Science Friday: What is a Flame? (video)

Wisdom Quarterly, NPR, Science Friday

Flame footage: Dale R. Tree, Tadd T. Truscott, Preston Murray, Jonathon Pendlebury.

Humans are thought to have mastered controlled fire in the middle of the Paleolithic era. Half a million years later, engineers Tadd Truscott and Dale Tree, of Brigham Young University, are trying to quantify it. Using high speed cameras and computer algorithms, they are reconstructing fire, digitally. Understanding flames better can help us use fire better, they say.

Candle Gazing Meditation
Candle gazing meditation is called trakata in Sanskrit (yogawithmarnie.com).

There is a simple but very effective form of meditation -- staring into the center of a candle flame until the countersign is developed and the light becomes visible even when not staring at the fire. It does not involve thinking. Quite to the contrary, it involves arresting and settling the mind. Consciousness continues and in fact becomes a fuller awareness; lucidity actually increases with the cessation of discursive thought, ratiocination, and contemplation. Our natural assumption is that "our" thoughts and ideas are us. What a relief that they think themselves, follow their own course, come and go. The real relief is even temporary release from neurotic revolving in mind. Steady focusing on a flame has the power to bring this about. Of course, this is only the first step. The goal is not simply to stop the mental chatter and be serene. This meditation can be developed to absorption (first jhana). And that sets the foundation for successful insight meditation or vipassana.

(BodyMindPower) Video, music, text: Anke Moehlmann (BMP Music), Mystic Journey Vol. 1 & 2, Yoga Sunset Chill I-III, bodymindpower.de.

A short Candle Meditation may inspire some to meditate with a candle. Use a non-paraffin candle free of toxic petroleum products and synthetic fragrances for best results, such as a simple oil lamp, soy candle, or this video:

It is a simple form of meditation that brings deep relaxation. And it is a fantastic way to improve concentration skills. The flame is an aid to go into a deep state of meditation. If thoughts come just let them be there watching them drifting by. Eyes may water a little, which is normal and helps clear them removing tiredness and improving eyesight.

When the eyes starts to burn, close them and visualize the flame with the third eye, the point between the eyebrows.

As a result of focusing on the flame, it feels as though that there is no distance between the eyes and flame. One might become one with the flame and enter a deep state of peace and tranquility.

Take a comfortable seat that promotes alertness, which usually means an erect but relaxed back that is not leaning on anything. Allow the eyes to relax while gazing at the flame. Breathe in and out at the center of the solar plexus. With each in and outflow of the breath, allow the entire body and mind to become more and more relaxed.

Complete the meditation by allowing a few minutes to come back to Earth. Close the eyes for a few minutes. Then slowly move head, hands, and feet before slowly standing.

• Learn more VIDEO: Mapping Flames
• How cooking made us human
• Managing forest to manage wildfires
• The physics of setting leaves aflame
  

Bulls focus on a goal, not Riders (Zen video)

Shambala SunSpace, Rage Against the Machine


Sit-a-Long with Taigu: The Ten Oxherding Pictures (IX)

Rev. Taigu again takes us for a ride with the next of the Ten Oxherding Pictures. He writes:

“Riding the bull home… As one mounts the bull, rides the bull, the world and practice itself are not experienced as obstacles anymore. The bull as an object to grasp, a goal to reach has disappeared. Practice and self are intimate. In this, carefree-ness, detachment, joy arise from the silence space of sitting. The boy is not worried anymore about where he should go, where the bull takes him to, what the Bull-boy will become. As the comment sates: this struggle is over; gain and loss are assimilated. The song of the flute is played by ten thousand things met and released. Forms and sounds play and are played. This dance is nothing but the Bodhisattva stepping into the world, freely playing with what comes and goes, fully interacting with things and beings without being caught by any…”

(Click through to watch today’s talk, and to “sit-a-long.”)

