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Meditation |
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The Aim of Attention
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche writes: Ordinarily, our minds are like flags in the wind, fluttering this way and that, depending on which way the wind blows. Even if we don’t want to feel angry, jealous, lonely, or depressed, we’re carried away by such feelings and by the thoughts and physical sensations that accompany them. We’re not free; we can’t see other options, other possibilities. The goal of attention, or shamatha, practice is to become aware of awareness. Awareness is the basis, or what you might call the “support,” of the mind. It is steady and unchanging, like the pole to which the flag of ordinary consciousness is attached. When we recognize and become grounded in awareness of awareness, the “wind” of emotion may still blow. More » -
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Practicing Buddhism whether you're a Buddhist or not
"The greatest gift you can give someone," says B. Alan Wallace, "is your attention." I've just given him nearly 15 minutes of mine and it was worth it, and I'll listen to more tomorrow (thank you for the tip, William Harryman!). Here's the opening talk of a two-day retreat hosted by the Jefferson Tibetan Society of Charlottesville, VA, focusing on The Four Immeasurables (the Brahmaviharas) and Shamatha (meditative quiescence), followed by a guided meditation. Wallace, a meditation teacher, scholar, former Tibetan monk and a longtime student of the Dalai Lama's, teaches that any of us can benefit from these practices whether we're Buddhist or not. Great stuff, take a listen... More » -
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Mind and Body Spring Cleaning
A useful guide to 100 meditation, yoga, and diet approaches to overhauling your system. Includes links to all the relevant websites. More » -
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iPhone Meditation
The latest in cyber-Buddhism: an iPhone application with timed and guided meditations, all authored and spoken by contributing editor Stephan Bodian, who informs us, "The next two apps will be Open Your Heart to Love, including forgiveness, gratitude, and lovingkindness meditations, and The Happiness Pack, including mindfulness, an adaptation of tonglen, a gratitude meditation, and a brief piece on working with negative emotions." The application was produced by Mental Workout, a company specializing in technological approaches to meditation. More » -
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A White Light Experience
Could lasers be more effective at developing concentration than meditation? The current issues of Nature and Neuron report advances in strengthening attention by inducing gamma waves in the brain with pulses of laser light. For his article on this topic for the New York Times this week, “Ear Plugs to Lasers: The Science of Concentration,” John Tierney spoke to Dr. More » -
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Dalai Lama; zazen instructions
The Dalai Lama is interviewed in the new issue of National Geographic for Kids, but the article doesn't seem to be online. Brad Warner asks in his Suicide Girls article, "Is Meditation Dangerous?" He also posts zazen instuctions with photos here. (HT: Frank Olinsky, who is art directing a book of Don Farber photos of the Dalai Lama. The book is due out in Fall 2009.) More »
