To all or none,

Mindfullness to me is one of if not the most important part of

living a good life.Below are 5 exercises to improve your

Mindfulness.

The Five Mindfulness Trainings deal with Integrity,Honesty,and compassion.

Here are the 5 trainings.
1-Encompass protecting life,preventing war and destruction of life
2-Practicing generosity
3- preventing sexual misconduct
4-practicing mindful,loving speech,and deep listening,
5- practicing mindful consumption.

This bit of text is taken from a book from Thich Nhat Hanh.

I am only the messanger

Loongdragon

To all or none,
Following my first post, here is a comment by TNH.

The practitionner of mindfulness trainings has a powerful energy protecting him /her,and preserving freedom and non-fear.If you practice the the Five Mindfulness Trainings,you are no longer subject to fear,because ,your Mindfulness trainings body is Pure.You are no longer afraid of anything,(it's my case LD).This is a gift to the whole society and not just to the people we love.A bodhisattva is someone who is always protected with the practice of the mindfulness trainings and who can offer so much from his/her practice of the Mindfulness Trainings......

This is from me : never forget that in each one of you a Buddha
is in waiting ,protecting you ,and awaiting your awakening.

With Loving Kindness

loongdragon

I think these are excellent points worth meditating on:

"Here are the 5 trainings.
1-Encompass protecting life,preventing war and destruction of life
2-Practicing generosity
3- preventing sexual misconduct
4-practicing mindful,loving speech,and deep listening,
5- practicing mindful consumption."

Number five is something I do daily and I really try for 1 and 4.

I am not sure about generosity. Why is this in the list? It's not the same thing as compassion.

Dear Jilly,

Generosity,is the act of giving without waiting for something in return,wether it be physical,spiritual,vocal.Buddha wrote :give
give give.It is active.....

Compassion on the other hand,is more of a spiritual phenomenum.It is caring for someone who is suffering,hurting.in dispair.More like a mental support a spiritual support also.
Most of the time it will not be seen,compared to giving.

Generosity your actions are in the forefront,compassion is more likely to be unseen,but felt.

Hope this will clarify the difference.

With friendship

loongdragon

To Jilly,
In post #786668 the word generosity ,could have been replaced by honesty,like in the 5 precepts,Do not take what is not given to you.

Your friend

loong

To all or none,
Here are a few trainings in Mindfulness as per TNH.

Half smile when you wake up in the morning.
Use the seconds before you get out of bed,to take hold of your breath.Inhale and exhale 3 breaths gently while maintaining the
half-smile.
When you realise that you are irritated,half-smile,maintaining the half smile for 3 breaths.

Know that to become a Buddha and to save all beings can only be realized on the foundation of the Pure Peace of the Present Moment.

Deep bowing
loong

To all or none,
Exercice proposed by TNH.

Yourself,

Sit in a dark room by yourself,or alone by a river at nite.or anywhere else where there is SOLITUDE.Begin to take hold of your breath.Give rise to the tought,"I will use my finger to point at myself" and then instead of pointing at your body,point away in the opposite direction.Contemplate seeing yourself outside of your bodily form.Contemplate seeing your bodily form present before you-in the trees,the grass ,the leaves,the river.Be mindfulthat you are in the Universe and the Universe is in you.:
if the universe is ,you are;if you are,the universe is.There is no birth .There is no death .There is no coming, there is no going.Maintain the half smile Take hold of your breath.

To all or none,
an exercise by TNH ,by which I am in desaccord.
First the Master TNH:
Following your breath while listening to music....

Listen to a piece of music .Breathe long light and even breaths.Follow your breath,be master of it,while remaining aware of the movement and sentiments of the music.Do not get lost in the music,but continue to be master of your breath and your self.

Loong's comment: This text is to control your breathing while you listen to music.In my case when I listen to Mantras ,it is the movements and the sentiments,that I look for.I have a thread on the Mantra of Oneness.When I listen to this Mantra it brings me in a totally other Realm.Today I was listening to it,eyes closed,and a friend sat down.That movenent brouth me back from where I was ,in a very bad feeling.

With respect for TNH,

loong



.

Hi loong, I wasn't completely sure I followed you on this comment. Did you mean that you did not like this practice, because the music took you to another realm, so you were not mindful when your friend sat down, and it triggered negative feelings in you?

Dear Lisa,
A few mantras bring me to this realm ,I cannot describe exactly.
When I am there or in it, nothing else exists,nothing,just a blissfull
World,nothing else.

Not asleep,but so inside of inexistence of other wordly or spiritual things.

Hope you understand this.I don,t


Loong

Hi loong, that is beautiful:-) So many wonderful states we can experience. In tantric and yogic texts these are samadhis and there are hundreds. They are gifts, showing us truths. They are encouragement, letting us know we have moved past some block that would have kept us from seeing it before. But they are not the end state. Enjoy, be grateful, let go. Don't get attached or try to strive to find the same state over and over. There is always more.

To all or none,

Mind and Mindfulness.The last few days,I have suffered physically
like I do not remember when.Cold,flue,sinus etc.Used up 4 boxes ok kleenex.Because of my heart I can only take Tylenol,and specific type of syrop.
someone told me go see a doctor ,why i answered.instead I used my MIND and my MIndfullness.

My non-self and my brain we made adeal.Whatever pain -physical
my mind would not be affected.It was not,no mental suffering whatsoever,also my physical suffering however hard it was.
Felt like I was at the same time not living it.Mindfulness,made it so i would live this ordeal .one moment at the time.Never lost my half smile.

My physical signs are still there ,but i feel them going away.
slowly as I lived the hard ones.

To those who have not yet discovered their MINDS.search.

loong

I am using this time of being sick in bed as mindfulness work. It is relaxing to not feel like I have to be "doing" something all the time. I am enjoying letting myself read and nap and stretch. A bathtub would be icing on the cake, but you can't always get everything.

Oh! I can make myself tea! Not quite a bath, but it will help my sinuses anyway.

To all or none,
From the book Tibetan book of living and dying.By S.Rinpoche.

Meditation is bringing the mind back home,and this is first achieved through the practice of Mindfulness.

The practice of Mindfulness,of bringing the scattered mind home,and so of bringing the different aspects ofour being into focus,is called"Peacefully Remaining" or
'Calm Abiding" This is the first practice on the Buddhist path of meditation,and it is
known as SHAMATHA in sanskrit SHYINE in Tibetan.

Calm Abiding accomplishes several things.First,all the fragmented aspects of ourselves,which have been at war,settle and dissolve and become friends.In that settling we begin to understand ourselves more,and sometimes even have glimpses
Of the radiance of our fundamental nature
Next the practice of mindfulness defuses our negativity,agression,pain,suffering,and frustration,which may have been gathering power over many lifetimes.Rather than suppressing emotions or indulging in them,here it is important to view them ,and your thoughts,and whatever arises with an acceptance and a generosity that are as open and spacious as possible.

Loong the messenger

To all or none,

Mindfulness:Strive to focus on the present.

loong

To all or none,

What I like the most in Buddhism is MINDFULNESS,to me,it is when in an instant,my Mind(rigpa)is present.Everything is clear ,and true.No excitement,just peace,bliss.

May you develop this Mindfulness in your life.

Loong the learner

To all or none,

Today ,found a good article on Mindfulness,I would like to share it with you>
[url]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/mindfulness-meditation-benefits-health_n_3016045.html[url]

Enjoy

Loong

To all or none,

What is helping me go through ,what I am living ,are 2 things.

MINDFULNESS AND EQUANIMITY.

May you grow these 2 flowers.

loong

To all or none,

mindfullness training,in my case is to be able to bite my tong,stop a thought from sem ,and bring it all to now ,mindfullness and karuna.

loong

To all or none,

At one point we had discusses supramondane powers.Last nite,I opened an at least 2 inch gash on my forehead.I take blood thinners for my heart.It was bleeding quite heavely.
I instantly stopped the blood flow with my Mind (rigpa).
today saw my family doctor,he thouth the gash was a month old!
Already is a crust covering the gash.He said it's too late to put stitches.I will carry a large scar!One part is about 1/8 th of an inch deep.

Mastering The good Mind(rigpa),that is all it took.

I hope you master yours.

a scarred:) loong

nice,i heal very quickly like that as well.

To all or none,

What kind of day will you CREATE for yourself today?
A happy one,a stressfull one,a sad day.

MIND (rigpa is the creator of all that we live.)

So decide ,now what type of day you will have.However,you must'
find your Rigpa Mind.

Have a glorious day.

loong

To all or none,

Mindfulness helps us to be aware of what,s going on around us,and suddenly we know how to treasure the conditions of peace and happiness that are available in the here and the now.We do not really need to go somewhere else in order to understand suffering.We need only to be mindful.You can stay wherever you are,and mindfulness helps you touch the suffering of the world and to realize that many conditions of happiness exist for you.You can feel safe,happy,joyful,and powerful enough to change the situation around you.

