… Where & however an aim is accomplished
through
eulogies, chants, good sayings,
donations, & family customs,
follow them diligently there & that way.
But if you discern that your own aim
or that of others is not gained in this way,
acquiesce [to the nature of things]
unsorrowing, with the thought:
‘What important work am I doing now?’
—AN 5:49
§89. [Sister Ubbiri:]
“‘Jiva, my daughter …
… We’re caught in the middle.
Remember what we were saying last night about people who have an
intuitive response to a situation, sometimes very quick, and often the
situation requires a quick response. Something comes up in your life
and you can’t say, “noting, noting, noting.” You’ve got to do
something right away. The question is: How do you know when …
… The polar extremes of constant exertion to the point of exhaustion and its opposite, a knee-jerk fear of “efforting,” are both misguided here, as is the seemingly “middle” way of moderation in all things. The true middle way means tuning one’s efforts to one’s abilities and to the task at hand [§86]. In some cases, this entails an all-out effort …
… right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
“And when a disciple of the noble ones discerns the requisite condition in this way, discerns the origination of the requisite condition in this way, discerns the cessation of the requisite condition in this way, discerns the way of practice leading to the cessation of the condition in …
… The path to the cessation of suffering is also called the Middle Way because it avoids two extremes: (1) indulgence in the pleasures of sensuality and (2) devotion to the pain of self-torment. Yet this does not mean that the path pursues a course of middling pleasures and middling pains. Instead, it treats the pleasure of concentration, along with insight into the pain …
… Once you know the labels formulated by the Buddha, you can decipher yourself, in the same way that you learn how to read a book. Take a baby who doesn’t know anything: As soon as it’s born, it cries, “Wae!” That’s feeling. If it’s eating and comes across something it doesn’t like, it throws it away and goes for …
… But if you realize that they are actually getting in the way of your own progress, that’s half the battle right there.
The Buddha mentions four of these five hindrances explicitly in his discussion of what to guard against at the moment of death. The one he doesn’t mention explicitly, sloth and drowsiness, is implicit. To be drowsy gets in the way …
… I,
having killed the Blessed One, will become Buddha.”
Then Prince Ajātasattu, (thinking,) “Master Devadatta is
mighty & powerful; Master Devadatta should know,” strapping a
dagger to his thigh—afraid, apprehensive, alarmed, &
trembling—rushed into the inner palace in the middle of the
day.
The ministers guarding the inner palace saw him—afraid,
apprehensive, alarmed, & trembling—rushing into the inner palace
in the middle of …
… desire for things to be this way or that at times when they can’t be the way we want them; wanting things to be a certain way outside of the proper time or occasion. This is called ‘being hungry’ – like a person who hungers for food but has no food to eat and so acts in a way that shows, ‘I’m a …
… When you think in these ways you see that it really is in your interest to develop the brahmavihāras in all situations. So the question is, how do you do that? This is where another aspect of the Buddha’s teachings on causality plays a role: his teaching on fabrication, or the way you shape your experience.
Fabrication is of three kinds: bodily, verbal …
… The Vinaya-mukha, in discussing this rule, makes the following point: “In terms of present-day customs, receiving a lot of food in a way that demonstrates greed is unacceptable. There is nothing wrong, however, in receiving a lot in a way that demonstrates compassion. For instance, when a newly-ordained bhikkhu goes to receive alms at his family home, if he accepts only …
… of light inside the body, extending down from the middle of the head, down through the spine. As you breathe in, think of the breath coming in from all directions into that pole of light, and as you breathe out think of it going out in all directions from that pole of light. This way, you’re not staying with just one spot. You …
… If the Community wants to, it may also authorize an area in front of the uposatha hall, marked with boundary markers, specifically for this purpose, but this is an optional step. (The markers are to be determined in the same way as the markers for a territory. See Chapter 13. Also, see Appendix I for the statements used in the transactions for authorizing and …
… motor, but sometimes you’re out in the middle of a forest and you don’t have any parts, so you use wire and paper clips in order to get back home. In other words, deal with the problems that come up and are pressing, but otherwise put them aside. It’s in this way that your discernment begins to develop. But when you …
… How can I inflict on others what is displeasing & disagreeable to me?’ Reflecting in this way, he refrains from taking life, gets others to refrain from taking life, and speaks in praise of refraining from taking life. In this way his bodily behavior is pure in three ways.
“And further, he reflects thus: ‘If someone, by way of theft, were to take from me …
… A more skillful way to regard past misdeeds would be to recognize that they were wrong, to resolve not to repeat them, and to develop attitudes of immeasurable goodwill, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity to reinforce one’s resolve not to treat anyone in an unskillful way.
AN 3:101 adds that the results of past misdeeds can be mitigated both through the practice …
… But our ‘slaves’ & ‘workers’ & ‘servants’ behave one way with the body, a different way with their speech, and their mind is different from that. It’s amazing, lord. It’s astounding—how, with so much human convolution, so much human muck, so much human deception going on, the Blessed One knows the welfare & harm of beings. For human beings are a convolution, lord, while …
… This is the second ground on which he can be praised.” [emphasis added] — SN 42:12
The last example shows that ascetic practices, in and of themselves, are not necessarily contrary to the middle way. It is possible to follow them all the way to the noble attainments.
As for Ven. Mahā Kassapa’s refusal to give up his practices: Anālayo is here clearly …
… This is the second ground on which he can be praised.” [emphasis added] — SN 42:12
The last example shows that ascetic practices, in and of themselves, are not necessarily contrary to the middle way. It is possible to follow them all the way to the noble attainments.
As for Ven. Mahā Kassapa’s refusal to give up his practices: Anālayo is here clearly …
… In the area where devas of middling influence occupied
sites, there the minds of the king’s royal ministers of middling
influence were inclined to build their homes. In the area where
devas of low influence occupied sites, there the minds of the
king’s royal ministers of low influence were inclined to build
their homes.
The Blessed One, with the divine eye—purified …
Advice | Beyond Coping: A Study Guide on Aging, Illness, Death, & Separation
… Where & however an aim is accomplished through eulogies, chants, good sayings, donations, & family customs, follow them diligently there & that way. But if you discern that your own aim or that of others is not gained in this way, acquiesce [to the nature of things] unsorrowing, with the thought: ‘What important work am I doing now?’ —AN 5:49 §89. [Sister Ubbiri:] “‘Jiva, my daughter …
MN 41 Sāleyyaka Sutta | (Brahmans) of Sāla
… A more skillful way to regard past misdeeds would be to recognize that they were wrong, to resolve not to repeat them, and to develop attitudes of immeasurable goodwill, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity to reinforce one’s resolve not to treat anyone in an unskillful way. AN 3:101 adds that the results of past misdeeds can be mitigated both through the practice …
A Trojan Horse
… This is the second ground on which he can be praised.” [emphasis added] — SN 42:12 The last example shows that ascetic practices, in and of themselves, are not necessarily contrary to the middle way. It is possible to follow them all the way to the noble attainments. As for Ven. Mahā Kassapa’s refusal to give up his practices: Anālayo is here clearly …
