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Nitiananda 19-02-2018 03:58 PM

Four immeasurable states of the soul
 
Then, the basic state of the soul in the Mahayana is the Four Dimensionalities: Holy Love, Holy Compassion, Holy Praise (joy of success and the happiness of others) and Holy Impartiality (equal treatment of all living beings, as well as an indifferent attitude to the return of one's own karma).
What is love in Mahayana? Meditation on the cultivation of this state begins with one person - from the one you prefer to everyone else, and then the consciousness expands and on others - the father, mother, spouse, friends and acquaintances. Remembering everyone you know, you gradually spread love to all living beings and sincerely wish them happiness, love, joy and meeting with the true Teachings: "Let this person, or this soul, or that living entity, let everyone I know , and everyone I do not know will be freed from suffering sooner, they will quickly free themselves from ignorance, quickly destroy worldly desires, quickly learn other worlds and find true happiness in Maha Nirvana. "
The next is Holy Compassion. Imagining all living beings in the same order, starting with the nearest ones, it is necessary to cultivate in their soul immeasurable compassion for them because their connection with the Truth is too weak, or because they continue to commit bad deeds. "This person is suffering now because of his past deeds, which he does now, without knowing the Law of Karma. He denies the Truth and believes that there are no worlds other than this. Even finding happiness, he does not understand how it is relative and fleeting. May he enter more quickly into the Stream of the True Law! "Compassion is a state of the soul, addressed to the primordial ignorance of all souls.
Human consciousness is an interesting thing. For all who surpass him in anything at all, it immediately reacts with jealousy and envy. But this dirt does not so much interfere with others as it does to itself. Conversely, sincere joy to the happiness and success of others makes a person strong and generous. The ability to rejoice over others is no less important than the ability to compassion. It also determines the tendency of man's spiritual development. It is not necessary to praise aloud at all - too frequent praise can lead to flattery on one side and conceit on the other. But admiration in the soul subconsciously will cause you to become the same. And it is especially useful to praise religious merit. To learn such qualities of the soul, it is necessary in the same order to imagine the faces of people, to find their good and wholeheartedly to praise them for it.
The final stage of meditation of the Four Dimensionalities involves two aspects: the outer - an immeasurably equal relation to all living beings - and the inner one - the immense indifference to the return of one's own karma - both good and bad. During this meditation, it is necessary to imagine two people next to you - the one who likes and the one who is unpleasant. It is desirable that they perform certain actions related to you: they concern you, give something, etc. And you, when comparing your reaction to their actions, should gain an understanding of the fact that we have been making incarnations for so long that almost all living beings could once be our parents and children and that in fact, there is no difference between them. If someone is unpleasant or dirty to you - give him the Teaching! And you will see how quickly the true law can change both the appearance and the soul of man.
Or, recalling various situations in the memory, mostly unpleasant ones - how you were insulted, deceived, etc., - conduct a meditation for cultivating the consciousness, which would relate to what is happening absolutely calmly and with gratitude. These are the Four Diminities, and even extremely short in a few minutes, but regular meditation of this kind is capable of doing miracles and radically changing any, the most complex human relationships. Try it, and you will be surprised by the results.

Nitiananda 22-02-2018 06:42 AM

Holy Love: Fortunately, the practice of Love, which requires nothing in return
What is the doctrine of the Four Diminities? The four dimensions of immortality are the four majestic, vast states of the soul. First, it's Holy Love. This is a soul that loves selflessly, without demanding anything in return. However, people usually like to want something in return.
Why, if one wants to get something in return, then the Three Nasty Worlds are formed, and if we do not aspire to receive it, if we have the Four Dimensionalities, then the world of the gods will be formed? This is because the stronger the desire to receive something in return, the greater the suffering that occurs if you can not get it. If you follow deeper, even if you are trying to get something in return - you can not get it. This is because everyone is leading a selfish life. If you think deeper, then in family relations everyone aspires to occupy a dominant position. All live, thinking only of themselves and enter into communication with each other, thinking about themselves and seeking to get some benefit for themselves. Therefore, to establish a relationship does not work.
If there was one person in this world who thought about you and did not think about themselves, that would be good. But if there is not such a person, even if you will strive for something for yourself, if you will love, expecting something to receive for yourself in return, there will necessarily be a situation that does not correspond to your desires.
But a man who loves, not wanting to receive anything in return, is a very valuable man. Such a person, if he so wishes, will certainly be loved.
That is why, because of the love demanding something in return, the person becomes unhappy, and thanks to the practice of love, which does not require anything in return, it is happy.

