Attitude
The word attitude originally comes from the Arts of Design. It means to strike a pose or posture. Strike a pose or posture suggests we practice the pose just so...so right...with little alterations here and there...subtle shifts and then hold it so a painting can be done or a photo taken or an "attitude" given...the Training the Mind practice is a practice of posture, of posing, of striking a pose just so...and the method is practicing with the slogans. The first four preliminaries set the foundation for the pose, for the work of art of every day living. My attitude, your attitude.
Here again are the four foundations to strike a pose...
1. Life is precious and especially so as a human being who is able to hear the dharma
2. Death is sudden and strikes with out warning
3. Cause and effect are insecapable
4. Suffering in the conditioned world is inescapable
So...what does that pose look like? What is your attitude? Practice with these preliminaries and strike a pose.
I consider the attiude to be "LUCKY!" What does that look like? Sound like? Taste like? Feel like? Smell like?
What is your attitude?
Here again are the four foundations to strike a pose...
1. Life is precious and especially so as a human being who is able to hear the dharma
2. Death is sudden and strikes with out warning
3. Cause and effect are insecapable
4. Suffering in the conditioned world is inescapable
So...what does that pose look like? What is your attitude? Practice with these preliminaries and strike a pose.
I consider the attiude to be "LUCKY!" What does that look like? Sound like? Taste like? Feel like? Smell like?
What is your attitude?
posted by Dog Hair at 4:01 AM
3 Comments:
Attitude - to strike a pose. It was good to read the four foundations. For me, there is also a challenge of how to bring my mind that has been over exercised in analysis together with optimism, hope and compassion. Perhaps this is somehow related to cause and effect. Anyway, good to consider what my pose is (and why -looks like more analysis creeping in!).
Deb
I saw a wonderful example of 'posing' of putting on an attitude, this summer while walking through a city park. A mother was taking a picture of her little three year old daughter on the child's birthday. The little girl was dressed in the nightgown the mother had worn when the child was a nursing infant. The mother told us that she had taken a picture each year of the child dressed in that ruffled white gown and would continue to do so until the girl had grown into the dress. So there they were, the child almost hidden in the white fluff, posing, or not posing, as only a three year old can do. Then she shed the dress by simply stepping out of the neck opening. Someday she will fit the gown.
This seems to me a lovely picture of putting on an attitude, of putting on the four foundations, gradually growing into them until I fit them.
Thank you! Pictures in the mind of striking a pose to practice with the four preliminaries...
Life is precious
Death is sudden
Cause & Effect
Sufffering
all in the birthday photo
Thank you.
There is no off switch. I find I have to keep an eye on this all the time or I go right to sleep and crash with delusions...
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