"Bulls on Parade" (Rage Against the Machine)
His microphone explodes, shatterin' the molds
Either drop the hits like De la O or get the [fudge] off
The commode, with that sure shot, sure ta make
The bodies drop, drop and don't copy yo don't call
This a co-opt, terror reigns, drenching, quenchin'
The thirst of power dons that five sided fist-a-gon
Tha rotten sore on the facade of mother gets
Bigger the trigger's cold, empty your purse

Rally around the family
with a pocket full of shells
They rally round the family
with a pocket full of shells

Weapons not home not food not shoes not need
Just feed tha war cannibal animal I walk the corner to
The rubble that used to be a library, line up to the
Mind's cemetery now what we don't know keeps
The contract's alive and movin, they don't gotta
Burn the books, they just remove while arms
Warehouses fill as quick as the cell
Come wit it now. BULLS ON PARADE!

Metta: Universal Loving-Kindness (video)

Notable events in the life of the Buddha; original Pali language "lyrics" below (Atanatiya)

Discourse on Loving-Kindness
Karaniya Metta Sutra, based on Ven. Nanamoli translation
What should be done by one skillful in good
So as to gain the state of peace is this:

Let one be able, upright, and straight,
Easy to speak to, gentle, and not conceited,
Contented too, easily supported,
With few tasks, and living lightly;

One's faculties serene, prudent, and modest,
Unswayed by the affections of supportive families;
And let one never do the slightest thing
That the wise might hold as blameworthy.

(But let one think:) "In safety and in bliss
May creatures all be of a blissful heart.
Whatever breathing beings there may be
No matter whether they are frail or firm,
With none excepted, be they long or big
Or middle-sized, be they short or small
Or thick, as well as those seen or unseen,
Or whether they are dwelling far or near,
Existing or yet seeking to exist,
May creatures all be of a blissful heart.
Let no one work another one's undoing
Or even slight another at all anywhere:
And never let one wish another ill
Through provocation or resentful thought."

Just as a mother might with her life
Protect a son that was her only child,
So let one then for every living thing
Maintain unbounded loving-kindness in being;

Let one with similar love for all the world
Maintain unbounded loving-kindness in being
Above, below, and all round in between,
Untroubled, without enemy or foe.

And while one stands or walks or while one sits
Or while one lies down, free from drowsiness,
Let one resolve upon this mindful awareness:

This is Divine Abiding here and now, they say.
But when one is not a trafficker of views,
Is virtuous, and has perfected seeing,
And purges greed for sensual desires,
One surely comes no more to the womb.
Other translations

The original Pali chant

Karaṇīyamatthakusalena, yanta santaṃ padaṃ abhisamecca;
Sakko ujū ca suhujū [sūjū (sī.)] ca, sūvaco cassa mudu anatimānī.
Santussako ca subharo ca, appakicco ca sallahukavutti;
Santindriyo ca nipako ca, appagabbho kulesvananugiddho.
Na ca khuddamācare kiñci, yena viññū pare upavadeyyuṃ;
Sukhino va khemino hontu, sabbasattā [sabbe sattā (sī. syā.)] bhavantu sukhitattā.
Ye keci pāṇabhūtatthi, tasā vā thāvarā vanavasesā;
Dīghā vā ye va mahantā [mahanta (?)], majjhimā rassakā aṇukathūlā.
Diṭṭhā vā ye va adiṭṭhā [adiṭṭha (?)], ye va [ye ca (sī. syā. kaṃ. pī.)] dūre vasanti avidūre;
Bhūtā va sambhavesī va [bhūtā vā sambhavesī vā (syā. kaṃ. pī. ka.)], sabbasattā bhavantu sukhitattā.
Na paro paraṃ nikubbetha, nātimaññetha katthaci na kañci [naṃ kañci (sī. pī.), naṃ kiñci (syā.), na kiñci (ka.)];
Byārosanā paṭighasaññā, nāññamaññassa dukkhamiccheyya.
Mātā yathā niyaṃ puttamāyusā ekaputtamanurakkhe;
Evampi sabbabhūtesu, mānasaṃ bhāvaye aparimāṇaṃ.
Mettañca sabbalokasmi, mānasaṃ bhāvaye aparimāṇaṃ;
Uddhaṃ adho ca tiriyañca, asambādhaṃ averamasapattaṃ.
Tiṭṭhaṃ caraṃ nisinno va [vā (sī. syā. kaṃ. pī.)], sayāno yāvatāssa vitamiddho [vigatamiddo (bahūsu)];
Etaṃ satiṃ adhiṭṭheyya, brahmametaṃ vihāramidhamāhu.
Diṭṭhiñca anupaggamma, sīlavā dassanena sampanno;
Kāmesu vinaya [vineyya (sī. syā. pī.)] gedhaṃ, na hi jātuggabbhaseyya punaretīti.

