lightening the burden

 

The siren's song -

"Be more than you are,

be everything you're not."

.

The sages say,

"Be less, not more,"

because all that we're not

lightens the burden,

delighting without hope

our desiring hearts.

.

~ Joseph Goldstein

from Dreamscapes of the Mind,

Poems and Reflections

concentration and equanimity

 

As a stone mountain, one solid mass, is not stirred by the wind,

so no forms and tastes, sounds, odors, and tactile objects,

and phenomena desirable or undesireable stir the stable

one's mind. His mind is steady and freed.

.

~ Anguttara Nikaya

The development and practice of concentration

leads to equanimity. 

Enhancing qualities of faith, (or confidence), mindfulness,

 self-respect, a spirit of generosity and openess, and pliancy. 

All of which are included in a "neutrality of mind,"

a sense of being "there in the middleness."

The disipline of mindfulness together with concentration

can be very helpful in keeping our minds from habitual

occupation with unhealthy states.

A sense of ease, peace and balance equip us to deal with

the gain and loss, fame and disrepute, pleasure and pain 

that may come to us.

~ from the teaching of Buddha as

expressed by Joseph Goldstein in

Mindfulness: A Practical Guide of Awakening

seeing through the "I" concept

 

After a summer storm, the sunlight comes out and we see a rainbow in the sky.
And generally, we feel happy at seeing a rainbow. It's a beautiful object of sight.
But the question is, is there a thing in itself which is the rainbow?
When we look more carefully, we see that what we're calling a rainbow
is the coming together of certain conditions of light and moisture and air.
And when these conditions come together in a certain way,
there's an appearance of a rainbow, but there's no thing in itself
which is the rainbow other than the appearance
arising out of these conditions.

Self is like a rainbow. There is an appearance of Bob, of Joseph,
of each one of us. There's an appearance which comes together,
which appears because of the conditions of all our mental, physical phenomena
coming together in a certain pattern. And we recognize the pattern.
We call it Bob, Joseph, rainbow. And on a relative level, we are experiencing it.
When we see a rainbow, we are responding to something.
On a relative level, we can say rainbow exists, but on a more ultimate level,
we see that there's no essential substratum which is rainbow.

There's no essence.

One Vipassana teacher really expressed this beautifully. Somebody asked him,
"Is the self real?" And he said, "Yes, the self is real. But not really real."
That captures these two levels. It is real on the relative level,
and we interact on this level, it's the level of our conventional reality.
We're not dismissing that. But we just see that on a deeper level,
there's another whole way of perceiving things.

Let me give you one more example.

You go out at night and, if it's a clear night and the stars are out,
most people can recognize the constellation of the Big Dipper.
The question then is, is there really a Big Dipper up there? …


Big Dipper is a concept which we're overlaying on a certain pattern of stars,
but there's no Big Dipper.

So, self is like Big Dipper. The notion of self is a concept,
just like Big Dipper is a concept, and we're overlaying that concept of self
onto this pattern of mental, physical, emotional content.
We're putting a name, we're giving a designation
of Joseph, Bob, Big Dipper.

But what's interesting is that, even though we know Big Dipper is a concept
and there's no Big Dipper in the sky, to go out at night, look up at the sky
and see if it's possible not to see the Big Dipper—
it’s very difficult, because we've been so conditioned to see
in a certain way.

It's helpful to realize that the concept of Big Dipper can be useful,
just like the concept of self can be useful. One of the stars of Big Dipper
actually points to the North star. If you're out in the middle of the ocean
and you want to navigate, you need to find the north,
the concept can be helpful.

We're not suggesting—either with Big Dipper or self—to get rid of the concept,
but to understand that that's what it is. ...

When we see that Big Dipper is a concept, even though we use it,
what happens is when we look up at the sky, we see the sky undivided.
It's possible to see all the stars as part of a unity.
Imagine what it would be like if we could experience the whole world
not bound or limited by the concept of the self.
We need to use it to operate on the relative level,
but if we have a deeper wisdom that it is just a concept,
then so many aspects of our separateness falls away.



~ Joseph Goldstein
from Mindfulness Interviews
by Robert Wright

pain - healing - integration

 

 

 

 

 ~ Joseph Goldstein

the power of speech

 

 

 

 

 

Speech is such a powerful influence in our lives because we speak a lot.

