Date/Time
Date(s) - 20/10/2021
6:45 pm - 8:00 pm
Categories
We decided to continue not having in person meditation and study group sessions on Wednesday evening.
Instead we will be meeting online. Join us by clicking on this Zoom link on Wednesday evenings, 6:45-8:00pm . We value Sangha (spiritual community) and feel it is important for us to have the opportunity to be together. We will use this time to meditation along with a short check in to see how we can best support one another. Plus the facilitator will continue on our Dharma theme offering everyone a focus for our practice. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our love and kindness for the wellness of all beings.
Join us to explore….this Wednesday…!
Life With Full Attention
Week 5
Bringing the Teachings to Mind
In previous weeks we have looked at every day mindfulness of our body, of vedana and of citta.
This week we will explore mindfulness of dharmas; applying the Dharma’s teachings to our experiences.
When we have a working knowledge of how the body (rupa), feeling/sensation (vedana) and (citta), our mental stories and habitual thought patterns that interpret the world, we can see how our reactions/responses shape our lives every day. When practice/ knowledge of these first three foundations of mindfulness are in place, we are accumulating evidence as to how we respond to our worlds of people, places and things.
We know from collecting this evidence, that negative mental states, arising from craving, ill will and deluded thought can lead to unhappiness for us and others. We know that positive mental states arising from kindness, generosity and wisdom can lead to happiness for us and others. Negative mental states such as selfishness, blaming and “poor me” can produce a tightening, closed off attitude towards ourselves and others. Positive states of mind, can lead to an open, curious, kind regard to the ‘other.’ By taking responsibility for our mental states, and attempting to respond based on our highest ideals and values we can continually move towards awakening….
These practices are progressive in that mindfulness of dharmas is more advanced than mindfulness of vedana and more challenging to practice if we have years of habitual reactivity grooved deeply within our minds. To be able to pause and ask “is this who I want to be in this moment?” is the beginning of change to a richer, happier and more fulfilling life.
There are three requirements to have in place before we can effectively practice mindfulness of dharmas;
1) noticing the state of mind we are in now.
2) create a gap of honest self reflection
3)Decide how to act by bringing to mind the teachings that lead to authentic happiness.
When we are sufficiently awake, practicing moment to moment observing the mind, and we have begun to see what triggers our reactions, we then can begin to skillfully shape our responses rather than being shaped by them.
Please join us as we continue to explore
Life with Full Attention
Nagaloka’s Friends Night overview Nagaloka handout friends night July 2020
Check out this great resource: https://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/
Please contact us if you have any questions. Email info@nagalokabuddistcenter.org
Please feel free to join us.