How to Meditate in a Moment (video)

Onemomentmeditation.com, Wisdom Quarterly

Scripted by Martin Boroson, animated by Somnath Chatterjee

"If you can meditate and be mindful for just one minute then just repeat that 60 times, and you have meditated for an hour!" But don't get ahead of yourself. Start with a minute. The "secret" to meditation is to not think by focusing on one thing to the exclusion of everything else. Once settling, centering, and focusing becomes strong, then systematic mindfulness exercises can be taken up. They are of little value in producing their enlightening result (insight, vipassana) without a firm foundation in serenity and right-concentration (samma samadhi) to the point of access or absorption (jhana).

• OneMomentMeditation.com
  
• China's 9/11 Nirvana Rose Memorial
  

Free Liquid Meditation ("Zazen Formula")

ZazenSleep.com

Imagine if there were a way to instantly relax, let go, and meditate. Melatonin might help. Lots of sleep beforehand, not eating, and a healthy amount of exercise is also a good combination. But sometimes renewing herbs can act as an instant tonic for stressed out meditators. There is no need to buy a product. Concoct your own. (We recommend an unrelated US company, Ron Teaguarden's Dragon Herbs). It's easy (with a free consultation). But for the less adventurous, Zazen Formula* unites age-old tradition with modern science. Zazen has created a proprietary formula that includes herbal sleep enhancers, Reishi mushroom extract, jujube extract, valerian extract, GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), ginkgo biloba, ashwagandha, hops extract, passion flower extract, L-theanine, B-complex vitamins, calcium, magnesium citrate, and a combination of cell-protecting anti-oxidants and anti-aging compounds that have been recognized for their natural health optimizing, stress resistance, and rest-promoting properties. More


*Zazen Sleep Formula is an herbal supplement with vitamins and minerals that can be used for occasional sleeplessness. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

• Beauty
• Balanced Life
• Brain and Mind Tonics
• Breathing
• Cleansing and Detoxifying
• Stress Solutions
• Baby Boomer Issues

TODAY: Thich Nhat Hanh in Los Angeles

TNHtour.org

"On the Road with Thich Nhat Hanh" from Max Pugh

The North America tour stops in Pasadena, the American Varanasi. Zen master "Thay" (Thich Nhat Hanh) will wow the devoted crowd with long pauses and few words. He continues his peace activism, engaged Buddhism, and efforts at establishing Buddhist mindfulness meditation communities in California and elsewhere, making him the second most popular Buddhist figure in the world, behind a famous Tibetan activist. His reputation is well deserved. He is the embodiment of the peace he advocates.

• Tickets for Los Angeles (Pasadena) event
• Thay in 5,000 seat Hometown Pasadena
  
  

CALIFORNIA EVENTS

September 3, 2011 :: Public Talk :: Pasadena, CA

September 4, 2011 :: Day of Mindfulness :: Deer Park Monastery

September 6 - 11, 2011 :: Mindfulness Retreat in English :: Deer Park Monastery

September 16 - 20, 2011 :: Mindfulness Retreat in Vietnamese :: Deer Park Monastery

September 25, 2011 :: Day of Mindfulness :: Deer Park Monastery More

Thich Nhat Hanh tours US (video)

TNHtour.org

"On the Road with Thich Nhat Hanh" from Max Pugh

Organizers are very happy to announce a 2011 North American Teaching Tour for Zen master "Thay" (Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh). His continuing peace activism and efforts at establishing Buddhist mindfulness meditation communities in France, California, Vietnam, and elsewhere have made him the second most popular Buddhist figure in the world, just behind a certain Lama. His reputation is well deserved, for he is an embodiment of the peace he advocates. Neither intellectual or dynamic as a speaker -- in our opinion -- he is nevertheless a powerful for of integrity and authenticity to behold. His devoted followers are themselves an amazing bunch of engaged Buddhists who make attendance at his events half the experience.

