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ISSUE No. 46 & 47 MAY 2015-JAN 2016 SAMADHI JOURNAL OF THE LONDON BUDDHIST VIHARA THE FIRST AND THE FOREMOST BUDDHIST VIHARA OF THE WESTERN WORLD ESTABLISHED IN 1926 BY THE ANAGARIKA DHARMAPALA ISSUE No. 46 & 47 MAY 2015-JAN 2016 B.E. 2599-60 ISSN 1368-1516 THE MINDFUL NATION Ven. B. Seelawimala Nayaka Thera Head of the London Buddhist Vihara owards the end of last year, a In the field of education, the report organisational effectiveness. As far Treport was published by the said, “The Secretary of State for Ed- as criminal justice is concerned, the All Party Parliamentary Group on ucation, Nicky Morgan, has declared report recommended that the NHS Mindfulness under the title “Mind- her ambition to make the nation a and National Offender Manage- ful Nation UK” . This group was ‘global leader of teaching character’. ment Service (NOMS) should work set up both to review the scientific Mindfulness has much to contribute together to ensure the urgent im- evidence and current best practice to this newly emerging agenda ...we plementation of National Institute in mindfulness training, to develop believe there is enough evidence of for Health and Care Excellence’s policy recommendations for govern- its potential benefits to warrant a sig- (NICE) recommended Mindfulness- ment based on these findings, and nificant scaling-up of its availability Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) to provide a forum for discussion in in schools.” for recurrent depression within of- Parliament for the role of mindful- In the workplace the interest in fender populations. ness and its implementation as part mindfulness was identified as being It is clear that mindfulness is becom- of public policy. driven by the need to tackle issues ing an increasingly popular practice The report concludes that the teach- around the rising cost of workplace in many parts of the world and this ing of mindfulness can be beneficial absence because of stress and de- practice is often taught in a secular in four main areas: health, education, pression, and the need to boost pro- context, making no mention of any the workplace and criminal justice. ductivity.The most pressing issue connection with the teachings of the Among healthcare stakeholders, it was the rising toll of work-related Buddha. Indeed, it is often a delib- found that there was great interest in mental ill health. Since 2009 the erate and conscious decision not to mindfulness with 72% of GPs want- number of sick days lost to stress, mention anything about Buddhism ing to refer patients to mindfulness depression and anxiety has increased in order to avoid putting off some courses on the NHS, although only by 24% and the number lost to seri- people who are not inclined to fol- one in five GPs reported having ac- ous mental illness has doubled. The low any religious practice. cess to mindfulness courses in their leading cause of sickness absence area. It recommends that funding in the UK is mental ill health, ac- The “Mindful Nation UK” report should be made available through counting for 70 million sick days, is full of enthusiasm for the wider the Improving Access to Psychologi- more than half of the 130 million adoption of this practice and sees cal Therapies (IAPT) training pro- total every year. The report recom- only benefits coming from this de- gramme to train 100 Mindfulness- mends that Government departments velopment. It is however debatable Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) should encourage the development whether this is a good idea. On the teachers a year for the next five years, of mindfulness programmes for staff one hand, it could be said that the to supply a total of 1,200 MBCT in the public sector – in particular in more people who can benefit from teachers in the NHS by 2020 in order health, education and criminal jus- mindfulness, the better. On the oth- to fulfil this recommendation. tice – to combat stress and improve Continued on page 2 Buddhist Psychology of Dreams in a Nutshell INSIDE The Secret of Breathing Courses for 2016 THIS ISSUE Kinds of Noble Persons and their Numbers A-Z of Buddhism Programmes and activities 1 1 ISSUE No. 46 & 47 SAMADHI MAY 2015-JAN 2016 THE SECRET OF BREATHING Chief Executive: Ven. B. Seelawimala Nayaka Thera Editors: Ven. Tawalama Bandula, Mr. Richard Jones Bhante Henepola Gunaratana Nayaka Thera Continued from page 1 er hand, it could be said that this is Buddhist psychology of dreams in a nutshell a corruption of the Dhamma and his essay is about something matic act like breathing?” tion. Although a baby doesn’t plan mindfulness should not be taught By Bhante D. Upananda Nayaka Thera Tvery simple and practical, and to be desirous, when