Random Thoughts, strictly Text

JUPITERASC

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
PURPOSE OF SPIRITUAL PRACTICE AND NEEDING WISDOM


Many people do not know what they want
They are interested in spiritual practice
in something better than just materialistic achievements
but they don’t know what they want.
This is really true. I am not criticizing or shouting. It is the reality.


Why don’t we know?
Because we don’t have good role models and examples to look at :smile:

The best examples we do have are the religious organizations.
And we know that these are full of
– I better not use the word that is coming up on my tongue.
I should say
the religious organizations are full of problems and difficulties.
You know what is happening in churches, temples and monasteries.
Buddhism is not an exception.
Everywhere we see corruption and problems.

We really don’t have good role models. That’s why we don’t know what we want:smile:


If I asked each and every individual, each person would say
‘I want happiness and joy, something good,’ whatever that might be.
We like the positives and not the negatives.
That is our natural instinct or inclination.
Because we are human beings
we do have goodness and greatness in our nature.
When you look deep down into yourself, you will see that
goodness is there. But we don’t let it shine.
We give the cold shoulder to everybody, because of our addictions
and habits, our way of thinking and living.


This is the reality. We don't know what we want.
Buddha introduces “kor-de." ‘De,’ is nirvana.
It is beyond samsara. It is peace.
So just these two simple words will tell you what the purpose of spiritual practice is.
It deals with what we want, where we want to go, what we want to achieve
what we are running away from.
Our natural inclination is
that when we suffer too much we want to run away from it.
That is nothing we have to blame ourselves for.

If you feel tortured at home as a kid you can’t wait to become 18
so you can leave.
Some kids even run away before.
Legally you can run away at 18, so you are waiting to be 18.
Just like that we have been waiting to run away
because we are tortured, we have been burned.
We want to get away from this. That’s why are running.
We want to get out of the suffering nature circle or cycle.
To do that, we have to cut the root link.
Without wisdom that is not possible.
No matter whatever else you try is not going to work.
You could sit and meditate for eons, not just centuries, but
without wisdom you can’t cut the cycle.
When you don’t cut it, you won’t get out.
You will remain in there. Analytical meditation is really geared towards the wisdom part.
That is the reason why we need two kinds of meditation.
In the beginning these two meditations look contradictory.

One will tell you to focus, the other will tell you to analyze.
If you try to do them together and cannot handle them
one will cancel out the other.

First, learn to focus.
First we should achieve what is the easiest and that is focusing.
Learn to focus first.
When you are used to it then you can handle the analytical one easily.
It is like with anything.
When you first learn to drive you have to be totally focused.
You hold the steering wheel really tight and you can’t listen to anything else.
You just have to go, right?
After we learn how to drive perfectly, we can drive
and talk on our cell phone at the same time.
Then we can even drink our coffee
and chew our hamburger on top of that.
Not only that: you can talk to two people on the cell phone
by have one call waiting
and switch back and forth between them!
All of that you can do at the same time
. It doesn’t contradict your driving.

Yes, the danger levels increase, but we can do it.

You can’t learn how to do everything all at once.
First you just focus on one thing, the driving.
~ Gelek Rimpoche, Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Ch. 8, P. 127
https://www.jewelheart.org/
 
Ukpoohbear

Ukpoohbear

Well-known member
Jup, I very much enjoyed the above quote and related to it a lot. I constantly analyse, at first I used to say thinking was a hobby of mine because I literally spend spare time just working a nillionthoughts into different boxes and it’s never tidy enough. I also have a serious lack of focus which added up together kind of leaves my life in a permanent state of suspension, although I do make progress but not as much as what I could be making.

What are we meant to focus on though? Just daily living? What’s the analogy for driving meant to actually be? Is it just daily routines and going to work, going through the daily grind type thing?
 
Ukpoohbear

Ukpoohbear

Well-known member
“The practice of denying one’s religion in order to protect yourself from persecution.’

I don’t get how I was doing that, mind if asking?
 
conspiracy theorist

conspiracy theorist

Well-known member
passiflora said:
New moon! I am keeping a fruit fast tonight per kshantaram's advice.

Must say it's something to get used to an astrological/religious system that doesn't force privation to honor the deities.

Anyone else doing something fun or useful?
Click to expand...

New Moon falls exactly on MC/part of spirit (the lot that has to do with one's actions in the world). I'm not doing anything to greet it in, but starting on Monday and into next month there are a couple of events that fit strikingly with Libra and 10th house significations. New and significant beginnings is a key aspect, too.
 
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