• Tickets for Los Angeles (Pasadena) event
  
  

CALIFORNIA EVENTS

September 3, 2011 :: Public Talk :: Pasadena, CA

September 4, 2011 :: Day of Mindfulness :: Deer Park Monastery

September 6 - 11, 2011 :: Mindfulness Retreat in English :: Deer Park Monastery

September 16 - 20, 2011 :: Mindfulness Retreat in Vietnamese :: Deer Park Monastery

September 25, 2011 :: Day of Mindfulness :: Deer Park Monastery

MISSISSIPPI EVENTS

September 28 - October 2, 2011 :: Mindfulness Retreat :: Magnolia Grove Monastery

October 2, 2011 :: Day of Mindfulness :: Magnolia Grove Monastery

NEW YORK EVENTS

October 5 - 10, 2011 :: Mindfulness Retreat :: Blue Cliff Monastery

October 14, 2011 :: Public Talk :: New York City, NY

October 15, 2011 :: Day of Mindfulness :: New York City, NY

October 16, 2011 :: Day of Mindfulness :: Blue Cliff Monastery

WASHINGTON DC EVENTS

October 25, 2011 :: Public Talk :: Washington DC

Guided Relaxation Meditations (video)

(Secret Meditations) This sample meditation helps one relax. The guide's beautiful voice leads meditators sitting at their computer through an entire session. Find calm and peace while more deeply entering into a lucid meditative state. Self-help meditation brings one into balance and imparts peace of mind.

• AngelMeditations.net also has a Perfect Day Meditation to feel positive, refreshed, and ready to start the day.

There is universal, timeless Oneness in true love that reside in our hearts (CosmicHalf).

Using "Panic Attacks" for Meditation (video)

(AwareSilence) Clip from the DVD "Joy of Living: A Public Talk"

In this talk, based on his groundbreaking first book, The Joy of Living (Harmony Books), Tibetan Buddhist teacher Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (Karma Kagyu lineage) invites us to join him in unlocking the secrets behind the practices of meditation.

Working with neuroscientists at the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, he provides clear insights into modern research indicating that systematic training in meditation can enhance activity in areas of the brain associated with happiness and compassion.

Mingyur Rinpoche has also worked with physicists across the country to develop a fresh, scientifically-based interpretation of the Buddhist understanding of the nature of reality.

Mingyur Rinpoche weaves together the principles of Tibetan Buddhism, neuroscience, and quantum physics in a way that is changing the way we understand the human experience.

• mingyur.org

(DrQuickbeam) Mingyur Rinpoche's guided meditation

Introduction: How to Meditate (video)

Why Meditate?

Wisdom Quarterly
How does one meditate? It is the easiest thing to learn yet one of the hardest to practice. Ven. Yuttadhammo explains how in the first video in his series. But why meditate?

There are profound benefits, but that meditation eventually becomes extraordinarily pleasurable and self-healing is reason enough. "There is no way to happiness because happiness is the way!" Even enlightenment is attainable in no long time. But before freedom, there is calm and natural happiness emerging from within.

It's easy to learn, so the question is, Why should it be so hard to do? The answer is easy: It's simply because it goes against the grain of our mental habits.

Physically, we do not want to sit still without sleeping. Mentally, we are restless or lustful, angry or fearful, bored and confused. So a practice that brings clarity, energizes us, and somehow brings relaxation and serenity? The mind will say, "Impossible! I can do it better" as it thinks us into a tizzy or a dead end.

The breath is the way to the present moment, and it also allows us to peer into the mind emotional states. (How we are breathing directly mirrors our state of mind/heart).

Mindfulness frees us from discursive thinking, worry, and confusion: "Be here now!" And if the mind slips away, that's perfectly okay as long as it is brought back. Bare attention (dispassionate observation) -- detached from states of greed/craving, hate/resentment, and delusion/inattentiveness -- frees the heart/mind.

Learning Buddhist Meditation

(Yuttadhammo) This video discusses a simple technique of sitting meditation. Second (of six) in a series of videos on how to practice meditation free of religious dogma and spiritual mumbo-jumbo.

