Metta Sutta - Universal Loving-Kindness

For those developing goodness and who walk the path of peace,
This is what should be done:

Let them be able and upright, straightforward and gentle of speech,
Humble and not conceited, easily satisfied and contented,
With the bustle of life unburdened, and frugal in their ways.
Discreet and courteous, with senses calmed,
Not proud or demanding in nature,
Let them not do the slightest thing of which the wise would disapprove.

Let them not deceive another, nor despise any being anywhere.
Let them not through anger or enmity wish harm unto another.
Even as a mother with her life protects her only child,
So with boundless hearts, free from hatred and ill will,
Let them cherish all beings,
Radiating lovingkindness throughout the world,
Above and below, and outward without limit:

May all beings be tranquil and secure. May all beings be happy.
Whatever beings there may be, omitting not a single one,
Whether weak or strong, short or long,
The mighty, middling and minute, the seen and the unseen,
Dwelling near or far, those born or to-be-born,
May they all be happy! May they all be happy!

Whether sitting or standing, whether walking or lying down,
Ever alert, let one develop such mindfulness.
This, one can say, is the Noblest Path.
Not clinging to fixed views, being free from sense desires,
The pure of heart, with clarity of insight,
Are not born again into the world.

Introductory Commentary by the XIVth Dalai Lama to the Tibetan Book of the Dead

The question of whether or not there exists a continuity of consciousness after death has been an important aspect of philosophical reflection and debate from ancient Indian times to the present.  When considering these matters from a Buddhist point of view, however, we have to bear in mind that the understanding of the nature of continuity of consciousness and the understanding of the nature of the 'I' or 'self' are closely interlinked.  Therefore, let us first look at what it is that can be said to constitute a person.
According to Buddhist classical literature, a person can be seen as possessing five interrelated aggregates, technically known as the five psycho-physical aggregates.  These are the aggregate of consciousness, the aggregate of form (which includes our physical body and senses), the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of discrimination, and the aggregate of motivational tendencies.  That is to say, there is our body, the physical world and our five senses, and there are the various processes of mental activity, our motivational tendencies, our labelling of and discrimination between objects, our feelings, and the underlying awareness or consciousness.
Among the ancient schools of thought, which accepted the notion of continuity of consciousness, there were several non-Buddhist philosophical schools which regarded the entity, the 'I' or 'self', which migrated from existence to existence as being unitary and permanent.  They also suggested that this 'self' was autonomous in its relationship to the psycho-physical components that constitute a person.  In other words they believed or posited that there is an essence or 'soul' of the person, which exists independently from the body and the mind of the person.
However, Buddhist philosophy does not accept the existence of such an independent, autonomous entity.  In the Buddhist view, the self or the person is understood in terms of a dynamic interdependent relationship of both mental and physical attributes, that is to say the psycho-physical components which constitute a person.  In other words our sense of self can, upon examination, be seen as a complex flow of mental and physical events, clustered in clearly identifiable patterns, including our physical features, instincts, emotions, and attitudes, etc., continuing through time.  Further, according to Prasangika-Madhyamaka philosophy, which has become the prevailing philosophical view of Tibetan Buddhism today, this sense of self is simply a mental construct, a mere label given to this cluster of dependently arising mental and physical events in dependence on their continuity.
Now, when we look at this interdependence of mental and physical constituents from the perspective of Highest Yoga Tantram there are two concepts of a person.  One is the temporary person or self, that is as we exist at the moment, and this is labelled on the basis of our coarse or gross physical body and conditioned mind, and, at the same time, there is a subtle person or self which is designated in dependence on the subtle body and subtle mind.  This subtle body and subtle mind are seen as a single entity that has two facets.  The aspect which has the quality of awareness, which can reflect and has the power of cognition, is the subtle mind.  Simultaneously, there is its energy, the force that activates the mind towards its object- this is the subtle body or subtle mind.  These two inextricably conjoined qualities are regarded, in Highest Tantra Yoga, as the ultimate nature of a person and are identified as buddha nature, the essential or actual nature of mind.
Now, before we look more closely at the nature of the subtle body and mind, let us look at how the gross body and mind are thought to originate.  The notion of dependent origination lies at the very heart of Buddhist philosophy.  The principle of dependent origination asserts that nothing exists in its own right independent of other factors.  Things and events come into being only in dependence on the aggregation of multiple causes and conditions.  The process through which the external world and the sentient beings within it revolve in a cycle of existence propelled by karmic propensities and their interaction with misapprehension, attraction and aversion and conditions is described in terms of twelve interdependent links.  Each cycle of the process begins with a misapprehension of the nature of actual reality.  This fundamental ignorance acts as a condition for the arising of the propensities created by our past actions, mental, verbal and physical, which condition our dualising consciousness.  Our dualising consciousness, in turn, conditions the qualities and the mode of interaction of our psycho-physical aggregates, which condition our sensory fields, which generate contact, which generates sensations, and then in turn attachment, grasping, and maturation towards rebirth.  At this point there is an interaction with the genetic constituents of the parents and subsequent interaction with the environment, and then finally we have birth, ageing and death.  This cycle can be viewed as both illustration the underlying processes of life, death and rebirth and as an illustration of the processes to be transformed on the path to liberation from suffering in cyclic existence.
The notion that ther eis a connection between this life and the events of both our previous existence and our future existence, follows from the Buddhist understanding of the natural law of cause and effect.  For example, although we can speak of yesterday's weather and today's weather as distinct, today's weather is inextricably linked with the weather patterns of yesterday. Even at the bodily level, in the case of our physical health for example, we know that events in the past affect the present and those of the present the future.  Similarly, in the realm of consciousness the Buddhist view is that there is also this same causal continuum between the events of the past, present, and future.
The Buddhist understanding of the continuity of personal experience, including our memories, can also be considered here.  The Buddhist view is that the continuity of personal experience is primarily founded on the capacity for retention, which can be further developed during one's meditative practice in this life.  However, generally speaking, it is thought that if a person dies after a prolonged period of illness that has led to a prolonged degeneration of both physical and mental capacities, there will be a greater chance of many of the personal characteristics, including memories etc, being lost.  On the other hand in the case of someone who dies a sudden death, when the mind-body relationship at the gross level is still very firm, it is thought that there is a greater chance of carrying forward the acquired characteristics and memories, etc.  Nonetheless, in both cases, the characteristics carried forward from a previous life are thought to be most strongly felt at an early stage of one's rebirth.  This is because the personal characteristics of the previous life are thought, generally speaking, to be quickly overwhelmed by the developing characteristics inherited from the parents of the present life.  Nonetheless, as I have mentioned, much depends in this respect on the individual's capacity for recall and this capacity for recall is dependent on a deepened retentive training acquired in this lifetime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMnSzOEe1E

