The highest state of meditation is Samadhi, where there is no ego anymore, no doubts, no me, no you, no notion of time, no eating, no talking, no walking, no working and not doing anything at all, realizing that the Self is action-less. ~Dharma Mittra

Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt

Just as you think of your mother in this life, therefore,
Contemplate the suffering and hardship
Of all those poor beings who were your mothers before,
And shed tears for them all, again and again.

Just as you feel love for your mother of this life,
Generate love for all beings, your mothers from the past,
And arouse compassion and bodhichitta too —
With this, you will enter the ranks of the Mahayana.

Again and again, bring to mind all the kindness
Of beings of the six classes, your own kind parents.
If you care for them like your mother of this life,
They will love you too, as their very own child.

~ Shabkar

It’s a mistake to expect benefits from any pose. Expectations make you restless because if you fail to get what you expect, you feel miserable. Yoga practice is an act of adoration to the Lord. You do it because it has to be done. If you have this mental attitude, your selfishness disappears and the benefits come. ~Dharma Mittra

Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt

Verse 75: Indeed, the path that leads to worldly gain is one and the Path that leads to Nibbana is another. Fully comprehending this, the bhikkhu, the disciple of the Buddha, should not take delight in worldly gain and honour, but devote himself to solitude, detachment and the realization of Nibbana.

1.Vivekamanubruhaye (vivekam + anubruhaye): Viveka – solitary seclusion. According to the Commentary, the three kinds of vivekas are kayaviveka (seclusion of the body or solitude); cittaviveka (detachment of the mind from human passions) and upadhiviveka (Nibbana).

The Story of Samanera Tissa of the Forest Monastery

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (75) of this book, with reference to Tissa, a samanera, who dwelt in a forest monastery.

Tissa was the son of a rich man from Savatthi. His father used to offer alms-food to the Chief Disciple Sariputta in their house and so Tissa even as a child had met the Chief Disciple on many occasions. At the age of seven he became a novice (samanera) under the Chief Disciple Sariputta. While he was staying at the Jetavana monastery, many of his friends and relatives came to see him, bringing presents and offerings. The samanera found these visits to be very tiresome; so after taking a subject of meditation from the Buddha, he left for a forest monastery. Whenever a villager offered him anything, Tissa would just say ‘May you be happy, may you be liberated from the ills of life,’ (“Sukhita hotha, dukkha muccatha”), and would go on his own way. While he stayed at the forest monastery, he ardently and diligently practised meditation, and at the end of three months he attained arahatship. Continue reading →

When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a candle in a windless place. ~Bhagavad Gita