Acceptance of "Negative" Qualities

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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FatDaddy
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Re: Acceptance of "Negative" Qualities

Post by FatDaddy »

daverupa wrote:
Strive4Karuna wrote:It will be difficult to show love and compassion towards everybody, myself included.
One protects oneself, in this sense, via satipatthana & not the brahmaviharas.
I thought of Satipatthana as well.
3. The Contemplation of Consciousness
"And how, O bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu live contemplating consciousness in consciousness?

"Here, O bhikkhus, a bhikkhu understands the consciousness with lust, as with lust; the consciousness without lust, as without lust; the consciousness with hate, as with hate; the consciousness without hate, as without hate; the consciousness with ignorance, as with ignorance; the consciousness without ignorance, as without ignorance; the shrunken state of consciousness, as the shrunken state; the distracted state of consciousness, as the distracted state; the state of consciousness become great, as the state become great; the state of consciousness not become great, as the state not become great; the state of consciousness with some other mental state superior to it, as the state with something mentally higher; the state of consciousness with no other mental state superior to it, as the state with nothing mentally higher; the quieted state of consciousness, as the quieted state; the state of consciousness not quieted, as the state not quieted; the freed state of consciousness as freed; and the unfreed state of consciousness, as unfreed.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... wayof.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Happy, at rest,
may all beings be happy at heart.
Whatever beings there may be,
weak or strong, without exception,
long, large,
middling, short,
subtle, blatant,
seen & unseen,
near & far, born & seeking birth: May all beings be happy at heart.

Let no one deceive another
or despise anyone anywhere,
or through anger or irritation
wish for another to suffer.
— Sn 1.8
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tiltbillings
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Re: Acceptance of "Negative" Qualities

Post by tiltbillings »

FatDaddy wrote:
daverupa wrote:
Strive4Karuna wrote:It will be difficult to show love and compassion towards everybody, myself included.
One protects oneself, in this sense, via satipatthana & not the brahmaviharas.
I thought of Satipatthana as well.
3. The Contemplation of Consciousness
"And how, O bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu live contemplating consciousness in consciousness?

"Here, O bhikkhus, a bhikkhu understands the consciousness with lust, as with lust; the consciousness without lust, as without lust; the consciousness with hate, as with hate; the consciousness without hate, as without hate; the consciousness with ignorance, as with ignorance; the consciousness without ignorance, as without ignorance; the shrunken state of consciousness, as the shrunken state; the distracted state of consciousness, as the distracted state; the state of consciousness become great, as the state become great; the state of consciousness not become great, as the state not become great; the state of consciousness with some other mental state superior to it, as the state with something mentally higher; the state of consciousness with no other mental state superior to it, as the state with nothing mentally higher; the quieted state of consciousness, as the quieted state; the state of consciousness not quieted, as the state not quieted; the freed state of consciousness as freed; and the unfreed state of consciousness, as unfreed.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... wayof.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
  • "'I shall protect myself,' in that way the foundations of mindfulness should be practiced. 'I shall protect others,' in that way the foundations of mindfulness should be practiced. Protecting oneself one protects others; protecting others one protects oneself. And how does one, in protecting oneself, protect others? By the repeated and frequent practice of meditation. And how does one, in protecting others, protect oneself? By patience and forbearance, by a non-violent and harmless life, by compassion and loving kindness." -- S 52,8
bodom wrote:The Buddha never taught acceptance with regard to unwholesome mind states. He taught right effort which is cultivating wholesome mind states to combat the negative. Develop generosity to overcome greed. Develop loving friendliness to overcome hatred. Develop wisdom to overcome delusion.
The danger is, of course, of getting into very strong -- and very subtle -- states of aversion because of, and in regards to, one's negative mind states, wanting them gone, feeling badly about oneself because they are there, thinking that this is the way of the Dhamma.

"Here, O bhikkhus, a bhikkhu understands the consciousness with lust, as with lust; the consciousness without lust, as without lust; the consciousness with hate, as with hate . . . ." So, the question is can this be done without getting into a struggle with these mind states, without generating aversion?
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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Polar Bear
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Re: Acceptance of "Negative" Qualities

Post by Polar Bear »

tiltbillings wrote:
"Here, O bhikkhus, a bhikkhu understands the consciousness with lust, as with lust; the consciousness without lust, as without lust; the consciousness with hate, as with hate . . . ." So, the question is can this be done without getting into a struggle with these mind states, without generating aversion?
I would like to think so, the idea of gaining wisdom in this teaching or seeing things as they really are (from my understanding) naturally results in disenchantment, dispassion and relinquishment. But I also think sometimes it can be useful to generate a little aversion to unwholesome states and qualities before one has really seen enough drawbacks to induce dispassion because otherwise one would be more likely to commit unskillful actions. Shame is something to use in buddhism and it certainly carries connotations of aversion within it. But aversion needs to be curbed with the realization that one needs to understand unwholesome states and qualities if they really want to be able to let them go for good.
"I don't envision a single thing that, when developed & cultivated, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed & cultivated, leads to great benefit."

"I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about such suffering & stress as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about suffering & stress."
Spiny Norman
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Re: Acceptance of "Negative" Qualities

Post by Spiny Norman »

tiltbillings wrote:"Here, O bhikkhus, a bhikkhu understands the consciousness with lust, as with lust; the consciousness without lust, as without lust; the consciousness with hate, as with hate . . . ." So, the question is can this be done without getting into a struggle with these mind states, without generating aversion?
I think in practice it's a juggling act. On the one hand an acceptance and understanding of ones unwholesome mind-states, on the other hand not indulging or perpetuating those states, recognising that they are transitory and that one is not defined by them.
Buddha save me from new-agers!
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tiltbillings
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Re: Acceptance of "Negative" Qualities

Post by tiltbillings »

porpoise wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:"Here, O bhikkhus, a bhikkhu understands the consciousness with lust, as with lust; the consciousness without lust, as without lust; the consciousness with hate, as with hate . . . ." So, the question is can this be done without getting into a struggle with these mind states, without generating aversion?
I think in practice it's a juggling act. On the one hand an acceptance and understanding of ones unwholesome mind-states, on the other hand not indulging or perpetuating those states, recognising that they are transitory and that one is not defined by them.
I agree with this, and -- like everything with the Dhamma -- it takes work.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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