For the (early) non-personal Buddhist symbol of a lotus, why is it said a blue one can’t be used? Are there any trickster(s) (archetypes) in Buddhism? Perhaps Mara or Devadatta? Why or why not? Can techniques leading to a non-dual state also provide a condition for susceptibility to unwholesome mind control especially if and whenContinue reading “Dharma Questions: Miscellany — Part 6”
Category Archives: questions
Beyond Just A Healing Place: Lisa Frey Of Fat Cat Longevity
September 16, 2023 Update: While Lisa currently does not run Fat Cat Longevity one can still reach out via: fatcatlongevity@gmail.comhttps://facebook.com/freyflow After participating in events and facilitating meditations at Fat Cat Longevity for quite some time now, I finally sit down with the care and wellness honcho herself Lisa Frey:
An Integrating Presence Meditation Circle at Fat Cat Longevity Wednesday November 17, 2021
After participating in several online meditation circles, and facilitating my first one in September resulting in beneficial feedback, I wish to continue.
We’ll each bring our meditation experiences to interacting with one another and can then apply beneficial circling takeaways to deepen and enrich our meditation practices.
Multi-month Pāramitā (Attainments/Perfections) Challenge For August, September And October 2021
When presented with “The Pāramitā Challenge” I accepted and here we are. In addition to the Pāramitās or Perfections, so far, the challenge also includes precepts and the 52 Stages of the Bodhisattva Path and Bodhisattva vows.
So far, instructions are to journal contemplations resulting from observed intentions, opportunities, and actions to be generous, moral and ethical while arousing faith in the Triple Gem then seeing where/when confident and where/when in doubt.
I’ve not taken Bodhisattva vows, and so with little instruction in Mahāyāna Buddhism, apart from maybe a smidgen of the zen stuff, there’s the benefit of beginner’s mind is a nice way to put it. I shoot from the hip with a lot in this recording and will often use a Theravada lens and a lot of inquiry as I ponder out loud. It may come off at times as criticism and sometimes it may actually be, but these are mostly solo efforts at summonings what is really meant by the material.
Wisdom Snippets: Inquiry / Investigation
Why even bother with investigation or inquiry? Perhaps inquire, assess and question with intent to lead toward true knowledge, liberation and the (long-term) well-being of all. Know the truth of the way things actually are and then align with truth to bring great happiness. But how and why does aligning with truth bring happiness? Maybe it’s time to investigate for oneself?
This blog post collects various odds and ends to aid with inquiry and investigation.
Practice-In-Place Roundtable | (10/26/2021 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Denny K Miu And Guests Lydia Grace and Joanne Muir)
For this month’s regular open-audience, open-discussion “Ask Us Anything” — continuing discussions about meditation and related topics — Denny and I hosted a open roundtable on “Practice-in-place” with fellow Insight Timer teacher Lydia Grace and Joanne Muir. The term “Practice-in-place” comes as a wise meditative response to “Shelter-in-place” induced by reactions to Co-V.
While we touch on many topics we mainly discuss ramifications in now using more technology in our practices and sessions.
Conscious Pregnancies With Kristy Geltz
Friend and mother Kristy Geltz shares her knowledge, wisdom and experiences with pregnancy, giving birth and mothering. (While still listenable just know we recorded on Kristy’s porch with nearby construction vehicles beeping and the main recording didn’t take so using the lesser quality Wisdom App live recording.) Topics include: Or listen via Insight Timer (appContinue reading “Conscious Pregnancies With Kristy Geltz”
Wisdom Snippets: The Murkiness, Blocks And Obstructions Of Past Life Discernment
During the resolve to not get up from under a Bodhi tree until realizing full awakening, the Buddha recalled previous lives. How did he, and how can we tell what is really and truly an authentic past life? What’s mentioned in this blog post are a few things that could be mistaken for past lives, and some of them are pretty far out.
Wisdom Snippets: Co-opting Co-V For Concord
Currently the wisest perceptions surrounding the CV thing encountered thus far:
• Honoring and respecting each and every free health care choice
• What is your intent for vaccination or non-vaccination?
• We do not know the long terms effects of getting vaccinated and not getting vaccinated
• Should guidelines, vaccines and pharmaceutical products be the only options? How can we make it all work together without tyranny or carelessness?
An Integrating Presence (Three Minute) Meditation And Reality (Characteristics) Contemplation
Meditation:
Meditate continuously for three minutes on an object
Contemplation:
Able to keep attention on the object the entire time?
If not, why is that?
If yes, did the quality and degree of attention change?
Why can’t we lock a consistent, unchanging attention to something without it wavering, or changing, or without distraction?
Perhaps then consider that in life, and especially noticeable in meditation, we sometimes think we should able to keep a consistent, unchanging attention to something. Maybe we can now better see how this erroneous view of deceptively defaulting to expecting constancies in life can result in stress and unsatisfactoriness
Integrating Presence 