Current Topic of Discussion
Please do note: While it may be helpful to have the book we are currently reading, it is not a necessity — scroll down to find links to relevant links that will offer supporting information so you may participate in the discussion whether you have the book or not.
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Here is information on what we’re reading right now:
Title: Mindfulness in Plain English
Author: Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Link: Web-based version of the book can be found here
Date: Sunday, August 28, 2011
Time: 5:30 p.m. PST
Chapter Topic(s): Chapter 4: The Practice
Discussion Questions and Additional Links:
1) By “body-mind complex,” is the author referencing the five aggregates? That idea that our thoughts are directly dependent on the senses we experience? On not so many words, the author is telling us that we should approach these sensations non-judgmentally?
We may be able to see this particularly in the quote from page 46 of the book: “When we mindfully watch our bodily sensations, we should not confuse them with mental formations, for bodily sensations can arise independent of the mind.”
2) The author also talks about “watching” emotions (also on page 46). For those new to meditation, the meaning of this may be unclear without some explanation. How could we describe “watching” an emotion and why we need to do that?
3) Also mentioned in this text without, in my opinion, sufficient focus, is “selflessness”. What is meant by this, and why is it important when talking about the practice of meditation?
4) Finally, on page 46, the author says that the realization of helplessness will help in overcoming “ignorance”. My question is, ignorance of WHAT? And how does being aware of selflessness help to get rid of this ignorance?
5) I particularly liked the analogy of mindfulness being an emergency kit that is there for us when we need it. However, I felt he strayed from it too early by focusing on all the negative aspects of our characteristics. In what way do you think he could have continued with this analogy to continue along with his thought?
6) the author also says the practice of mindfulness is the practice of being 100% honest with oneself. Is this even possible?
7) on page 51, the issue of striking the delicate balance between preparing oneself for attainment and expectation is addresses. How do we strike this balance?
8) Page 57, the author mentions that you may reach a point in you meditation in which you no longer sense the breath, but not to worry about it. How to distinguish between this and “wandering mind”?
9) What he heck is this “sign of the development of meditation”? Someone please explain!
Miyo:
The five precepts are meant to be guides for action not commandments. “I undertake the precept to refrain from…”
Many people,coming from Abrahamic systems which do consciously formulate commandments make an incorrect assumption. They only “sound like” commandments because we are putting a foreign interpretation on them. That is not what the Buddha taught.
But you know this, right?
Yes, I agree Jan. I do now since we discussed it at the last discussion we had
I need to figure out how to write discussion notes so I can update things like that … I have a hard time though keeping up with local chat and taking notes on what people say.
And even Buddhists fall into an unskillful moralistic outlook. In an article entitled, “Radical Therapy
Buddhist Precepts in the Modern World” by Lily de Silva Professor of Pali and Buddhist Studies at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka we see examples of this.
Speaking of the third precept against sexual misconduct she identifies “Homosexuality, lesbianism, premarital and extra-marital sex” as modern practices that should be cast in a negative light. In the very next sentence she lumps in incest and rape as if the latter were equivalent to the former. This is disturbing to say the least.
Miyo,
It really does seem as though sacred writings cannot be abstracted from the culture in which they are initially promulgated or subsequently followed. As in Jan’s observation concerning how these ancient precepts are being interpreted by an orthodox practitioner in Sri Lanka, we may note that it may not be accurate for you, or me, or Jan to interpret them in the same way, as our culture (the one that you and me and Jan may share, as opposed to say “American”) is substantially different.
Or when it comes to respect for life and not killing insects, is this something to take seriously just because it is in a sacred writing? Does it make sense? Perhaps if it makes sense to me, I should observe it, while if it doesn’t I shouldn’t. Of course, if I think it makes sense, then as a secularist, I should be able to construct the logical and rational analysis by which I believe it makes sense. The tendency to think that ancient writings have more importance or validity than modern ones is certainly a traditional “religious” view, but logically I think it is fairly easily disputed on many bases, and safer to subject all “theses” whether ancient or modern to the same critical examination and skepticism.