#149 Karma: intention, action and effect Part 1 Feb. 26th 17

    

                               KARMA: Intention, action and effects  Part 1

Karma is a Sanskrit word meaning “action”. The law of karma refers to the sequence: cause (intention) produces action which induces effect. Every good/bad volitional thought or action will bring a certain good/bad result in the short or long term future.                                                                         If my thoughts or behaviors are motivated by greed, hatred or delusion, I am planting the seed of suffering for others and myself.

On the opposite, when our acts or thoughts are motivated by generosity, compassion, love and wisdom, they are creating the karmic conditions for abundance and serenity for self and others.      The concept of karma or action is based on basic moral and ethical principles and it is found in every religion.

“We reap what you sow “ says the Judaic/ Christian and Islamic scriptures.

In this presentation I will address only the individual karma but there is also a general one.

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#148 Common problems encountered during meditation Feb. 19th 2017

                                         Common problems encountered during meditation

Asked if he is struggling sometimes while meditating the Dalai Lama replied: “ If I don’t struggle, I don’t meditate well”

While practicing meditation, it is normal, even after many years, to encounter problem, difficulties and frustration. The best way to quit meditation is to judge how you are meditating.

Mindfulness-based meditation is the practice of login and training our mind by paying attention without an analytic/ judgmental /decisional goal. The mind will do all the tricks he knows to discourage us. Do not be discouraged or upset when you are struggling while meditating. Struggling is part of meditation.

How often and how much we are perceiving negatively our meditation has nothing to do with its quality or its progress since this negative perception is a creation of the mind and not the result of our meditation. (more…)

#147 Mindset = Mind trap Feb. 13th 17

                                               Mindset = Mind trap      A Zen perspective

Definition: an established set of beliefs, ideas, concepts, and opinion held by someone or a group of people. We all have a mindset about almost everything: weather, diet, events, religion, politic, people, etc and our thinking, judgments, attitude and actions are greatly influenced by it.

Opposite to mindset is Open mind, “Don’t know mind in Zen”

Where our mindset is coming from?  

Preconceived ideas start soon and lasts til the end. Beside few genetic factors, the vast majority of our mindset contents are acquired during life. Parental education, schooling, social status, personal socio-professional experience-good and bad-, self-learning sources —book, TV, Internet—, moral/ethical principles, spiritual beliefs and practice, etc. As long as our set of beliefs is based on facts and within proper social and moral framework, having a mindset is a great instrument to function properly and efficiently in our relationships.

On the opposite side, if my mindset is made of wrong, negative, destructive beliefs or if our preconceived ideas are based on nonobjective facts, which is most of the cases on, it becomes a significant issue not only regarding my behavior and how am I be perceived by others.

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#146 Few words about meditation Feb.6th 17

 

FEW WORDS ABOUT MEDITATION

“Meditation doesn’t remove pain, unhappiness, dissatisfaction or alleviate the negative energy flowing through your body  and the world. Contrary to what we read, Meditation does not bring happiness.

However, with discipline and steady practice, Meditation will relieve stress, anxiety and suffering, not by changing our outer environment that we cannot control but by turning our awareness inward to discover our genuine inner peace and make peace with ourselves and others.

The aim is not to become a super hero, a saint, nor to transcend our flaws, feelings of pain and distress. Instead, it is :

To control our restless ego-driven monkey mind main source of our “suffering”

To open our hearts and minds to others,

To accept our emotions as they come in any given moment even if these feelings are very hard to deal with ” . This is part of serenity

Ji Gong Sunim     Zen Master  Oakville ON

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#145 Happiness vs. Serenity Is there a difference? Feb. 04 17

                               Happiness vs. Serenity. Is there a difference?

Too often we equate happiness with serenity but their origin, meaning and purpose are totally different. To achieve serenity, it is important to differentiate them.

Happiness (end of XVI c= hap= “good fortune/luck “ is a genetically programmed, ego driven, genuine and transient emotional reaction whereas serenity is a state of mind that must be learned. Big difference!

In our secular Western society the search for ongoing happiness is a must whereas the search of serenity sounds to be limited to few esoteric, mystic and spiritual weird people.

Live must be exiting and good for you because you deserve it! This is how marketing genius are manipulating us.

If y we are not happy all the time, there is something wrong about because we should be able to be happy all the time. New car, new house, new job, new partner, new cruise, new adventure, etc….

The four main characteristics of happiness are:

  • Is a genetically programmed, &ego driven: happiness is a transient emotional reaction generated in our limbic system or reptilian brain. Search for happiness is normal, constant and very powerful.
  • External sources: We are seeking happiness always from outside self and not from inside because we believe that happiness cannot be self-induced but generated by numerous and various external triggers coming from somewhere or somebody else. This is why we are endlessly seeking, experiencing and accumulating new exciting stuff.
  • Length: happiness is, usually, a short lived emotion since, as soon we get what we want such as relationship, material stuff, , professional success, social status, control, etc., happiness dissolves rapidly and we automatically seek for new stuff to make us exited and happy again.

There is, in this subconscious process, some sort of addiction where we are looking for more and more of new stuff, new fun, new excitement to achieve and maintain the same level of happiness.

  • Always Up and Down like a Yo-Yo. It is impossible to stay happy for too long because, as soon as we get what we want, happiness evaporates and we are immediately looking for something new. The list of our desires and dreams is endless and our happiness will fade away sooner quickly. In other words: more stuff for the same degree of pleasure. This is called habituation and dependency.

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