Judy Lief

Buddhism – Shambhala – Profound Treasury – Making Friends with Death

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Blog 46: Pay heed that the three never wane.

February 3, 2015 By Judy Lief

46. Pay heed that the three never wane.
Our initial inspiration to study with a teacher or to practice the dharma has a tendency to fizzle away over time. It is one thing to enjoy a burst of enthusiasm, but it is quite another to keep going after the initial excitement wears off. But that is exactly the point when you begin to practice for real.

This slogan is about three central aspects of mind training practice: devotion, appreciation, and discipline. The first aspect, devotion, has to do with your appreciation for your teachers. Devotion is not based on hero worship or a fixation on celebrity. It is an opening of the heart. You should be grateful to have encountered genuine teachers, and you not just take it for granted.

The second aspect is appreciation for the practice of mind training. You should be grateful that you have been given a practical and effective way to work with your mind and emotions and to cultivate wisdom and kindness. It is good to know that loving kindness it is not something that you either have or you don’t, but something you can cultivate step by step by means of lojong practice.

The third aspect is your discipline. The dharma gives you a way to work with yourself and to benefit others through formal practice and in the midst of everyday life. By conducting yourself with grace and dignity, you can inspire the people around you and develop greater confidence in your own potential. You should realize how lucky it is that you have a path and a discipline that works.

The point of this slogan is that you should pay attention to the ups and downs of your inspiration, so that when your devotion, appreciation, and discipline begins to fade, you can bring yourself back. If you want to stick with mind training, not just dabble, your best ally is the ability to pay heed.

Today’s practice

Reflect on the balance of the three qualities of devotion, appreciation, and discipline in your practice. Notice the waxing and waning of inspiration on the path, and how easy it is to let your initial inspiration just fade away. When that happens, what brings you back?

Upcoming Events: Profound Treasury Retreat

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8th Annual PROFOUND TREASURY RETREAT at Saco, Maine 

June 12-24 at Ferry Beach Conference Center, Saco, Maine

 

Living Dharma: The Joy and Challenge of Joining Practice and Action

 

 

“Mindfulness practice is not just about what is happening to you individually and personally—it is about how much you are going to transmit your sanity and your insanity to the rest of the world.”—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

 

“If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn.”  Charlie Parker

 

Living Dharma

The Joy and Challenge of Joining Practice and Action

 

In these times of turmoil, it’s important to reflect on ways to bring our lifestyle and our actions into greater accord with the dharma.   If your life does not reflect your practice, what is the point of meditation and study?

 

The time spent in sitting meditation is much less than the time spent going about our everyday lives. Therefore, postmeditation practice is essential. The combination of meditation and postmeditation makes our practice complete—running through our entire life rather than something we turn on and off.

 

In this class, we will focus on the challenges of living a dharmic life, and how they are addressed in the three stages of the Tibetan Buddhist path.  We will work with the foundational or hinayana guidelines for living life with simplicity and contentment. We will study mahayana teachings on how to activate compassion and benefit others. Finally, we will explore vajrayana teachings on how to engage more freshly and spontaneously by cutting hesitation and fixed views.

 

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Topics include:

The three essentials: discipline, meditation, and wisdom

Refraining from harm: working with the five precepts

Being of benefit: practicing the paramitas

Overcoming hesitation: engaging with the four karmas

Obstacles, mistakes, and fresh starts

 

From Judy’s Blog

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Judy Lief • 802-598-5832 • judy@judylief.com