Meditation during near death

When you have a death or near death experience during a meditation session...how should we deal with this? Should we transform these fear based experiences into a learning experience?

In fact, people who still do not forget to meditate before dying are people with excellent psychological qualities (wholesome mind) such as right mindfulness, right concentration, and right understanding.

In order to eliminate or transform the "fear of death", Mahayana Buddhism often use "Buddhānusmṛti". By remembering the Buddha’s Name and his virtues, they can increase their confidence and mindfulness, thereby dispelling fear and anxiety.

Theravada Buddhism also has the practice of "Buddhānusmṛti (reciting the Buddha)", but "Ānāpānasati (mindfulness of breathing)" is always the first choice.  Let our mind rest in the present moment of every breath, so as to eliminate the fear in our mind.

In fact, among the many spiritual practice methods of Buddhism, there is another method called "Maraṇasati".

Maraṇasati (mindfulness of death, death awareness) is a Buddhist meditation practice of remembering (frequently keeping in mind) that death can strike at anytime (AN 6.20), and we should practice assiduously and with urgency in every moment.

However, whether this method is suitable for everyone to practice, it varies from person to person.  For some, who can definitely gain wisdom and confidence in facing life through the visualization of death. But there are also some people who are very afraid of death in the very first place OR always have a pessimistic and negative attitude towards life, and if they visualize various phenomena related to death, it may cause either bad or harmful effects for their practice. That’s why this method is mentioned in Buddhist scriptures, but it is not widely used, or even known to some Buddhist practitioners.

Further reading:

Maraṇasati Is for All of Us by Margaret Meloni

Death Awareness by Larry Rosenberg

The long and gentle exhalation

Emotional Hijack, not only happens on kids and teens, but also in big-kids like each of us. To get rid of that, why not try the method of “breathe in a little bit and breathe out a whole lot”?

Use "short inhalation, long and gentle exhalation" to relieve negative thoughts such as restlessness, anxiety, and annoyance etc.

For example, when inhaling, silently count 1, 2; when exhaling, silently count 3, 4, 5, 6.  Repeat several times you will amazed by the effects.

Safeguard your children with wisdom and compassion

Wisdom and compassion are important assets in life. Have you saved it for yourself and your children?

The most effective way to safeguard your children is to do your best and give them a positive influence.

Cultivate wisdom and compassion thru practicing mindfulness

Whether it is a child, oneself, or a inner child who has not yet grown up, let’s consider the practice of mindfulness to cultivate more wisdom and compassion.

 Reroute attention ~> Adjust emotions ~> Soften words and deeds ~> Improve relationships

Mindful! Mindful!

Maintain a healthy mind

What are you fueling up at this very moment?

Mindfulness or mindlessness?

Right understanding or mistaken view?

此時此刻，您供給自己什麼？

正念還是失念？

正知還是錯見？

Metta @ your own place

Event : 30 mins Loving Kindness 

@ your own place 

@ your own time (proposed time : 8:00-8:30 pm)

Thanks for joining us 

in maintaining the energy of

Mindfulness & Compassion 

Don’t miss the up coming July’s events:

22nd

29th

Enroll, share and more info (click here)

May you be well and happy.

Metta @ your place

Events : 30 mins Loving Kindness @ your own place

Thanks for joining us 

in maintaining the energy of

Mindfulness & Compassion 

Don’t miss the up coming July’s events:

15th

22nd

29th

Enroll, share and more info (Click here): 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/30-mins-loving-kindness-your-own-place-tickets-47732173215#

May you be well and happy.

Worry or Angry ?

Don’t Worry, Be Angry

By Thanissara

Angry again? Let see how the author share with us the ideas of make good use on the energy of anger.

Excerptions :

Looking on at the mindless destruction of the planet, how can we not feel outraged?

Anger burns us up, injures others, or, when we repress it, collapses us into depression.

Anger is a warning that something is invading and overwhelming us. If we don’t take heed, disorder and destruction will follow.

This energy, when distilled into clarity and wisdom, burns away the dross of self-seeking desires and fears.

Anger as a healthy response to injustice has a different quality. It is clarifying. 

If we prematurely condemn or repress anger because we think it unworthy to feel, then we will fail to transform it.

......

