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On December 8 (thank you, Laura), the group followed:
Again, apologies for the break in posts. I’ve been travelling and only in the group on and off so here’s a bunch of catchup posts.
We’re into the Refuge section of the Lamrim Year, so earlier this month we followed:
Day 162 – We should train our mind to see all holy objects as manifestations of the Buddha —L ama Zopa Rinpoche
■ Respect for holy objects entails seeing them as the actual Buddha
■ Discriminating between holy objects will pollute our mind and prevent realizations
■ We should act respectfully toward all holy images by keeping them in a high clean placeLast Tuesday, we followed:
Express Meditation Ven. Katy Cole – Meditation on the Breath
Last Monday, we followed:
FINDING REFUGE IN THE MIND—A GUIDED MEDITATION #112 – Scott Snibbe
Apologies for the long gap. I’ve been away but the sessions have still been going.
I know that the group followed more of the Lamrim Year meditations, repeated the Ven. Yonten meditation on dependent arising, and followed a Ven. Katy Cole meditation on clarity of the mind.
Last week, on Monday, we followed another meditation from the Lamrim Year, this time on Refuge:
Day 168 – Whatever we do that is holy Dharma is a form of refuge —Lama Zopa Rinpoche
■ Whatever we do that protects our mind is Dharma, and that is taking refuge
■ Sincere Dharma practice protects us from present and future suffering
■ Through having refuge in our mind, we can attain liberation and enlightenmentThis morning, we followed Day 161 of the Lamrim Year:
Taking refuge is the first step on the Buddhist path to inner freedom —Lama Yeshe
■ Once we’ve formally taken refuge, we must take responsibility for our behavior
■ Using our wisdom, we should discriminate which friendships bring benefit or harm
■ We need to create the best internal conditions for achieving our aimsHello! I’ve been away on and off again, so here’s a catch up from the sessions I know about:
Tuesday 23 September: Day 155 of the Lam Rim year
With refuge, everything becomes Dharma and hence a cause of purification — Lama Zopa Rinpoche
■ By taking refuge we accumulate merit and purify eons of negative karma
■ King Ajatashatru purified the murder of his father, an arhat, by taking strong refuge
■ Even a little knowledge of and devotion to the Buddha makes it much easier to purifyMonday 29 September: We had a discussion about recent activities in the group and didn’t follow a meditation that day.
Tuesday 30 September: Day 156 of the Lam Rim Year
The skies of merit we create by saying the refuge prayer will never finish — Lama Zopa Rinpoche
■ We create inconceivable merit simply through the everyday refuge we hold in our heart
■ Any practice we do with a mind of refuge will definitely bring a huge positive result
■ Taking refuge is the most helpful, beneficial and important thing we can do in this lifeMonday 6 October: Guided Tonglen Meditation: Exchanging Self for Others – Scott Snibbe
All caught up now!
Today was a revisit (selected by Laura and Katrin – thanks!)
On Tuesday, in preparation for the this weekend’s events, we followed a meditation on the 8 stages of Death:
What Happens When You Die? – Scott Snibbe
Have a lovely week!
On Monday, we followed Day 140 of the Lamrim Year (Refuge chapter).
■ The Buddha has the wisdom and skill to guide every kind of being out of suffering
■ The story of Angulimala demonstrates the skill and psychic powers of the Buddha
■ The Buddha understands exactly when and how to help each person on the pathOn Tuesday, we followed Day 139 of the Lamrim Year.
■ To rely on the Buddha, we must investigate and see his incredible qualities
■ In Magadha the Buddha tamed a crazy wild elephant let loose by King Ajatashatru
■ The Buddha is a trustworthy guide who is completely free from all fear and sufferingHave a lovely week!
Hello.
I’ve been away for a couple of weeks, but the sessions have been continuing – I am not sure what they covered but I know they started on the Refuge section of the Lamrim Year.
On Tuesday, last week, we followed Day 137 of the Lamrim Year:
■ We must carefully check the strength of the two causes of refuge in our mindstream
■ We need to understand both suffering and the qualities of the objects of refuge
■ To practice Mahayana Buddhism we also need a third cause of refuge: compassionThis morning, we had a bit of a natter, so only had time to follow a short meditation:
4b. Meditation: Close Placement on Phenomena – Ven. Yonten.
Regardless of the title, it was a general meditation on compassion at the end of a retreat on the 4 Close Placements. It is in a playlist of the teachings and other meditations from that retreat though, some of which we have followed before.On Monday, we followed Day 76 of the Lamrim Year:
■ Great care must be taken not to lose our hard- won freedoms and richnesses
■ We should compare our problems to the greater sufferings of the lower realms
■ Every experience in daily life is a reminder to practice Dharma without delayOn Tuesday, we followed a Lamrim meditation from the “How to Train a Happy Mind” podcast:
20 Minute “Path to a Happy Mind” Guided Meditation – Scott Snibbe.
This morning, we followed Day 74 of the Lamrim Year:
■ The five personal richnesses are the qualities that enhance our lives
■ It’s unbelievably rare and amazing to have all these richnesses at the same time
■ The more precious we feel our rebirth to be, the greater the happiness in our mindI’m away tomorrow, but there will still be a session, probably on the 4 Close Placements.
Today, we followed:
2c. Meditation: Close Placement on Feeling: Analyzing Causation and Selflessness – Ven. Yönten