THICH NHAT HANH.

Yes I got out my book by TNH.

LOONG THE MESSENGER.

To all or none,
You will not beleive this,this is my 3rd attemp to post this text.Lost it on my tablette,and my pc.
text by Thich Nhat Hanh

THE ENERGY of MINDFULLNESS

It is possible to walk with thefeet of Buddha.Our feet,empowered by the energy of Mindfulness.become the feet of the Buddha.You
can't say"I can't walk with the feet of the Buddha,I do not have them"it is not true.Your feet are the Buddha's feet , and if you really want to use them,it is up to you.If you bring the energy of MINDFULNESS into your feet,your feet become the BUDDHAS feet
and you walk for him.And that does not need some kind of blind faith.This is so clear.If you are inhabited by the energy of Mindfulness,you are acting likr a Buddha,you are speaking like a Buddha,you are thinking like a Buddha. That is Buddhahood in you.That is something you can experience;it's not a theory.

The practice of peaceful sitting meditation and the practice of peaceful walking is very basic in Plum Village*. We learn to sit in such a way that the peace is possible during the the whole time of sitting.We learn to walk in such a way that during the whole time of waking there is peace.andwe rely on our Mindfulness .on our concentration to do so.We also profit from the collective energy of Mindfulness of the Sangha in order to do so.If we succeed in one day,we may succeed another day and so on.We have to be determined to succeed in that practice.

loong's comment: first ,my knees will become Buddha's knees,he walked 45 years.
secong this is a Mahayana text,refuted entirely by the Theravadin lineage,
Thirdly,did some research on Plum Village in France.Unless I win a lotto I will never be able to afford the extravagant prices,charged there.
loong

To all or none,

Like IT wrote in anther thread,I bought a book by Thich Nhat Hanh but in french.

I am french but all my buddhism ,I learned in english. TNH was using an expression
That I could not understand.PLEINE CONSCIENCE.If you translate it literally
It means,full consciousness.

Checked the end of the book and it said: MINDFULNESS.
F rom that moment on ,I understood the text better,by substituting ,pleine conscience
By Mindfulness.

Words.

Loong
The book is on Anger.I surely will write a few posts from this book

To all or none,
The following text is from Thich Nhat Hanh.I am translating this text from french.

If you are still haunted by your pass,worried for the future,obcessed by your projects,your fears,your anxiety, and your resentment,it is because ,you are not free,nor totally anchored in here now,.In these conditions ,real life is not accessible to you.To be fully alive,to touch existence in depth,you have to be free .

Cultivating Mindfulness can help you free yourself.

Loong the messenger

,

To all or none,
THe following texts were taken from a book by Thich Nhat Hanh.

1-Walking like a Buddha -that is our practice.
2-True happiness comes from Mindfulness.
3-You need to be there ,body and mind united,fully present-that is Mindfulness.
4-Ther cannot be Mind without object of Mind.
5-It's true a leaf is full of everything,except one thing.a "self".A leaf cannot be by herself alone ,a leaf has to inter-be with everything else in the cosmos.One thing has to rely on all the other things in order to manifest.One thing cannot be by herself alone.
6-We enjoy our breathing, drinking tea,smiling in Mindfulness.walking in Mindfulness and the insights come,the understanding shows up naturally.

loong
Mahayana

To all or none,
Today,s posts will be a series of 3. Taken in the book by THICH NHAT HANH.

First post:
Thanks to Mindfulness, we can recognise all that happens in the NOW.,including the loved one.The fact that one can say ,to the other:IT know that you are there,and
this fills me with joy.:prooves that we are free ,that we have the capacity of loving,
appreciate what is going on in the NOW. Meaning ,existence.
We are always alive and the loved person is always there,present,in front of us.

Loong the messenger

The second part of the post shall follow,

Loong.

To all or none.
Sorry for the delay.
Second section of part 1.

The level of consciousnous attained is very important.One must encercle the other with this energy,to look at him/her and tell:It is marvelous,that you are there,ALIVE.
This fills me with joy:This way ,not only will you be happy,but the other will too,because he will be impregnated by your MINDFULNESS.In these conditions,It is less than probable ,that you fall in an anger mood.
French text translates ,by myself.

Loong

The messenger

To all or none,
Post 2 of a series of 3

Anyone can use this method .One does not have to practice it 8 months to master it.
What is necessary is one or two minutes of breathing,or conscient walking to refind
The here and the now,to start reliving again.

End of post #2

Loong

To all or none

Post #3 of a 3 part serie.

So when you will go towards the other person,you will look directly in her eyes,and you shall make this declaration to her:lt is so marvelous that you are there,alive.
This fills me with joy.
The energy of Mindfulness will make you happy and free.The other person might be prisonner of her own problems,her anger,of her defeciencies,but,thanks to this energy ,you will able to save ,both of you.Mindfulness is Buddha,s energy,the energy of
Enlightenment.The Buddha is present each time that you are fully conscious,and
He squeezes you in his compassionate arms.

From the book ANGER by TNH.

Loong,s comment:Please remember that these 3 posts are for people that are angry at each other,not lovers.However,if this is followed they may become friends.
Or ignore each other,having taken different paths.

Loong

To all or none,
The book that I take extracts from ,is on anger.It mostly shows
anger with someone else.
From now on .I will cite ,phrases regarding ,the non-self.

Here are afew,One can attain enlightenment after having listened
only 5 minutes of a sermon on Dharma.However one must conserve it in his daily life. As time goes on ,enlightenment grows,confusion and ignorance wii have to step away.Not only will the Mind,take advantage,but so will the body and the way of life.

loong
messenger for Thich Nhat Hanh.

to all or none,

Dharma can illiminate the passion of anger and the fever of suffering.It is a way capable of bringing joy and peace here and now.


Buddha never preconised the repression of anger.He would suggest to reinter ourselves to master it.

loong

To all or none,

The book IT have been quoting from is on ANGER.

Tonite ,I came to my old office,McDonald,s, what has been hitting me for a while,
is the anger in a growing number of children.Wherever you go,there is always one having a fit,I really mean,a FIT.
Now for adults,no one seem to care for laws anymore.Never a thank you,a please,a sorry.
Where is all that anger and lack of respect gone.?
Wish ,I could ask TNH.My Teacher,will surely have an answer for me.

Loong
Resident of the Spiritualworld.

To all or none,
False pride,does not have it,s place in authentic love.You cannot pretend to be happy.
You cannot simulate peace of mind.This type of negation is based on false pride.
ME ,angry,why should I be angry?IN am perfectly fine.But in reality you are really not
well.You are in hell.Rage is consuming you,and you should tell the other,your son/daughter,your loved one.When angry ,it is frequent to say:IT do not need you to be happy.IN am doing well by myself:it is then a threason of your initial vow of sharing
Everything.

Text by THICH NHAT HANH
Loong the traducer and messenger.

To all ot none,

Mindfulness,implicates to be be fully conscious of what is happening.

We practice ,so as to transform ourselves.

TNH
loong

To all or none,

Breathing,learning to breathe.My Teacher told me a few times about it ,read so many times about it,and yet do not do it.
In this instant and on ,I shall focuss on breathing,especially ,the fact having had a lung punctured.
Rigpa shall help me contain Sem.
My moments should improve.

A stubborn
Loong.

To all or none,
FINDING OUR MIND

When we are stressed about something,or very busy,we often say we are loosing our minds.But where were they before they were lost and where did they go to ?

In the Surangama Sutra,a popular Buddhist text inVietnam and China,thr Buddha and
His disciple ANANDA discuss how to locate the mind.IS it inside the body,outside the body ,or in between the body and the world outside?Ultimately,thr sutra teaches IS that Mind in non-local.In other words,you cannot say that it IS inside the body,ooutside the body,or in between.It does not have one set location.
TNH.
LOONG THE MESSENGER.

Yes, I have always found this one of the most helpful teachings and basis for a meditation practice. Just sit and try to find the mind. Or sit and try to find the 'I' where all of your thoughts and emotions come from. You cannot find it, but the looking can plummet you into pure awareness...

To all or none,
Walking Meditation.

The Mind can go in a thousand directions,
But on this beautiful path,INSECT walk in peace ,
With each step ,a gentle wind blow ,
with each step ,a flwer blooms.

THICH NHAT HANH

LOONGTHE MESSENGER.

To all or none,
I made a typing error in the 2nd line .
Instead of insect the word should have been ,I,.

Loong

To all or none,

WALKING IN THE PURE LAND.

If you are walking with Buddha,s feet,you are walking in heaven,you are walking in the Pure Land with each step.With Mindfulness,you become aware of your step,and you touch the Pure Land with all it,s wonders,Such a step generates freedom,joy,and healing.We all know that walking meditation IS to enjoy walking in the Kingdom of the Universe,in the Pure Land of the Buddha,and walking like thatcan transform,can heal,can generate a lot of love inside.
Wewalk not only for ourselves ,we walk for our parents,our ancestors,andfor those who are suffering in the world.The Pure land IS something we bring along with IS wherever we go-a portable Pure Land.
That IS the best thing you can offer to the people you encounter.Offer them nothing less than the Pure Land or the Kingdom of the Universe.