Click here to read the article: Don’t Worry, Be Angry

Compassion Meditation

Family Dharma: Leaning into Suffering

By Beth Roth

A great exploring on the topic of Compassion Meditation with wide range of subjects and author’s personal experience.

Excerptions :

The Four Divine Abodes are natural states of the human mind and heart, yet they are often obscured by our conditioning, habits, and difficult emotions. 

Although the Pali word dukkha is most often translated into English as “suffering,” other common translations point to the comprehensive meaning of dukkha:  illness, unhappiness, neuroses, discomfort, pervasive unsatisfactoriness, or perhaps most simply, stress. 

The Pali word karuna, which translates into English as “compassion,” literally means “the trembling or quivering of the heart in response to a being’s pain.”

The second part of the definition of karuna, “in response to a being’s pain,” means that since every person is a being, we are called upon to meet not only another’s suffering with love, but also our own.

When we are suffering, we are as much in need of our compassion as is any other being, and we are equally deserving of it.

To recognize our suffering and respond to it with compassion is a gradual process, and it must be done with sensitivity and care.  As we develop our internal resources, we may also need reliable external support – a good friend, an experienced meditation partner or teacher, a skilled therapist.  This is not a path we need to walk alone......

If freedom from pain and sorrow seems impossible because of physical illness or other circumstances, we may need to experiment to find more resonant phrases.  For example, “May I care for my body just as it is,” or “May I meet this suffering with tenderness and love.”

......

Click here to read the article: Family Dharma: Leaning into Suffering

Watering the flowers or weeds?

Water the Flowers, Not the Weeds

By Thomas Bien

Excerptions :

To encourage beneficial mental states, seek experiences that stimulate them and avoid unnecessary experiences that encourage harmful ones.

Don’t rush past these marvelous experiences (smell of the rain, blue skies etc.), treating them as if they are unimportant. To treat them as unimportant is ultimately to treat yourself as unimportant. This is your life: enjoy it!

When you encounter something positive and healing, pause with it, lighting the lamp of your mindfulness to savor and appreciate it.

There are many lovely things in the world. Why focus so much on the potentially destructive ones?

Click here to read the article: Water the Flowers, Not the Weeds

Dementia vs Mindfulness Practice

Who Are We Without Our Memories?

By Pamela Gayle White

Excerptions :

For people living with dementia, mindfulness practice—especially guided meditations of the “leaves drifting down a stream” sort—can be very beneficial.

For care partners, working with memory loss and dementia is an invitation to shift away from the habitual focus on past and future, and to more fully embrace the freshness of not knowing, not doing—to simply accommodate what is happening right now.

Awareness of the truth of suffering and impermanence always provides fertile ground for spiritual practice.

Recognizing the emptiness component is essential to letting go, and letting go is essential to well-being and realization.

Click to read the article: Who Are We Without Our Memories?

Refreshing

Refresh yourself at this very moment.

當下更新自己。

Drop the story and merely recognize

Emotions, in essence, are just pure energy, but because of dualistic perception we identify the emotion as “me,” and it gets very locked in.

...... whether it’s any strong emotion or even a milder emotion, it’s so easy for us to get stuck and wrapped up in the story and thoughts around the emotion. From there, the emotions escalate and enslave us.

One of the things that causes us to get so lost in our emotions is that we attach our stories to them.

In any given sitting period, in any given half hour of our lives, there are a lot of things that come and go. But we don’t need to try so hard to sort it all out. We don’t have to attach so much meaning to what arises, and we also don’t have to identify with our emotions so strongly. All we need to do is allow ourselves to experience the energy—and in time it will move through you. It will. But we need to experience the emotion—not think about the emotion.

Read full article: Meditating with Emotions by Pema Chödrön, Summer 2013

放下故事，全意領受

本質上，情緒純粹只是一股能量，但由於二元化認知模式，我們將情緒識別為“我”且深深套牢於其中。

無論是強烈或溫和的情緒，我們都很容易陷入困境，並醉心於與情緒有關的故事和想法。就在那裡，情緒逐步擴大並奴役我們。

其中一個導致我們迷失於情緒的原因，是我們把故事附加到情緒上。

在任何靜坐裡，或在任何半小時的生活中，都會有很多事物來來去去。所以，我們根本不需要費力將其全部整理出來。我們無需執意為浮現的事物賦予太多的定義，而且我們也不必過度地鑒別所有的情緒。我們所需要做的就是讓自己全意領受這股能量 —— 假以時日「情緒」僅是過客。它會變成過客。然而，我們需學會領受情緒 —— 而不是思索情緒。

The practice of RECOGNIZING

Acknowledging your pain, fear, anxiety, worries etc. openheartedly and open-mindedly, but not asking for any improvement nor result.

