INTEGRATION EXERCISES
Exercises To Do On Your Own
NOW AND ZEN
A variation of Buddhism that asserts enlightenment can come through intuitive insight, Zen is the simplest, most direct route to enlightenment but one of the most difficult to traverse. In Zen, there is nothing to find, nothing to discover, nothing to learn, nothing to remember, nowhere to go, nothing at all to do. How difficult is that? Most difficult.
Time for Exercise: one minute to eternity
Properties Required: none
Steps:
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Sit comfortably (or uncomfortably) in complete silence. Just stay there until you get it!
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An option: Vow to continue sitting until you become enlightened, or until you die.
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Another option: When ready, begin. When thirsty, drink. When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep. When curious, look. When afraid, tremble. When happy, smile. When finished, stop.
Variation:
Try sitting together and employing this option: Ask your lover to give you a whack upside the head—not too hard but enough to jolt you out of your train of thought.
Comments:
“There’s no Dharma [the way of higher truths] outside, and
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"What is Apsara Sadhana?"
ANSWER
Sadhana is a disciplined spiritual practice in both Hinduism and Buddhism. The purpose of sadhana is liberation from the cycle of birth and death, illumination or enlightenment. A person engaged in sadhana practice is referred to as a Sadhu or a Sadhaka. These spiritual practices take a number of forms including many types of meditation, the use of mantras (sacred sounds), mudras (ritualized body movements), yantras (sacred visual images such as geometric shapes), pujas (ceremonial practices offered to a deity or guru), etc.
Demigod – a being that is half god because one parent was a god and the other was human, as in Greek mythology. For example in one version of Greek mythology Dionysus was the son of the god Zeus and the mortal mother Semele.
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Recommended Reading: A Spiritual Reading List
Selected Topics
Zen Buddhism
Eugen Herrigel. Zen in the Art of Archery. ISBN: 0375705090
There is the Zen of no mind in which you eat when hungry, rest when tired, and stop when finished. There is also the Zen known through the ritualized arts of discipline and beauty such as archery, swordsmanship, brush-and-ink, the tea ceremony, or flower arranging. This book is Herrigel’s story of striking the target bull’s-eye blindfolded.
Robert M. Pirsig. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values. ISBN: 0060958324
This is a book suitable for the deepest thinker while at the same time opening the heart. It is worthy to be read many times. One of the best books Al has ever read.
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Recommended Reading: A Spiritual Reading List
Selected Topics
Buddhism
Stephen Batchelor. Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening. ISBN: 1573226564
According to this former Buddhist monk, you don’t need to believe anything in order to apply the practices of Buddhism such as mindfulness. Much of it comes down to being fully awake and present from moment to moment.
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