[Buddha-l] Loving your object of study

[David Webster]

'these days' ? just wondered what about modern world allows mindfulness to
flourish better in the maelstrom of life than in the past? 

Would have thought that the hectic lives many of us lead would have made
seclusion more useful/needed than ever?

Mind you - I feel about as dhammic as a doorknob today, so probably best to
ignore me…

d.
---------------------------------------- 
Dr David Webster 
Course Leader: Religion, Philosophy & Ethics 
University of Gloucestershire 

Course blog:  HYPERLINK "http://www.r-p-e.blogspot.com"
http://www.r-p-e.blogspot.com  
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-----Original Message-----
From: buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com
[mailto:buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com] On Behalf Of jkirk
Sent: 02 December 2007 18:25
To: 'Buddhist discussion forum'
Subject: RE: [Buddha-l] Loving your object of study

 
How edifying this list has become, devoted as it is to the binaries of bad
vs good.

We ought to be grateful that some people take the time, and it requires a
lot of it, 
to study the dhamma at all, much less go for seclusion and commit to
internal tranquillity. These days, there's an alternative to seclusion known
as practicing mindfulness no matter what one is doing.
Joanna
=========================================


"Then there is the case where a monk studies the Dhamma: dialogues,
narratives of mixed prose and verse, explanations, verses, spontaneous
exclamations, quotations, birth stories, amazing events, question & answer
sessions [the earliest classifications of the Buddha's teachings]. He
doesn't spend the day in Dhamma-study. He doesn't neglect seclusion. He
commits himself to internal tranquility of awareness. This is called a monk
who dwells in the Dhamma."

Note that the "monk who dwells in the Dharma" *does* study the Dharma
teachings - but he also "doesn't neglect seclusion" and he "commits himself
to internal tranquility of awareness."

All of the "bad monks" were characterized by their neglect of seculsion and
their failure to commit to "internal tranquility of awareness" - while
simultaneously (and erroneously) focussing *only* on study, descriptions,
recitation, or thinking.

Curt

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