserable,
and after you generate compassion, two people are miserable. And this
actually happens.

"However, the approach [that the Buddhist tradition takes] to
compassion is a little bit different, because it's founded on the
recognition that, whether or not you can benefit that being or that
person in their immediate situation and circumstances, you can
generate the basis for their ultimate benefit. And the confidence in
that removes the frustration or the misery which otherwise somehow
afflicts ordinary compassion. So, when compassion is cultivated in
that way, it is experienced as delightful rather than miserable.

"The way that we cultivate compassion is called immeasurable
compassion. And, in fact, to be precise, there are four aspects of
what we would, in general, call compassion, that are called,
therefore, the four immeasurables. Now, normally, when we think of
something that's called immeasurable, we mean immeasurably vast.
Here, the primary connotation of the term is not vastness but
impartiality. And the point of saying immeasurable compassion is
compassion that is not going to help one person at the expense of
hurting another. It is a compassion that is felt equally for all
beings.

"The basis of the generation of such an impartial compassion is the
recognition of the fact that all beings without exception really want
and don't want the same things. All beings, without exception, want
to be happy and want to avoid suffering. There is no being anywhere
who really wants to suffer. And if you understand that, and to the
extent that you understand that, you will have the intense wish that
all beings be free from suffering. And there is no being anywhere who
does not want to be happy; and if you understand that, and to the
extent that you understand that, you will have the intense wish that
all beings actually achieve the happiness that they wish to achieve.
Now, because the experience of happiness and freedom from suffering
depend upon the generation of the causes of these, then the actual
form your aspiration takes is that all beings possess not only
happiness but the causes of happiness, that they not only be free of
suffering but of the causes of suffering."

"With this understanding of what Buddhists mean when they talk about
compassion, we can proceed to consider Chenrezig as an embodiment of
boundless loving kindness and compassion."

~ excerpted from The Reason We Practice Meditation, by Venerable
Thrangu
     (the entire article can be found at
http://www.rinpoche.com/reason.html)

I meant to add, I'm glad that your mole doesn't seem to be
cancerous!

Sending Metta your way,

Sharon

--- In Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com, "scott" <bunnyboo@j...> wrote:
>   Hello Sharon,
>   Thank you for this wonderful guided meditation, and for all your
links the
> last few days. I'm feeling flooded with gratitude to you, and to
all the
> wonderful people I'm meeting here and at beliefnet.com. Also
overwhelmed by
> all the wisdom that's flooding into my computer these days.
Overwhelmed, and
> unable to properly process it, internalize it, put it on to go out
into the
> world, you know? I'm sure you've all dealt with that. Any advice
about that?
> Each one of the posts we're received in the last few days would be
enough to
> reflect on and breathe in for a day, or a week, and needs time and
space to
> fully appreciate. A plethora of good things. What to do, what to do?
>   Let me add to the flood of good things with some quotations on
Metta that
> I've picked up at beliefnet.
>  Well, this is how I tried to start a thread at beliefnet:
>
>   "I'm feeling more peace within and around myself these days
because of
> progress I've made in practicing mindfulness, but I'm wondering
about how to
> "practice love."
> Here are two quotations I've written down from the daily Buddhist
wisdom
> e-mails :
> "It is in this way that we must train ourselves: by liberation of
the self
> through love, we will develop love, we will practice it, we will
make it
> both a way and a basis, take our stand upon it, store it up and
thoroughly
> get it going." (Samyutta Nikaya)
> "Arouse your will, supreme and great, practice love, give joy and
> protection..." (Prajnaparamita)
> These are stirring words, but in a way they don't fall into the
kind of
> mindfulness I've been practicing. It seems I haven't had such a
consciously
> emotional aspect to my soul work. I feel that being as truly
present as
> possible, as mindful as possible as constantly as possible, seems
the
> Buddhist way, and that bringing in an emotional aspect could be
encouraging
> self rather than Self.
> Can I ask you, dear friends, do you consciously generate feelings
of love in
> your meditation, in your action through the day? Is it about metta?
I would
> deeply appreciate hearing about how people practice love."
>
>   The thread didn't take off, so I decided to open a discussion
group on the
> topic, which I mentioned the other day. Buddhist love has been
becoming
> clearer in the month or so since I posted the above. Starting the
day with a
> metta meditation certainly helps.
>   I like the active language of the quotations above. Goes against
the image
> most people who don't know any better have of Buddhism, all incense
wafting
> about and navel gazing. We are out there in the world, warm and
loving and
> active in our love.
>   I had a great metta/karuna experience yesterday. I finally went
to the
> hospital to check on a cancerous looking mole I'd been putting off
checking
> on for months. On the way to the hospital, in the train, I was
terrified of
> how the doctor would react when he or she saw it, but as soon as I
was in
> the lobby of the hospital, surrounded on all sides by people with
all kinds
> of things to be worried about, my own individual worries
disappeared, and I
> was awash in compassion for all of us. It was definitely a metta
bath in
> there! Very moving.
>  Thanks again.
>   Philip
>   P.S Doc said probably nothing to be worried about, but by the
time I saw
> her I wasn't worried anymore anyways!
>
>
>
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Sharon <shar_63@h...>
>   To: Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com
>   Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 10:29 AM
>   Subject: [Buddhaviharas] Link to Equanimity meditation
>
>
>   Here is a link to a short guided meditation on the subject of the
>   eight wordly concerns.  It was a really eye-opening meditation
for me!
>
>   :o)
>
>   http://www.dharmafriendship.org/index.html?/CD/sample.shtml
>
>
>   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>   Buddhaviharas-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.

