Spiritual Leanings ... From all faiths.

[citybutch]

The Buddha summarized the correct attitude and actions in the Eight-fold Noble Path:

(The first 3 are avoiding the 10 non-virtues of mind, speech and body

1. Correct thought: avoiding covetousness, the wish to harm others and wrong views (like thinking: actions have no consequences, I never have any problems, there are no ways to end suffering etc.)

2. Correct speech: avoid lying, divisive and harsh speech and idle gossip.

3. Correct actions: avoid killing, stealing and sexual misconduct

4. Correct livelihood: try to make a living with the above attitude of thought, speech and actions.

5. Correct understanding: developing genuine wisdom.

(The last three aspects refer mainly to the practice of meditation

6. Correct effort: after the first real step we need joyful perseverance to continue.

7. Correct mindfulness: try to be aware of the "here and now", instead of dreaming in the "there and then".

8. Correct concentration: to keep a steady, calm and attentive state of mind.

Hmmm wonder what it means "avoid sexual misconduct"?... I kinda enjoy some kink! hehe

[citybutch]

1. What Is Right View (Thought)?

When the steps of the Eightfold Path are presented in a list, usually Right View is the first step (even though there is no "first" step). Right View supports wisdom. Wisdom in this sense is the understanding of things as they are, as explained in the teachings of the Four Noble Truths.

This understanding is not mere intellectual understanding. It is instead a thorough penetration of the Four Noble Truths. Theravada scholar Wapola Rahula called this penetration "seeing a thing in its true nature, without name and label." (What the Buddha Taught, page 49)

Vietnamese Zen Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh wrote,

"Our happiness and the happiness of those around us depend on our degree of Right View. Touching reality deeply -- knowing what is going on inside and outside of ourselves -- is the way to liberate ourselves from the suffering that is caused by wrong perceptions. Right View is not an ideology, a system, or even a path. It is the insight we have into the reality of life, a living insight that fills us with understanding, peace, and love." (The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, page 51)

In Mahayana Buddhism, prajna is associated with the intimate realization of shunyata -- the teaching that all phenomena are empty of intrinsic being.
Cultivating Right View

Right View develops from practice of the Eightfold Path. For example, the practice of samadhi through Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration prepares the mind for penetrating insight. Meditation is associated with "Right Concentration."

Ethical conduct through Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood also support Right View through cultivation of compassion. Compassion and wisdom are said to be the two wings of Buddhism. Compassion helps us break through our narrow, self-centered views, which enables wisdom. Wisdom helps us realize nothing is really separate, which enables compassion.

By the same token, the wisdom parts of the path -- Right View and Right Thought -- support the other parts of the path. Ignorance is one of the root poisons that brings with it greed and ill-will.
The Role of Doctrine in Buddhism

The Buddha taught his followers not to accept his or any other teachings on blind faith. Instead, by examining teachings in the light of our own experience, we judge for ourselves what teachings we accept as true.

However, this doesn't mean the doctrines of Buddhism are optional for Buddhists. Many converts to Buddhism in the West seem to think that all they need is meditation and mindfulness, and that the many doctrines of the Four This and Six That and Twelve Something Else can be ignored. This frivolous attitude is not exactly Right Effort.

Walpola Rahula said of the Eightfold Path, "Practically the whole teaching of the Buddha, to which he devoted himself during 45 years, deals in some way or other with this path." The Buddha explained the Eightfold Path in many different ways, to reach people in different stages of spiritual development.

While Right View is not about doctrinal orthodoxy, that doesn't mean it has no connection to doctrine at all. Thich Nhat Hanh says, "Right View is, most of all, a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths." Acquaintance with the Four Noble Truths is a big help, to say the least.

As I explained earlier, the Eightfold Path is part of the Four Noble Truths; in fact, it is the Fourth Noble Truth. Right View is penetrating insight into the nature of reality as described in the Four Noble Truths. So, while Right View is something much more profound that merely understanding doctrine, doctrine is still important and should not be brushed aside.

Although these teachings do not have to be "believed in" on faith, they should be understood provisionally. The teachings provide essential guidance, keeping us on the path to genuine wisdom. Without them, mindfulness and meditation can become just self-improvement projects.

