Allowing the beautiful to guide us in our practice opens up possibilities beyond our conditioned habits. Awakening to beauty involves being with the messiness and the challenges of our lives. Beauty does not belong to anyone. As we orient away from that which is pleasing to that which is beautiful in ourselves and in our communities, we align ourselves with a path that blossoms into liberation for all beings.
Discussion
One thought on “The Practice of the Beautiful: Moving Beyond Fragmentation and Stability”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Sophie Boyer – Week of 30 March, 2026
This week’s theme is: Allowance and Confidence
The month of April will be dedicated to the exploration of “trusting the path”. Sophie Boyer will lead our Daily Meditations this week, inviting us to re-attune to presence. The more we allow life to lead, the more trust and confidence can expand. Join us to explore the here and now together.
Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of Jan 10, 2022
Daily meditations with Martin Aylward.
-
The Harvest of Goodness
Recorded :
September 8, 2024 The harvest is a beautiful and important part of life each year. A time when our good work bears fruit and people are fed. A time of thanksgiving and prayers. How do we participate in the harvest with our spiritual practice? In this Sunday Sangha session with Drs Larry Ward and Peggy Rowe Ward, we…
-
Muditā: Appreciative Joy
Recorded :
November 20, 2022 Of the four traditional heart qualities in Buddhism, appreciative joy – muditā – gets less attention than lovingkindness (mettā), compassion (karuṇā), or equanimity (upekkhā). But the cultivation of sincere joy at the success of another greatly enriches our well-being and happiness. We will explore this powerful form of joy together, as well as what blocks…
-
The Spectrum of Sensuality – Where do I stand?
Recorded :
October 13, 2024 The extremes of addiction to sense pleasure and addiction to self-mortification are not the path to happiness. The spectrum of human sensuality spans from pleasure to pain, pleasant to unpleasant, from hedonic excesses to self-harm, encompassing a vast range that is likely different for everyone. What is considered the Middle Way for a monastic might…
-
Protecting the Mind
Recorded :
April 20, 2025 The encounter with sensory experiences can lead to insight and calm, or reactivity and suffering. How do you guard your mind in the midst of a daily barrage of sensory input? How do you protect your mind so that tranquility and wisdom will be well established? The Buddha encouraged restraint of the senses, but this…
-
Living the Dharma
Recorded :
October 4, 2026 The Dharma is meant to weave through our whole life. We give something of ourselves to it, and that creates our path. We’ll explore the Dharma of personal integrity, dedication, and caring deeply for something valuable. In today’s world, this is a radical act.
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Miles Kessler – Week of 15 June, 2026
This week’s theme is: The Seven Factors Of Awakening . In this week of daily meditations, you will explore the Buddha’s foundational teaching on the “Seven Factors of Awakening” (bojjhaṅga): mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity. Together we will examine how these qualities arise in meditation practice, are gradually cultivated, and are the very factors that support awakening. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how the path of practice unfolds, and you will gain practical tools for cultivating greater balance, clarity, and insight. “For one who is mindful, investigating phenomena, energy arises. For one who is energetic, joy arises…” – Samyutta Nikaya. Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.
Thank you for this JD, listened to long after, I am touched by your reflections on the internal and external , the personal and the collective, and your comment on fire and anger that is grounded in love. So here I am, now, dedicating to all beings the merit and freedom that all beings need. A deep bow