Cinta speaks: Opening to life

Friday, March 29, 2013

Opening to life

Greetings, friends. Yes, I have been quiet. Nothing has coalesced into the need to be expressed, but that will happen. Be patient.

In the meantime, I want to point you to something I just discovered a few days ago, and urge you to read it. Cultivating Self-Affection During Tricky Times, by Dr. Cara Barker.

For me, it was a great follow-up on my last post, as I struggle for self-acceptance, affection, love and compassion.

Cara's writing -- with its sense of true caring and love being imparted to the reader as an individual -- is magical. See if you don't agree.

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Everything written here, unless otherwise attributed, is merely my own opinion based on my understanding of the subject at any given moment. Like all things, my understanding changes as I continue to learn. I make no claim to speak for Theravadan Buddhism, or any Buddhist tradition, for that matter.

On occasion wisdom does spring up. More often, I just have questions -- things I want to discuss. For me, as a writer and as one who lives a rather solitary life, the blog is a great way for me to talk about the subject that matters most in my life. I invite and welcome discussion.

Cintā (CHIN-taah) is a Pali name bestowed upon me by Bhante Gunaratana in 2011, during a ceremony at the Bhavana Center where I took the Eight Lifetime Precepts. He translated the name for me as 'thoughtful one' -- a name I've tried to live up to, not without difficulty.

I've studied Theravadan Vipassana since 2004, with a variety of teachers, mostly monastics or those teaching the pure Theravadan tradition in a monastic manner. I've learned a lot, grown a lot -- enough of both to know just how much more there is to learn and grow. I'm not a teacher, an expert, an oracle -- merely an ordinary person traveling the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path in search of enlightenment.

Eight Lifetime Precepts

I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking life.
I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given.
I undertake the training rule to abstain from sexual misconduct.
I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech.
I undertake the training rule to abstain from malicious speech.
I undertake the training rule to abstain from harsh speech.
I undertake the training rule to abstain from useless speech.
I undertake the training rule to abstain from wrong livelihood, drinks and drugs causing heedlessness.