enjoying nature

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
befriend
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enjoying nature

Post by befriend »

how do we enjoy the sights of nature without liking coming up?
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
perkele
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by perkele »

How do we eat soup without tasting it?
santa100
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by santa100 »

befriend wrote:
how do we enjoy the sights of nature without liking coming up?
By noticing that the sights of nature change! spring to summer, summer to fall, fall to winter, etc.. All is anicca, dukkha, and anatta. Just like Ajahn Brahm put it: "Joy At Last To Know There Is No Happiness In The World"..
daverupa
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by daverupa »

befriend wrote:how do we enjoy the sights of nature without liking coming up?
All beings subsist on nutriment, which is a nasty business.

Image

Nature is beautiful, isn't it?

:stirthepot:

:anjali:
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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cooran
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by cooran »

Hello befriend, all,

This extract might be of interest:

The Buddhist Attitude Towards Nature by Lily de Silva
[……………………………………….]


Nature as Beautiful

The Buddha and his disciples regarded natural beauty as a source of great joy and aesthetic satisfaction. The saints who purged themselves of sensuous worldly pleasures responded to natural beauty with a detached sense of appreciation. The average poet looks at nature and derives inspiration mostly by the sentiments it evokes in his own heart; he becomes emotionally involved with nature. For instance, he may compare the sun's rays passing over the mountain tops to the blush on a sensitive face, he may see a tear in a dew drop, the lips of his beloved in a rose petal, etc. But the appreciation of the saint is quite different. He appreciates nature's beauty for its own sake and derives joy unsullied by sensuous associations and self-projected ideas. The simple spontaneous appreciation of nature's exquisite beauty is expressed by the Elder Mahakassapa in the following words:[60]
Those upland glades delightful to the soul,
Where the Kaveri spreads its wildering wreaths,
Where sound the trumpet-calls of elephants:
Those are the hills where my soul delights.

Those rocky heights with hue of dark blue clouds
Where lies embossed many a shining lake
Of crystal-clear, cool waters, and whose slopes
The 'herds of Indra' cover and bedeck:
Those are the hills wherein my soul delights.

Fair uplands rain-refreshed, and resonant
With crested creatures' cries antiphonal,
Lone heights where silent Rishis oft resort:
Those are the hills wherein my soul delights.
Again the poem of Kaludayi, inviting the Buddha to visit Kapilavatthu, contains a beautiful description of spring:[61]
Now crimson glow the trees, dear Lord, and cast
Their ancient foliage in quest of fruit,
Like crests of flame they shine irradiant
And rich in hope, great Hero, is the hour.

Verdure and blossom-time in every tree
Wherever we look delightful to the eye,
And every quarter breathing fragrant airs,
While petals falling, yearning comes fruit:
It is time, O Hero, that we set out hence.
The long poem of Talaputa is a fascinating soliloquy.[62] His religious aspirations are beautifully blended with a profound knowledge of the teachings of the Buddha against the background of a sylvan resort. Many more poems could be cited for saintly appreciation of nature, but it is not necessary to burden the essay with any more quotations. Suffice it to know that the saints, too, were sensitive to the beauties and harmony of nature and that their appreciation is colored by spontaneity, simplicity, and a non-sensuous spirituality.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... itude.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

with metta
Chris
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
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tiltbillings
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by tiltbillings »

daverupa wrote:
Nature is beautiful, isn't it?
It can be.


Image
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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tiltbillings
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by tiltbillings »

befriend wrote:how do we enjoy the sights of nature without liking coming up?
Who says you should not like something?

Image

Image
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
befriend
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by befriend »

liking and disliking are defilements.
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
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tiltbillings
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by tiltbillings »

befriend wrote:liking and disliking are defilements.
Do you like that statement?
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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tiltbillings
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by tiltbillings »

befriend wrote:liking and disliking are defilements.
Do you like your mother? Do you like yourself?
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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LonesomeYogurt
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by LonesomeYogurt »

tiltbillings wrote:Who says you should not like something?
The Buddha.
He who, having cast off likes and dislikes, has become tranquil, is rid of the substrata of existence and like a hero has conquered all the worlds — him do I call a holy man.
Gain and loss, status and disgrace,
censure and praise, pleasure and pain:
these conditions among human beings are inconstant,
impermanent, subject to change.

Knowing this, the wise person, mindful,
ponders these changing conditions.
Desirable things don’t charm the mind,
undesirable ones bring no resistance.

His welcoming and rebelling are scattered,
gone to their end,
do not exist.
- Lokavipatti Sutta

Stuff I write about things.
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tiltbillings
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by tiltbillings »

LonesomeYogurt wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:Who says you should not like something?
The Buddha.
He who, having cast off likes and dislikes, has become tranquil, is rid of the substrata of existence and like a hero has conquered all the worlds — him do I call a holy man.
[Just a note: When you quote a text do cite from whence it came.] So, we cannot like our mothers, our kids, our beliefs . . . .
  • "Then there is the case where I see a wilderness monk who receives robes, alms food, shelter, & medicinal requisites for curing the sick. Fending off those gains, offerings, & fame, he doesn't neglect seclusion, doesn't neglect isolated forest & wilderness dwellings. And so I am pleased with that monk's wilderness-dwelling.

    "But when I am traveling along a road and see no one in front or behind me, at that time I have my ease, even when urinating & defecating."
    -- A iv 340
It seems that the Buddha liked to not have not do these things with an audience, and he certainly was pleased with certain things.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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LonesomeYogurt
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by LonesomeYogurt »

tiltbillings wrote:[Just a note: When you quote a text do cite from whence it came.]
My apologies - Dhammapada 26:36.

So, we cannot like our mothers, our kids, our beliefs . . . .
There's a difference between liking, which is based in attachment, and approving of, enjoying, or otherwise appreciating. I think it's obvious that the OP is discussing how to avoid the "liking" that comes from delighting in the sensual pleasure of nature's beauty, which is definitely a form of attachment.
Gain and loss, status and disgrace,
censure and praise, pleasure and pain:
these conditions among human beings are inconstant,
impermanent, subject to change.

Knowing this, the wise person, mindful,
ponders these changing conditions.
Desirable things don’t charm the mind,
undesirable ones bring no resistance.

His welcoming and rebelling are scattered,
gone to their end,
do not exist.
- Lokavipatti Sutta

Stuff I write about things.
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tiltbillings
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by tiltbillings »

LonesomeYogurt wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:[Just a note: When you quote a text do cite from whence it came.]
My apologies - Dhammapada 26:36.

So, we cannot like our mothers, our kids, our beliefs . . . .
There's a difference between liking, which is based in attachment, and approving of, enjoying, or otherwise appreciating. I think it's obvious that the OP is discussing how to avoid the "liking" that comes from delighting in the sensual pleasure of nature's beauty, which is definitely a form of attachment.
It is an interesting balancing act. Can we get to a point where we can delight in something without becoming attached to it? And until then?
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
Cassandra
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Re: enjoying nature

Post by Cassandra »

befriend wrote:liking and disliking are defilements.
Attachment is defilement. Enjoying beauty is not necessarily attachment. The Buddha is reported to have said certain cities are beautiful in the Canon.
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