You are a Bodhisattva, that.s the kind of gift that,s worth making to the people around you.

THICH NHAT HANH

Loong the messenger.
P.s. I took the liberty of changing 2 words in the text.
If you want to know what they were just e-mail me or message me.

To all or none,

MINDFULNESS,

A great word.To the persons that are not accustomed to this word, The simplest way it can bedescribed,IS,


The capacity to live in this instant ,now.

Mindfulness IS the only moment where truth exists.
It IS the moment where you are really alive.All the previous instants are already illusions.Gone .

Loong

To all or none,
The practice of mindfulness helps us to become the BUDDHA in the here and the now.

THICH NHAT HANH

Loongthe messenger.

To all or none'

I was listening to various Masters on various subject,came upon an interview with THICH NHAT HANH on Anger,Mindfulness,impermanence,compassion .

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84lOtc3AkKM[url]

Please take 10 minutes of your life to listen to the Master,instead of my quotes ,from his book

_/\_
loong

To all or none,

Purety of the mind,really something to attain.When Sem goes on,
purity is already gone.Equanimity and Mindfulness are the moments of purity.
If someone lives in mansland,he is far from the purity of the Mind (Rigpa).

loong

To all or none,

In Buddhism ,the only Creator is :MIND,just like a movie theatre.

In the 80's this is what I was teaching to my students.

Has not changed and will not change.

loong
just an Illusion

To all or none,

The last few days ,isolated myself,from the world.Lots of supposedly things bad happening to me.

When I was a beleiver,i would abandon my troubles to some higher power.

About a few hours ago,I realised that happiness ,sorrow is only an attitude and illusion,all existing,ang exiting for my mind.

Had forgotten Buddhahood inside of me protecring me at every now,
So in this instant ,the mansland problems,i.e. the stabbing,the
police,the d.d.,d.v.a.c.,i.v.a.c.,allthese orginasations will need me,well than call me.Worrying is for someone,expectinc or wanting something.

Mindfullness and Mind(Rigpa) they are,in this now.

May you find your now.

loong
liberated

To all or none,

From a book by Dalai-Lama,on goodness and compassion.This section does apply to me.

You can be a person that irritates easily and quickly ,for minor things.With a comprehension and a clear vigilance,this can be controled.If you usually keep a mad moment,during 10 minutes,try to reduce it to 8 min. then to 6 min.
Next week bring it to 5 min. and next month to 2 min.Then bring it to 0.This is the way one trains MIND (sem) not Rigpa.

H.H.Dalai-Lama

loong
just a messenger

To all or none,

One must take great care of his body through the 6 senses,if one wants to be able to control Anger.

Part TNH part loong

To all or none,
To be able to control negative emotions,you should try to live
within this precept which is the fifth.If you drink alcool in Mindfulness,you will discover that it is a source of suffering .The cereals used to produce that alcool,could have been used to feed a bit of humanity.Eating and drinking in full Mindfulness,permits one to really understand this.

TNH and Loong.

To all or none,

Mindfulnness does not fight with negative emotions!It is there to
acknowledge that there is something in the NOW.

french text by Thich Nhat Hanh
english text by loong

I think this is the perhaps the most important thing to realize for most of us. One of the most common patterns that many of us fall into when beginning to practice (and even when we are not beginners) is mistaking self-judgement and self-policing for mindfulness. We fall into the pattern of judging our thoughts as 'good' or 'bad' and trying to rid ourselves of the 'bad' ones. This is at times a useful skill, but it is not mindfulness, and over time it may lead to more problematic patterns of repression or self-denigration.

Mindfulness is simply seeing and accepting what is there, honestly, non-judgmentally. If we are in this place of mindfulness, we then have a choice at to which thoughts we will act upon, we do not act or speak unconsciously. And we also come to see that we are that pure awareness that can see all of these thoughts, and all phenomena. Then we are not tied to all these thoughts, emotions and sensations floating through us all of the time. If we are stuck in judging our thoughts as good and bad, we stay mired in their framework.

To all or none,
Today received a book by Master Thich Nhat Hanh,called :Understanding our mind:Read about 20 pages,it will be quite a voyage in phylosophy and psychology of Buddha.

I wanted to make a post on the 3 consciousness,before receiving the book.Most of the book is on consciousness.

Will keep you posted.

loong

To all or none,

If you are still haunted by your past,wondering for the future,obcessed by your projects,your fears,your anxiety,your resentment,It means that you are neither free,nor anchored in the here and now.Within these conditions ,true life is not really not accessible .
The tea,the other, the blue sky,flowers,are not accessible to you.To be fully alive,to deeply touch existence,one must be free.
Cultivate Mindfulness may help you liberate yourself.

french text by Master Thich Nhat Hanh,
english text,loong

to all or none,

Mindfulness,implies to be present,of consciousness of what is happening ,in that instant.

loong/TNH

To all or none ,
Taken from the book by Thich Nhat Hanh

The four elements of true love are Maitri(friendship),Karuna(loving kindness) Mudita(joy) and Upeksha(Equanimity)the last element is non discrimination.

However I would add Metta(compassion)

loong

I find this somehow, maybe not a Buddist statement, but one that may possibly become useful...

Living in the moment, is, to me, a directive of where it is one's energy is placed.

Tolerance could use an introspective dose of such a thing. Tolerance goes both ways.

So, in acting in/for the moment, which energy it is that's chosen, is one in which a path is...

To all or none,

Tonite I have taken out of my Library ,a book by THICH NHAT HANH,

The Miracle of Mindfulness.So we are going together ,plunge in this fasciniting part of Buddhism.One of the MOST IMPORTANT one
towards Liberation ,Awakening,Nirvana,Enlightenment.

loong

To all or none,

I have on one of my walls a poster saying

Mindfulness is to strive to focus on the present.

loong

To all or none,

The Sutra of Mindfulness,says,"When walking,the practitioner must be conscious that he is walking.When sitting,the practitioner must be conscious that he is walking .When sitting the practitioner must be conscious that he is sitting.When lying down,the practitioner must be conscious that he is lying down...No matter what position
One's body is in ,the practitioner must be conscious of that position.Practicing thus,the practitioner lives in direct and constant Mindfulness of the body...The Mindfulness of the positions of one,s body is not Enough,however.We must be conscious of
Each breath,every thought and feeling ,everything that has any relation to ourselves
THICH NHAT HANH.
Loong
the messenger.
'

To all or none,

Today ,I thought that ,I had lost my tablet.
I was where ,I regularly do my research,Van Houtte Restaurants.
Rushed home did not find it..Came back to the restaurant.
There I discovered that I had an attachment to my tablette.
Went back to my car ,there it was on the back seat of the car.

If I am to be mindful,I must learn to live my Mindfulness each instant.
However ,through these few moments,I always felt that the
Universe was one with me

Loong
Depending on a little android.

To all or none,

I know sometimes ,I might be a pain in the buttski,but Mind ,is the Creator.In Tibetan buddhism Mind is in 2 sections.
The first one I call the crazy mind,inventing all sorts of stories in our mind,all kinds of things that are not in the now.
That part is called sem .The other part ,the Creator when in the present moment is called Rigpa.

In the last few days ,let my crazy mind side lead my thoughts.
Fell into Emptiness,little depression.Scared of reprisals from the people that stabbed me ,and waiting for 2 MRI's report.
Got the reports today Right Knee Kaput.Right shoulder ,2 major tears caused by my stabbing.
If My Mindfulness had been better,by that I mean living in the now ,instead of what if's I would not gone through this emptiness phase.
I know I am hard on myself ,always were.I am 67 ,my Inside body is 100 years old .
All this to say: Love yourself,give more time to your family,
a $200,000 house is sufficient .and who cares if your car is not a 2014.Mine is a1999 and proud of it.
Take Refuge in Buddha ,or just read ,on Wiki "Taking Refuge"

From a man that abused his body all his life to be loved by others, neglecting to love myself first.

loong
A Mahayana Buddhist and proud of it.

To all or none,

This post ,shall be,different,aren't they all?
The way to true Happiness is through non-attachment,to things,thoughts,humans.
I fell in the trap of attachment.The surugate family ,I spoke about,got attached to their presence,their love.
I live now like a little puppy waiting to be cuddled.I wait for their calls their presence.Tonite was supposed to be A Genral Tao chicken supper.No one.s home.
Disappointment,man ,did I fall in the trap .
I never knew family living ,and with them this is what I had discovered.

I must ,hate that word, learn to detach myself from them .and go back to my solitude.
In a book by Richard Bach,he wrote:Living with others for 5 minutes,and you have to learn all over to live alone.

loong
Mahayana Buddhist

To all or none,

15 minutes after writing the last post,my surugate family called
me for supper.
Best Tao Chicken I ever ate ,with thai noodles,sauteed veggies

coffee, Raspberry cold tea.I very rarely eat meat ,meat coming
from a sentient being.So before eating I thanked the chicken that gave its life so I could eat.