notes from serving Vipassana courses

"When the instructed noble disciple experiences a painful feeling, he feels one feeling- a bodily one, and not a mental one."

"He does not regard feeling, perception, volitional formations, or consciousness as self... that consciousness of his changes and alters"

"Thinking arises from elaborated perceptions and notions"

"Ability to maintain clarity and comprehension in the midst of feelings, perceptions and thoughts"

Look not for recognition, but follow the awakened, and set yourself free.

Never neglect your work.  Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

To explore the truth about ourselves, we must examine what we are: body and mind.  We must learn to observe these directly within ourselves.  Accordingly, we must keep these points in mind:
1) The reality of the body may be imagined by contemplation, but to experience it directly one must work with sensations arising within it.
2) Similarly, the actual experience of the mind is attained by working with the contents of the mind.  In the same way that body and sensations cannot be observed separately, the midn cannot be observed apart from the contents of the midn.
3) Mind and matter are so closely interrelated that the contents of the mind always manifest themselves as sensations in the body.
For this reason the Buddha said:
Vedana samosarana sabbe dhamma
Everything that arises in the mind flows together with sensations.
Observation of sensation offers the only means to examine the totality of our being, physical as well as mental.

The six kinds of feeling are always being experienced at their respective sense bases.  However, those lacking in right view take it as "I see it, I hear it", etc.  This is the tenacious, mistaken view called "personality-belief" or "ego-belief".  The ego is always assumed to exist with respect to all feelings that arise and vanish at the six sense bases.  Just as the microbes infesting a sore can only be observed through a microscope, so only through insight knowledge can one observe the six kinds of feeling rapidly arising and vanashing at their respective sense bases.


