The 54th of 108 Gates Of Dharma Illumination

[aprapti]

[aprapti]

Coos; the definition for belief and faith are close. However faith tends to narrow the scope toreligious things as opposed to "any"belief.

Def'n of Faith
1.complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
Similar: trust belief confidence conviction credence reliance

2.
strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.
Similar: religion church ect denomination persuasion religious persuasion religious belief ideology creed teaching dogma doctrine

gassho, Shokai

thanks, Shokai. i am aware of the little differences; but for me they are significant. But maybe in English the difference is less than in Dutch..



aprapti

[Juki]

Juki

[Tairin]

Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Nengyoku]

back William

Good to be back, friend.

Gassho,
Nengyoku
Sat

[Nengyoku]

If it is okay to share, I remember this video making a large impact on me at the beginning of my awareness of this path.
It is only a couple minutes, and I think makes a good example of Right Effort.

https://youtu.be/I8o6Sdvw1WY

The short of it is that over the day you be aware of your thoughts, without clinging to them, and use colored stones to track your thoughts. When you think something positive you keep a white stone, when you think negative you keep a black one.

I misunderstood this teaching at first and was disappointed at how many negative thoughts I was having, and reinforced positivity. The real teaching is of course to not cling to either thought, just allowing them to be as they are. It is nice to be positive, but true positivity comes with that not categorizing.

Positive or negative, all those stones are heavy.
Instead, please set them down and sit with me a moment.

Gassho,
Nengyoku
Sat

[Myo Shin]

[Shokai]

The 65th of 108 Gates Of Dharma Illumination

Gate Sixty-five
Read the following, place it in your heart and sleep on it. Then, tomorrow, live it until evening when you can leave a brief comment on what you may have received during the process.

The power of mindfulness is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we do not [blindly] go along with others.

Power of mindfulness : great or marked ability to keep aware; heedful: mindful of your duties

By “Dharma Gate”, We mean a teaching or practice that can lead to spiritual growth: some kind of positive outcome in terms of our practice. A way to approach the truth.

Koan:
"Right Mindfulness traditionally is the seventh part of the Eightfold Path of Buddhism, but that doesn't mean it is seventh in importance. Each part of the path supports the other seven parts, and so they should be thought of as connected in a circle or woven into a web rather than stacked in an order of progression. The Pali word for "mindfulness" is sati (in Sanskrit, smriti). Sati can also mean "retention," "recollection," or "alertness." Mindfulness is a whole-body-and-mind awareness of the present moment. To be mindful is to be fully present, not lost in daydreams, anticipation, indulgences, or worry.It's important to understand Buddhism as a discipline or process rather than as a belief system. The Buddha did not teach doctrines about enlightenment, but rather taught people how to realize enlightenment themselves. And the way we realize enlightenment is through direct experience. It is through mindfulness that we experience directly, with no mental filters or psychological barriers between us and what is experienced."

- Barbara O'Brien's Learning Religions; link here

mindfulness.jpg

Most note worthy replies :

Perhaps the most challenging struggle

Is finding my own way

Against the orders of others.

One thousand hands. An eye in every hand

When the world grows dark

We follow

The light from within

合掌 仁道 生開 - gassho, Jindo Shokai
stlah

[Nengyoku]

[Anchi]

[aprapti]

i like that book, Shokai.




aprapti

sat

[Juki]

Juki

[Shokai]

The 66th of 108 Gates Of Dharma Illumination

Gate Sixty-six
Read the following, place it in your heart and sleep on it. Then, tomorrow, live it until evening when you can leave a brief comment on what you may have received during the process.

The power of balance is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we discontinue all thoughts.

Power of balance : great or marked ability to maintain mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment

By “Dharma Gate”, We mean a teaching or practice that can lead to spiritual growth: some kind of positive outcome in terms of our practice. A way to approach the truth.

Koan:
"Balance, one of the most sublime states of Buddhist practice, is the ground for wisdom and freedom and the protector of compassion and love. While some may think of balance or equanimity as dry neutrality or cool aloofness, mature equanimity produces a radiance and warmth of being. The Buddha described a mind filled with equanimity as “abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility, and without ill-will.”

- Tricycle Magazine - Winter 2005; link here

balance.jpg

Most note worthy replies :

Undisturbed

By the agitations of all that surrounds me

Finding stillness.
No ripples can form

In water

Of perfect stillness

合掌 仁道 生開 - gassho, Jindo Shokai
stlah

[Nengyoku]

[Myo Shin]