The Path to End Suffering: Step Six
November 27, 2023 | 2 CommentsAudio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 4:38
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and enjoying this series of videos on foundational Buddhist teachings. So far, we have covered:
Right View
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right View and Right Intention comprise true wisdom. Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood describe how to live an ethical life. Now we turn to Right Effort which, together with Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration explain how to work with our minds.
Right Effort is not about working harder. I’m sure you’re already working as hard as you can. Rather, it has more to do with diligence and never giving up on yourself, others, or the world. A tall order, I realize. Please have a listen to this short talk (followed by a guided 10-minute meditation) and let me know what you think! I always love to hear from you.
Much love, Susan
categorized in: dharma, open heart project
2 Comments
This aligns beautifully with the instruction by Pemo Chodron when talking about feeling antsy on the cushion – just stay. I think it also has to do with patience and discipline (part of the Six Paramitas), looking at the itchiness for something else, acknowledging it as part of the complexity of samsara, and sitting with that awareness. Thank you for these talks. They are so grounding.
Thank you Susan, these talks are very helpful. I found that I was just sitting, with the idea of staying – both staying put, and also staying open to the full experience. This brought a very embodied sense of stability, waiting, and receiving. A quite different experience than thinking about effort, with its implied ‘trying’