11 Jun
2013
Posted in: Books, Practice
By    Comments Off on How Am I Doing?

How Am I Doing?

Last night our KM group began discussing Chapter 17 of Dancing with Life, by Phillip Moffitt. We talked about what we’re trying to “accomplish” in our practice, what we thought it might be like to experience “cessation of suffering,” and how to tell if we’re making any “progress” toward that end. Here’s what Phillip has to say (from page 196 of the hardback edition):

“….do not measure your progress by the number or amplitude of dramatic moments [in meditation] you have had, but rather periodically ask yourself:
Is my practice stronger?
Do I suffer less?
Do I cause less suffering?

Do I have a clearer, calmer perspective in my daily life?

What matters is that you make your life your practice. Making your practice the core of your life is cessation in the sense that you cease pursuing the illusionary and cease trying to find well-being and meaning in what can never yield freedom.

“For the most part you will not know where you are on the path to cessation, only that you are indeed on the path….

“The hints you will encounter in your practice fall into three categories:
Those moments when you know you are suffering less because of your practice
Those moments when you feel the wholeness or sweetness that comes with choosing to dance with life in this manner
Those moments when you know your mind is free.”

(image from: Housewives Tarot)

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