Speech conditions our relationships, conditions our minds and hearts, and

to a great degree conditions consequences in the future.  

 

 The Buddha outlined a practice for staying mindful

 of how another person is addressing us, without getting caught up in our own reactivity, 

remaining compassionate for their welfare, with a mind of lovingkindness.

... there are five courses of speech that others may

use when they address you: their speech may be timely or

untimely, true or untrue, gentle or harsh, connected with

good or with harm, spoken with a mind of lovingkindness

or with inner hate....

 

you should train yourselves thus:

Our minds will remain unaffected, and we shall utter no

evil words; we shall abide compassionate for their welfare,

with a mind of lovingkindness...

 

One speaks at the right time, in accordance with facts,

speaks what is useful,,,

 

 

 

 

 

 ~ Buddha

 from Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening

by Joseph Goldstein

nature of mind

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ Joseph Goldstein

 

 

 

speech from the heart - mindful listening

 

 

 

If one is to do good,
it must be done in the minute particulars.
General good is the plea of the hypocrite,
the scoundrel and the flatterer.

 

~ William Blake


Pay attention when you speak the rest of the time, the best you're able, 

and listen to your heart. See if you can begin practicing 

letting your words come from your heart.

 

 A good clue for this is if you're in a conversation that lasts more than five minutes, 

so you've been talking for awhile, pause, or wake up for a second

 in the middle of it, and ask inside, "Now, what does my heart really want to say?" 

You're having this conversation. "What's in there that really wants to be said?

 Maybe I won't see this person ever again. What do I really want to say?" 

That can begin to empower your speech, to transform it 

from automatic pilot to the place where you start to wake up.

 It's fantastic. It's really wonderful to work with.


Most of us value integrity. It really lights up the heart

 to think about living in a way that comes from inside, 

where our actions, our words, and our inner being are connected. 

It's very precious. In the Buddhist tradition they're given as training precepts,

 training precepts which we practice. It's not some God -- given law that we must follow,

 but precepts which we begin to practice -- 

to begin to learn to live our life from our hearts, 

to live our life, as I said, with an uprightness of heart.

 


Only when the inner dialogue stops

 can the hidden parts of ourselves be seen and revealed.

~ Carlos Castenada 

as Don Juan

 

 

What we call the beginning is often the end,
and to make an end is a beginning,
To make a beginning.
the end is where we start from
and every phrase and sentence that is right,
where every word is at home,
taking its place to support the others,
the word neither dissident nor ostentatious.
An easy commerce of the old and the new,
the common word exact with vulgarity,
the formal word precise but not pedantic,
the complete consort dancing together.

When every phrase and every sentence
is an end and a beginning,
every poem an epitaph,
and any action is a step to the block,
to the fire, down the sea's throat,
or to an illegible stone,
that's where we start.
We die with the dying.
See them depart and we go with them,
and we are born with the dead.
See, they're returned and bring us with them.


~ T.S. Eliot
from Four Quartets

 

 

The Buddha outlined a practice for staying mindful

 of how another person is addressing us, without getting caught up in our own reactivity, 

remaining compassionate for their welfare, with a mind of lovingkindness.

... there are five courses of speech that others may

use when they address you: their speech may be timely or

untimely, true or untrue, gentle or harsh, connected with

good or with harm, spoken with a mind of lovingkindness

or with inner hate....

 

you should train yourselves thus:

Our minds will remain unaffected, and we shall utter no

evil words; we shall abide compassionate for their welfare,

with a mind of lovingkindness...

 

 ~ Buddha

~ Joseph Goldstein

excerpts taken from various talks

 

love and kindness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

painting tigers

 

 

 

 

abandoning the self-center

 

 

 

 

 ~ Joseph Goldstein

 

 

behind recognizable patterns

 

 

The Buddha described what we call “self” as a collection of aggregates -

 elements of mind and body - that function interdependently, 

creating the appearance of a woman or a man. 

 

We then identify with that image or appearance, taking it to be “I” or “mine,”

 imagining it to have some inherent self-existence.

 

 For example we get up in the morning, look in the mirror,

 recognize the reflection, and think, “Yes, that’s me again.” 

