Pleasure
On Tue, 18 April, 2017 - 04:56Do you find meditation pleasurable?
I’m reading a book by Subhuti, one of our senior order members. It’s entitled ‘Mind in Harmony’ and is a very practical approach to Buddhist psychology.
In the section I’m currently reading he’s talking about the importance of pleasure. More specifically the need to refine our sense of pleasure from more crude and raw expressions to increasingly subtle and beautiful.
“Perhaps it helps to recognise that there is a hierarchy of pleasure, stretching from the most immediate pleasures, for instance, of the table or the bed, through those of a delightful landscape or a fine piece of music, to those lofty experiences in meditation, and then to the highest pleasure of all: ‘Nirvana is the highest bliss’, says the Buddha. We should never deny ourselves pleasure at a lower level until we have a genuine experience of pleasure at a somewhat higher level. The consequences of premature renunciation are easy to see in the recent revelations of widespread cruelty and perversion among celibates who may have been genuinely devoted to a religious life.”
page 82
Interesting stuff eh? To me it’s another call to be wise and kind with ourselves. Always attempting to be as authentic and honest with ourselves as we can be whilst also gently challenging ourselves towards what is best in us and will lead to our greatest and lasting happiness.
Meditation can be pleasurable and it’s a good prompt to me to stay in touch with it and to try to communicate it when leading sits.
I hope you can join us this week:
Thursday 7 - 8.30 pm
Sunday 8 - 9 am
Metta
Dharmalata and Padmadakini
- 2
Hey Dharmalata and Padmadakini,
I really enjoy seeing your posts come up here. Im looking around for people who might like to contribute a newsy piece for Triratna News, or more personal reflections for Community Highlights, and you guys in Coogee immediately sprung to mind! Regular users of TBC in a far flung place from my little flat in London - perfect! Would love to hear more about what you guys are doing and how you guys got set up. Would you be up for a skype call at some point?
Love Charlotte