Tag: Philosophy

Personal Development

Four Things I’ve Learned About the Divine Dwellings

I was reflecting on these not long ago, and they seem worth sharing. They are some important things I’ve learned, conceptually but even more so practically, concerning the practice of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity (the four “divine dwellings”). That pertains to the formal meditation practices, and more informal versions of that practice, and also simply the ordinary exercise of dwelling in those states in the course of ordinary living. Continue reading Four Things I’ve Learned About the Divine Dwellings

SeekerFive2 Comments
Personal Development

Mindfulness as Method for the First Great Effort, Part 4: Gunaratana’s Guidance, Part B

I’d like to continue with the topic of exercising and developing Right Effort, and in particular some of Bhante Henepola Gunaratana’s more specific guidance for making the First Great Effort. In the present post I’ll focus on Wise Attention. First, as some reminders and re-caps of previous posts: 1. The first great effort is directing your effort toward preventing unskillful states from arising in the … Continue reading Mindfulness as Method for the First Great Effort, Part 4: Gunaratana’s Guidance, Part B

SeekerFiveLeave a comment
book opened on white surface selective focus photography
Creativity

Ego and Moral Burden

I was reading the book “1Q84” by Haruki Murakami and this sentence raised my focus “But once the ego is born into this world, it has to shoulder morality” as I think it touched on profound philosophical and existential themes. Let’s break it down: In summary, this quote encapsulates the idea that moral awareness and responsibility are inextricably linked to the emergence of the ego. … Continue reading Ego and Moral Burden

crisbiecoachLeave a comment
Personal Development

Mindfulness as Method for the First Great Effort, Part 3: Gunaratana’s Guidance, Part A

…Thus the question we continue to try to answer is: How to prevent negative or unwholesome, i.e. unskillful, states from arising in the first place?

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, in Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness, answers thus: “By maintaining unremitting mindfulness. Just that.”

One’s ability to do this, however, is limited by how developed one’s faculty of mindfulness is, and by how habituated to its exercise the mind is…. Continue reading Mindfulness as Method for the First Great Effort, Part 3: Gunaratana’s Guidance, Part A

SeekerFive3 Comments
Personal Development

A Meditation Concerning Anger, Compassion, False Compassion, Root Nature, and Misperceptions of Vices and Virtues

Vices Presenting as Virtues In his 2022 The Myth of Normal, thinker and physician Gabor Mate observes that vices often masquerade as virtues, not only in the behaviors of individuals but in societally widespread beliefs and perceptions. Roughly 2400 years earlier, philosopher and physician’s son Aristotle wrote of similar phenomena in his then-unpublished notes concerning ethics, character, and happiness. A display of rashness or foolhardiness … Continue reading A Meditation Concerning Anger, Compassion, False Compassion, Root Nature, and Misperceptions of Vices and Virtues

SeekerFive2 Comments
Personal Development

Mindfulness as Method for the First Great Effort, Part 2: Five Specific Practices

In a previous post, I explored how the First Great Effort — to prevent unskillful states from arising — is not an all-or-nothing operation, but instead a progressive exercise in relative prevention. In this post, I’ll start to explore actual practice methods for making the first great effort. First to quickly contextualize this: The First Great Effort is one of Four Great Efforts, which belong … Continue reading Mindfulness as Method for the First Great Effort, Part 2: Five Specific Practices

SeekerFiveLeave a comment
Personal Development

Mindfulness as Method for the First Great Effort, Part 1: Considering Preventing and Arising

In this post, I want to return to the First Great Effort, and consider awareness as a primary method for making this type of effort. Somewhat recently, I posted a more general description and consideration of the first great effort, which forms part of the path-factor of Skillful Effort. In that post (link below), it was said that “the most basic and general practical method … Continue reading Mindfulness as Method for the First Great Effort, Part 1: Considering Preventing and Arising

SeekerFive3 Comments
Creativity

The Mystery Behind Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam

When you take a guided tour to explore arts, you discover peculiarities you wouldn’t expect. I learned a lot when listening to the guide’s explanations of the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo. Last year, when we went to Rome for my son’s graduation ceremony, we had the chance to participate in a guided tour of the Vatican City, where lies a treasure that has captivated … Continue reading The Mystery Behind Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam

crisbiecoach12 Comments
Personal Development

Skillful Effort: Receptive Aspects of Dealing with Unskillful States

In my previous two posts, I tried to outline the first and second Great Efforts, which form part of the Right Effort path-factor. The first and second great effort are both about dealing with unskillful or “unwholesome” states. They are also both rather active. In this post I’ll talk about more receptive aspects of using skillful effort to deal with unwholesome states. Sayadaw U Tejaniya, … Continue reading Skillful Effort: Receptive Aspects of Dealing with Unskillful States

