Skip to main content

3 min. video: Excellent real life metta, mudita, karma and deva protection in action.

 

Re: How to practice loving kindness friendly-kindness?

Post by frank k » 

Gami47 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 27, 2022 11:56 am:namaste:
First, you're probably going to run into problems if you follow instructions where people don't translate 'metta' correctly.
https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... thats.html
'love' is absolutely wrong, 'loving-kindness' is an attempt to avoid the problems with 'love', but still an ill-advised translation.

metta is friendliness, good will.

Second, I'd highly recommend people avoid Vism. or the many modern teachers who base their instructions on Vism. derived ideas for the brahmaviharas.

Now the suttas unfortunately don't give as much detailed instruction on metta as we'd like.
But I'd recommend using that versatility in conjunction with discernment and common sense.

For example, in this great 3 minute video here, this is an excellent real life example of metta in action, as well as mudita, and how karma works and invites protection from devas and other beings.

later in the thread:
Highly recommended articles by Thanissaro B. , including this new book from him in 2022
https://www.dhammatalks.org/ebook_index.html#SubDet
Sublime Determinations: a Retreat on the Brahmavihāras. (published July 13, 2022) A transcript from a retreat held in conjunction with the Sociedade Vipassana de Meditação of Brasília on the topic of the four sublime attitudes (brahmavihāras): unlimited goodwill, unlimited compassion, unlimited empathetic joy, and unlimited equanimity.


And some of his other articles on the topic, from the same website
The Sublime Attitudes
Head & Heart Together
The Limits of the Unlimited Attitudes



To me it really speaks to the general aptitude of understanding in the Buddhist community when it comes to the brahma viharas, that no one else has brought up Thanissaro's articles and recommended them on this thread.
It tells me you haven't really thought about the deeper issues, or encountered the many problems from LBT Vism. and general watered down and misguided practices common today.
For example, it makes a radical difference in your life and in your practice between trying to regard all living beings as a mother loves her only child (like a frantic nanny chasing after unruly kids),
as opposed to trying to protect the purity of one's mind (from ill will) as a mother protects her only child.

Or what it means in SN 47 when the two acrobats, the master told the apprentice "you protect me, and I'll protect you", and the apprentice corrected the master (which the Buddha approved) and said, "No, you protect yourself and I'll protect myself."

Or how would you actually in practice if a bandit were to saw off your limbs, and you are suppose to direct metta at them?

Thanissaro's articles on the topic (sutta based) that I've read that addresses many complications that arise from actually trying to incorporate metta into your practice.
If you haven't read his work on the subject, it will really open your mind and help you see some of the many problems with how the brahmaviharas are commonly taught today.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Advice to younger meditators on jhāna, sex, porn, masturbation

Someone asked: Is porn considered harmful sexual.activity? I don't have a sex life because I don't have a partner and I don't wish to engage in casual sex so I use porn to quench the biological urge to orgasm. I can't see that's it's harmful because nobody is being forced into it. The actors are all paid well and claim to enjoy it etc. The only harm I can see is that it's so accessible these days on smart devices and so children may access it but I believe that this is the parents responsibility to not allow unsupervised use of devices etc. Views? Frankk response: In another thread, you asked about pleasant sensations and jhāna.  I'm guessing you're young, so here's some important advice you won't get from suttas   if you're serious about jhāna.  (since monastics are already celibate by rule)   If you want to attain stable and higher jhānas,   celibacy and noble silence to the best of your ability are the feedstock and prerequiste to tha
Post a Comment
Read more

SN 48.40 Ven. Thanissaro comments on Ven. Sunyo's analysis

This was Ven. Sunyo's analysis of SN 48.40: https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2024/05/exciting-news-honest-ebt-scholars-like.html And here is Ven. Thanissaro's response to that analysis: I think there’s a better way to tackle the issue of SN 48:40 than by appealing to the oldest layers of commentarial literature. That way is to point out that SN 48:40, as we have it, doesn’t pass the test in DN 16 for determining what’s genuine Dhamma and what’s not. There the standard is, not the authority of the person who’s claiming to report the Buddha’s teachings, but whether the teachings he’s reporting are actually in accordance with the principles of the Dhamma that you know. So the simple fact that those who have passed the Buddha’s teachings down to us say that a particular passage is what the Buddha actually taught is not sufficient grounds for accepting it. In the case of the jhānas—the point at issue here— we have to take as our guide the standard formula for the jhānas, a
Post a Comment
Read more

1min. video: Dalai Lama kissing boy and asking him to suck his tongue

To give more context, this is a public event,  * everyone knows cameras are rolling  *  it's a room full of children * the boy's mom is standing off camera a few feet away watching all of this * the boy initiated contact, he had already had a hug with Dalai Lama earlier and then asked Dalai Lama for another hug which triggered this segment  17 min. video showing what happened before that 1 min. clip and after, with some explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT0qey5Ts78 16min talk from Ajahn Acalo with his thoughts on Dalai Lama kissing boy, relevance to Bhikkhu monastic code, sexual predators in religion in general, and how celibate monastics deal with sexual energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK2m0TcUib0 The child's comments about the incident in a filmed interview later https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/world-news/2023/04/18/643eba5d46163ffc078b457c.html The child: It's a great experience It was amazing to meet His Holiness and I think it's a great ex
Post a Comment
Read more