Hi I'm Jennifer and in married to Brian. We have 3 kids - Gerry,23, Daniel, 22, and Rhiannon, 16.
A Bite of Buddhism. The four sublime mental states are qualities of mind that we cultivate in order to alleviate the suffering we experience in everyday life and to feel more connected to others—and the worries and fears we all share. In the language of the Buddha (Pali), they are called the brahma viharas , which means "the dwelling place of awakened beings. " The good news for us unawakened beings is that it's easy to begin cultivating the brahma viharas . Indeed, they are an integral part of other religious, spiritual, and humanistic traditions. I present them here with a distinctly Buddhist "flavor. " Metta . The traditional translation for metta is lovingkindness. Meditation teacher, Sylvia Boorstein, uses the word "friendliness. " I like to think of metta as the simple act of well-wishing.
Sylvia once said that she practices metta by just looking at a person and silently saying, "I love you. " Karuna . The Vietnamese Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, helped me learn to cultivate compassion for myself. Discovering Buddhism Module 1 - Mind and its Potential. Interactive Tour of the Buddhist Wheel of Life (flash movie) Basics of Buddhism. The Four Noble Truths The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings, though they leave much left unexplained. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. More simply put, suffering exists; it has a cause; it has an end; and it has a cause to bring about its end. The notion of suffering is not intended to convey a negative world view, but rather, a pragmatic perspective that deals with the world as it is, and attempts to rectify it. The Four Noble Truths are a contingency plan for dealing with the suffering humanity faces -- suffering of a physical kind, or of a mental nature.
The Third Noble Truth, the truth of the end of suffering, has dual meaning, suggesting either the end of suffering in this life, on earth, or in the spiritual life, through achieving Nirvana. The Four Noble Truths. Religion: Buddhism. Triratna Buddhist Community. The Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO)) is an international fellowship[1] of Buddhists, and others[2] who aspire to its path of mindfulness, under the leadership of the Triratna Buddhist Order (formerly the Western Buddhist Order). It was founded by Sangharakshita in the UK in 1967,[1] and describes itself as "an international network dedicated to communicating Buddhist truths in ways appropriate to the modern world".[3] In keeping with Buddhist traditions, it also pays attention to contemporary ideas, particularly drawn from Western philosophy, psychotherapy, and art.[4] Worldwide, more than 100 groups are affiliated with the community, including in North America, Australasia and Europe.
The community has been described as "perhaps the most successful attempt to create an ecumenical international Buddhist organization,"[8] and "an important contributor to Buddhism on the world stage. Practices and activities[edit] These phases are: