The Buddha and sleep

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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WindDancer
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Re: The Buddha and sleep

Post by WindDancer »

Thanks for the discussion.

I live a dedicated practice; however, I have had to adapt recommended guidelines so that I live in harmony with serious chronic illness. I rarely can sleep well during the night. For years, I tried fight this. I learned to accept things as they are and live in harmony with Nature.

I find that I get a rise in energy during the night, and I have found that I do my best meditations and Dharma/Sutta study during the night. My mind is clear. The middle of the night lends itself to deeper, more stable meditative states. It supports daily life practice and mindful reflection.

Every night I take my two Great Pyrenees and Doberman on late night dog walks some time between two and four in the morning. I mindfully soak in the experience and enjoy meditating as I gaze at the stars and Milky Way glittering above. This is part of my daily life practice. I take note of the moon phases and the changes in all sense doors throughout the changes in the seasons.

I tend to be more up beat and active in the half of the year that is warmer and filled with more light. I allow life to follow the natural flow of hibernation during the colder and darker half of the year. During this time of year, I tend to study more deeply and do deeper reflective work.

The one thing I have to guard against is doing too much or too little. It can be easy to want to sleep or rest too much due to being tired, feeling sick and being in considerable pain. Likewise, it can be tempting to push myself to live up to a standard which doesn't respect the conditions I have. I can get away with it for a short time, but eventually, I crash and pay a huge price. It is best if I set a measuring standard of maintaining the best state of well being that I can, a well being that best supports the Path of practice. Some days I only need six hours of sleep. Other days I function best with eight or nine.
Live Gently....
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Pondera
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Re: The Buddha and sleep

Post by Pondera »

Dhammanando wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 3:54 am
Pondera wrote: Wed Nov 01, 2017 10:57 pm Can a monk be disrobed for oversleeping; sleeping excessively?
No. In fact it wouldn't transgress any Vinaya rule at all. The offence would be against the Dhamma principle of devotion to wakefulness (jāgariyānuyoga).
Is there any special hell that you might know of for sramanas who sleep all day? Asking for a friend here.
Like the three marks of conditioned existence, this world in itself is filthy, hostile, and crowded
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Dhammanando
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Re: The Buddha and sleep

Post by Dhammanando »

Pondera wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:10 amIs there any special hell that you might know of for sramanas who sleep all day? Asking for a friend here.
No idea. If there is, maybe it would like apartment 306, where lying down is enforced 24/7.

Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
binocular
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Re: The Buddha and sleep

Post by binocular »

Dhammanando wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 10:08 am
Pondera wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:10 amIs there any special hell that you might know of for sramanas who sleep all day? Asking for a friend here.
No idea. If there is, maybe it would like apartment 306, where lying down is enforced 24/7.
Maybe someone who sleeps a lot has some disease.
Beyond that, all nine circles of Dante's hell fit sramanas who sleep all day ...
Hic Rhodus, hic salta!
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Pondera
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Re: The Buddha and sleep

Post by Pondera »

Seems about right. I have a phobia about this actually. Three Buddhist themes lead me to believe that the soul exists in the corpse right up until the bones turn to dust. 1. There are ten meditations on the repulsive - why distinguish between a rotting corpse in ten stages? Why such detail? 2. The Buddha has said that among all other sects, the annihilationists are the closest to preaching dhamma and they also claim 7 types of soul which do not disappear until the four elements are scattered (the body is completely decayed).

Worst case scenario, we have to inhabit the body until the death is truly over. Best case scenario our "souls" can leave the body and migrate to other planes.
Like the three marks of conditioned existence, this world in itself is filthy, hostile, and crowded
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Pondera
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Re: The Buddha and sleep

Post by Pondera »

Another take on lying dormant...

Like the three marks of conditioned existence, this world in itself is filthy, hostile, and crowded
binocular
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Re: The Buddha and sleep

Post by binocular »

Pondera wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:33 amAnother take on lying dormant...
[Radiohead: Just]
Factoid: Around that time, Thom Yorke believed in karma ...
Hic Rhodus, hic salta!
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Pondera
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Re: The Buddha and sleep

Post by Pondera »

binocular wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:40 am
Pondera wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:33 amAnother take on lying dormant...
[Radiohead: Just]
Factoid: Around that time, Thom Yorke believed in karma ...
"You do it to your self - just you. You and no one else." Versus "we are the inheritors of our own karma." Sounds about the same! :D
Like the three marks of conditioned existence, this world in itself is filthy, hostile, and crowded
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Dhammarakkhito
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Re: The Buddha and sleep

Post by Dhammarakkhito »

Pondera wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:18 am Seems about right. I have a phobia about this actually. Three Buddhist themes lead me to believe that the soul exists in the corpse right up until the bones turn to dust. 1. There are ten meditations on the repulsive - why distinguish between a rotting corpse in ten stages? Why such detail? 2. The Buddha has said that among all other sects, the annihilationists are the closest to preaching dhamma and they also claim 7 types of soul which do not disappear until the four elements are scattered (the body is completely decayed).

Worst case scenario, we have to inhabit the body until the death is truly over. Best case scenario our "souls" can leave the body and migrate to other planes.
after each of the following sections a refrain, "Now, Sirs, when a bhikkhu knows thus and sees thus, would that make him ready to take up the subject: “Is the soul the same thing as the body, or is the soul one thing and the body another?”’

‘Yes, it would, Sir.’

‘But I, Sirs, know thus and see thus; and nevertheless I do not say either the one or the other,’":
the first jhāna, the second jhāna, the third jhāna, the fourth jhāna, insight knowledge, the knowledge of the mind-made body, the knowledge of the modes of supernormal power, the knowledge of the divine ear, the knowledge encompassing the minds of others, the knowledge of recollecting past lives, the knowledge of the divine eye, the knowledge of the destruction of the cankers
https://suttacentral.net/en/dn6
also of interest is this short sutta about what knowledge the buddha shared with us vs what he had https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html
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