I finished the book Old Path White Clouds.
Can’t say I’ve been reading too much these days, but it was leant by someone else, and I had intended to return it. He is someone kind in his demeanour to faces old and new. A silent gravitas in patience and experience. Non judgemental. Not really a close contact, nor an acquaintance. A figure assoicated with fishing.
There isn’t too much to this post, other than it being a cheat sheet for future reference.
The two paths and The middle way
Avoiding the extremes of ascetism and excess
The noble eightfold path:
- right understanding
- right thought
- right speech
- right mindfulness
- right concentration
Four noble truths:
- existence of suffering
- cause of suffering
- cessation of suffering
- the path that leads to the cessation of suffering
Five precepts
- Dont kill
- Dont steal
- Avoid sexual misconduct
- Dont lie
- Dont consume alcohol / intoxicants
Seven factors of awakening
Sutra of Breathing:
- First breath: I know im breathing ina long breath
- Second Breath: i know im breahting in a short breath
- Then, Third breath: aware of my body
- Making my body calm and at peace
- Breathe in and be joyful .
- Be happy
- Awareness of activties in my mind
- Calming the activities
- Awareness of mind
- Making mind happy and at peace
- Concetrating the mind
- Observe impermanence
- Observe fading
- Contemplate liberation
- Sixteenth breath: Letting go
Dharma on true happiness:
- Foster relations with people of virtue and avoid path of degradation
- Live in an environment that is conducive to spiritual practice and builds good character
- Foster opportunities to learn more about the Dharma, the precepts and your own trade in greater depths
- Take the tme to care well for your parents, spouse, children
- Share time, resources and happiness with others
- Foster opportunities to cultivate virtue. Avoid alcohol and gambling
- Cultivate humility, gratitude and simple living
- Seek opportunities to be close to bhikkhus (monks) in order to study the way
- Live a live based on the four noble truths
- Learn to meditate in order to release sorrows and anxieties