Nitiananda 22-02-2018 06:46 AM

Next comes the Holy Compassion.
Usually it is considered such a work of the soul when, seeing people who suffer because they do not know the Right Teaching, a person feels sad about these sufferings as if they were his own, sympathizes with these people and tries to eliminate their suffering.
However, the biggest problem in everyday practice are cases where people do not understand that others are suffering, although they do suffer.
For example, here is a person who unreasonably criticizes or attacks you. Or not on you, but on other people. Probably, you do not think about this person that he is suffering.
But if the soul is in a stable state, if a person does not suffer, then in most cases this person will not perform unreasonable deeds. All those who harm others - from people to evil spirits - experience suffering within themselves. If you look back at your actions, you will be able to understand this well. This must be realized in the first place.
Such people, seeing those who do something bad, are usually disgusted: "And what is he doing this?" Or they have stronger feelings, hatred. This happens when their personal interests are hurt.
In this case, you should practice Holy Compassion or Karma Yoga. At the core of these practices is the ability to relate to the bad karma of others as to their own. In other words, when you see how others accumulate bad karma, do something bad - you should think that these are the factors that you have, that you have a teacher showing you how to not act, and use this case as a an occasion for self-observation. And in the future, try to eliminate your own and others' bad karma.
*Here it is necessary to pay attention to one point. As for manifestations of bad karma, it happens that we do not like them, but it happens that they do not cause any reaction. Psychologists believe that we feel strong anger when we see in others the shortcomings inherent in us. This is a very important observation.
Reflect here on what. Imagine that we have some shortcomings, which we always think of as something bad. When parents or friends tell us about them, we restrain ourselves, but often it happens that we can not completely eliminate them. And what happens when we notice them in others? Because we constantly pay attention to these shortcomings and think of them as something bad, then because of this, with the same bad qualities of other people, we also experience hatred. Such psychology of people is easy to understand. You are often criticized for the same thing and you have to endure, but then you see how others do the same. Because of this, anger, hatred arises.
On the other hand, what happens when you see in others something that does not bother you particularly, what do not you especially think about? Indeed, you are simply detached, objectively assessing: "This is bad," and you do not feel any special emotions. Also, compassion for others arises easier.
And if this is so, then when you have a strong sense of hatred towards the actions of other people, it is very important to think: "Is not there the same factor in me?", "Is not there the same tendency for me ? "
People who pay attention to this, who have wisdom, will notice: "Oh, and in fact I have the same drawbacks. I'm the same as this man. " And the better you become aware of it, the weaker your hate, your anger. And about the shortcomings of others you can mourn, as if they were your own. This is Compassion.
Anger arises only if there is a distinction between yourself and others. People who do not have wisdom completely fail to notice that other people's actions are characteristic of themselves. Therefore, they are indignant: "And that this type behaves so badly!" So, when you get angry at the sight of other people's shortcomings, do not get angry for nothing, but look at yourself, analyze your condition and eliminate it.
The person doing this receives a wonderful benefaction. First of all, in relation to others, he experiences not hatred, but compassion and love, and he begins to treat people with warmth. This frees you from the stress and fatigue associated with anger, and gives you peace. To people you will have compassion: "And I, and others because of this suffer. But I'm exactly the same. The same thing that I had before, now causes suffering and that person. " Thanks to this compassionate attitude you will want to somehow help these people - to get rid of their shortcomings and bad karma, because you yourself have suffered before.
And not only this. People practicing Holy Compassion are freed not only from hatred from other people, but also from hatred towards themselves. What does this mean?
People who practice not Holy Compassion, but selfishness and hate others, one day comes a period when they begin to hate themselves very much. They begin to hate themselves and fall into self-deprecation. And sometimes they become lonely.
Why is this happening? You see in another person an object for hate. However, in fact, there are the same factors in yourself. But you do not notice this and continue to hate. Repeating this process only increases hatred. At the same time, not noticing the same drawbacks in yourself, do not deal with their elimination. And these shortcomings only increase. This is the state of mental blindness.
But one day you notice: "But in me there were the same drawbacks." And then there is no escape from the emergence of a strong hatred of self, self-abasement. Because it turns out that you had the same drawbacks as those people whom you hated so far. And how much you fixed on hatred and increased it, just as strong hatred, turned to yourself, will be strong. You used to think: "What kind of fools are these people who do this?" - but it turned out that you are the same.
So if you do not consider other people to be your own projection and, by making a distinction between yourself and others, continue to hate others, then this behavior can be compared to the behavior of someone who pulls a bow against himself. He released the arrow in others, but in reality it returns to you. This is part of the Law of Karma: what one has done to others, will return to you. It is said that anger creates a karma of reincarnation in Hell, but a person with strong hatred even in life begins to surround more and more hated objects, including himself.
On the other hand, what happens to a person who practices the Four Immortals, Holy Compassion? When he sees manifestations of bad karma, the shortcomings of other people, he ponders whether there is not the same in me. Therefore, its shortcomings will not remain as they are, nor will they grow. Seeing in other people "negative" teachers, he can eradicate his shortcomings even before they grow. Therefore, he will not feel strong hatred towards himself when he detects pollution.
Such a person is modest in his daily life and strive for his own growth, and communication with other people uses for self-improvement, sympathizes with other people and, seeing their shortcomings, mourns for them as their own, and also generates generosity and love. Such a person, seeing the shortcomings of other people that everything is the manifestation of the work of one's own soul in the past (or the manifestation of the work of the soul from past lives, will raise its level, his love for others will grow, and he will become happy.) Thus the karma of the World of Gods is formed.
So, being in the same world, you can view it from the position of the Four Dimensional States of the Soul, and then this world, in which you are involved in human relationships - in the family, in the firm, with friends, in the company of practitioners - you can be considered as a place for learning, a hall for spiritual practice. If you treat this world from the position of the ego, then you will think: "What are my unfavorable karmic connections! Karmic communication with me only with bad people! "
All the discontent that is accumulated in the process of your relationships with other people is created by the work of your own soul. You can not blame everyone else for anything, completely oblivious to that,).

sky 22-02-2018 08:38 AM

Sympathetic Joy (Mudita)
Not only to compassion, but also to joy with others open your heart!

Small, indeed, is the share of happiness and joy allotted to beings! Whenever a little happiness comes to them, then you may rejoice that at least one ray of joy has pierced through the darkness of their lives, and dispelled the gray and gloomy mist that enwraps their hearts.

Your life will gain in joy by sharing the happiness of others as if it were yours. Did you never observe how in moments of happiness men's features change and become bright with joy? Did you never notice how joy rouses men to noble aspirations and deeds, exceeding their normal capacity? Did not such experience fill your own heart with joyful bliss? It is in your power to increase such experience of sympathetic joy, by producing happiness in others, by bringing them joy and solace.

Let us teach real joy to men! Many have unlearned it. Life, though full of woe, holds also sources of happiness and joy, unknown to most. Let us teach people to seek and to find real joy within themselves and to rejoice with the joy of others! Let us teach them to unfold their joy to ever sublimer heights!

Noble and sublime joy is not foreign to the Teaching of the Enlightened One. Wrongly the Buddha's Teaching is sometimes considered to be a doctrine diffusing melancholy. Far from it: the Dhamma leads step by step to an ever purer and loftier happiness.

Noble and sublime joy is a helper on the path to the extinction of suffering. Not he who is depressed by grief, but one possessed of joy finds that serene calmness leading to a contemplative state of mind. And only a mind serene and collected is able to gain the liberating wisdom.

The more sublime and noble the joy of others is, the more justified will be our own sympathetic joy. A cause for our joy with others is their noble life securing them happiness here and in lives hereafter. A still nobler cause for our joy with others is their faith in the Dhamma, their understanding of the Dhamma, their following the Dhamma. Let us give them the help of the Dhamma! Let us strive to become more and more able ourselves to render such help!

Sympathetic joy means a sublime nobility of heart and intellect which knows, understands and is ready to help.

Sympathetic joy that is strength and gives strength: this is the highest joy.

And what is the highest manifestation of sympathetic joy?

To show to the world the path leading to the end of suffering, the path pointed out, trodden, and realized to perfection by Him, the Exalted One, the Buddha.

sky 22-02-2018 08:40 AM

Equanimity (Upekkha)
Equanimity is a perfect, unshakable balance of mind, rooted in insight.

Looking at the world around us, and looking into our own heart, we see clearly how difficult it is to attain and maintain balance of mind.

Looking into life we notice how it continually moves between contrasts: rise and fall, success and failure, loss and gain, honor and blame. We feel how our heart responds to all this with happiness and sorrow, delight and despair, disappointment and satisfaction, hope and fear. These waves of emotion carry us up and fling us down; and no sooner do we find rest, than we are in the power of a new wave again. How can we expect to get a footing on the crest of the waves? How can we erect the building of our lives in the midst of this ever restless ocean of existence, if not on the Island of Equanimity.

A world where that little share of happiness allotted to beings is mostly secured after many disappointments, failures and defeats;

a world where only the courage to start anew, again and again, promises success;

a world where scanty joy grows amidst sickness, separation and death;

a world where beings who were a short while ago connected with us by sympathetic joy, are at the next moment in want of our compassion — such a world needs equanimity.

