Profitable Karma (Kusala Sutra)

Wisdom Quarterly inverted translation (Kusala Sutra, AN 2.9, alternative rendering) The Buddha encourages all to replace the harmful with the beneficial (Nithya Priyan/Flickr).

By oneself indeed is the unprofitable done

And by oneself is one defiled.

By oneself is the unprofitable left undone

And by oneself indeed is one purified.

Purity and impurity depends on oneself.

No one can purify another. (Dhp 165)

"Disciples, develop the profitable.* It is possible to develop it. If it were not, I would not say, 'Develop the profitable.' However, because it is possible, I say: 'Develop the profitable.'

"If developing what is profitable resulted in harm and pain, I would not say, 'Develop the profitable.' However, because developing it results in benefit and pleasure, I say, 'Develop the profitable.'

"Disciples, abandon the unprofitable.** It is possible to abandon it. If it were not, I would not say, 'Abandon the unprofitable.' However, because it is possible to abandon it, I say: 'Abandon the unprofitable.'

"If abandoning the unprofitable resulted in harm and pain, I would not say, 'Abandon the unprofitable.' However, because abandoning it results in benefit and pleasure, I say, 'Abandon the unprofitable.'"

*Profitable (kusala): karmically beneficial, wholesome, skillful, good, worthy of being undertaken; that which when it bears its result (vipaka) or fruit (phala) is welcome, wished for, and pleasant.

**What is unprofitable (akusala)? Doing harm and/or encouraging others to harm. What is harmful? (1) Taking life, (2) taking what is not given, (3) taking sexual liberties, (4) taking the truth lightly, (5) taking alcohol or drugs that lead one to do harm.

Beginner's Mind: Skillful Meditation Project

SkillfulMeditation.org

Beginner's mind is vast and open. We spend the rest of our lives learning to unlearn (mumzine)

One's experience of meditation defines meditation
The Skillful Meditation Project offers an approach to Buddhist meditation based on what people actually experience when they meditate.

This approach is called Recollective Awareness Meditation, as it involves recollecting what happens in one’s meditation sittings.

One can meditate in any manner one chooses in this approach or use the basic instructions suggested for beginning meditation students. A website is available for exploration, with a Meditation page that is particularly useful.

The site has articles and short audio clips on an unstructured approach to meditation, ways of recollecting one's sitting, and background on this approach and how it was developed.

• Unlearning Meditation: When instructions get in the way

Available from Shambhala Publications (or from Amazon at a 33% discount off the list price) is a book that explains in detail. And there is more about the book at unlearningmeditation.com and blog.unlearningmeditation.com.

Jason Siff's 2011 Retreat Schedule

• June 24-July 3, Spokane, Washington
• July 29-August 3, Cloud Mountain Retreat Center, Washington
• August 18-21, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Massachusetts
• August 27-28, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• October 19-30, Mandala Center, New Mexico

Self-compassion: most important life skill?

Saner Living Guru (Chris Wucherer, AnnArbor.com/LiveScience.com)

One of the more frequent themes for my clients is the ability to be harsh on themselves. I've got a touch of it myself, in certain areas, as do all human beings. The feeling of not being good enough, smart enough, thin enough, rich enough, and so on, is as common as ants at a picnic, ready to devour the feast set out.

Not holding oneself in high esteem is like a virus spreading its tendrils throughout one's spirit and soul. Sometimes you may be cruising through life, feeling good, when the yucky low self-esteem virus knocks on the door of good feelings.

For some people, low self-esteem is like an unwanted relative who has decided to make camp in their home, uninvited and unwanted for an unspecified period of time. It covers them like an old worn overcoat laying thick and heavy on their spirits.

Recently, I came across this article on self-compassion in LiveScience, which notes that, "psychologists are finding that self-compassion may be the most important life skill, imparting resilience, courage, energy, and creativity." More

• Recognizing Depression in Men (Harvard)
• Malaysian women urge wives to be "whores in bed"
• Kidnapped girl showed resilience in captivity
• Woman sues Dunkin' Donuts over sugar in coffee
• Girl falls to death from New Jersey Ferris wheel
• Arizona judge sets bond: $75 million. Cash only.
• Missing Canadian teen to be reunited with mother
• Palin flubs explanation of Paul Revere’s ride
• Texas boy, 10, ticketed for improper seat belt use
• Why would anyone buy Android or iPhone?

“Understanding Virtue” Cal Tech lectures

Virtue (arete, "excellence") personified as a goddess. The most articulated value in Greek culture is areté. The word means something closer to "being the best you can be" or "reaching your highest human potential" (Wikipedia/Celsus Library, Turkey).

Fuller, Caltech lecture series “Understanding Virtue”

What causes a person to do “good”? To act kindly, generously, heroically? Does special brain activity contribute to virtuous behavior in some people?

Fuller Seminary's Travis Research Institute and CalTech are partnering in a two-day lecture series to better understand the mysteries and nature of virtue through the twin lenses of neuroscience and philosophy.

• Talk: “Why Habit Matters: The Bodily Character of the Virtues"
• Prof. Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School
• Thursday, May 19, 7:30-9:30 pm
• Pasadena Presbyterian Church

Dr. Hauerwas holds a joint appointment in Duke's Law School and Divinity School, is a noted ethicist, peacemaker, and writer, and was named "America's Best Theologian" by Time Magazine in 2001.

CalTech Prof. Steven R. Quartz (Philosophy), leader of the Brain, Mind and Society Ph.D. Program will respond, drawing on his research on fundamental problems of the mind -- how the mind emerges from the developing brain and how we make decisions, including those with moral dimensions.

• Talk: "The Vicarious Brain: The Neural Basis of Empathy, Learning by Observation, and Sociopathy"
• Prof. Christian Keysers (Social Brain, Univ. of Groningen, Netherlands)
• Friday, May 20, 7:30-9:30 pm
• Beckman Auditorium on the CalTech campus

Dr. Keysers will describe how vicarious brain activity is strong in empathic individuals and reduced in sociopaths, suggesting that vicarious brain activity plays a role in the normal development of virtue.

Prof. Nancey Murphy (Christian Philosophy, Fuller Seminary) will respond, speaking from her research on the relationships between theology, neuroscience, and philosophy of the mind.

• FREE lectures, open to the public, are part of a major conference funded by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The conference brings together scientists, philosophers, ethicists, and theologians for a discussion of interdisciplinary perspectives on the neuroscience of moral action.

Pasadena Presbyterian Church: 585 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena 91101
CalTech’s Beckman Auditorium: 332 S. Michigan Ave. (south of Del Mar), Pasadena 91106.

• INFO: Fred Messick, Associate VP of Public Affairs, Fuller Seminary, fmessick@fuller.edu, (626) 584-5367
• Deborah Williams-Hedges, Interim Director of Media Relations, CalTech, debwms@caltech.edu (626) 395-3227