Showing results for "Foundations" in Consciousness & Thought

In simple and straightforward language, Bhante Gunaratana shares the Buddha's teachings on mindfulness and how we can use these principles to improve our daily lives, deepen our mindfulness, and move closer to our spiritual goals. Based on the classic Satipatthana Sutta, one of the most succinct yet rich explanations of meditation, Bhante's presentation is nonetheless thoroughly modern.

Am I aware of the process of thinking? Can I see that thought is destructive, except where it is essential? Why is it that we don't see something immediately? Do you know when you are thinking? Is the thing that we call thinking thinking at all? Do you think from the background noise when a problem arises? When the mind becomes totally aware of the background, is there thinking when a problem arises? What happens when I am aware of this hum, this noise incessantly going on? Is the background noise different from the observer? How am I to live an everyday life with complete silence?

Farmer, ecologist, and writer Berry provides some rich and fertile ground for recreating life and culture. He speaks of enduring values, the wholeness of life and the interdependence of all creatures, especially humankind. Berry's self-discipline, ethical sense and human compassion come through as he leads us from the microcosm of his Kentucky hill farm to the macrocosm of a sane and reasoned planetary vision based on personal integrity, faithfulness, and love.

Thought and the brain. Can the brain free itself from all self-delusion? Why has the self become important? Can there be only sensation, thought and no desire? Can desire—which brings illusion, self-deception and all the complications of changing desires—can the root of desire be dissipated? What prevents one from having a real insight? That is, seeing the truth of desire and therefore end it. Is it that we have never asked this question? When there is no desire whatsoever then there is a total revolution, and that will affect the consciousness of man.

Every human being is living a life, but how much humanity does he have? Birth, education, job, marriage, kids, family and at the end... death! Is this the standard cycle of life that has to be followed? What is the ultimate goal of such a life? Why do we take birth? What do we want? The human body that we have received... should do the duty of being humane. There should be humanity in life. But what is humanity? According to Param Pujya Dadashri, the Gnani Purush (the enlightened One). The definition of humanity is that when someone hurts you, troubles you, you don’t like it.

In the midst of the Superpowers and the Third World, a new vision is emerging of a Fourth World, encompassing small communities as an alternative to the notion that "bigger is better." Returning power to a personal level is one of the goals, according to Papworth, who offers an expansive overview of the plight of the individual vs. "giant ism." "Human scale and morality" need to be reintroduced to the political decision-making process, Papworth says, and he provides some useful ways to meet the challenge he so eloquently describes.