Philip,

These are thought-provoking questions!  I know that in certain
traditions mindfulness, which is definitely the core of the dharma,
is considered to be the be-all and end-all of practice.  Zen
practioners and teachers have refined this to an art!  (And I have
profound respect for the tradition.)  It seems, though, that there is
more than one path up the mountain, even within Buddhism.

As far as the teachers I most respect tell it, though, metta or
lovingkindness isn't about emotion as much as intention; that metta
is more of a sense of "goodwill" toward living beings rather than
Hallmark sentimentality.  I remember Jack Kornfield giving the
example that metta in this sense is apparent even in the way we
cooperative when driving; that is, if we didn't have a basic sense of
respect and goodwill toward each other there would be chaos on the
roads. :o)  This is the kind of "lovingkindness" I can understand!

This comes from Ven. Sangye Khadro (Kathleen McDonald):

"How do we come to love someone? What does it take for love to arise
in our hearts? I'm not talking about the sort of love we fall into
when we meet an attractive, charming or sexy person. That sort of
love does not usually run very deep or last very long. It can
disappear at the first disagreement!

"The sort of love involved in immeasurable love is a genuine feeling
of caring and respect for others. We wish them to be happy and to
have whatever they need for a healthy, satisfying life. It can also
be called loving-kindness."

(from The Practice of The Four Immeasurables, a wonderfully clear
article which can be found at www.bodhicitta.net, following the
links "Bodhicitta Teachings" and "Four Immeasurables".)

I'm also fond of this definition of Metta from Ajahn Sumedho of the
Theravada tradition:

"As it is generally translated in English, the word 'loving' is more
or less synonymous with 'liking.'  We say we love things -- we love
food, we love drinks, we love each other; actually, what we mean is
that we like things, we are attracted to them.  Metta is more like
Christian love, although this can be very idealistic, too.  Christian
love tends to come from an idea of how we should feel toward each
other.  We are told, 'Love your enemies.'  Consider what this means.
Must you like your enemies?  Do you want to be near them?
Clearly, 'love' does not mean the same thing as 'like' in all
situations.  In this sense, 'love' is a very over-used word in the
English language.

"Metta does not necessarily mean liking anything at all.  It means an
attitude of not dwelling on the unpleasantness or faults of any
situation.  Now with metta, one isn't blinding oneself with an
ideal.  Instead, one is witnessing the unpleasantness in a situation,
thing, person, or in oneself without creating anything around it.
You simply stop the mind from thinking, 'I hate it, I don't want
it.'  That's what I consider to be metta."

  - from "The Mind and the Way" by Ajahn Sumedho, Wisdom Publications,
1995.

These are some teachings that have helped me to understand Metta.
Interestingly, when I took an online vipassana course
(www.vipassana.com) the teacher established us in mindfulness of
breathing, then introduced meditations on the Brahmaviharas before
moving on to practices that could be considered "insight"
meditation.  We kept the Brahmavihara practices as a core practice
from that day onward; and in fact the teacher, Andrew, mentioned that
he had neglected these practices at first, thinking them
unnecessary.  Then he found that his practice was seeming dry and
heartless, and began to add these very traditional practices - which
stem from the earliest teachings attributed directly to the Buddha.

Well, I apologize for being long-winded!  This is a great subject for
discussion, and I am, also, immensely grateful for the "conversation"
we are all able to have here.