Mae Chee Kaew:
Don't doubt the value of meditation or underestimate your abilities.  Be content with whatever progress you make because it reflects a part of the truth you are seeking.  As such, it is something you can rely on.
Cultivate your mind, as a farmer cultivates his fields.  Gradually clear the land; prepare the soil, plough the rows; sow the seeds; spread the manure; water the plants and pull the weeds.  Eventually, you'll reap a golden harvest.

Forest Desanas
The Buddha said that Nibbana is permanent.  When the heart has attained absolute contentment, and has let go of all sammati, it won't be upset by any problems, because it is totally devoid of them.  What problems can there be?  Living or dying poses no problem because they are part of nature.  This heart has transcended all the problems of the world.

Lovingkindness can be characterized as promoting the aspect of welfare.  Its function is to prefer welfare.  It is manifested as the removal of annoyance.  Its proxmiate cause is seeing loveableness in beings.  It succeeds when it makes ill will subside, and it fails when it produces (selfish) affection.

"For the Great Beings' minds retain their balance by giving preference to beings' welfare, by dislike of beings' suffering, by desire for the various successes achieved by beings to last, and by impartiality towards all beings.  They are unshakably resolute upon beings' welfare and happiness.  Through unshakable lovingkindness they place them first (before themselves).  Through equanimity they expect no reward.

Excertps from A Walkabout with Principesa Woman

6-3-13

Here we lay in the Robin Hill Cemetery.  The air is infused with the scent of beets.  And everyone knows that a story that starts with beets ends with another garden vegetable.
EXCEPT THIS ONE.
This one will end with ACADIA.
Not 27 yards away lie the physical remains of a clairvoyant physician.
Not 100 yards away lies a highway.
But all is quiet and peaceful in a cemetery.  Trees surround soft grass, people who may have gone any other number of places beyond their burial ground are still thought of and visited by loved ones.

6-4

Trip morals

1) Tell the truth (x3)
2) If you're confused, lack of #1 gets a free pass
3) Forgetting < Being Confused but still okay
4) Lying is the worst (see #1)

Rules

1) Speak in a whipser week 1, lip reading week 2, mind reading week 3
2) keep your gaze at a 20 degree angle maximum from the ground
3) if you feel tired when trying to biphase, you can monophase
4) yellowish red streamwater is not for consumption.

Events

~Angelica bestowed her grace upon us
~we were offered a tiny suitcase for both of our backpacks to fit in
~we cooked carrot bean soup secret with homemade stove
~mailed Gramps a nonfiction book about a traveling cat, for Father's Day, return address an arbitrary intersection where we happened to be at the current moment
~we spent $6, bringing the 2-day total to $7
~got danced at by the most enthusiastic UPS driver in the state of Massachusetts, maybe in the US

6-5

Today we picked up Christina, our baby stroller, at a thrift store.  We ate strawberry and bubblegum peep sandwiches.  Christina, our faithful friend through thick and thin, whether we spoke of her with reverence or disdain.

6-6

Woke up at 4am due to Holly's excellent coaching.  Off by 4:30... the sky was already turning pink!
When we stopped for a breakfest of lentils and Very Condensed Sweet Potatoes, a school bus driver exploded in glee in response to our curb wave.
The fam walked on.  The fam being Hepzibah, Balaina, Merle, Christina, Holly and Laura.
Near lunchtime an old man and his wife pulled up next to us.  The old man gruffly and loudly declared "Here!" and gave us $4.  His wife assisted him from there.  "So you can get yourselves a cold drink."  Wow!
Right after that a truck drove past with the word "Karma" on the grill hehehehehehe.
We took a dip in the pond, gave Holly her first haircut of mannnnny, and then we got to meet Gus.

As we were walking on 110, we saw a sign for the birthplace of John Greenleaf Whittier.  It was hard to simply walk past this sign, since the Whittiers have inadvertently become a part of my life via research for Stephen Sakellarios.