But the kind of equanimity required has to be based on vigilant presence of mind, not on indifferent dullness. It has to be the result of hard, deliberate training, not the casual outcome of a passing mood. But equanimity would not deserve its name if it had to be produced by exertion again and again. In such a case it would surely be weakened and finally defeated by the vicissitudes of life. True equanimity, however, should be able to meet all these severe tests and to regenerate its strength from sources within. It will possess this power of resistance and self-renewal only if it is rooted in insight.

What, now, is the nature of that insight? It is the clear understanding of how all these vicissitudes of life originate, and of our own true nature. We have to understand that the various experiences we undergo result from our kamma — our actions in thought, word and deed — performed in this life and in earlier lives. Kamma is the womb from which we spring (kamma-yoni), and whether we like it or not, we are the inalienable "owners" of our deeds (kamma-ssaka). But as soon as we have performed any action, our control over it is lost: it forever remains with us and inevitably returns to us as our due heritage (kamma-dayada). Nothing that happens to us comes from an "outer" hostile world foreign to ourselves; everything is the outcome of our own mind and deeds. Because this knowledge frees us from fear, it is the first basis of equanimity. When, in everything that befalls us we only meet ourselves, why should we fear?

If, however, fear or uncertainty should arise, we know the refuge where it can be allayed: our good deeds (kamma-patisarana). By taking this refuge, confidence and courage will grow within us — confidence in the protecting power of our good deeds done in the past; courage to perform more good deeds right now, despite the discouraging hardships of our present life. For we know that noble and selfless deeds provide the best defense against the hard blows of destiny, that it is never too late but always the right time for good actions. If that refuge, in doing good and avoiding evil, becomes firmly established within us, one day we shall feel assured: "More and more ceases the misery and evil rooted in the past. And this present life — I try to make it spotless and pure. What else can the future bring than increase of the good?" And from that certainty our minds will become serene, and we shall gain the strength of patience and equanimity to bear with all our present adversities. Then our deeds will be our friends (kamma-bandhu).

Likewise, all the various events of our lives, being the result of our deeds, will also be our friends, even if they bring us sorrow and pain. Our deeds return to us in a guise that often makes them unrecognizable. Sometimes our actions return to us in the way that others treat us, sometimes as a thorough upheaval in our lives; often the results are against our expectations or contrary to our wills. Such experiences point out to us consequences of our deeds we did not foresee; they render visible half-conscious motives of our former actions which we tried to hide even from ourselves, covering them up with various pretexts. If we learn to see things from this angle, and to read the message conveyed by our own experience, then suffering, too, will be our friend. It will be a stern friend, but a truthful and well-meaning one who teaches us the most difficult subject, knowledge about ourselves, and warns us against abysses towards which we are moving blindly. By looking at suffering as our teacher and friend, we shall better succeed in enduring it with equanimity. Consequently, the teaching of kamma will give us a powerful impulse for freeing ourselves from kamma, from those deeds which again and again throw us into the suffering of repeated births. Disgust will arise at our own craving, at our own delusion, at our own propensity to create situations which try our strength, our resistance and our equanimity.

The second insight on which equanimity should be based is the Buddha's teaching of no-self (anatta). This doctrine shows that in the ultimate sense deeds are not performed by any self, nor do their results affect any self. Further, it shows that if there is no self, we cannot speak of "my own." It is the delusion of a self that creates suffering and hinders or disturbs equanimity. If this or that quality of ours is blamed, one thinks: "I am blamed" and equanimity is shaken. If this or that work does not succeed, one thinks: "My work has failed" and equanimity is shaken. If wealth or loved ones are lost, one thinks: "What is mine has gone" and equanimity is shaken.

To establish equanimity as an unshakable state of mind, one has to give up all possessive thoughts of "mine," beginning with little things from which it is easy to detach oneself, and gradually working up to possessions and aims to which one's whole heart clings. One also has to give up the counterpart to such thoughts, all egoistic thoughts of "self," beginning with a small section of one's personality, with qualities of minor importance, with small weaknesses one clearly sees, and gradually working up to those emotions and aversions which one regards as the center of one's being. Thus detachment should be practiced.

To the degree we forsake thoughts of "mine" or "self" equanimity will enter our hearts. For how can anything we realize to be foreign and void of a self cause us agitation due to lust, hatred or grief? Thus the teaching of no-self will be our guide on the path to deliverance, to perfect equanimity.

Equanimity is the crown and culmination of the four sublime states. But this should not be understood to mean that equanimity is the negation of love, compassion and sympathetic joy, or that it leaves them behind as inferior. Far from that, equanimity includes and pervades them fully, just as they fully pervade perfect equanimity.


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