A grounding in the teachings presented through the Four Noble Truths includes not just the Truths themselves, but also teachings on how everything is interconnected (Dependent Origination) and on the nature of individual existence (the Five Skandhas). As Walpola Rahula said, the Buddha spent 45 years explaining these teachings. They are what make Buddhism a distinctive spiritual path.

http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeigh.../rightview.htm

Originally Posted by citybutch

The Buddha summarized the correct attitude and actions in the Eight-fold Noble Path:

(The first 3 are avoiding the 10 non-virtues of mind, speech and body

1. Correct thought: avoiding covetousness, the wish to harm others and wrong views (like thinking: actions have no consequences, I never have any problems, there are no ways to end suffering etc.)

2. Correct speech: avoid lying, divisive and harsh speech and idle gossip.

3. Correct actions: avoid killing, stealing and sexual misconduct

4. Correct livelihood: try to make a living with the above attitude of thought, speech and actions.

5. Correct understanding: developing genuine wisdom.

(The last three aspects refer mainly to the practice of meditation

6. Correct effort: after the first real step we need joyful perseverance to continue.

7. Correct mindfulness: try to be aware of the "here and now", instead of dreaming in the "there and then".

8. Correct concentration: to keep a steady, calm and attentive state of mind.

Hmmm wonder what it means "avoid sexual misconduct"?... I kinda enjoy some kink! hehe

[Andrew, Jr.]

CityButch,

For me, it is the 10 Commandments. What part is hard for anyone to really follow? I know that personally I struggle with the commandment about honoring one's parents. Mine are nuts. So with that said, I just go with the flow. I avoid them, as they do me. But really when you break it down, it is a matter of the Golden Rule.

Andrew

[gracefaith]

Andrew and to any others who's finding difficulties with their parents...

My dad told me this morning he never wants to see me again nor wants me to ever come over again...

so what does this mean to honor parents.

but what about this: to learn not to honor the verbal abuse from the parent;

I'm really learning this area deeply to learn what is the true parent in the parent - and what is the abuse...

I really feel I fail my dad as he's verbal abusive, it led me to honor his verbal abuse towards me where to the point I panic and now my dad told me he never wants to see me again;

plus, my dad thinks I don't like him:

what?

I've tried so hard to connect with him, but I was trying mistakenly connecting to his abuse, thinking my dad will be happy...

In my trying to connect to my dad's verbal abusing me, I fail to connect to my dad,

however its way to high of an expectation for me to meet to try to connect, as how can I connect to my dad if he clothes in his verbal abuse and doesn't know how to be a parent the truth of a parent,

while I fail at connection and then lost it (my way of losing it is through a means of panic), then my dad told me, he never wants to see me again;...

so honor? isn't it the truth of the parent, for why honor any abuse? What are your thoughts on this?

you were saying about how you handle it with your folks is going with the flow and avoid, I think I need to do this too and stop trying...,

tons of tears fell down my face today. maybe I'm way overly sensitive also...

I love my dad and I did try to show him that I love him, but it fail again...

What is love when I'm not believed

is it then only me going beyond my spirit in an area that is no longer love, but what am I seeking to save then, is save not love - if not love and as I'd analyze this word love, meaning only what God is is love, what am I doing then, if I try and it fails, what am I doing then?

to fail when try to show love is the trying then no good, if I look bad, then what about my trying, or shall I only do what you do, avoid and go with flow;

to try to show love is like an invisible prison.

gracefaith

Originally Posted by Andrew, Jr.

CityButch,

For me, it is the 10 Commandments. What part is hard for anyone to really follow? I know that personally I struggle with the commandment about honoring one's parents. Mine are nuts. So with that said, I just go with the flow. I avoid them, as they do me. But really when you break it down, it is a matter of the Golden Rule.

Andrew

[gracefaith]

I can really relate with this:

The Buddha taught his followers not to accept his or any other teachings on blind faith. Instead, by examining teachings in the light of our own experience, we judge for ourselves what teachings we accept as true.

That's great it says color red, I was trying to make that part red... I guess taking me a bit to get the hang of it around here lol...

but the reason why I can relate: is cause this blind faith can be dangerous when following a teaching from someone - remember Jim Jones was his name?

Look what happen blind faith to Jim Jones...

Can you imagine if the followers to Jim Jones would had examine what Jim Jones was saying?

What are your thoughts on this?

gracefaith

Originally Posted by citybutch

1. What Is Right View (Thought)?

When the steps of the Eightfold Path are presented in a list, usually Right View is the first step (even though there is no "first" step). Right View supports wisdom. Wisdom in this sense is the understanding of things as they are, as explained in the teachings of the Four Noble Truths.

