Last post’s discussion of tonglen (taking suffering and giving love and wisdom) is not a complete practice for most of us who do not realize emptiness. Realizing emptiness requires accumulating massive amounts of merit. We do this by cleaning up our junk. Thus, we return to emotional hygiene, recognizing anger, jealousy, and pride and transforming them into tolerance, appreciation, and humility. Furthermore, we clean out the selfish junk by practicing the six perfections of generosity, ethics of no-harm, tolerance, diligence, concentration, and wisdom. Enough work for a lifetime, or two or three.
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The 8 worldly concerns
As I review some of my posts I realize they are all interconnected. We keep circling back to similar interrelated topics albeit from different perspectives. This is awesome! The Buddha’s teachings are like a giant […]
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Crisis of Climate Feedback Loops
Truth and integrity are needed more than ever. In order to train our hearts and minds in compassion, we practice the six perfections of generosity, morality (integrity), tolerance, joyous effort, concentration, and wisdom. Applying wisdom, […]
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Forgiveness and gratitude
Our default position whenever possible is forgiveness and gratitude. Forgiveness counters arrogance and ego. This moves us towards insight and wisdom. Gratitude opens our heart to compassion. Wisdom and compassion lead to the two bodies […]