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Retreat Moscow 94
Mindfulness is the energy that allows us to look deeply into the heart of reality. Buddhist meditation consists of two elements:
- Samatha, which is to stop, concentrate, and calm.
-
Vipashyana, which is the practice of looking deeply.
These two elements contain each other; to look deeply, one must stop and concentrate. This practice leads to prajna, or enlightenment, which is not a distant goal but something realized in daily life through the energy of transformation. When we feel lost or confused, we go back to the island of self, a safe place that cannot be washed away by waves. As the Buddha taught, “Take refuge in the island of yourself.”
There are five sources of energy, known as the five powers or pancha bala, which are essential to the practice:
- Faith, which must be based on direct experimentation and true understanding rather than blind belief.
- Diligence, the active energy motivated by Bodhicitta, the mind of love and enlightenment.
- Mindfulness, the energy that brings us back to our true home in the here and now.
- Concentration, which nourishes us and alleviates suffering.
- Enlightenment or understanding, the direct knowledge gained through experience.
Much of our suffering stems from wrong perceptions and attachment to ideas. To free ourselves, we must touch reality as it is, without the medium of concepts. When suffering arises in relationships, we practice the third mantra: Darling, I suffer so much. Please help. Please explain. We also practice selective touching by being mindful of consumption, recognizing toxins in two kinds of food:
- Edible food.
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Food of sense impressions, such as television or magazines.
The five wonderful precepts offer a concrete way to practice mindfulness and protect ourselves from despair. Building a Sangha, a community of practice, supports this journey, as reciting the precepts together makes the practice more solid.