Hello friends,
We will meet again this Wednesday, Sept 9, 5:30 at the Quilt Museum.
[Note that next week, Sept 16, we will not be meeting]
We think about our bodies a lot. We have infinite ways to classify, compare, measure, rank and value them. We take them very personally and create a strong sense of self around them – this body as mine, as me, as myself. As if we are under a spell, we have a tendency to forget that these bodies are held together temporarily, and they will fall apart. We find ourselves surprised, dismayed, maybe even offended(!) when this happens. These habits of mind are deep seated and inevitably lead to suffering.
Mindfulness of the body is a foundational meditative skill, but what is it, exactly? The Buddha taught a number of different contemplations that are designed to help us be deeply intimate with our experience of the body without taking it personally and without the constant agitation of self-creation. These insights not only change the way we view our own bodies, but also how we see others in the world. One sutta about this ends with: “How else, except through lack of insight, could one exalt oneself or disparage another because of such a body?”
On Wednesday night, we’ll review the different contemplative practices suggested in the suttas, and then in the coming weeks, we’ll practice with each of them.
May our bodies support the development of greater wisdom.