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“Strive on!” (skillfully). Learning the Dance of Right Effort
And what is right effort? It’s when a mendicant generates enthusiasm, tries, makes an effort, exerts the mind, and strives so that bad, unskillful qualities don’t arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen are given up. They generate enthusiasm, try, make…
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Support our retreat scholarship fund
We’re grateful to be able to offer our spring 2020 retreat in a full Gift Economy model, with scholarships available for all who need them. More than half of the retreat participants have requested some amount of scholarship support, and it is only through the generosity of the larger community that we are able to…
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“…incalculable, immeasurable”: The Blessings of Gift Economy
Once the Buddha was living at his most beloved monastery, a park given to the monastic community (saṅgha) by a passionate donor and community leader named Anāthapiṇḍika, outside the city of Sāvatthī. His two senior disciples, Sāriputta and Moggallāna, at that time were about 490 miles away, “wandering in the Southern Hills” with their own…
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“Do not ignore the effect of Right Action”: Ethics, kamma, and the Eightfold Path
The Right Action limb of the path covers the first 3 precepts, starting with non-harming. We’ll look at this excerpt from a sutta called “Intentional” (AN 10.217) to start off, which describes how (and which) actions always have consequences. “Mendicants, I don’t say that intentional deeds that have been performed and accumulated are eliminated without…
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8 Yoga Texts Every Student Should Read
These excerpts are taken from the handout to our 20-hour YA-approved “Yoga Humanities” course: Intro to the History of Yoga: Philosophy, Practice, Transformation. Each excerpt is followed by a reflection question for use in class or individual study based on reflection questions in the course. Each of these excerpts is from a text that is…