Book: Pema Chödrön - No Time to Lose.

Netti-Netti said:
What are you doing here? :confused:
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I ask myself this regularly. I sloped off once but was tracked down by a posse.

There's a time and a place for doing nothing and I still do that regularly too. ;)

s.
 
Netti-Netti said:
For your interest: Nothing to Do, Nowhere to Go....

Amazon.com: Nothing to Do, Nowhere to Go: Reflections on the Teachings of Zen Master Lin Chi: Thich Nhat Hanh: Books
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Paladin just posted something similar on another thread:
Paladin said:
I have often wondered, if it is true that we operate from a conditioned mind, what part of our programming seeks to uncover our own self-deception? Is what we call "wisdom" an innate yet sleeping quality within us? When do we become so enamored of the truth that we are willing to throw away everything we think we know to truly see "things as it is"
I found this little free download, a conversation between Steven Harrison and Martin Kreschnecht {SP?} to be intriguing.
Doing Nothing - Self-Deception and the Fires of Transformation
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Heartbreak with Samsara (Ch. 8 verses 1 – 89).

This chapter begins a more in-depth look at meditation and hence the need for regular periods of solitude. Chödrön suggests we keep in mind three things here: dunzi – wasting our lives with useless distractions, shenpa – the experience of being psychologically hooked (British readers – reminds me of the anti-smoking campaign that involved giant fish hooks ), and the heartbreak with living in samsara.

After discussing calming the mind with shamatha meditation Shantideva then goes on to consider obsessions with wealth, possessions, recognition and physical gratification. It is not these things per se that are a problem but the craving and attachment to them, and the despair that follows as they fade, change or die (as all things must).

This first part of the chapter concludes:

“To have such liberty unmarred by craving,
And loosed from every bond and tie –
A life of such contentment and such bliss,
The gods like Indra would be pressed to find!

Reflecting in such ways as these,
Upon the excellence of solitude,
Pacify completely all discursiveness
And cultivate the mind of bodhichitta.”

- 8.88 – 8.89​

s.

 
Dissolving the Barriers (Ch. 8 verses 90 – 187).

This section of chapter eight begins with the central notion of the equality of self and other, and practices for putting ourselves in the “shoes” of others.

The cause of suffering is the illusion of separateness between the ego constructed “self” and other. According to the Buddha, the intensity of our anguish is dependent upon the strength of this clinging to the impermanent “I”. Hence the need to recognise we all are “the same” and want the same, and act accordingly. The duality of this view (self/other) does not exist at the level of absolute truth; so in absolute truth there is no suffering, but at the relative level of course we are all in considerable pain.

From verse 140 to the end of the chapter, Shantideva teaches the practice of “exchanging self for other”. It is to intentionally experience an emotion that we would normally want to avoid and to experience being on the receiving end of such intense emotion.

“Take others – lower, higher, equal – as yourself;
Identify yourself as “other.”
Then, without another thought,
Experience envy, pride and rivalry.”
-[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]8.140​
​

s.
 
Dedication (Ch. 10 verses 1 - 58).

(as noted previously, Chödrön decided to omit chapter nine, the wisdom chapter, from this commentary).

In the final chapter, Shantideva dedicates any merit he has accumulated from the composition of The Way of the Bodhisattva for the benefit of himself and all beings. Chödrön says that we can do this at the end of any activity, and dedicate the merit to a specific person in need, or to all beings.

“By all the virtue I have now amassed
By composition of this book, which speaks
Of entry to the bodhisattva way,
May every being tread the path to Buddhahood.”
- 10.1​
​
“And now as long as space endures,
As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue likewise to remain
To drive away the sorrows of the world.”
- 10.55​

s.
 
Snoopy said:
thanks N-N I'll have a look but I think I could open a small bookshop with such books :D:D
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Dealing with the Path of Transformation? If so, I'll take some recommendations.

Pema Chödrön has suggested Tonglen as a method of transformation. Thrangu Rinpoche says that Tonglen is "sending and receiving, taking the suffering from all sentient beings and giving them the happiness and merit that we have." This seems like a transactional transformation rather than a way of transforming of one's own personal attachments and aversions into positive qualities.

Lately I was thinking it might be accurate to say that both personal and transactional processes are happening at the same time. We are changing something about ourselves in order to have more to offer in the way of compassion. In Pema Chödrön's words:
In tonglen practice, when we see or feel suffering, we breathe in with the notion of completely feeling it, accepting it, and owning it. Then we breathe out, radiating compassion, lovingkindness...
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In Chödrön's book, with reference to the wisdom chapter, she recommends Transcendent Wisdom by the Dalai Lama and The Way of the Bodhisattva by the Padmakara Translation Group (whose translation she used for this book). (perhaps Practicing Wisdom: The Perfection of Shantideva's Bodhisattva Way and A Flash Lightning in the Dark of Night: Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, also by the Dalai Lama may also be of interest).


She has made available talks (chapter by chapter) on CD, cassette and download; to be found here:The Way of the Bodhisattva by Pema Chodron from Great Path Tapes & Books



s.
 
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