In Metta,

Sharon


--- In Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com, "scott" <bunnyboo@j...> wrote:
>   Hello Sharon,
>   Thank you for this wonderful guided meditation, and for all your
links the
> last few days. I'm feeling flooded with gratitude to you, and to
all the
> wonderful people I'm meeting here and at beliefnet.com. Also
overwhelmed by
> all the wisdom that's flooding into my computer these days.
Overwhelmed, and
> unable to properly process it, internalize it, put it on to go out
into the
> world, you know? I'm sure you've all dealt with that. Any advice
about that?
> Each one of the posts we're received in the last few days would be
enough to
> reflect on and breathe in for a day, or a week, and needs time and
space to
> fully appreciate. A plethora of good things. What to do, what to do?
>   Let me add to the flood of good things with some quotations on
Metta that
> I've picked up at beliefnet.
>  Well, this is how I tried to start a thread at beliefnet:
>
>   "I'm feeling more peace within and around myself these days
because of
> progress I've made in practicing mindfulness, but I'm wondering
about how to
> "practice love."
> Here are two quotations I've written down from the daily Buddhist
wisdom
> e-mails :
> "It is in this way that we must train ourselves: by liberation of
the self
> through love, we will develop love, we will practice it, we will
make it
> both a way and a basis, take our stand upon it, store it up and
thoroughly
> get it going." (Samyutta Nikaya)
> "Arouse your will, supreme and great, practice love, give joy and
> protection..." (Prajnaparamita)
> These are stirring words, but in a way they don't fall into the
kind of
> mindfulness I've been practicing. It seems I haven't had such a
consciously
> emotional aspect to my soul work. I feel that being as truly
present as
> possible, as mindful as possible as constantly as possible, seems
the
> Buddhist way, and that bringing in an emotional aspect could be
encouraging
> self rather than Self.
> Can I ask you, dear friends, do you consciously generate feelings
of love in
> your meditation, in your action through the day? Is it about metta?
I would
> deeply appreciate hearing about how people practice love."
>
>   The thread didn't take off, so I decided to open a discussion
group on the
> topic, which I mentioned the other day. Buddhist love has been
becoming
> clearer in the month or so since I posted the above. Starting the
day with a
> metta meditation certainly helps.
>   I like the active language of the quotations above. Goes against
the image
> most people who don't know any better have of Buddhism, all incense
wafting
> about and navel gazing. We are out there in the world, warm and
loving and
> active in our love.
>   I had a great metta/karuna experience yesterday. I finally went
to the
> hospital to check on a cancerous looking mole I'd been putting off
checking
> on for months. On the way to the hospital, in the train, I was
terrified of
> how the doctor would react when he or she saw it, but as soon as I
was in
> the lobby of the hospital, surrounded on all sides by people with
all kinds
> of things to be worried about, my own individual worries
disappeared, and I
> was awash in compassion for all of us. It was definitely a metta
bath in
> there! Very moving.
>  Thanks again.
>   Philip
>   P.S Doc said probably nothing to be worried about, but by the
time I saw
> her I wasn't worried anymore anyways!
>
>
>
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Sharon <shar_63@h...>
>   To: Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com
>   Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 10:29 AM
>   Subject: [Buddhaviharas] Link to Equanimity meditation
>
>
>   Here is a link to a short guided meditation on the subject of the
>   eight wordly concerns.  It was a really eye-opening meditation
for me!
>
>   :o)
>
>   http://www.dharmafriendship.org/index.html?/CD/sample.shtml
>
>
>   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>   Buddhaviharas-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.

----- Original Message -----

From: Sharon <shar_63@...>

To: Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 10:29 AM

Subject: [Buddhaviharas] Link to Equanimity meditation

Here is a link to a short guided meditation on the subject of the
eight wordly concerns.  It was a really eye-opening meditation for me!

:o)

http://www.dharmafriendship.org/index.html?/CD/sample.shtml


To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Buddhaviharas-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