This understanding is not mere intellectual understanding. It is instead a thorough penetration of the Four Noble Truths. Theravada scholar Wapola Rahula called this penetration "seeing a thing in its true nature, without name and label." (What the Buddha Taught, page 49)

Vietnamese Zen Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh wrote,

"Our happiness and the happiness of those around us depend on our degree of Right View. Touching reality deeply -- knowing what is going on inside and outside of ourselves -- is the way to liberate ourselves from the suffering that is caused by wrong perceptions. Right View is not an ideology, a system, or even a path. It is the insight we have into the reality of life, a living insight that fills us with understanding, peace, and love." (The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, page 51)

In Mahayana Buddhism, prajna is associated with the intimate realization of shunyata -- the teaching that all phenomena are empty of intrinsic being.
Cultivating Right View

Right View develops from practice of the Eightfold Path. For example, the practice of samadhi through Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration prepares the mind for penetrating insight. Meditation is associated with "Right Concentration."

Ethical conduct through Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood also support Right View through cultivation of compassion. Compassion and wisdom are said to be the two wings of Buddhism. Compassion helps us break through our narrow, self-centered views, which enables wisdom. Wisdom helps us realize nothing is really separate, which enables compassion.

By the same token, the wisdom parts of the path -- Right View and Right Thought -- support the other parts of the path. Ignorance is one of the root poisons that brings with it greed and ill-will.
The Role of Doctrine in Buddhism

The Buddha taught his followers not to accept his or any other teachings on blind faith. Instead, by examining teachings in the light of our own experience, we judge for ourselves what teachings we accept as true.

However, this doesn't mean the doctrines of Buddhism are optional for Buddhists. Many converts to Buddhism in the West seem to think that all they need is meditation and mindfulness, and that the many doctrines of the Four This and Six That and Twelve Something Else can be ignored. This frivolous attitude is not exactly Right Effort.

Walpola Rahula said of the Eightfold Path, "Practically the whole teaching of the Buddha, to which he devoted himself during 45 years, deals in some way or other with this path." The Buddha explained the Eightfold Path in many different ways, to reach people in different stages of spiritual development.

While Right View is not about doctrinal orthodoxy, that doesn't mean it has no connection to doctrine at all. Thich Nhat Hanh says, "Right View is, most of all, a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths." Acquaintance with the Four Noble Truths is a big help, to say the least.

As I explained earlier, the Eightfold Path is part of the Four Noble Truths; in fact, it is the Fourth Noble Truth. Right View is penetrating insight into the nature of reality as described in the Four Noble Truths. So, while Right View is something much more profound that merely understanding doctrine, doctrine is still important and should not be brushed aside.

Although these teachings do not have to be "believed in" on faith, they should be understood provisionally. The teachings provide essential guidance, keeping us on the path to genuine wisdom. Without them, mindfulness and meditation can become just self-improvement projects.

A grounding in the teachings presented through the Four Noble Truths includes not just the Truths themselves, but also teachings on how everything is interconnected (Dependent Origination) and on the nature of individual existence (the Five Skandhas). As Walpola Rahula said, the Buddha spent 45 years explaining these teachings. They are what make Buddhism a distinctive spiritual path.

http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeigh.../rightview.htm

[Andrew, Jr.]

Citybutch,

There is too much for me to read. Let me focus on 1 item that really came out strong to me. It was your idea on thoughts and prayers. Artdecogoddess has a saying that she says and believes in. I have to say that it has served me well over the years. She says that every thought is a prayer. It is true. Every thought is a prayer. And that is how I try to live my life. Everything and everyone that I am involved with has a thought during any situation I am in. The same with all the decisions I have to make. That thought is positive. Always positive.

Make sense?

[Andrew, Jr.]

Gracefaith,

I am not sure I understand blind faith in all honesty. I agree with you about the ugly side of it being deception. I have had wayyy too many people who were in authoritive positions/roles in my life who were all talk no action. They lacked integrity if you ask me. That is always why I have a hard time trusting most people.

Enjoy your weekend!

Andrew

[citybutch]

2. Right Intention (seems as though the first three are closely related in thought and action):

The second aspect of the Eightfold Path of Buddhism is Right Intention or Right Thought, or samma sankappa in Pali. Right View and Right Intention together are the "Wisdom Path," the parts of the path that cultivate wisdom (prajna). Why are our thoughts or intentions so important?

