Category: Forgiveness

The Sagacious Buddhist Blog.
practical dharma teachings. questions|answers. essays.

answering your questions and teaching on buddhism, dharma, and enlightenment

- new teachings posted every 4 to 16 weeks, please subscribe to receive notifications -

UPDATE: everything's done - I'm becoming a buddhist monk and teacher

In the Spring of 2021, I resigned and gave away all of my worldly possessions and left for Southeast Asia to renounce and ordain as an ascetic forest monk, scholar, and teacher with a special emphasis on Early Buddhist doctrine and discourse (a.k.a., Pre-sectarian Buddhism).

Summer 2021 Update: unfortunately, I was forced to leave Asia and my ordination is temporarily on-hold due to the uncontrolled nature of the COVID19 situation in SE Asia. I am currently taking on new students until I can resume my path. My teachings are donation-based.

Second chances don't come by often; contact me today.

(for those wishing to contribute for the purposes of food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.)

How to do Metta Meditation Correctly - Detailed Instructions (Loving-Kindness)

8/20/2021

6 Comments

Metta meditation, also referred to as meditating on loving-kindness, is easy to do incorrectly or incompletely.

In this teaching you will find a detailed explanation, complete instructions, and a rich example recitation script of the equalising Metta Meditation on Loving-Kindness and Compassion. Plus, a bonus sutta that can be used to close your meditation session.

WHY MEDITATE ON LOVING-KINDNESS?

Before we begin, it's important to understand the difference between compassion and loving-kindness. Compassion is the desire for others to be free of pain and suffering, and loving-kindness is the desire for others to be happy. Without cultivating these fundamental limitless qualities within ourselves, progress toward awakening, streamentry, or enlightenment will forever be out of reach.

Metta meditation, or more colloquially, meditating on loving-kindness, is a core Buddhist practice that is practiced within all three of the main Buddhist traditions. It is so effective, that is has even made its way into the secular mainstream mindfulness movement. At its core, metta meditation is a necessary practice for cultivating the proper motivation and views that make progress along the Buddhist path toward enlightenment possible. Without this practice, and practices like this, it becomes too difficult to generate pure compassion and unbiased loving-kindness for ourselves and for others, especially given the angst-filled world in which we find ourselves living today.

The purpose of meditating on the loving-kindness is two-fold:

6 Comments

How to Nurture Your "Buddha Nature" to Develop a Strong Sense of Happiness.

3/8/2021

12 Comments

Each one of us has the seed to be unshakeably happy and peaceful; and you don't have to be a Buddhist to have it.
(Alt. Title: Recognising and connecting with your inner-goodness cultivates happiness)

In this article, we will cover what Buddha Nature is, how to recognise it, nurture it, cultivate it, and leverage it for happiness and Enlightenment.

Buddha nature is not extensively covered in most popular Dharma books and many practitioners have only a loose understanding of the topic.

As with all of the "big" topics in Buddhism, Buddha nature is deep and profound and entire volumes are written on this topic. This article serves to introduce and re-enforce the concept for those who are newer to the idea or would like to learn a bit more about it and how it can benefit their practice. The more you practice, the more you will come to recognise the qualities of Buddha nature flowing from you and the clearer and more practical your Buddha nature will be to you.

So what is "Buddha Nature"?

12 Comments

Practical Guide to Patience & Tolerance for Real Buddhists Practitioners

2/10/2021

0 Comments

Patience isn't a reward that is granted by praying for it, it's a skill that is cultivated by practicing it.

In this Q&A, we will learn about how Buddhists view and approach the teachings on kindness, tolerance, acceptance, and patience with others.

Q1: Unalome tattoos are gaining in popularity among non-Buddhist women, and though it is a beautiful symbol with a very powerful meaning I was wondering if people within the Buddhist community find offence with non-Buddhists getting these sacred symbols tattooed on their bodies?

Q2: I guess I'm wondering where the balance is between personal significance and cultural appropriation for you and if seeing these images on non-Buddhists is offensive?

Hi Lily,

Thank you for your email and your interesting questions. Let's dive right in...

0 Comments

Forgiveness: it's about our relationship with ourself.

4/6/2020

1 Comment

Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.

Forgiveness is really not about someone else’s harmful behavior; it’s about our relationship with our own past. When we begin to work on forgiveness, it's firstly a self-care practice for ourselves.

Forgiveness and patience are critical to being able to cultivate your ability to develop inner peace-of-mind and happiness.

1 Comment

True Buddhist Compassion: A Purse Snatching in Prague.

3/30/2020

0 Comments

I had intended to write about something else entirely, but I experienced something that reminded me that compassion is seeing beyond actions and understanding that all people have problems and are trying to be happy, and I wanted to share this story.

To set the context to some extent: I am an American expat and Buddhist practitioner currently residing in Prague, the Czech Republic. Prague is known to be one of the safest large-cities on the planet, and certainly ranks near the top of the safest cities in Europe list. I always feel safe in this city, regardless of time of day or location.

0 Comments

Author.

Mike Turner Photo Buddhist Analytical Meditation Trainer

Hi! My name is Mike Turner. I'm a Buddhist Ariyapuggala and I've spent over 25 years learning and cultivating what I do, and what I do goes far beyond meditation and dharma.

I work with dedicated Buddhist practitioners to help them attain measurable spiritual progress. This kind of one-on-one training isn't readily available to lay practitioners and I hope to do my part as I prepare to enter into full-time Buddhist monastic life.

My teachings are donation-based and I'm available for serious and dedicated practitioners of meditation-and-dharma to help them overcome the challenges and problems of their daily lives that hold them back from making progress along the path toward Buddhist enlightenment. This isn't hocus-pocus, this is practical- and applied-Buddhism, and your progress will be the result of dedication and effort.

It is worth noting that what is on-offer here is very special. I am a skilled Buddhist Ariyapuggala and I am becoming a full-time Buddhist monk, scholar, and teacher. There are few people outside of authentic Buddhist monasteries who can genuinely offer this kind of applied guidance and advanced coaching to lay practitioners.

Please visit my home page and my about me to learn more about my style and my applied-dharma life coaching.

"The only thing that prevents people from attaining Enlightenment and experiencing Nirvana directly is insufficient instruction and/or practice."

The Sagacious Buddhist Blog.
practical dharma teachings. questions|answers. essays.

How to do Metta Meditation Correctly - Detailed Instructions (Loving-Kindness)

WHY MEDITATE ON LOVING-KINDNESS?

How to Nurture Your "Buddha Nature" to Develop a Strong Sense of Happiness.

Practical Guide to Patience & Tolerance for Real Buddhists Practitioners

Forgiveness: it's about our relationship with ourself.

True Buddhist Compassion: A Purse Snatching in Prague.

Subscribe.

Categories.
(Spring 2020 and newer only.)

Archives.
(Spring 2020 and newer only.)

Author.

The Sagacious Buddhist Blog.practical dharma teachings. questions|answers. essays.

How to do Metta Meditation Correctly - Detailed Instructions (Loving-Kindness)

WHY MEDITATE ON LOVING-KINDNESS?

How to Nurture Your "Buddha Nature" to Develop a Strong Sense of Happiness.

Practical Guide to Patience & Tolerance for Real Buddhists Practitioners

Forgiveness: it's about our relationship with ourself.

True Buddhist Compassion: A Purse Snatching in Prague.

Subscribe.

Categories.(Spring 2020 and newer only.)

Archives.(Spring 2020 and newer only.)

Author.

The Sagacious Buddhist Blog.
practical dharma teachings. questions|answers. essays.

Categories.
(Spring 2020 and newer only.)

Archives.
(Spring 2020 and newer only.)