"The Buddha said, the practice of Maitri, or loving-kindness brings
us beauty, beauty that makes life meaningful. He also said that if
you practice Karuna or compassion, what you feel is infinite space.
Karuna is the kind of energy that helps you to suffer less, that
helps people around you to suffer less. Karuna is the kind of energy
that helps to transform the suffering in us. Suffering is like the
compost, the garbage. And love is like the flower. While the compost
or the garbage, is not beautiful, love and the flower are beautiful.
The role of suffering and the role of compost are clear. If we know
how to make use of suffering, if we know how to make use of the
compost, we can bring about the flower and beauty. Understanding the
suffering of other people around us and understanding our own
suffering is very crucial. Because only by understanding suffering
can we know how to transform the suffering into love. When beauty is
there, when love is there, when compassion is there, you begin to
feel a lot of space inside and around you. When we speak of love,
compassion, we tend to believe that the person, who profits from that
love, and from that compassion, is another person. We tend to forget
that right in the moment when love is born in our heart, compassion
is also born in our heart. We are the first person to benefit from
it. Because love and compassion, when they are born immediately they
bring beauty and happiness right away to us."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh, lecture on "Love"

www.plumvillage.org

"It is a rare and beautiful quality to feel truly happy when others
are happy.  When someone rejoices in our happiness, we are flooded
with respect and gratitude for their appreciation.  When we take
delight in the happiness of another, when we genuinely rejoice at
their prosperity, success, or good fortune rather than begrudging it
in any way, we are abiding in mudita, sympathetic joy, the third of
the four brahma-viharas, our boundless states of consciousness . . .

"The Buddhist scriptures tell a wonderful parable about a kind of
monkey trap.  To make the trap, some tar is spread on the ground.  A
monkey then comes along and steps in the sticky tar.  First one
little monkey foot gets stuck.  In trying to free itself, the monkey
puts down another foot.  Then it puts down one hand, then the other
hand.  Finally, in a desperate effort to gain some leverage and free
itself, the monkey puts down its head.  This is a very stuck monkey!

"That is just how those tormenting states of mind, such as judging,
comparing, discriminating, demeaning, and envying collude to get us
stuck, to keep us stick, and to make us miserable. . . Mudita can
provide just that kind of opportunity to extricate ourselves from our
stuckness, to be free enough from the tar traps in our lives and to
be happy."

  - Sharon Salzberg, "Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of
Happiness", Shambhala Publications, 1995

Here is a link to a short guided meditation on the subject of the
eight wordly concerns.  It was a really eye-opening meditation for me!

:o)

http://www.dharmafriendship.org/index.html?/CD/sample.shtml

I've struggled with the concept of equanimity, too.  It always seemed
a little bit vague and hard to grasp until I read the Tibetan take on
equanimity.  Relating to equanimity they focus on the "eight wordly
concerns" of pleasure vs. pain, gain vs. loss, praise vs. blame, and
fame vs. disrepute (or a poor reputation) - that we're always
clinging to others' good opinions of us and trying to avoid having a
bad reputation.  (Think of peer pressure here.)  I remember the
frustration, at my last job, of trying really hard to see the good
qualities in all of our bookstore customers instead of joining in
the "customer bashing" that was so popular among the other
employees.  If you didn't join in the bashing you were considered
a "goody-goody", *too* nice and not very discerning.

It is easy to get pulled into those bashing sessions, isn't it?  I
agree with you on "habit energies"; unfortunately my mindfulness at
this time isn't any match for my habit energies.  :o(

One of the meditations used in the Lamrim (Gradual Path to
Enlightenment) focuses on equanimity, and for the meditation you
choose a friend, an "enemy", and a neutral person and begin to
consider that each person wants to be happy equally, etc.  This is
how they apply equanimity to lovingkindness.  I also heard Pema
Chodron describe once that each of the immeasurables is supposed to
somehow balance the others out - equanimity keeps us from getting too
emotionally wrapped up in someone else's pain so that it doesn't
disintegrate into pity, etc.

I'd love to see other people's thoughts on the subject!

In Metta,

Sharon

--- In Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com, "scott" <bunnyboo@j...> wrote:
>   This quotation helps me a lot. I've been having trouble getting a
grip on
> the meaning of Uppeka. ( equanimity.) In this case I guess it's
about seeing
> all the people we deal with with an even-minded eye, not allowing
> preferences or aversions about people to get out of control.  I
would like
> to put this quotation on the staff room wall at work. I teach
English in
> Japan, and most of our coffee break time is spent bemoaning certain
> irritating students we've just seen or are about to see. I vow not
to do it,
> but always get caught up in it because of my habit energy.
Fortunately, when
> I'm actually teaching, I manage to tune into Metta and hopefully
share that
> loving-kindness with all students equally. But how do equanimity and
> loving-kindness relate? Is equanimity something we use when we're
tempted to
> judge in an unkind way? Does anyone else find the meaning of Uppeka
harder
> to grasp than Metta, Karuna (compassion) or Mudita (sympathetic
joy)?
>
>  Peace,
>  Philip
>  P.S Funny! My spellcheck came up with "Speak!" for "Uppeka" Some
kind of
> cosmic hint from the folks at Microsoft?
>
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Sharon <shar_63@h...>
>   To: Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com
>   Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2002 9:58 PM
>   Subject: [Buddhaviharas] Equanimity
>
>
>   On equanimity:
>
>   "This, O Atula, has been going
>     on through the ages.
>   They criticize the silent ones.
>   They criticize the talkative ones.
>   They criticize the moderate ones.
>   There is no one in the world
>     who escapes criticism.
>
>   There never was and ever will be
>   Nor is there now,
>   The wholly criticized
>   or the wholly approved."
>
>   ~ the Dhammapada on Praise and Blame
>
>   May this be of benefit.
>
>
>
>   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>   Buddhaviharas-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.

