On vacation to be back soon
Iniciaste sesión como:
filler@godaddy.com
On vacation to be back soon
Iniciaste sesión como:
filler@godaddy.com
Siddhārtha Gautama
vi = special, super
passanā = seeing
vipassanā = comprehend in depth
Every day we face life's events and challenges, not always with the best mood, strength, or determination. We are always in seek of a better condition, a condition that satisfies us, that makes us feel better. We all strive for security and stability because that is what is missing in our lives, as we see them through the glasses of the mind.
Yet nowadays our lifestyles and rhythms are insanely faster and more complicated, and this often leads us to live in a repetitive and known/common/conform way, a sort of "survival mode" or "autopilot".
We wake up, take a shower and while we clean our bodies we are already thinking of what we will eat for breakfast or what we will say at the upcoming work meeting. Or maybe we get back to that sad argument that we had with our partner, not long ago. It's always now but we are never here, in this "now". Instead, we are always looking somewhere else - forcibly driven by our mind, the so-called monkey mind.
As an agitated monkey jumps from one branch to another, our mind goes through thoughts at an impressive speed, Most of the time we follow it, getting lost in this flow of massive thoughts. It became so difficult for us to focus our awareness continuously on a single point.
Researchers pointed out that in the current historical period, the average threshold of our attention span is about 8 seconds, the same as a goldfish.
Basically, we are enslaved by the mind, the agitated and undisciplined mind.
We say «I don't like this, I don't like that» and we react by turning around, looking somewhere else. We look for something nicer for our mind and senses, and in doing so we develop knots, one over another. We spend most of our lives in this reactive process until something happens and pushes us to find another way of existing in this realm.
Then we stop reacting, and we start acting.
How can we find peace in our lives and create a better world if we first don't find our inner tranquility? We must start, any of us must start a soulful journey to seek peace within him/her/themself.
How can we do that?
How can we find that stillness of mind, so we can face our lives from a place of calmness and faith? And not fear and doubt?
Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, who lived around 2500 years ago (~500 BC), left us a great gift, in the form of a series of teachings.
Those teachings are universal, non-sectarian, and can be put into practice by everyone. They fit into any life journey and can be applied little by little.
Indeed, we are not speaking about dogmas or other kinds of religious or moral restraints.
We are speaking of inner insight techniques that can be put daily into practice to allow us to connect with our deeper Self. Our Soul. Our Spirit.
This is actually what all religions and philosophies around the world say as well, in different forms: know yourself and you will find fulfillment, you will find joy.
However, most religions do not provide a practical way or any technique to apply this. Yet the Buddha, a human being like any of us, gave us the dhamma ("universal law" or "life path"). In other words, he gave us the tools to achieve this inner self-discovery, after having experienced it for himself.
This series of tools is usually referred to as "meditation" or at times "Vipassana".
Vipassana is actually described as a quality of the mind, a quiet and disciplined mind, that achieves deep insight. The practice of meditation is the tool that little by little gets us there.
Together with Samatha ("serenity", "tranquility of awareness"), they are two inseparable qualities of the mind that are developed through the meditation practice by the apprentice.
Meditation is a laic path suitable for whoever desires to improve his/her/their own life experience.
Through consistent meditation practice, we work on dissolving attachments and fears that prevent us from living in the truth, the ultimate truth. Practice progressively brings us to perceive reality and matter not as an objective one (as we are all used to thinking) and to see everything as a dream, an image devoid of substance. We get to the point of realizing that everything is sunyata, NoThingNess. Everything is void.
You will progressively develop a deep conscious awareness state thanks to:
If you are in a moment of life crisis, if you feel that you need to find a deeper existential meaning or simply you want to feel better, more calm, faithful, and relaxed, this is the right journey for you. It's not easy, because the mind is very indisciplined and will make resistance, but it's simple because it's natural.
Find yourself and your true happiness, that eternal happiness that does not depend on any external condition. If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within, secondary reality is without.
Are you ready to start this magical journey into consciousness?
We are here to guide you along the way.
First time meditating? Fantastic!
Start your journey into consciousness with Ayatana meditation practice.
The six Ayatana, the field of cognition experienced through the 5 senses and the mind as Human physical existence, are the focus of this meditation series.
In each lesson we bring these elements to observe how all things in this temporal world of 'Maya' are transient and nonsubstantial through guided sitting, walking, lying down, and breath meditation for mind concentration and soul awakening.
Page credits: Riccardo Monticelli