We then add all kinds of concepts to this sense of self:

 I’m a woman or a man, I’m a certain age,

 I’m a happy or unhappy person –

the list goes on and on.

When we examine our experience, though,

 we see that there is not some core being to whom experience refers;

 rather it is simply “empty phenomena rolling on.”

 It is “empty” in the sense that there is no one behind 

the arising and changing phenomena to whom they happen. 

 

A rainbow is a good example of this. 

We go out after a rainstorm and feel that moment of delight 

if a rainbow appears in the sky. Mostly, we simply enjoy the sight

 without investigating the real nature of what is happening.

 But when we look more deeply, it becomes clear that there is no “thing” 

called “rainbow” apart from the particular conditions of air and moisture and light. 

 

Our sense of self is like that rainbow - 

an appearance, arising from causes and conditions, 

that we cling to as ourselves, "my identity."

 

 

 

 

 

.- Joseph Goldstein

from  Tricycle

 

 

 

 

metta

 

 

 

 

 

 Joseph Goldstein

 

 

 

 

coping with challenging times

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~  Joseph Goldstein

 

 

 

karma and reinforcing mental pathways

understanding karma has to do with the quality of mind in the very moment of action. 

When we experience a mind state of love, there comes naturally, along with it,

 a feeling of openness and love that is its immediate fruit; similarly, 

when there are moments of greed or hatred, in addition to whatever future results 

will come, we also experience the painful energies that arise with those states.

 Our direct awareness of how the karmic law is working in each moment 

can be a strong motivation to develop skillful states of mind that create happiness

 for us in the moment, as well as produce the fruit of well-being in the future.


Another dimension of the law of karma helps in understanding 

how individual personalities develop. While it is true that there is no enduring entity, 

no unchanging self that can be called “I,” it is also quite obvious that each of us

 is a uniquely changing and recognizable pattern of elements. This comes about

 because each of us has in our own way, both consciously and unconsciously,

 cultivated different mind states. If we cultivate lovingkindness, we experience 

its taste in the moment and at the same time are strengthening it as a force

 in the mind, making it easier for it to arise again. When we are angry, 

we experience the suffering of that anger as present karma and are also strengthening 

that particular pattern of mind. Just as we condition our bodies in different ways 

through exercise or lack of it, so we also condition our minds. Every mind state, 

thought, or emotion that we experience repeatedly becomes stronger 

and more habituated. Who we are as personalities is a collection of all

 the tendencies of mind that have been developed, the particular energy

 configurations we have cultivated


We tend not to pay attention to this conditioning factor of our experience, 

thinking instead that once an experience has passed it is gone without residue or result. 

That would be like dropping a stone in water without creating any ripples. 

Each mind state that we experience further conditions and strengthens it.



People sometimes wonder whether reflecting upon the law of karma 

will lead to feelings of guilt for past unwholesome actions. Guilt is a

 manifestation of condemnation or aversion toward oneself, which does not

 understand the changing transformative quality of mind. It solidifies a sense

 of self by being nonforgiving. Understanding the law of karma leads us

 to reflect wisely on the skillfulness or unskillfulness of our actions.

 In the infinite time of our births, through all the realms of existence, 

we have done so many different kinds of actions, wholesome and unwholesome.

 In view of karmic law, guilt is an inappropriate feeling, and a rather useless burden. 

It simply creates more unwholesome results. Coming to an understanding

 of karma is the basis for a very straightforward development of the wisdom

 to know whether our actions will lead to happiness and freedom,

 or to further suffering. When we understand this, it allows us to take responsibility

 for past actions with an attitude of compassion, appreciating that a particular act

 may have been unwholesome or harmful, and strongly determining

 not to repeat it. Guilt is a manifestation of condemnation, wisdom an expression

 of sensitivity and forgiveness. . 



.

~ Joseph Goldstein
from Cause and Effect - Reflecting on the law of karma 

printed in Tricycle

 .

essential points

~ Joseph Goldstein

 

interview - simple but not easy

~ Robert Wright, Joseph Goldstein

compassion

~ Joseph Goldstein

without identity

~ Joseph Goldstein

 

water and ice

~ Joseph Goldstein

 

mindfulness

~ Joseph Goldstein