it feels a need, as something separate from the rest yet something that most of us pay lit- To begin with, try to stop breathing such as hunger, desire arises. We are of the Dhamma. The Buddha gave a sychology of dreams occupies stand the Buddhist psychology of tle attention to. It is about the secret for ten minutes! Nobody can do that. all born with this desire, this greed. warning that the Dhamma would first Pa prominent place in Theravada dreams. However, one requirement of breathing, about the truth that is Now, consider the breathing proc- That is why the Buddha said that the become corrupted, and eventually it Buddhism. In the eyes of Buddha must be met, and we all have met it. hidden within it. Although we have ess in detail. As you breathe in and very coming into existence is suffer- would become entirely forgotten. our existence is one big recurring It is simply the belief that we expe- been breathing all our life, very few breathe out, simply give your full ing, that this very birth is suffering. The world would then enter a long dream. This is called samsara. Bud- rienced yesterdays, and there will be of us give much consideration to the attention to the breath. Do you no- Therefore even our breathing can be dark age until another Buddha arose dha and other enlightened beings do numerous tomorrows. Karma, mem- breath, to discover the truth it can tice that when you breathe in, you seen to be guided by and dependent and taught the same truths as “His” not dream. This is because they are ories and habits of yesterdays, and reveal. experience a great deal of subtle upon desire—however subtle it may predecessors. According to this view, no longer driven by what is called hopes and ambitions of tomorrows satisfaction? What is happening? If be. So when we breathe in, we fulfil the divorcing of mindfulness from a “dormant desire for existence.” A deeply impact our dreams. It must We constantly refer to the importance the lungs do not have air, we become this subtle desire, which is mostly a the rest of the Teachings represents brief clarification of two terms, sam- be noted here that karma, memories, of paying attention to the breath in anxious. This anxiety message goes subconscious desire. In contrast, if “a thin edge of the wedge” whose sara and Nirvana, are quite necessary habits, hopes and ambitions are not our meditation practice. If we do to the brain. The parasympathetic you were not to breathe for maybe consequences could be serious for in order to understand the Buddhist condemned in Buddhism, but we so, what will we become aware of? nerves immediately give a message two minutes, you would experience the survival of the Sassana. psychology of dreams. are encouraged to manage them and First, we may note that the breath is to the lungs to pull in air as quickly much agitation and even fear. You chose the right ones by guaranteeing always coming and going. Second, as possible. Why does this anxiety would then become consciously anx- It must be said that there is also The life that we now live is neither that they are not harmful to self and we may also notice that sometimes arise? Because we have a strong de- ious. This anxiety—whether subcon- evidence that not everyone finds the the first nor the last, but just another the world (=others). In so doing we the breath has varying qualities, sire to survive, a desire to exist. That scious or conscious—is suffering. practice of mindfulness beneficial. In “episode” of “cyclical life” called may need the help of kalyāna-mittas such as being short, long, shallow, or desire cannot be assigned to any one fact, some practitioners have report- samsara. (It is called episode, for (trustworthy friends). deep. Beyond that, very few of us go place in our brain or in our body. It Subtle Suffering ed experiences which can be quite the samsara is seen as a drama in the into any detailed understanding or permeates our body and mind. Every Suffering has many different levels. extreme. It is difficult to say exactly eyes of Buddha.) In other words, we Buddha and other enlightened be- examination of the breath. We need cell in our body has the desire to sur- The subconscious anxiety associated why this should be so. It may be that come back in different forms based ings (=arahants in Buddhism) do not to take a deeper look in order to note vive, and they all cooperate to give with breathing is a very subtle level the teacher is not sufficiently well on whatever the way our karma trig- dream, for their minds are totally some things that we perhaps have this message to the lungs and to the of suffering. We do not always have trained, especially in how to deal gers such comeback at our death.
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