One other thing I would like to share with you: Buddhism has given me so much,up to this instant.One is to RESPECT all other
forms of spirituality or religion.Presently my favorite,mantra
song hymn prayer,I do not know how to call it is a Krishna song.
Jesus of Nazareth is well respected in Buddhism as a Master ,to me a Bodhisattva.In this video Jesus LAUGHS,never seen this .

got to go to bed.

loong
a Mahayana Buddhist

To all or none,
Taken from the book The Miracle of Mindfulness, by THICH NHAT HANH

This is your own time.This spot where you sit is your own spot.
It is on this very spot and in this very moment that you can become
Enlightened. You don't,t have to sit beneath a special tree in a distant land.Practice like this for a few months,and you will begin to know a profound and renewing delight.

This text is related to Mindfulness Meditation.

To all or none,
From the book The Miracle of Mindfulness.

We are life and life is limitless.Perhaps one can say that we are
only alive when we live the life of the world,and so live the sufferings and joys of others.
The suffering of others is our own suffering,and the happiness of others is our own happiness. If our lives have no limits,the assembly of the five aggregates which makes us our self also has no limits.

!Loong the messenger

To all or none,
The five Mindfulness Trainings deal with integrity,honesty,and
Compassion.They compass protecting life,preventing war and destruction of life,practicing generosity,preventing sexual misconduct,practicing mindful,loving speach and deep listening,
and practicing mindful consumption.

The practitioner of the mindfulness trainings has a powerful energy protecting him/her,and preserving freedom ,and NON-FEAR.
IF you practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings,you are no longer subject to FEAR,because your mindfulness trainings body is Pure.

Text TNH from the book Buddha Mind Buddha Body

Loong
the messenger😇
.

To all or none,
It is 3 o'clock in the morning.Usually at this time ,I Wake up in a terror nitemare.I woke up very relaxed,no nitemares.Very rare event.
The last 2 days ,I have read 3 books simultaneously,but slowly ,
to find good texts for me and for those who read my posts.

One of the things that struck me was : Do not hurry what you are doing.May it be the dishes,washing the floor,cooking the supper,
walking, praying (every nite I recite my vows of Taking refuge
in the Three Jewels) if you are late for a rendez vous ,just phone that you will be late,Never butch something ,because of the things you have planned,this way you will remain Mindfull.
Your Mindfulness will not be affected by the chaos you are creating by hurrying.Be at peace as I am in this instant ,typing
very slowly so as not to loose my Mindfulness.

This is real Mindfulness training ,this I am telling to myself.

loong
Mahayana Buddhist

To all or none,
From the book ,The Miracle of Mindfulness,by TNH.
Now ,I see that if one does not know how to die,one can hardly know how to live-because death is a part of life.As Life is part of death.

Loong the messenger

To all or none,
From the book Buddha Mind Buddha Body.

We suffer because our heart is small.Helping our heart to grow big
Ksanti paramita,is the capacity of embracing everyone,everything,you do not Exclude anyone.Untrue love,you do not discriminate anymore.Whatever a person,s color,religion ,or political beliefs,you accept them all with no discrimination whatsoever.Inclusiveness here means nondiscrimination.

Loong's comment:here is an example of the above.
I was stabbed on April 17,on April morning of the 18 ,my first thought was for the person that had stabbed me.I felt compassion for that young man that had justscrapped his life,taking me for a cop.He is facing 14 years in jail,and I am sure he vaguely remember
Stabbing me ,he was so stone.

Loong
Mahayana Buddhist.

To all or none,
Today we speak of Wisdom(Prajna Paramita).Crossing with the raft of wisdom ,is the sixth paramita.

We cultivate mindfulness,we cultivate concentration and understanding,and wisdom is the fruit of our cultivation.Wisdom
is the fruit as well as the means to liberation.
Liberation is found on the other shore .But it is not a matter of distance to reach the other shore-it is a matter of insight ,of realization.
Releasing the shore of ignorance,of delusions,attachments,of wrong
Perceptions,we are already touching the shore of Freedom,of Happiness.IT IS NOT A MATTER OF TIME.

When you live deeply every moment with Mindfulness and Concentration,you run derstanding always grows.

TNH

What a great text

Loong
MahayanaBuddhist.

To all or none,
Depending on the Lineage ,there are 6 or 10,paramitas.
Mahayana has 6 ,however 4 more can be added to that number.
Theravada has 10 paramitas ,also called perfections.

Loong

To all or none,
From the book by Which Nhat Hang,Buddha Mind ,Buddha Body,

The following list of paramitas is as follows:
He gives only 6 .
Giving or Dana paramita
The Mindfulness trainings,or Perfection of Ethics.
(He states 5 Mindfulness Trainings)
Inclusiveness or perfection of Patience
Diligence,or perfection of Joyous Effort/Enthusiastic Perseverance
Meditation,perfection of concentration
Wisdom.

Loong
Sharing.

To all or none,

From the book Miracle of Mindfulness by TNH.

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness.
The four that I will be citing,each has subsections,that ,I may share with you in other posts.
So here are the Four Foundations(Satipatthana Sutta)

The contemplation of the body
The contemplation of feelings
The contemplation of consciousness
The contemplation of mental objects.

Loong
Sharing

These are the foundation for all, and they are all connected. For example, when we contemplate a feeling, an emotion, we realize we feel it somewhere in our body, connecting body and feeling. Then when we contemplate the 'source' for this emotion, we realize it takes place within our consciousness, and if we try and find the 'I' of the consciousness, we may discover it is a mental object in our awareness - a construct. In this way we see how contemplation of consciousness and contemplation of mental objects come together.

At some point, we come to the contemplator - the part of our mind that contemplates, and then we need to look into the roots of this itself - this observer part of our mind as an object in our mind.

Eventually we come to all - the universe, all awareness, coming through us, no contemplation, no observer, no contemplator. This is where simply mindfulness can take us.

Dear Lisa

You write:Eventually we come to all - the universe, all awareness, coming through us, no contemplation, no observer, no contemplator. This is where simply mindfulness can take us.

That would have been one of my future posts as written above
loong

To all or none,


In my post #855210,I wrote about the 5 contemplations .
In the first, contemplation of the body,first point mentionned is Mindfulness of breathing.What follows is part of that text.
n.b. when :he: is mentionned the author refers to a monk ,bhikkhu,meditator.

Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body internally,or he lives contemplting the body in the body,internally and externally.He lives contemplating origination in the body,or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in the body.Or his Mindfulness is established with the thought::the body exists: to the extent necessary just for Knowledge and
Mindfulness,and he lived detached ,and to naught in the world.Thus also,monks,a monk lives contemplating the body in the body.

TNH

loong
Messenger.

p.s. if one has a chance read ;OLD AGE; in the Dhammapada.

To all or none,

The text I wrote in # 855619 reminds me very much of Impermance,subject not often spoken enough .
Will write a post on It soon.

loong
Mahayana Buddhist

To all or none,

I will list the various subject in the Contemplation of the body:
Mindfulness breathing ,we saw partly in the last post
The Postures of the body
Mindfulness with Clear Comprehension
The Reflection of the Repulsiveness of the body
The Reflection on the Material Elements
The Nine Cemetery Contemplation

The last Contemplation might seem odd to a non practitioner.
Buddha described the body as just a carrier filled with blood,water
feces,bones meat.However body and mind go together.

Loong
Mahayana Buddhist

To all or none,

Some people have said that if you look at reality with the eyes of a Buddhist,you become pessimistic.But in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth.The problem is to see reality as it is.A pessimistic attitude can never create the calm and
serene smile that blossoms on the lips of the Bodhisattvas and all others who attain the Way.

Loong's comment:I have not yet attained the Way,far from it,
However,I was a person t?hat nobody wanted to talk to.
Today ,I carry the half smile described by Thigh Nhat Hanh,
And been told a few times that ,I glow.,this said with humility.

Loong
😂

Yes, I have heard this too Loong, about Buddhism seeming pessimistic, because of the first Noble truth that life is suffering. I think it is partly because this word 'suffering' is perhaps not a good translation of dukkha, the original word. People think Buddhism is all about focusing on our suffering, and negating the positive or pleasurable experiences in life. But as you know, it's not that at all. The point really is that we usually distract ourselves with so many forms of pain and pleasure, and live at a level in which we never see beyond them, and so whenever we experience pain, or pleasure ceases, we are unhappy. When we live in the dharma, in the flow, we don't give up pleasure or good things - we in fact can experience them even more deeply, because we are no longer struck with fear at the thought of them ending.

Dear Teacher,

I really love,what you wrote:experience them even more deeply, because we are no longer struck with fear at the thought of them ending.

loong

To all or none,

It is said that obsessions are not necessarely good.

