June 2010 Newsletter

Meditation Newsletter

June 2010

"Monks, I know not of any other single thing so intractable as the untamed mind. The untamed mind is indeed a thing intractable.

Monks, I know not of any other single thing so tractable as the tamed mind. The tamed mind is indeed a thing tractable.

Monks, I know not of any other single thing so conducive to great loss as the untamed mind. The untamed mind indeed conduces to great loss.

Monks, I know not of any other single thing so conducive to great profit as the tamed mind. The tamed mind indeed conduces to great profit.

Monks, I know not of any other single thing that brings such woe as the mind that is untamed, uncontrolled, unguarded and unrestrained. Such a mind indeed brings great woe.

Monks, I know not of any other single thing that brings such bliss as the mind that is tamed, controlled, guarded and restrained. Such a mind indeed brings great bliss."

- Book of the Ones, Ch.4, AN.

Developing a Meditation Practice

The next session of our online meditation course begins on Saturday, September 11th, 2010.

Vipassana Fellowship's courses have been offered since 1997 and they have proven helpful to meditators in many countries. The 90 day course serves as a practical introduction to samatha (tranquillity or serenity) and vipassana (insight) techniques from the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. Intended primarily for beginners, of any faith or none, the course is also suitable for experienced meditators who wish to explore different aspects of the tradition. The emphasis is on building a sustainable and balanced meditation practice that is compatible with lay life.

The course takes place on our special website that offers daily material for each of the 90 days, interaction between participants and support from the tutor. Participants also have access to an audio supplement containing guided meditations and chants to support the online material. The course will be led by Andrew Quernmore, an experienced meditation teacher based in England.

Application details and further information is available here:

http://www.vipassana.com/course/

Our Parisa support and encouragement programme is for former course participants; if you have taken one or more of our online courses you are eligible to subscribe. We provide themed teachings each month, year round, and access to our latest course. Andrew is also available to respond to support requests.

http://www.vipassana.com/parisa/

Are You Grown Up?

by Ananda Pereira

"If, by renouncing some slight happiness,

one may behold a larger one,

Let the wise man renounce the smaller,

considering the greater."

— Dhammapada

The capacity to renounce a small, immediate happiness in order to secure some greater, more distant happiness is a mark of maturity. Few children have it, and those who do are really more mature than many adults. It means clear vision, sound judgment, and self-control, all of which are sings of a truly adult mind.

Many people go through life without ever growing up. They find it impossible to resist the temptation of immediate pleasures. Under the wise guidance and control of some mentally older person, they may forego such pleasures and pursue a line of action which yields greater happiness in the long run. But it is not of their own independent choice. Given the necessary opportunity and freedom to decide for themselves, they will fritter away their time and energy in the pursuit of the moment’s pleasures, letting the future look after itself.

For such people, a theistic religion is a great help. It serves as a steadying and guiding influence. They are like children who need a wise parent, a parent who rewards virtue and punishes vice, who encourages honest endeavour and discourages laziness.

But, as Ingersoll once said, in nature are no rewards or punishments. There are only consequences. A man who plants a fruit tree, tends it carefully, and waits patiently, is not “rewarded” when at last it bears fruit. He may die before that happens, or the fruit may be indigestible for him because of some change in his personal chemistry. But the fruit appears all the same, not in order to reward him but because that is the way of nature. It is the same when a man trains a puppy badly and it grows up into a surly dog. The dog may or may not bite him, and if it does happen, it will not be a “punishment.” It will merely be a consequence of bad training.

To the Buddhist, all phenomena are consequences, including all personal phenomena. However pleasant or painful they may be, he does not regard them as the rewards or punishments dispensed by some Supreme Being. He accepts them as the results of his own kamma, his own past actions and thoughts. He stands on his own feet and moulds his own destiny, in this and in future lives. It is a religion for adults. For this very reason, it does not appeal to those who lack mental maturity. It is too free, too unsheltered, but, to the mature, it is the only reasonable and acceptable way of life.

Accepting this doctrine of personal responsibility, the Buddhist faces life fairly and squarely. He can pursue the slight happiness offered by the world of the senses, or, if he has clear vision, sound judgment, and self-control, he can forego such happiness and seek something infinitely higher. What is this “something”? It is mental progress, clearer and ever clearer vision, sounder and ever sounder judgment, greater and ever greater mastery over self, until at last, as an Arahat, he reaches the very zenith of mental evolution and attains Nibbana. This is the Way taught by all the Buddhas.

It is not an easy road or a short one. Most of us have far to go. But we must all go on that road sometime, and the sooner we start, the sooner we will reach the Goal. Let us not wait for many more lifetimes before we start. Let us not fool ourselves that if we wait patiently, trusting in some Supreme Being, our reward will be eternal bliss. Let us not hang about, like grubby children, expecting a parent or governess to wash us, undress us, and tuck us safely into bed. If we do, we shall wait indefinitely.

Source: extract from Wheel 45/46, BPS, Kandy, Sri Lanka

For Free Distribution.

A Mind Revealed

Vipassana Fellowship hosts online versions of 3 of Venerable Dhammajiva's works. Ven. Dhammajiva is one of the most highly regarded of contemporary Sri Lankan meditation teachers. His latest publication is "A Mind Revealed" which is an exposition of the Dutiyadvayam Sutta; a practical analysis of sensory consciousness, its causality, operation and cessation. The full text can be read online or downloaded.

http://vipassana.com/meditation/dhammajiva/

"You can draw an analogy between the operation of consciousness and the performance of a stage play. When you watch a stage play, with the light moving across the stage, you are taken to its different parts. When the light is projected on the separate roles in sequence, you know which part of the script is being performed. To know which part is being shown, however, you must pay attention and watch it continuously for a little while and follow the light. Then you recognise the actors and the sequence of actions that unfold. Similarly, when the light of mindfulness is projected on the performance of sensory consciousness, occurring in each of the six sense faculties, you can see which aspect of the performance (whether ear-consciousness or eye-consciousness (being the main actor)) is in operation. It may be the eye-consciousness seeing a visual object, or the ear listening to some music, or the nose experiencing a scent. When you mindfully become aware of sensory consciousness, you can note which part of the script is being performed and observe the theatre in the performance of your 'consciousness'!"

Sati Haus, Germany

Our friends at Sati Haus, a meditation centre in the countryside near Hamburg, have several retreats in 2010 taught (in German) by Revato Axel Wasmann and Sister Cittapala. Full details are available on the website at http://www.sati-haus.com

The Vipassana Fellowship Newsletter is published about 10 times each year and is sent only on request and to previous participants of our courses. Vipassana Fellowship is an organisation dedicated to the dissemination of accurate and useful information on meditation practices as found in the Theravada tradition. Our next mailing will be in July. Our site can be accessed via the vipassana.com and vipassana.org domains.