SeekerFive1 Comment
Personal Development

Skillful Effort: The Second Great Effort

In the previous post, I described and reflected on the first of the Four Great Efforts, which are a canonical rubric for understanding one dimension of the path-factor of Skillful Effort. In this current post, I’ll consider the Second Great Effort. Whereas the First Great Effort consists in preventing unskillful states from arising in the first place, the second great effort is an attempt to … Continue reading Skillful Effort: The Second Great Effort

SeekerFive2 Comments
Personal Development

Skillful Effort: The First Great Effort

This post is about the philosophical practice and topic of Skillful Effort. There are at least two major dimensions to Skillful Effort, one dealing with the manner in which we exert effort, the other with the immediate ends toward which we direct our exertions. Today I’ll approach this second dimension, using a canonical rubric known as the Four Great Efforts. These are four interrelated, immediate … Continue reading Skillful Effort: The First Great Effort

SeekerFive6 Comments
Spirituality

Buddha Nature, The Path, Impermanence: Reflecting On the Need for Something to Rely On

What is there to rely on when just about everything is temporary? Impermanence Several days ago, I was thinking about the mark of impermanence, and about how it might be explained, whether to myself or for someone else. This of course would entail communicating the truth that just about everything is temporary. Although we’re all aware of this at some level, most of us are … Continue reading Buddha Nature, The Path, Impermanence: Reflecting On the Need for Something to Rely On

SeekerFive10 Comments
numbers on monitor
Personal Development

Question of the Day: What Is Your Impression or Experience of Stock Market Investing?

My most recent self-educational fixation (not for the first time) has been to improve my understanding of stock markets and financial investing with stocks. I’ve found it to be far more interesting than expected, with respect to how the market itself works, and regarding the tendencies of mind I encounter when considering investments. I’m curious about other people’s experiences of these matters: What has been … Continue reading Question of the Day: What Is Your Impression or Experience of Stock Market Investing?

SeekerFive12 Comments
Spirituality

The Four Divine Dwellings, or Heavenly Abodes- A Moderately Detailed Overview of Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity

This post explains the four important mind-states or heart-states known as “divine dwellings” or “heavenly abodes” (brahmavihara). It doesn’t assume any prior knowledge, but it does get into a bit of interesting detail. First I’ll explain what type of thing they are generally, then we’ll consider each of the four specifically. What Sort of Thing Are the Divine Dwellings? The things identified by the Buddhist … Continue reading The Four Divine Dwellings, or Heavenly Abodes- A Moderately Detailed Overview of Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity

SeekerFive5 Comments
Crab Nebula: A Star's Spectacular Death (NASA, Chandra, 10/24/06)
Creativity, Gratitude, Inspiration, Life Hacks, Purpose, Spirituality

Accept Me Without Strife

Before Christmas, I visited a man with whom I had kept a weekly appointment for many years. Something inside me insisted that I should visit him. It could be one of the last times I would see him. I followed my inner voice and tried to call him, but the three numbers I had for him didn’t work. So I decided to show up at … Continue reading Accept Me Without Strife

People Life Politics And Bullshit12 Comments
Personal Development

Pete Walker’s Four Grieving Processes: Angering, Crying, Verbal Ventilating, and Passively Feeling

In this post, I write about four processes that deserve more attention and are applicable to regular life, to philosophy as something lived, and to recovery from Complex PTSD (Cptsd). We might, I think, refer to these “grieving” processes as “emotional processing” processes. Pete Walker, however, is employing the term “grieving” in a somewhat broad sense. It doesn’t only relate to death in the literal … Continue reading Pete Walker’s Four Grieving Processes: Angering, Crying, Verbal Ventilating, and Passively Feeling

SeekerFive7 Comments
scrabble tiles on white surface
Creativity, Gratitude, Inspiration, Personal Development, Purpose

Who am I?

The Ramana Maharshi self-inquiry meditation inspired my “Who am I?” poem. I send massive gratitude to Ramana Maharshi for inspiring me to shape this poem. – Who am I? I was born in the city of Isfahan That’s the place my parents met They fell in love, danced the flame of love and drama kind of – Who am I? I am a daughter A Sister A … Continue reading Who am I?

People Life Politics And Bullshit11 Comments