We tend to think that thoughts don't count; only what we actually do matters. But the Buddha said in the Dhammapada that our thoughts are the forerunner of our actions (Max Muller translation):

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him."

The Buddha also taught that what we think, along with what we say and how we act, create karma. So, what we think is as important as what we do.
Three Kinds of Right Intention

The Buddha taught that there are three kinds of Right Intention, which counter three kinds of wrong intention. These are:

1. The intention of renunciation, which counters the intention of desire.
2. The intention of good will, which counters the intention of ill will.
3. The intention of harmlessness, which counters the intention of harmfulness.

Renunciation

To renounce is to give up or let go of something, or to disown it. To practice renunciation doesn't necessarily mean you have to give away all your possessions and live in a cave, however. The real issue is not objects or possessions themselves, but our attachment to them. If you give away things but are still attached to them, you haven't really renounced them.

Sometimes in Buddhism you hear that monks and nuns are "renounced ones." To take monastic vows is a powerful act of renunciation, but that doesn't necessarily mean that laypeople cannot follow the Eightfold Path. What's most important is to not attach to things, but remember that attachment comes from viewing ourselves and other things in a delusional way. Fully appreciate that all phenomena are transient and limited -- as the Diamond Sutra says (Chapter 32),

"This is how to contemplate our conditioned existence in this fleeting world:

"Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream;
Like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
Or a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream.

"So is all conditioned existence to be seen."

As laypeople, we live in a world of possessions. To function in society, we need a home, clothing, food, probably a car. To do my work I really need a computer. We get into trouble, however, when we forget that we and our "things" are bubbles in a stream. And of course it's important to not take or hoard more than we need.
Good Will

Another word for "good will" is metta, or "loving kindness." We cultivate loving kindness for all beings, without discrimination or selfish attachment, to overcome anger, ill will, hatred and aversion.

According to the Metta Sutta, a Buddhist should cultivate for all beings the same love a mother would feel for her child. This love does not discriminate between benevolent people and malicious people. It is a love in which"I" and "you" disappear, and where there is no possessor and nothing to possess.
Harmlessness

The Sanskrit word for "non-harming" is ahimsa, or avihiṃsā in Pali, and it describes a practice of not harming or doing violence to anything.

To not harm also requires karuna, or compassion. Karuna goes beyond simply not harming. It is an active sympathy and a willingness to bear the pain of others.

The Eightfold Path is not a list of eight discrete steps. Each aspect of the path supports every other aspect. The Buddha taught that wisdom and compassion arise together and support each other. It's not hard to see how the Wisdom Path of Right View and Right Intention also supports the Ethical Conduct Path of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood. And, of course, all aspects are supported by Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration, the Mental Discipline Path.
Four Practices of Right Intention

The Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has suggested these four practice for Right Intention or Right Thinking:

Ask yourself, "Are you sure?" Write the question on a piece of paper and hang it where you will see it frequently. Wong perceptions lead to incorrect thinking.

Ask yourself, "What am I doing?" to help you come back to the present moment.

Recognize your habit energies. Habit energies like workaholism cause us to lose track of ourselves and our day-to-day lives. When you catch yourself on auto-pilot, say, "Hello, habit energy!"

Cultivate bodhichitta. Bodhichitta is the compassionate wish to realize enlightenment for the sake of others. It becomes the purest of Right Intentions; the motivating force that keep us on the Path.

http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeigh.../rightview.htm

Originally Posted by citybutch

The Buddha summarized the correct attitude and actions in the Eight-fold Noble Path:

(The first 3 are avoiding the 10 non-virtues of mind, speech and body

1. Correct thought: avoiding covetousness, the wish to harm others and wrong views (like thinking: actions have no consequences, I never have any problems, there are no ways to end suffering etc.)

2. Correct speech: avoid lying, divisive and harsh speech and idle gossip.

3. Correct actions: avoid killing, stealing and sexual misconduct

4. Correct livelihood: try to make a living with the above attitude of thought, speech and actions.

5. Correct understanding: developing genuine wisdom.

(The last three aspects refer mainly to the practice of meditation

6. Correct effort: after the first real step we need joyful perseverance to continue.

7. Correct mindfulness: try to be aware of the "here and now", instead of dreaming in the "there and then".

8. Correct concentration: to keep a steady, calm and attentive state of mind.

Hmmm wonder what it means "avoid sexual misconduct"?... I kinda enjoy some kink! hehe