“I make my mind my friend”

A sound endorsement for the continual cultivation of good will, benevolence, and loving kindness throughout our lives. In recognizing that what we frequently think about becomes the inclination of the mind, we quickly see the value in bringing this practice to the forefront of our lives. A framework is offered for both the integration and sustainability of this profound method of relating to ourselves and the world we inhabit.

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An informative and detailed explanation of commonly used terms, including consciousness, perception, mindfulness, and wisdom, particularly as they apply to our meditation practice. These terms are sometimes lost in translation, from the original Pali language to their Western interpretations. Joseph conveys the true meaning of these words, while offering additional translations that may help bring their essence to light.

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An investigation of the six sense spheres, known in Buddhism as “The All,” which form the basis for understanding everything we know and how we know it. All further elaborations of the Buddha’s awakening have their basis in this pragmatic and verifiable teaching. As complicated as our lives may seem, everything we experience can be traced to one or more of these fundamental principles. In turning our attention to the senses, we find that these very ordinary aspects of our daily lives contain subtle and profound truths that point us toward liberation.

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Vedana is the Buddhist term for the pleasant, unpleasant or neutral sensations that arise when our internal sense organs interact with external sense objects and the associated consciousness. Joseph explores this concept, explaining the Buddha’s heavy emphasis on establishing this form of mindfulness to better understand how are lives are unfolding on the path of awakening. In first recognizing, and subsequently investigating the origins of these feeling tones, we begin to decondition our deeply habituated tendency to grasp, avert or tune out to a given stimulus. Through practice, we gain ground on the reactive mind and further align ourselves with our true nature.

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Joseph describes the expansive power of Loving Kindness and its unique capacity to embrace each and every being that we encounter. Loving Kindness does not make distinctions and is therefore referred to as one of the boundless states. The cultivation of Metta serves as a crucial reminder that we ourselves are the final arbiters in determining how we feel. This quality can and must inform our mindfulness practice in order to effectively tune our inner environment to that place of genuine purity and peace.

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Joseph offers a timeless discussion of the conditioning nature of fear, and possible methods for transforming that constricting energy into genuine freedom. Our fears are often revealed as we progress along the path, stepping out of our personal comfort zones in an effort to expand our spiritual boundaries. In recognizing that these experiences are an inevitable part of life, and are therefore a response to an ultimate truth, we come to understand the value in opening to every aspect of our unfolding lives.

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From one perspective it can be said that the entire spiritual path rests on the development and cultivation of a particular mind state known simply as equanimity. When highly developed, equanimity brings about an unshakable quality of mind that allows us to ride the inevitable changes of the human experience with balance and ease. We must be careful to not confuse the neutrality of equanimity with a sense of disconnection or indifference toward ourselves and others. As Joseph explains, this universal mental factor is present in every wholesome state of mind, making it difficult to overestimate its value in cultivating spacious impartiality.

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‘There is no single factor so potent in promoting the good of beings as right view’ - Buddha

Joseph describes the wisdom factor of mind that is Right View and the function this understanding serves in illuminating both the causes, and the means for cessation, of suffering. Our actions are often rooted in the unwholesome thoughts that stem from a false view of the Self. Acting in a manner that serves and enhances the right view of non-self is the underlying context for all of our practice. It is the beginning and the end of the path, to understand the truth of Dukkha and abandon all of its causes.

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‘The mind free of desire is a greater pleasure”

 

An enlightening discourse on the often confounding subject of renunciation, and the ways in which we might find value in this practice. Joseph draws on initial inquiries from the Buddha in determining the drawbacks of pleasure seeking-behavior in relation to the potential benefits of what he calls the ‘non-addictive’ state. Understanding the roots of our thoughts and desire systems is the first step in bringing greater awareness to our actions and the karma that unfolds therein

 

 

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What is it that we actually learn from being mindful? What wisdom emerges from the practice of awareness that has the power to liberate our hearts and minds from the suffering we experience? Joseph explores this question in depth, highlighting the Buddha’s instruction to abandon that which does not belong to us. The goal becomes clear, but the means for accomplishment are often less obvious. Insights are offered in an effort to help cut though our layers of identity, and to the sense of self to which we have become so attached.

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