A field trip was leaving the home so we just looked at the sign outside.  And then Gus came out.  A 78 year old man of about 62 vertical inches.  Gus is a bona fide historian.  He accidentally gave us a free tour of the entire Whittier home, but he didn't even stop there.  He offered us books, answered our questions, asked us to sign the guestbook, and found out about our walk.  Uh oh.  InSISting on giving us a ride to Salisbury in his 1969 Chevy Impala with boat-sized trunk for gear-stashing, we could not hold out very long.
Gus is a very dramatic fellow.  He loves to go "Oooooo," clap his hand to his forehead, slow down mid sentence to build suspense and/or allow his audience to chime in.  And he loves to tell a story.  Plus, he's very good at it.
Mid-Whittier-tour, a man came in and asked permission for a few minutes' stay in the supposedly-closed-house-museum, because he'd wanted to come here for 25 years and finally made it at a time when it was "open"!  Gus always says yes when someone wants to see the home.  He works 7 days a week partially because of this fact.  So, the man came in.  When he talked or laughed, his whole belly would lift up and down with his diaphragm.  And it was quite a belly.  He was so happy to be there and on his way out he kept saying "God bless you, God bless you all." What a man.
Gus liked that I knew a bit of Whittier history.  And he loved Holly, for how could you not?  Soon enough we were all officially life-long friends, Oooooo!  He gave us a ride to Salisbury, told us the farmers he'd talked to before we elft had told him to drive us home instead of closer to our goal, and said he was sad he hadn't at least taken us to the beach.  Despite being 62" and 78 years old, it was he who removed my backpack from his boat trunk.  He made us promise to call him if we ever needed ANYTHING, offered numerous rides, got excited for us to get something to eat in Salisbury about half a dozen times, offered us money ("I have a LOT of money"), gave us hugs, told us he loved us and that we were friends for life, and asked us to send a postcard letting him know we're okay.  He waved goodbye multiple times as we walked away.  And when we met him for lunch a week and a half later he told us he almost cried while he was waving.  If all of this sounds a bit much, it wasn't.  You had to be there =0)
Holly and I probably said "Thank you" four dozen times to Gus in the 2 hours we spent with him.  I was giddy with happiness and glowing from ahgning out with Gus.  Holly said he remineded her of Grandma Claire.  And we spoke with him a few times on the phone and visited him again on this very same trip =0)

Day 5

Today we realized Holly's future career as a Travel Agent.  And we sang Funky Butt.  And couchsurfed with Cam and Sabba and Garrett.

Day 6

Pancakes.  10K.  Loud cheering.  Woke up Cam and Sab.  Market Day.  Free shuttle to Kittery.  Man in the market very phased by our trip, walked up to the floor-to-ceiling glass window to look at our stuff and smile and wave at we who were only 2 feet away, on the other side of the glass.  Dave of the fruits and veggies routing us along the ocean.  Dennis of the simple, birdsong filled, water and chips filled life.  Beach party, tuna subs, salt and vinegar chips, pizza crust.  Unidentified previously living blobs of various colors perched throughout the seaweed on the shore.  Met Joe and Baby, who took us to a potential camp site which we did not utilize.

Day 7

29 miles to Portland!  Country jams, road's gettin quieter, granny smith apples.  Stephen and Barbara's kindness playing into our ears.

Day 11 (days 8-10 shall remain forever a mystery to this particular journal)

Napped on a dock at a state park.  Ohhh glorious nap!  Helped a 90 year old man out of his boat.  Walked back toward Christina, where Holly observed Christina's newfound nudity.  "Are our backpacks gone?"   "oh... yeah."  Holly ate an apple, Laura giggled, and we decided to continue walking to Belfast.  On the left a mile up the road ias a barn sale.  Including a $20 once-used four-person tent with waterproof bag, two $4 jackets with hoods (aka sleeping bags), and a $1 "blanket" aka carpet.  And a 16 mile ride to Belfast with aNOTHer David, and John.  They offered to take us to Bar Harbor, but we were already riding too high off of their kindness. 
We have shed our extra layers!
We have gone our extra distance!
We have gained full body chemical suits!
Life is good!
To Acadia!
PS Subway bread by the soggy dozen


Day 14
Some people sit, some people squat, some switch it up, some have their minds blown by the various possibilities.  I still believe that today, which is the equivalent of Day 21, one week later, Holly and I have not tried each other's methods.  Sometimes you stick with what you like.


On the way home we met Gus for lunch at Dunkin Donuts.  There isn't really a way to adequately describe this lunch date, other than that it made me feel like I could live forever.  Gus.  IS.  the man.  And we are very lucky to know him.  Thank you, Gus.  Thank you, Acadia.  Goodnight, Holly.  Goodnight, Laura.  Goodnight, Holly.  Goodnight, Holly.