I have developped one lately:Reminding myself to do everything

with a slow pace as mentionned by Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

By doing this, one trains himself in being mindfull.

Try it ,you will love it,and as a bonus you will appreciate what

you are doing at that instant.

loong
mahayana Buddhist

To all or none,
Text by Which Nhat Hanh,
I have spoken about the contemplation or interdependence.Of
course all the methods in the search for truth should be looked on as means rather than as ends in themselves or as absolute truth.
The meditation on interdependence is intended to remove the false barriers of discrimination so that one can enter into the Universal harmony of life.It is not intended to produce a philosophical
system,a philosophy Of interdependence.Herman Hesse,in his movel
Siddhartha,did not yet see this. And so his Siddhartha speaks about the philosophy of interdependence in words which strikes us as somewhat naive.The author offers a picture of interdependence in which everything is interrelated,a system in which no fault can be found:everything must fit into the foolproof system of mutual dependence,a system in which one cannot consider the problem of
liberation in this world.

The author goes on to explain that the way Herman Hesse ,sees
The interdependence is in a way childish and gives 3reasons to see it differently.
To me interdependence ,is seen as Oneness.I must be naive ,because ,I to believe in Herman Hesse's way of seeing Interdependence.
What is great about Buddhism,is the non-existence of dogmas.
To simple me ,everything and everyone good or bad are but One,
Making this Universe what it is.
I am not sure that my Teacher would be in agreement with me.

Loong
With freedom of choice.

L

To all or none,
This is a beautiful text,Mind...….blowing:-)
There is a race of human beings who are capable of generating the energy of Mindfulness all day.(NOT MY CASE ,I dream a lot )
And we belong to that race,conscious homosapians." We all belong to the family of the Buddha,because we are able to generate the energy
of Mindfulness that inhabits us 24 hours a day.
Buddhas are those creatures that live Mindfully 24/7.
In the beginning ,we become part-time Buddhas,and as we continue to practice WE BECOME FULL TIME BUDDHAS.We learn not to discriminate because we understand that everyone has the SEED of Buddha-Nature.
Every non-Buddha has the Buddha-nature.That is why we are free from racial discrimination.And our practice to help the Buddha nature manifest in as many people as possible
,because Collective awakening is the only thing that can bring us out of this present difficult situation.

This text is a Mahayana text,written by Master Thich Nhat Hanh

I took the liberty to do some commenting during my posting.

Loong
Mahayana Buddhist.

To all or none,

Sitting in Mindfulness, both our bodies and minds can be at peace and totally relaxed.But this state of peace and relaxation differs fundamentally from the lazy,semiconscious state of Mind that one gets while resting and dozing.Sitting in such lazy semis consciousness,far from being Mindfulness,is like sitting in a dark cave.In Mindfulness one is not restful and happy,but alert and awake.Meditation is not an evasion: it is a serene encounter with reality.The person who practices mindfulness should be no less awake than a driver of a car; if the practitioner is not awake he will be possessed by dispersion and forgetfulness,just as a drowsy driver is likely to cause a grave accident.Be awake as a person walking on high stilts.
TNH


Loong,s comment:First,I will not doubt the author's words.
However ,I have read so often ,that a monk,
Should some times isolate himself ,to be more capable of meditating
Mindfully.I understand the Master,s words,but also there is nothing wrong in just resting ,if it is what ,one is looking for.
So there is Meditation and Restfulness,to me both very important in today,s world.
Loong
Buddhist
,

To all or none,
Today's subject is if one is possessed by sadness ,anxiety,hatred,passion.
Using meditation,the sadness (or whatever has caused the pain) can be used as a means of liberation from torment and suffering,like using a thorn to remove a thorn.we should treat our anxiety ,our pain,our hatred and passion gently,respectfully,not resisting it,BUT LIVING WITH IT,making peace with it ,penetrating into its nature by meditation and interdependence.One quickly learns how to select subjects of meditation that fit the situation-like interdependence,compassion,self emptiness,none attachment -all these belong to the categories of meditation which have the power to reveal and heal.
Text THICH NHAT HANH
Loong messenger and learner.

To all or none,
This post is about the influence of soft music ,on all beings
.Do you know that many milk farmers ,play classical music ,to their cows,and they produce more milk......

I thought about a conference room ,where people argue and debate,where angry and reproachful words are hurled back and forth.If one placed flowers and plants in such rooms,chances are they would cease to grow.
I thought about a garden tended by a monk living in Mindfulness. His flowers are always fresh and green,nourished by the peace and joy which flow from his Mindfulness. One of the ancients said,

When a great Master is born,the water in the rivers turn clearer and the plants grow greener.

We ought to listen to music or sit and practice breathing at the beginning of every meeting or discussion.

Text by THICH NHAT HANH

Loong
You should see the size of my bamboos in my home.:-)

To all or none,

I have just read a story too long to narrate,from that story ,these 3 important truth appear.

1)Remember that there is only one important time and that is now.
2)The most important person(after you) is always the person you are with ,who is right before you,for who knows if you will have dealings with any other person in the future.
3)The most important pursuit is making the person standing at your side happy,for that alone is the pursuit of life.

Loong's comment:These 3 phrases apply to others.I believe that
I should be the most important person in my life,also that the pursuit of life is :Enlightenment.

Loong
buddhist

To all or none,

For those who follow me know I have terror nitemares.They happened again last nite.
However had 2 huge ones lately that liberated me.
When I awoke because of the nitemare,I decided that these would help clear my store consciousnes as mentionned in one of my posts
recently.I aloud invited these nitemares to come out.Some will think I am crazy.I know I am .Accepting that these nitemares are in fact ways for my store consciousness to clear itself,I will face these nitemares with my Mindfulness.
Right when I awoke ,I took my blood pressure,remember that not 3 minutes had gone by since awakening.
Just my heartbeat was at 77 ,usually hangs around 50 to 55.

So I have found a way of doing positive work,with what has been terrorizing me for 15 years.

This approach I read yesterday and wrote it in one of my posts.

loong
mindful buddhist,not afraid to go to bed anymore.
What a nutcase .:)

Hi Loong, you may not realize it, but in fact this is an approach that is used in some dream-based paths, so you have stumbled upon it yourself. Just be very gentle and cautious with yourself - no need to release too much too fast! And remember the kindness to yourself part - it isn't an exorcism, these parts of your consciousness are not be hated (that will only cause a new kind of karma to develop). Love all parts of yourself, extend compassion to all parts of yourself, even these that have terrorized you for so long. Then there is no battle, and they will naturally leave you of their own accord.

Dear Teacher,

What has changed in my approach to the nitemares,is that they can
Change my Now and eventually my future.
If you read my post ,you read that this will be done with love,
Mindfulness,even laughter like this morning.I thank you for the
warning,but they are not enemies anymore ,but seeds to help improve my Mindfulness ,karma.

Loong
Buddhist

To all or none,

Woke up ,after nitemare.Started talking to my nitemare.Call me crazy.I used beautiful words telling the person involved (my younger brother } that i loved him and would appreciate ,the future dreams be of friendship and loving kindness.
I was not distraught at all.Great beginning.
loong
buddhist

To all or none,
When one trains his Mindfulness, I know that you will see a
Significant change in your life.The day of Mindfulness will begin to penetrate the other days of the week ,enabling you to eventually live seven days a week in Mindfulness.

Loong
simple Buddhist.

To all or none,

I do not remember if I posted ,this Zen Buddhism poem.

I have arrived
I am home
in the here,
In the now
I am solid.
I am free.
In the ultimate,
I dwell.

Loong
Simple buddhist

To all or none,

The Five Earth touchings.

TNH in his retreat has various exercises,the Five EarthTouching
Is one of them.

1)In gratitude ,I bow to all generations of ancestors in my blood family.Mother father ancestors etc.

2)In gratitude ,I bow to all generations in my Spiritual family
Means teachers,the one that shows us how to love.

3)in gratitude ,I bow to this land and all the ancestors who made it available

4)In gratitude and compassion,I bow down and transmit my energy
To those I love.

5)In understanding and compassion ,I bow down to reconcile myself with all those who have made me suffer.

Loong
simple buddhist

To all or none,
We are in the section of volition
There are other things that are appealing but which are not dangerous.For example ,going out of your way to help people.
You are motivated by the desire to help,to serve,to reconcile.
Maybe there will be some danger ,you may even lose your life.But if you have a lot of Compassion,if you have the insight that there is no birth and no death,you are no longer afraid and you go anyway.That kind of desire is Wholesome.That is Foliation.
THICH NHAT HANH,

Loong
Friend with death ,simple Buddhist.

To all or none,

My life being pretty hectic in the last few days weeks.This morning I realized that I was not paying attention to my breathing recently. This afternoon when I will be researching for new data for the various threads, remember this is this afternoon ,not Now, I will meditate the Vipassana way for a 15 minutes.

Every little bit helps.

loong
simple buddhist.

