The Buddha's Advice to Laypeople

There are many places our thoughts can go when we are pushed out of our comfort zone.

Still thinking about equanimity and how we can increase our ability to return to a stable mind state when circumstances rock us… from: https://www.navigatingtransitions.org/blog/being-doing [Most of us] live in a world that celebrates productivity, achiev…

From Andrew Olendzki in Unlimiting Mind, chapter “An Abhidhamma Perspective”: … First, there is equanimity (tatra-majjhattata).

In the previous post, we discussed cultivating a mind that is stable and peaceful regardless of what’s going on in worldly events.

From Tony Bernhard’s essay, “The Dharma as Refuge in a World Without Refuge” (personal communication): [Referring to the socio-politcal-economic state of the world, plus climate catastrophe etc.]

There is a serious misconception that Buddhism is against romantic love.

It may seem counterintuitive, but our greatest joys come as a result of releasing clinging, not acquiring or trying to hold on to anything.

In the Buddhist canon there is a famous story that involves a mustard seed that becomes the vehicle for a classic teaching.

We’ve spent some weeks reflecting on Atisha’s nine contemplations on death.

The ninth and final contemplation of Atisha is: Your Own Body Cannot Help You at the Time of Your Death Of all the things we identify with and are attached to, the body usually heads the list.

The eighth (of nine) contemplation of Atisha is: At the Moment of Your Death, Your Material Resources Are of No Use to You It’s hard to believe that our most precious memories will be no more once we die.

The seventh of Atisa’s nine contemplations is: Your Loved Ones Cannot Keep You from Death Every orphan, of any age, feels the loss of the “protection” that is a parent.

The sixth of Atisa’s nine contemplations is: Your Body Is Fragile and Vulnerable Most of us believe that we are our bodies.

The fifth of the nine contemplations of Atisha is: Death Has Many Causes There’s a classic book by Sherwin B.

The fourth of the nine contemplations of Atisha is: Your Life Span, Like That of All Living Beings, Is Not Fixed Somehow, when a person dies at age 90+, we are still shocked.

The third of Atisha’s nine contemplations on death is: Death Will Come Whether You Are Prepared or Not How do we prepare for death?

The second of Atisha’s Nine Contemplations (on death) is: Your Life Span Is Decreasing Continuously We are profligate with our time, as if there will always be more.

As I read recently: “Talking about sex won’t make you pregnant, and talking about death won’t make you die.”