This week for the family group, we had the fun task of looking at the paramī of Sacca, or Truthfulness. This is a fun task because it’s pretty straightforward: it takes almost no effort to see the chaos and distrust caused by lying, and appreciate the trust and harmony created by a commitment to the […]
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The Seven Factors of Enlightenment daylong retreat was a success with many friends taking the time to spend their Saturday together in dhamma practice. There were two talks and a Q & A session, of which the two talks were recorded from morning and afternoon. These recordings can be found on the Innovative Dhamma youtube
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This week for the family group, we stepped sideways from the list of the ten perfections to cover an important wholesome emotion that doesn’t always get so much press: Mudita. Mudita is described as the feeling of joy we get upon perceiving happiness in ourselves or others. This emotion is one of the four brahma-vihara’s,
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On the Uposatha, Tahn Pamutto gives a reflection on the brahma-vihara of Mudita. This mind state translates as ‘Gladness’ or ‘Sympathetic Joy’, and is based on a deep joy and appreciation in good fortune, wholesomeness, and success. Often overlooked because it seems too simplistic or doesn’t directly combat ill-will like the other brahma-vihara’s, it is
Upavana’s spring newsletter has just posted. You can find it here: https://mailchi.mp/4e42590b3a65/upavana-january2022-newsletter-7061597
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On the Uposatha night, a sick Tahn Pamutto gives a reflection on how we can come to understand the ups and downs of life in a buddhist context. We do this by considering the four noble truths, and specifically cultivating the ‘duty’ to each of these truths. Suffering is to be understood, Craving is to
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This week for the family group we covered the paramī of adhitthāna. This is a quality which like Khanti straddles the definitions of a few english words with its meaning and scope. One aspect is the ability to determine or resolve upon doing something, but the willpower and persistence to stay with our goal despite
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In this Uposatha talk, Tahn Pamutto provides encouragement in developing mindfulness, an essential component of the eightfold path, and describes the Buddha’s framework of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness which helps guide that effort and make it fruitful.
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Our family group this week covered the paramī of Khanti. In the Pāli language, khanti is a word that covers a whole range of activities in English: Patience, Tolerance, Forebearance, Endurance. The common thread that all of these things have together is that they deal with our ability to be with a challenging or unpleasant
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This weekend with the family group, we took a pause from covering the paramī’s to open a conversation on the topic of Death. As we said when we were wrapping up, the conversation didn’t end – it was in fact the beginning of a larger, ongoing conversation that we could each have. Together we can
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