To all or none,

Impermanence,can be understood in two ways.The first is Impermanence at every moment"Moment to moment Impermanence. We have to see birth and death in every moment.And the other kind of Impermanence is cyclical Impermanence. We see disintegration of the body every day.But underneath impermanence is Continuation.

Loong,scomment:In Buddhism ,this text to me is one of the most
important ,because it shows many things.
First we die and get rebirthed every Now,
Second ,it shows that there cannot be an "I"=Non-Self
Third Impermanence
Fourth the #1 is ,My belief part of Samsara the wheel of dying and
Rebirthing.
So as one can see ,this text is primordial in simplicity to explain so much of Buddhism.

Loong
simple Buddhist,filled with Joy.

To all or none,

Mindfulness is the inviter.Mindfulness is the gardener who believes
in the capacity of the soil to provide flowers and fruits.Sometimes
Mindfulness can play the role of the initiator.Suppose you are mindful that your beloved one is sitting in front of you.Breathing in,I know that my beloved one is sitting in front of me .And I
notice that is something important.She is alive.She is present in front of me.It soon be good if I say something nice to her,because tomorrow I may not be there to say it.And then you look at her ,and you say,"Darling ,I know you are there ,and I am so happy"
So Mindfulness can act as an agent and initiate some thought,or some speech,or some action.That is why we can say that Mindfulness
May come later,or Mindfulness sometimes ,if we want,can be the initiator of some thought,some speech,or some action .Understanding
This process,we know there is a chance for us to be free.And great freedom begins with these little tiny freedoms that we bring about with our Mindfulness.

Loong
simple Buddhist.

To all or none,
Every time,I did that,I got this or I got this.You can observe the law of cause and effect.In this way,Mind consciousness is capable
Of learning from the past.Learning from the past will give us freedom ,and that is an element to help us to make good decisions,decisions that will help us not to suffer in the present moment or in the future.Mind consciousness can help us learn about
the past and also learn about the future ,because the future is available here and now.

Loong
simple buddhist

For whatever reason, timing had me pop in at this moment and this message from Loong - seems SO relevant!!!

I tried, lol, to edit sort of, just periods and comas and underlining what came over my Soul as Quite important (I pray/hope it did not offend and if it did, please just tell me...pretty please and/or put it back the way you intended).

I see what you see! AND at times it can be a tortuous event (more often than not) especially when you've seen beyond and know as human beings they are capable of SO much more...but the fear that keeps them in chains...

It's an illusion is all I can say, and MANMADE from ingredients I wouldn't put into the common stew.

I feel, Loong - if you can receive this msg, you are coming into your own...what you were sent and meant here to do, past the aggravation, the frustration, etc.

If this msg. was on the wrong track, I'd simply come out and say so. This particular msg/post, feels spot on and more significant than ever.

Thank you

Dear Elleise.

When I copy a book from a Master,I do not change anything,even if I know he makes mistakes with his writing style.
I dare not change anything.

loong
a simple buddhist

To Elleise,
I do not get offended,I hope THICH NHAT HANH will not too.

loong
simple buddhist

To all or none ,
Text by THICH NHAT HANH.

We know that the future will be made only of the present moment.The substance with which the future is made is the present moment.That is why looking deeply in the present we already see the future.If there is peace,harmony,Right Effort,and Mindfulness now,we know the future will be good.But in the present moment we are only a victim of our habit energies,we know that the future will not be as good.
We can already see the future now.That is how mindfulness can uncover not only the present moment,but also it can uncover the past and uncover the future.

Loong
simple Buddhist learning from the Masters

To all or none
From a book by MASTER THICH NHAT HANH.

How can we learn the practice of No-Self?When you learn something for the first time,you use your mind consciousness to
understand.And after some time it becomes a habit ,and your Mind consciousness does not have to be aware anymore.There's a process
Of forming habits,a tendency to automate everything and use our store consciousness, so that even if you do not pay attention to what you are doing,you can do it correctly,like walking.When you walk ,your mind may be entirely absorbed in your thinking about other things,and yet eye consciousness collaborates with store consciousness enough for you to avoid accidents.

Loong
learning more,simple Buddhist.

to all or none
We use this process of turning information into
store consciousness.
to create habits.If you operate too much with your mind consciousness to create habits.If you operate too much with your
Mind consciousness ,you get old very quickly.Your worries ,yourthinking,your planning,and your reflection require a lot of energy. A peron named Wasisi,in ancient China spent one nite worrying and being f earful,and in the morning all his hair had turned white.Don't do that.Don' t use your Mind consciousness
too much;it isconsuming a lot of energy.It 's better to be than to think.

From Master TNH.

loong
refreshing his knowledge and just a simple Buddhist.

To all or none
From a book by the MASTER THICH NHAT HANH.

That doesn;t mean we lose our Mindfulness,rather our Mindfulness
becomes a habit that we can practice without forcing.Mind consciousness is the level at which we can train ourselves in the habit of Mindfulness,and then it will infiltrate store consciousness,creating a pattern of mindfulness at the level of store.mindfulness has the capacity to stimulate the brain,to engage with what we are perceiving in a new way,so that we are not just
operating on autopilot.is it possible to reprogram our store
consciousness to respond,with MINDFULNESS rather than mindlessness?

It is possible to instill in our store consciousnessthe habit of
HAPPINESS.

another great text

loong
simple buddhist

To all or none.

From the Book Buddha Mind,By THICH NHAT HANH,
To do so we have to learn the lesson of Mindfulness with our bodies
and with our store consciousness rather than with our mind conciousness.The lesson we are learning is that we have to threat our body as consciousness .The practice has to involve our body in it.You cannot just practice with your Mind, because your body is an aspect of your consciousness and your consciousness is a part of your body.

loong
simple buddhist

To all or none,
From a Book bt THICH NHAT HANH

When our store consciousness and our Mind consciousness(which )
we could also call our body consciousness)are in harmony,we will
find it easy to cutivate HAPPINESS.When the practice has become an habit ,we do not have to exert too much effortn the level of Mind
consciousness.This shows that good practice can transform old habits that are no longer serving us.Good practice can also create good habits.

loong
simple buddhist.

To all or none,

Mindfulness is a practice to enjoy;not to bring about more hardship in our life.The practice is not hard labor.It is a matter of enjoyment.And enjoyment can become a habit.Some of us only have the habit of suffering.Others among us have developped the habit of smiling and laughing and being happy .The capacity to be happy is the best thing we can cultivate.So please enjoy walking,enjoy sitting

From the book by THICH NHAT HANH BUDDHA MIND

LOONG

Laughing

To all or none,

From the book by TNHBuddha Mind.

When I observe a leaf ; I see the leaf is full,totally full.I look at the leaf ,I touch the leaf ,and with the wonderful instrument called MIND I can see that while I touch the leaf,I am also touching cloud.The cloud is present in the leaf.I know very well that if there is no cloud,here is no rain then no poplar tree can grow.That is why when I touch the leaf Itouch non-leaf elements.
One of those non-leaf elements is the cloud .I touch the cloud ;
I touch the rain by touching the leaf.By touching the leaf ,I know that water and rain are there in the leaf.I also touch the sunshine
in the leaf.I know that without sunshine nothing can grow.I am touching the sun without getting burned.And I know that the sun is present in the leaf.If I continue my meditation I will see that I am touching the minerals in the soil.I am touching time ,I am touching space, I am touching my own consciousness.The leaf is full of the cosmos-space,time,consciousness,water ,soil,air and everything so how can we say it is empty?

loong
simple buddhist

To all or none,
SIGNLESSNESS

The second Concentration is SIGNLEssness,animita.Iignlessness means not being caught in appearance.It looks as though the cloud that we observe in the sky has a beginning ,and we speak of the birth of a cloud.It looks like a cloud may die sometimes tonite and will no longer exist in the sky.We have a notion of birth and death .But with the practice of looking deeply,we can touch the nature of no-birth and no-death of the cloud.If we ive our life mindfullythen we will be able to touch the nature of signlessness.Drinking your cup of tea ,you recognize your beloved cloud in your cup.The cloud may take the form of an ice cube . The cloud may take the form of the
snow on the Pyrenees.The cloud may be the ice cream that your child
is eating.So with the wisdom of Signlessness ,you discover that nothing is born,nothing can die-and you have non-fear.True Happiness ,perfect Happiness cannot be possible without non-fear.Looking deeply and ouching the nature of no-birth and no-death
will remove the fear in you.

From the book By TNH Buddha Mind.

loong
simple buddhist.