In other words, train your mind to just knowing and seeing. For instance: I know my worry is coming, I see my worry.

Do not comment at all or discriminate whether it’s good or bad, right or wrong should or shouldn’t.

The more you train your mind to simply recognize that critical circumstances, the more you increase your ability to be aware.

The awareness will spontaneously replace all your negative thoughts and ease your mind gradually.

Do not underestimate the power of awareness!

Begin to develop your sense of awareness through your daily living, such as drinking water, walking around etc.

Happy practice!

Key words: simply knowing and seeing!

＜「認知」的培育＞

敞開心胸地認知你的痛苦、恐懼、焦慮、擔憂等等，但不要求任何改善或結果。

換句話說，訓練你的心僅是「知是」與「看是」，例如：我知道我的擔憂即將到來，我看到我的擔憂。

完全不評論、不譴責其好壞、對錯或該不該。

你越訓練自己的心去認識那些窘境，你就越能提高自己的覺知。

「覺知」會自發地取代你所有的負面思想，逐漸舒緩你的心。

千萬別小覰了「覺知」的力量！

從生活中的大小事物，如喝水、走動，開始培養自己的覺知吧！

修學愉快！

關鍵詞：僅僅只是「知之」、「看之」。

Click here to read more about Pema Chödrön “How to meditate”.

Turn Negative Self Talk to Right Speech

Apply “Right Speech” to all sorts of Negative Self-talk,
such as self-criticizing, self-blaming, cursing etc.
以「正語」取代各類型的負面自我對話，如自我譴責、自我埋怨、詛咒等等。

Here are some tips 這裡有一些提示：

1. Know your triggers and explore the opposite realities 認清觸發負面對話的關鍵因素並探索其反面事實
2. Learns to accept our flaws 學習接受我們的不圓滿
3. Keep a self-compassion and self-developing journal 撰寫自我同理和自我成長的記事
4. Routine of Loving Kindness Meditation 例行慈愛禪修

Click here to read more about Mark Epstein, “If the Buddha were Called to Jury Duty”

The mind with Dhamma

The more we practice, the more we tend to wish that our mind associated with Dhamma.
However, what’s the characteristic when our mind associates with Dhamma?
Put aside all our expectation and simply practice, perhaps, the answer will unfold before our eyes.

修行越多，我們越希望我們的心與法相應。
然而，當我們的心與正法聯繫在一起的時候，其特徵為何？
拋開我們所有的期望，純粹修習，也許，答案就會展現在我們的眼前。

Click here to read more about Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, “Conserving the Inner Ecology”.

Let peace come to us

Get ready our mind by mindfulness practice, such as simply watching the in and out of our breath for 5~10 minutes/session, perhaps, peace will come and knock our mind-door.
透過正念練習讓我們的內心就緒，好比說每次簡單地觀照呼吸的進出5〜10分鐘，也許，平靜會來敲我們的心門。

Self-transformation through Mindfulness

20 minutes TEDx talk

“Although we do not have any control of what was happened in the past, we have the power in this moment and going forward, to choose how we pay attention to our thoughts and emotions. Every moment then becomes an opportunity for us to change the way we perceive the world and ease the burden....... So, I leave you with the question: what will you fill your mind?”

 雖然我們無法控制過去發生的事情，但我們具有能力於邁進的當下，去選擇我們如何關注自己的思想和情緒。如此一來，每一個當下將成為我們重新認識世界和減輕負擔的轉機.......所以，我給您留下一個問題：你會如何填滿你的思緒？

Cognitive Neuroscientist, Dr. David Vago

After the talk, why not considered to kick off a 5-10 minutes Mindfulness Practice everyday?

聽完演講，何不開始每日5～10分鐘的正念練習？

Starting a meditation practice, by Dr. David Vago