Vipassana Meditation

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Comment by Ron Alexander on October 10, 2009 at 4:49pm

I appreciate this reply by Jeanne on "discussion" above: Well, I finally did it... set aside an hour to watch both parts of the Oprah interviews. ...now I want to see the movie. It was very inspiring to hear the prisoners finding a way to be at peace with themselves even while in the harsh prison environment.

Comment by Ron Alexander on October 8, 2009 at 5:22pm

http://architectsofanewdawn.ning.com/video/bodhisattva-in-metro

Click on this to see if you can see laughing video (bodhisattva-in-metro)

Comment by Ron Alexander on October 6, 2009 at 8:22pm

May all beings be free:

The Rinpoche (Thuksey) speaking:
Many people say they want to receive teachings and all they are saying is : I want a little more knowledge so that I can impress people. What is the use of that? Many people say they want to learn about Buddhism, but their way of learning is an escape from the truth and not an approach to it. So it is important that you understand that what is necessary is the true motivation, the true approach. If you do not have that, everything you learn will be of no use to you.

He paused , with his eyes still closed. To come to the Teachings in the right spirit you must know and feel many things. You must understand, not merely in your mind but in your heart and spirit the impermanence and transience of all phenomena. You must understand that all things are suffering - that love without awareness is suffering, that desire without awareness is suffering. You must understand the nature of suffering so deeply that you see all the world is in pain, that all Being is suffering. The Buddha said the whole world is on fire. Even those words will burn you if you do not hear them with the right purity.
You must understand the nature of suffering, to transcend it to leave the world of fire and enter Nirvana, to overcome the torment of desire and live in calm and love.

He put his hands to his forehead, In the Hinayana they say the end of discipline is to escape suffering. This is not what we say in Tibet,in the Mayahana. We cannot bear to escape ourselves while we see the rest of creation is in pain; we could not endure to be free while the rest of the world is in prison. And so you must not only want to attain Nirvana for yourself , you must also want with all your heart that the whole of Being should attain Nirvana, should enter into bliss. And if you truly love all things, you will renounce your own salvation for the joy of continually working for the liberation of others.
...
...
This is the true motivation, this is the true feeling - to love all things so much that you wish to bring them into Nirvana, to love all created things so much that you want to become perfect, so that you can be of help to them. You should meditate on this. It is the beginning.

A Journey In Ladakh (p. 152-153) Andrew Harvey

Comment by drmike on September 29, 2009 at 5:53pm

That's very nice reminder Ron. I am happy when I can make others happy, and to be of service. It gets hard when sometimes you feel like you are not doing enough for yourself, however so there is a balance to be struck. Like I love to have my son learn golf. But I get frustrated seeing him hit it 30 yards, when I want to get my driver to stretch out to 300. But the art of it is to let him just do his thing. Give him a Gatorade so he can see you do yours, and by the end of it all are happy. Vipassana, or any other meditation that works to "cleanse" the mind is growing to be ever more essential for me to stay away from unrealistic expectations of both others and myself. It is helping to achieve that patience in myself, that I need to be more effective with the rest of the world.

Peace to all,
Mike

Comment by Ron Alexander on September 29, 2009 at 10:12am

May All Beings Be Happy

Comment by Ron Alexander on September 29, 2009 at 10:11am

May All Being Be Happy:


Buddhism teaches the transience of all things, a certain calm detachment from others and from oneself. We are taught not to take ourselves too seriously, and we are taught to believe that there is little ultimate truth in grief and misery. The real wisdom is joy. The real wisdom is happiness. The true wisdom is that of the Buddha, who is always shown at peace with all things.
p.104 A Journey in Ladakh by Andrew Harvey

Once the Buddha was asked to explain real happiness. He enumerated various wholesome actions which are productive of happiness, which are real blessings. All these blessings fall into two categories: performing actions that contribute to the welfare of others by fulfilling responsibilities to family and society, and performing actions that cleanse the mind (Vipassana Meditation). William Hart's Vipassana Meditation

Comment by Ron Alexander on September 18, 2009 at 6:36am

Jenny Phillips

Comment by Ron Alexander on September 17, 2009 at 8:35pm

Jenny Phillips - directed The Dhamma Brothers documentary and wrote Letters From the Dhamma Brothers

Watch the insightful interviews by Oprah
Cultural anthropologist, writer and psychotherapist Jenny Phillips has been working in the field of mental health for more than 15 years. Much of her work has been with male prisoners, teaching inmates courses on emotional literacy and vipassana meditation, an ancient meditation technique based on the teachings of Buddha. Her work has helped inmates—many serving multiple life sentences—transform their lives, face their pasts and become more peaceful, purposeful people.

In 2008, Jenny released the self-produced documentary The Dhamma Brothers, which followed 36 prisoners at the Donaldson Correctional Facility in Alabama through a 10-day silent vipassana meditation course. Her book Letters from the Dhamma Brothers: Meditation Behind Bars is a collection of letters and interviews from inmates who took part in the meditation course. The book depicts prison life and the journey many of the prisoners took to better understanding the teachings of Buddha and achieving inner peace.

Jenny has doctorate in anthropology from Boston University and is currently researching a book—along with her husband, journalist Frank Phillips—on author Ernest Hemingway's 22 years in Cuba. Jenny's grandfather, Maxwell Perkins, was a legendary book editor and close friend of Hemingway's.


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This is what happened when I tried to embed part 1 below. go to this link - you will really get alot out of these interviews by Oprah:

http://www.oprah.com/article/spirit/inspiration/pkgoprahssoulserieswebcast/20081013_oaf_oss_jphillips
Part 1 Watch Now Listen Now

Part 2 Watch Now Listen Now

Comment by Ron Alexander on September 16, 2009 at 4:14pm

ditto from my Meditation group post:
Wow! drmike, I would be spending most of my time in meditation if I heard amazing music like that. Sure there is not a composer in you?
thanks for your inspirational post, ron

Comment by drmike on September 15, 2009 at 7:49pm

I don't know about everybody else. But even in silence, I HEAR music. Many times it is the inspirational music of those who also are traveling the similar path. Constantly it was Coltrane's "A Love Supreme", or "My Favorite Things." These are inspired works from enlightened people to me.

Today I saw a photo of one of my meditation classmates and it INSTANTANEOUSLY brought back this rendition from Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders (Again thanks Silja for the embedding tip)......

Enjoy----

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