To all or none,

The text that will follow is from the book Buddha Mind Buddha Body
by Master THICH NHAT HANH.
"Ther is the element of delusion in us and there,s the element of uminosity in us. Because of the element of delusion ,we suffer.Because of the element of Luminosity ,we can become a Buddha.That is how the duality between brain and mind can be solved.REALITY is expressed as brain or as consciousness.It is not true to day that the brain is born from the mind,or the Mind is an emergent property of the braib- you do not have to do that .You can say that both mind and brain manifest from the ground of store consciousness,and they support each other in their manifestation.
Without Mind ,brain, cannot be possible ;without brain Mind cannot manifest.Everything relies on everything else in order to manifest .Like the leaf ,like the flower -a flower has to rely on non-flower elements,in order to manifest .The same thing is true with the Mind.The same thing is true with brain.

loong"; comment:However ,the Mind which is located anywhere,inside outside dixit THICH NHAT HANN in one of his books,remains the Creator of our lives.The brain as I see it permits the body and cerebral activities to exist.Together

To all or none,

Sorry for not writing anything today to follow the last text.Checking with the Editor for copyrights,so that Bellaonline
has no problem for me using the book for our Learning of the Dharma.

loong
simple buddhist

To all or none

Recently i bought in England 4 books on Mindfulness.Today we have the pleasurre of starting a small book of 60 pages written by NYANAPONIKA THERA.THE TITLE OF THE BOOK IS
THE POWER OF MINDFULNESS.It is of the Theravada lineage,compared to the ones used before by MASTER THICH NHAT HANH of the Mahanaya lineage.What I have read so far from this book is really in the Thera style.What I call "In your face " no frills just the words straight up.

So Here goes our exert from this book.

"Mindfulness, on the other hand is of an unobstructive nature.( the
author had compared mindfulness 's importance to other mental factors like votion energy imagination intelligence)"Its virtues shine inwardly ,and in ordinary life most of its merits are passed
on to other mental faculties which generally receive all the credit.
One must know Mindfulness well and cultivate its acquaintance
before one can appreciate its value and its silent penetrative influence.Mindfulness walks slowly and differently ,and ita daily task is of a rather humdrum nature,Yet e it places its feet it cannot easily be disloged,and it acquires and bestows true mastery on the ground it covers."

This is our first meeting with ,Nya,Very different style.

Loong impressed being a bit a wee bit in your face person.

To all or none,

The text that I am about to lay on my tablette,is from a small book
60 pages from Sri-Lanka,But never jugde abook by the number of pages:).The Power of Mindfulness by Nyanaponika Thera.
"Through the master mind of the Buddha,Mindfulness is finally revealed as the Archimedean point where the vast revolving mass of world suffering is levered out of its twofold anchorage in IGNORANCE AND CRAVING.

The Buddha spoke of the power of Mindfulness in a very empathic way.

:MINDFULNESS ,I declare,is all-helpfull:(SN 46.59)

ALL things can be mastered by Mindfulness"(AN 8.83)"

As you can see small books do carry big stuff.

loong
simple buddhist.

To all or none

Text From A Small book but powerful,titled "The power of Mindfulness,by Master Nyanaponika Thera."

"By bare attention we understand the clear and single-minded
awareness of what actually happens to us and in us at the successive moments of perception.It is called "bare" because it attends to the bare facts of a perception without reacting to them by deed ,speech,or mental comment.Ordinarely .that purely receptive state of Mind is, as we said,just a very brief phase of the thought process of which one is often scarcely aware.But in the methodical
development of Mindfulness aimed at the unfolding of its latent powers,bare attention is sustained for a long time as oneLs strengt
of concentration permits .
Bare attention then becomes the key to the meditative practice of
SATIPATTHANA opening the door to Mind;s mastery and final liberation"


loong
simple buddhist.

To all or none,
The text used today comesfrom a simple little booklet of 60 pages filled with powerful writings.It is written by Master NYANAPONIKA THERA.The book is titled the power of Mindfulness.

Yesterday I wrote about a sutra called SATIPATTHANA .I recently ordered 4 books from England at Wisdom Books,they were all on Mindfulness.The Universe works in afunny way.One of the 4 books is
The suta,above named,but however written in such small printing ,I might have to buy a Magnifying glass to read it. .

So here goes today's text that I have chosen .

"FOUR SOURCES OF POWER IN BARE ATTENTION"

We shalll now deal with four aspects of bare attention ,
which are the mainsprings of the power of Mindfulness.They are not only the sources of its strength ,but they are the principal ones to which its efficacy as a method of mental development is due.

These four are:

1-the functions of "tidying up and "naming: exercised by bare attention ;
2-he non-violent ,non-coercive procedure ;
3- the capacity of stopping and slowing down;
4-the direction of ision bestowed by bare attention,."

I might in the next posts resune each of the four sources.

loong
simple buddhist.

To all or none,

Yesterday we saw the Four factors Bare ATTENTION.

Today we shall see aresume of the first Tydying out and naming

The book is by NYANAPONIKA THERA.of Sri-Lanka.

"In several passages of of the Satiphattana sutta the fonction of naming or "bare registering" seems to be indicated by formulating

the respective statements by way of direct speech.There are no less than four such instances in the discourse.:

1-When experiencing a pleasant feeling ,he knows I experience a
pleasant feeling!!!

2- He knows of a lustful (state of) Mind,Mind is lustful!!!

3-If (the hindrance f)sense desire is present in him,he knows,(Sence desire is inside of me)!!!

4-If the Enlightenment factor ,mindfulnessis present in him,he knows "The enlightenment factor Mindfulness is inside of me ,!!!!

In concluding this section ,we briefly point out that the tidying up and the naming of mental process is the indispensable preparation for fully understanding them in their true nature,the
task of INSIGHT (vipassaba).These functions exercised by bare attention ,will help dispel the illusion that the mental processes are compact.They will also... help s to discern their specfic nature or characteristics and notice their momentary tise and fall."
Tis resumes the first of the four bare attention.

In our next text we will look at the second.
loong
relearning and simple buddhist.

.

To all or none

Text taken from a Thera book by MASTER NYANAPONIKA THERA,TITLED
THE POWER OF MINDFULNESS.

The texts are taken at random.

"The antagonistic forces that appear in meditation and are liable to upset its smooth course are of three kinds.

1-external disturbances ,such as noise
2- Mental defilements (kilesa) such as lust ,anger, restlessness ,dissatisfaction or sloth,which may arise at any time during meditation
3 various incidental stray thoughts or surrender to day-dreamind.

These distractions are the great stumbling blocks for a beginner in meditation who has not yet acquired sufficient dexterity to deal with them effectively "

this text sounds as if Lisa had written it


loong
simple buddhist

To all or none,

text taken by N Thera,called The power of Mindfulness.

Texts taken at random.
;Mindfulness ,though seemingly of a passive nature,is in act an activating force.It makes the Mind alert,and alertness is indispensable for all purposeful activity .In the present inquiry,however,we shall be mainly concerned with the restraining power of Mindfulness.We shall examine how it makes for disentanglement and detachement and how it positively helps in the developmentof the mental qualities required for the work of deliverance."

loong
simple buddhist

To all or none,

Text taken from "UNDERSTANDING OUR MIND BY THICH NHAT HANH.

"IIn practicing bare attention ,we keep STILL at the mental and spatial place of observation.amidst the loud demands of the innner
and outher world.Mindfulness possesses thestrength of Tranquility ,the capacity for deferring action action and applying the brake ,for stopping rash interference and for suspending judgement while pausing to observe facts nd to reflex upon them wisely .It also brings a wholesome slowingdown in the Impetuosityof thought,speech and slowingdown-these will be our key words when speaking ow of our restraining effect of bare attention.

to all or none,

THIS POST SHOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED IN UNDERSTANDING OUR MIND,

SO,SO,SORRY

LOONG
DISTRAUGHT

To all or none,

Text from The Power of Mindfulness by N.Thera from Sri-Lanka.

Mindfulness though seemingly of a passive nature,is in fact an activating force.It makes the Mind alert,and alertness is indispensable or all purposeful activity .In the present inquiry ,however,we shall be mainly concerned with the restraining power of Mindfulness.We shall examine how it makes for distanglement and
detachment and how it positively helps in the development of themental qhalities required for the work of deliverance.

in practicing bare attention ,we keek still at the mental and spatial place of observation ,amidst the loud demands of the innerand outer world.Mindfulness possesses the strength of tranquility ,the capacity fordeferring action and applying the brake ,for stopping rash interference and for suspending judgement while pausing to observe facts and to reflect upon them wisely.it also brings a wholesome slowingdown in the impetuosity of thought ,
speech and action Keeping still and stopping ,pausing and slowingdown -these will be our key words when speaking now of the restraining effect of bare attention"

loong
simple buddhist

To all or none,
Taken from the book";The power of Mindfulness; by S.Thera from Sri-
Lanka

"In making things end and in making ,things start,there is nothing more glorious than keeping still.In the light of the Budddha's teachings ,the true:end of things: is NIBBANA ,which is called the
THE STILLING OF FORMATIONS

TO ALL OR NONE ,
MY
text suddenly disappeared and appeared as a post.

