March 17, 2010
- Daniel Ingram on Morality Training -
One more great thing about the first training is that it really helps with the next training: concentration. So, here’s a tip: if you are finding it hard to concentrate because your mind is filled with guilt, judgment, envy or some other hard and difficult thought pattern, also work on the first training, kindness. It will be time well spent.
(links to source)
Finally reading Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha (check the link above). And though Dan’s more known for his maps and outlines than his morality teachings, the above hits me like a ton of bricks.
This is an exact description (and solution) to one of my biggest problems in meditation. Kindness toward the self lets us rest in our problems. And resting in our problems is the only way to accept, interact with, resolve, and ultimately transcend them. And this comes directly from the heart. The heart has a stabilizing effect on the mind, creating a field in which the mind can rest and tend to itself…
Comment by Ian — March 17, 2010 @ 2:43 pm
This quote is on spot with what I’ve been working with this week. Being the “first” training can be a little deceptive–just because it’s the “first” doesn’t mean you won’t need to return to it again and again throughout development.
Some tension with a co-worker really threw me off this week. In stewing over how absurd this person was, it came right back to me: maybe I’m being too judgmental. Maybe instead of demanding this person live up to some standard, I could be a little more flexible, be a little more kind. I was having a hard time concentrating on my developmental “work” when I realized, this is my developmental work. Deceptively basic; good to keep an eye on. Thanks for the quote; Back to the cushion!
Comment by Donn — March 17, 2010 @ 4:37 pm
Well, to be fair to Dan Ingram, he does call morality “the first and last training”. That part just didn’t fit into my quote. :)
Yeah, I stumble over that a lot too. People who piss us off are just as much an opportunity to practice kindness and presence through anger, as they are to get angry, though I know I rarely take advantage that opportunity.
It’s the amazing thing how quick stuff like this change when we work with it. I find it weirdest, though, when I notice that I am not getting angry about something that used to really piss me off.
For example, I used to get really pissed at people who, in coffee shops, would leave their trash on the counter, very close to the actual trash can. To me it showed such ignorance and childishness. THE TRASH IS RIGHT THERE! Then one day, it just clicked in my head, if I’m getting mad at them for not doing something that I think it would be so easy for them to do, why don’t I do it myself? Since it’s so easy, you know?
So I started doing that, just picking up the napkin or sugar packet or straw wrapper and throwing it away. And now I don’t get angry about it at all… It makes me take the times I do get angry much less personally.
Comment by Ian — March 18, 2010 @ 10:00 am
Regarding connection between morality and concentration, I have found the ability to forgive is also an important faculty to develop. This way we don’t burden ourselves with unnecessary grudges and guilt, and we can better focus on present moment.
Comment by Marguerite Manteau-Rao — March 18, 2010 @ 10:11 am
Yeah, that guilt is really a killer for me. Been caught up in it too many times…
This kindness remedy is really helpful. Just smile from the heart and the guilt/fear/blame settles peaceably into it. :)
Comment by Ian — March 18, 2010 @ 10:38 am
Great link, thanx…
Comment by speedbird — March 18, 2010 @ 3:58 pm
READ THE BOOK.
It’s really really good. :)
Comment by Ian — March 19, 2010 @ 10:07 am