The Tree of Contemplative Practices

Tree of Contemplative (meditative and physical) Practices (Martin Beck Matustik, contemplativemind.org)

Under the Bodhi Tree
Wisdom Quarterly

It is one of the most embellished and famous stories in the world -- the Buddha under the Bodhi tree. Before attaining buddhahood, Siddhartha struggled for six years. Most of that time may not have been spent sitting. Sitting was the culmination of the practice.

We tend to focus, or are directed to concentrate, on exactly the things the Buddha overcame: struggling, severe austerities, fighting, battling with inner demons (maras), rejecting the angelic care of devas, dieting (eating only certain foods then fasting altogether), and discursive thinking.

None of these led to illumination, although from time to time Siddhartha had epiphanies about what might work and what certainly would not. He had already learned the absorptions (jhanas) but seems to have only skipped through them without developing or indulging in them for fear of attachment to the bliss they produce.

Now, under the tree, he reasoned that he should not fear pleasure far removed from sensuality. There is an elevated, more reliable source of pleasure and happiness. The meditative absorptions purify the mind/heart. They become a platform for successfully practicing mindfulness.

And it is mindfulness of the body, sensations, mind, and mind objects (all detailed in the The Discourse on the Fourfold Setting Up of Mindfulness) that yields liberating insight. One begins with the breath (under the category of "body"), and the practice culminates in meditating on the causal links of Dependent Origination.

It seems like a lot to remember, except that we forget that the purified mind is easily able to remember what needs attending to under the care of a teacher who has practiced Buddhist meditation. Unfortunately, there are very few such teachers. But hidden deep in Asia and only rarely visiting the US, there are some. (We have met them, we have named them on Wisdom Quarterly, and increasingly there are Westerners trained by these lights. The future of American Buddhism is not likely to be monastic but oriented towards lay-meditative practices).

So we find a tree. And if is old enough and big enough, it is likely to be inhabited by dryads (woodland sprites) and rooted deep into Mother Earth (Gaia). Nagas may help or harm, maras and yakkhas tempt and distract and attempt to terrify one from one's Quest. But ultimately it is a matter of perseverance over effort, balance over striving, letting go over insisting.

Siddhartha entered the successive meditative absorptions, emerged from them with a purified mind (because these states suppress the defilements that are obstacles to serenity and insight), then practiced mindfulness of Dependent Origination until he broke through to liberation.

The Mindful Lawyer

Judges, lawyers, mediators, law professors, law students, and other legal professionals gathered at the UC Berkeley School of Law for the first ever national conference exploring the integration of meditation and contemplative practices with legal education and practice. The Mindful Lawyer: Practices & Prospects for Law School, Bench, and Bar offered a blend of academic presentations, discussion, and contemplative practice. Video and audio recordings are available on the conference website, along with guided meditations, syllabi from related law courses, and relevant books and articles.

Brokechella (LA's alternative to Coachella)

Sound meditation (theconduitcenter.gongtheplanet.com)

Where there's a will, there's always a way. Coachella was a fabulous money-drain -- cake and circuses for the masses during a time of war, mass unemployment, and soaring debt.

If only there were an alternative to the madness that still recognized our craving for hedonism at a time of stress. Meditating when needed the most is accessible the least and hardest to practice even if we find our way to the cushion.

Spirituality is often the fruit of leisure, when we have time and reason to recognize the fruitlessness of our material pursuits in search of security and happiness. When there is time and opportunity, that is the time to practice. NOW is that time.

Not paradoxically, there was far more meditating going on at Coachella than Brokechella.

The Poor Person’s Coachella
($5) If you’re bummed out that you didn’t make it to the desert this weekend for a little music festival -- don’t fret. While many of our friends [were] baking in 90+ degree heat and getting up close to the sights and, umm, smells of Coachella, the Ahimsa Collective and RentFoodBroke [threw] Brokechella... for the rest of us who’ve been left behind, are poor, or don’t like getting hot and dirty -- literally -- with our neighbors. The Airliner on North Broadway (Downtown Los Angeles) is where Thom Yorke spun a secret show last month. [For Brokechella], local comedians, visual artists, and bands perform[ed] on two stages, featuring tons of original music and covers of their favorite Coachella acts (complete lineup). The Grilled Cheese Truck [was] parked outside from 9:00-midnight... More

• Jimmy Wong's YouTube response to ex-UCLA coed Alexandra Wallace