Will restart text tomorror ,or

loong
again sorry

To all or none,

He who wishes abstains from interfering is everywhere secure
(Sn v. 953)
He who keps still and knows where to stop will not meet danger(Tao-Te-Ching,Chapter 44)

The chinese saying quoted earlier states inits second part that there is nothing more glorious in making things start
than keeping still.Explained in the Buddhist sense ,these things effectivelystarted by keeping still are:the things qualities making for decrease of kammic accumulation .:In dealing with them,we may follow the traditionnal division of mental training into morality or conduct ,concentration or tranquility and wisdom ,or Insight.All three are deciely helped by the attitude of keeping
still cultivated by bare attention."


loong
simple buddhist

To all or none,

Text taken randomly in the book The Power of Mindfulness ,by S.Thera

"SPONTANEITY

An acquired or strengthened habit of pausing mindfully before acting does not exclude unwholesome spontaneity of response.On the contrary through training,the practiceof pausing ,stopping and keeping still for bare attention will itself become quite spontaneous.It Will grow into a selective mechanism of the Mind that with an increasing reliability and swiftness of response,
can prevent the upsurge of evil or unwise impulses .Without such a skill we may intellectually realize those impulses to be unwholesome,but still succumb to them owing to their own powerful spontaneity .The practice of pausing mindfully serves, therefore ,to replace unwholesome spontaneity or habits with wholesome ones grounded in our better knowledge and nobler intentions."

Great Text

loong
simple buddhist

To all or none,

Here however we are chiefly concerned with the psychological aspects of Mindfulness and their significance for meditive development.Sustained attention ,helped by slowing-down ,will affect the quality of consciousness mainly in three ways.(a) in intensifying consciousness (b) in clarifying the object's characteristic features;and (c)in revealing the object'relatedness.

From a Book by S Thera From Sri-Lanka
loong

part of the the interbeings.

To all or none

The text I am about to write ,is one of the most beautiful text in Buddhism .It shows in some way what Buddhism is all about.
Taken from the book UNDERSTANDING OUR MIND BY MASTER THICH NHAT HANH............THIS POEM WAS WRITTEN BY THE MASTER DURING THE VIETNAM WAR TO THE VIETNAMESE MONKS WHO WERE OSTRCISED KILLED TORTURED ETC.

Promise me
Promise me this day,
promise me now,While the sun is overhead
Exactly at the Zenith
Promise me:
Even as they strike you down
with amountain of hatred and violence ;
even if they step on you
like a worm,even as they dismember and disembowel youl
remember brother,
remember;manis not our ennemy.
The only thing worthy of you is Compassion-
invincible,limitless, unconditional.Hatred will never let you face
the beast in man.
One dau, when you face the beast alone.with your courage intact,your eyes kind,untroubled
(even as no one sees them)
out of your smile
will bloom a flower.And those who love you
will behold ou
across the thousand worlds of birth and dying
Alone again.
I will go on with the bent head,
lknowing that love has become eternal
On the long ,rough road
the sun and the moon
will continue to shin

what a poem

loong

To all or none

From a book byS.Thera from Sri-Lanka titled
The power of Mindfulness.Text taken at random .This should be the last text taken in thissmall book ,starting ,in the next post with a new book on Mindfulness

"We further learn that often an undesireble situation will only worsen if excessive pressure is used against it.Passionate desires may grow in intensity if one tries to silence them by sheer force of will.Disputes abd quarrels will go endlessly and grow fiercer if they are fanned again and again by angry retorts or by vain attemps
to crush the other man's position .A disturbance during work,rest or meditationwill be felt more strongly and will have a longerlasting impact if one reacts to it by resentment and anger and attemps to suppress it.

loong
son of the Universe.

To all or none,
We shall be using anther book on Mindfulness from sri-lanka THE WAY OF MINDFULNESS by Soma Thera.
'Insight is the understanding ot the true nature of things by which a complete transfiguring of mental place in the seer and by which he is lifted out of the groove of Birth and Death.The understanding of the nature of things.is the sure knowledge of the transcience and subjection to sorrow of all component things and of the emptiness of all things is called the REALIZATION OF VOID.

loong

To all or none,

As mentionned yesterday ,he text that will be taken are from a new book ,I beleive same author,Titled "THE WAY OF MINDFULNESS BY SOMA THERA.
Yesterday left you hanging on the word Void,which in Buddhism is quite a handful depending on the lineage.The short text of today is the explanation of the MASTER SOMA THERA.

"What is the Supreme Void? The quieting of all kammical conformations ,the giving up of all clinging to rebirth, detachment ,cessation,NIBBANA -This is the Supreme Void The Way of the Arousing of Mindfulness(Sstipatthana Magga)is for reaching that summum bonum of the BUDDHAS.

Quite a handfull is it not?

loong small part of the whole

To all or none,

Text taken at random in a book by SOMA THERA called THE WAY OF MINDFULNESS.

`"Clear and strong Mindfulness is conjoined with Wisdom and is called the ;Prudence of Mindfulness;(Sati nepakkham).It is then pure cognition which is free,from discrimination that proceeds from Delusion.It is such cognition that is indicated in the teaching of Buddha to Bayiya Daruciriya,that to one there must be in what is seen just the seen,in the heard just the heard,in the contracted just the contracted ,in the apperceived just the apperceived,so that one may be free from lust,hatred and delusion and frombondage to this or any other world"

loong

To all or none,

Text taken at random in The Way of Mindfulness by Soma Thera.


"]mindfulness is a process,an event and an arising and a passing away momentarelly like any other mental property.Although it is a basic power ,,a shelter,and a refuge of the Mind,the role it plays in the drama of transition from Ignorance to Knowledge,differs considerably according to the other properties of the Mind with which it works.

loong

TO ALL OR NONE

Today's text taken at random is from the book The Way Of MINDFULNESS by Soma Thera.

The Mindfulness of the aspirant to the Highest Goal of Liberation,from suffering reminds me of Virtue,Concentration,and Wisdom,which constitute the possessions of the Good Life in the Dispensation of the BUDDHA. The value of the recollective activity of Mindfulness is seen in the increasing awareness of the essentials of holy living in the aspirant's Mind,and the growing strenght of purpose for realising thede within himself.
Above that stands Mindfulness as an activity that takes care of the Mind and protects it.It is compared to a wagoneer who ties the oxen to the wagon''s yoke,greases the axle and drives the wagon ,making the oxen go gently.In this activity Mindfulness looks tothe smooth working and movement of the mind and takes notice of the process both skilfull and not takinf place in the consciousness.

loong

To all or none,

From the book by Soma Thera ,THE WAY OF MINDFULNESS,.Text taken at random

In its more complex form s it is the selective and integretive action of the Mind.The selective activity has been compared to the work of the chief Advisor of the King.As the adviser is instrumental in distinguishing the good from the bad ,and in
getting the good,and avoiding the bad ,so Mindfulness distinguishes the worthy from the unworthy things,avoids the unworthy and obtains the worthy."
This text follows the text in the last post before.

loong

To all or none
Text taken randowly in a book by Soma Thera"The way of Mindfull
ness"

"Integrating Mindfulness sees all lacks and deficiencies ,brings in the needed qualities and suitably applies them.It is called the highest wisdom of Mindfull
ness[arama satinepakka],and constitutes the core of the Mindfyulness that is included in the real way of the Way factor of Mindfulness,and of the Enlightenment Factor of Mindfulness.It is Right Mindfulness n the full sense of the term"

loong
www.loongdragon-view-on-buddhism.blogspot.ca

To all or none,

text taken at random in a book written by Soma Thera from sri-lanka
titled The Way of Mindfulness.

"This Middle Way of Mindfulness is clearly not based on revelation .dogmas,nor vacuous beleifs like those in in a Supreme Creator God and an Eternal Soul,irrational in the extreme.What is irrational
is not the Teaching of the Buddha though t be found in buddhist scripturesOn the contrary ;Whatever is well said is the Word of the
Buddha ,";even when it is not the master's own utterance ,because the Blessed One acknowledges truth wherever and by whosoever spoken

I thought I was crazy with ny capital letters,this master is surely inflamed.

loong


part of the Oneness
loongdragon-view-on-buddhism.blogspot.ca

N.B. One thing I am not in accord with the writer is the criticism
of other;s beleifs.I know he is from Sri-Lanka but still ,The Dharma specifies ,not to criticize others ways or beleifs.

To all or none,

Text taken at random from "The way of Mindfulness" by Master
Soma Thera from sri-lanka.

SATTANAM VISUDDHIYA=:For the purification of beings :For the cleansing of beings soiled by the stains of lust,hatred and delusion,and the defilements of covetise,called lawless greed and so forth.All reach the highest purity after abandoning mental taints.By way of physical taints,however,there is no cleansing of impurities taught in the Dhamma.

By the Great Seer it was not said
That through bodily taints men became impure.
Or by the washing of the body they became pure.
By the Great Seer it was declared
That through mental taints men become impure,
And through the cleansing f the mind they become pure.

Accordingly it is said "mentaltaints soil beings;mental cleaning sanctifies them*****

loong
like a flower part of the Universe