----- Original Message -----

From: Sharon <shar_63@...>

To: Buddhaviharas@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2002 9:58 PM

Subject: [Buddhaviharas] Equanimity

On equanimity:

"This, O Atula, has been going
  on through the ages.
They criticize the silent ones.
They criticize the talkative ones.
They criticize the moderate ones.
There is no one in the world
  who escapes criticism.

There never was and ever will be
Nor is there now,
The wholly criticized
or the wholly approved."

~ the Dhammapada on Praise and Blame

May this be of benefit.



To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Buddhaviharas-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

On equanimity:

"This, O Atula, has been going
   on through the ages.
  They criticize the silent ones.
  They criticize the talkative ones.
  They criticize the moderate ones.
  There is no one in the world
   who escapes criticism.

  There never was and ever will be
  Nor is there now,
  The wholly criticized
  or the wholly approved."

  ~ the Dhammapada on Praise and Blame

May this be of benefit.

On equanimity:

"This, O Atula, has been going
   on through the ages.
  They criticize the silent ones.
  They criticize the talkative ones.
  They criticize the moderate ones.
  There is no one in the world
   who escapes criticism.

  There never was and ever will be
  Nor is there now,
  The wholly criticized
  or the wholly approved."

  ~ the Dhammapada on Praise and Blame

May this be of benefit.

Hi Everyone,

Please check out the "Links" section of our Yahoo Buddhaviharas home
page.  I've added links to various online teachings (audio and non-
audio), online courses, etc.  I have quite a few more links to add,
and I would also like to encourage anyone who is interested to add
links to your favorite Dharma pages.

With metta,

Sharon

"Without compassion, life is miserable.  People who are only
concerned about themselves and whose hearts are empty of affection
and compassion for others have no real peace or happiness.  Unless we
have compassion, no matter how much wealth, education, or power or
how many friends we have, we have no peace or happiness, and we
cannot enjoy life.  Lack of affection and compassion for others
brings loneliness, depress, and many other problems."

~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Ultimate Healing: The Power of Compassion",
Wisdom Publications, 2001.

www.wisdompubs.org

May this be of benefit.

"Avoiding 'Idiot' Compassion."

"A friend addicted to alcohol, drugs, gambling, or shopping pleads
with you to loan him money - "just one last time" - to feed his
habit.  Your child begs for permission to something that you know is
potentially self-destructive or dangerous.  Your mate is consistently
hurtful, abusive, and unkind, yet you consistently forgive him or
her.  Your troubled relative or friend does something that you know
is wrong, and then convinces you to participate in a cover-up so that
her or she will not have to face the consequences.  If you give in to
such demands, you are practicing "idiot compassion".  Trungpa
Rinpoche coined this apt phrase to name this false, inverted brand of
compassion [which could in fact be fear, co-dependence, etc.] . . .
Wisdom is an essential component of compassion. . . We all need to be
really clear about what it means to give with a  pure and unselfish
heart."

  - Lama Surya Das, "Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for
the Western World", Broadway Books, 1997

May this be of benefit.

This is what should be done by those who are skilled in goodness,
And who know the path of peace;
Let them be able and upright, straightforward and gentle in speech,
Humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways,
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful, not proud and demanding in
nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing that the wise would later reprove.

Wishing:  in gladness and in safety, may all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be; whether they are weak or strong,
Omitting none, the great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen, those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born -- May all beings be at ease!
Let none deceive another, or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world;
Spreading upward to the skies, and downward to the depths;
Outward and unbounded, freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down,
Free from drowsiness, one should sustain this recollection.

This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views, the pure-hearted one, having clarity
of vision,
Being freed from sense desires, is not born again into this world.

The Buddha's words on Lovingkindness (the Metta Sutta)