Caring for this Life
Online programs offered July 1-3, 2025
Image by ANDRI TEGAR MAHARDIKA from Pixabay
* PV denotes that this is a regular Passaddhi Vihara program that continues all year on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Link to all Zoom programs from Passaddhi Vihara’s Events Page
Sutta Study – PV*
(Tuesday July 1st, 8am Pacific Time)
- With Queen Mallikā
- Loved
- Bamboo Acrobats
Embodiment Exploration
(Thursday, July 3rd, 9 am Pacific Time)
- There is a body
- Internal balance
- Situational balance
Reflection and Meditation – PV*
(Thursday, July 3, 7 pm Pacific Time)
- Heart’s release by loving-kindness
Suttas
With Queen Mallikā (SN 3.8)
Summary: King Pasandi asks Queen Mallikā who is most dear. They both agree that the one most dear is oneself, and the Buddha agrees.
Text:
At Sāvatthī.
Now at that time King Pasenadi of Kosala was upstairs in the royal longhouse together with Queen Mallikā.
Then the king said to the queen, “Mallikā, is there anyone more dear to you than yourself?”
“No, great king, there isn’t.
“For me also, Mallikā, there’s no one.”
Then King Pasenadi of Kosala came downstairs from the stilt longhouse, went to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and told him what had happened.
Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha recited this verse:
“Having explored every quarter with the mind,
one finds no-one dearer than oneself.
Likewise for others, each holds themselves dear;
so one who desires self-knowledge would harm no other.
Loved (SN 3.4)
Translation: by Bhikkhu Sujato
At Sāvatthī.
Seated to one side, King Pasenadi said to the Buddha, “Just now, sir, as I was in private retreat this thought came to mind. ‘Who are those who love themselves? And who are those who don’t love themselves?’
Then it occurred to me: ‘Those who do bad things by way of body, speech, and mind don’t love themselves. Even though they may say: “I love myself”, they don’t really. Why is that? It’s because they treat themselves like an enemy. That’s why they don’t love themselves.
Those who do good things by way of body, speech, and mind do love themselves. Even though they may say: “I don’t love myself”, they do really. Why is that? It’s because they treat themselves like a loved one. That’s why they do love themselves.’”
“That’s so true, great king! That’s so true!” said the Buddha. And he repeated the king’s statement, adding:
“If you knew your self as beloved,
you’d not yoke yourself to wickedness.
For happiness is not easy to find
by someone who does bad deeds.
When you’re seized by the terminator >
as you give up your human life,
what can you call your own?
What do you take when you go?
What goes with you,
like a shadow that never leaves?
Both the good and the bad
that a mortal does in this life
is what they can call their own.
That’s what they take when they go.
That’s what goes with them,
like a shadow that never leaves.
That’s why you should do good,
investing in the future life.
The good deeds of sentient beings
support them in the next world.”
Comment: Action is paramount because it is the cause of feelings and emotions. The path forward starts with recognizing that it is within your power to change how you treat yourself. – Bhikkhu Sujato
The Bamboo Acrobats (SN 47.19)
Text: (slightly mixed translation with minor edits, mostly based on Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation)
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sumbhas, where there was a town of the Sumbhas named Sedaka. There the Blessed One addressed the assembly thus:
“Once upon a time, an acrobat set up a bamboo pole and addressed the apprentice Medakathalika thus: ‘Come, dear Medakathalika, climb the bamboo pole and stand on my shoulders.’ Having replied, ‘Yes, teacher,’ the apprentice Medakathalika climbed up the bamboo pole and stood on the teacher’s shoulders. The acrobat then said to the apprentice Medakathalika: ‘You protect me, dear Medakathalika, and I’ll protect you. Thus guarded by one another, protected by one another, we’ll display our skills, collect our fee, and get down safely from the bamboo pole.’ When this was said, the apprentice Medakathalika replied: ‘That’s not the way to do it, teacher. You protect yourself, teacher, and I’ll protect myself. Thus, each self-guarded and self-protected, we’ll display our skills, collect our fee, and get down safely from the bamboo pole.’
“That’s the method there,” the Blessed One said. “It’s just as the apprentice Medakathalika said to the teacher. ‘I will protect myself,’: thus should the establishments of mindfulness be practised. ‘I will protect others,’: thus should the establishments of mindfulness be practised. Protecting oneself, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself.
“And how is it 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 that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, lovingkindness, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.
“‘I will protect myself,’: thus should the establishments of mindfulness be practised. ‘I will protect others,’: thus should the establishments of mindfulness be practised. Protecting oneself, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself.”
The practice of mindfulness requires the focused attention of an acrobat balancing on a bamboo pole. One lapse, one moment of distraction or carelessness, and they tumble to the ground. The picture is one of intensive inner awareness and concentration — almost a matter of life and death.
But the Buddha’s parable goes even further, for the safety and well being of the bamboo acrobat’s beloved assistant also hangs upon the master’s successful practice of mindfulness.
The story is telling us that ultimately we are responsible for our own balance, and would be foolish to direct our attention to others while neglecting our own inner focus. And yet others are directly affected by how well we do this. Insight meditation is not a selfish undertaking, because the quality of our interaction with all those around us depends on the degree of our own self-understanding and self-control. – Andrew Olendzki
Reprise: And how does one look after others by looking after oneself?
By practicing (mindfulness), by developing (it), by doing (it) a lot.
And how does one look after oneself by looking after others?
By patience, by non-harming, by loving kindness, by caring (for others).
(Thus) looking after oneself, one looks after others;
and looking after others, one looks after oneself.
Embodiment Exploration
Image ref: Szczepanski, Kallie. “The Legend of Shaolin Monk Warriors.” ThoughtCo, May. 1, 2025, thoughtco.com/history-of-the-shaolin-monks-195814.
Balance comes from practice. For the practice and the resulting balance to be sustainable and effective, the manner in which we practice matters.
Many of us start from some tension or overwhelm. So, even before approaching balance, start with soothing and reminding ourselves there is a body here!
Exploration:
- Bilateral arm or leg sweeps
- Butterfly hug
- Soft body sweep
Internal balance supports external balance. We can explore states that are effective, comfortable and efficiently supportive. Question: What are the necessary and sufficient conditions?
Exploration:
- Breath
- Warm heart
- Soften
- Aware in all directions
- Spacious
- Radiant
We learn about balance by also learning about imbalance.
Exploration:
- Where is center?
- What throws off?
- What qualities / efforts are necessary for balance?
- What qualities / efforts are sufficient for balance?
Reflection and Meditation
Dhamma reflection and lightly guided meditation.
Topic: Heart’s release by loving-kindness
My heart will inwardly steady and well settle. No erring, unskillful conditioning arisen in mind, takes hold and remains.
References
Embodiment
Lisa Fisher’s Everyday Blackbelt (Mind-body training for more peaceful relationships)
Nkem Ndefo’s Lumos Transforms (Embody change, unlock potential, transform our world.)
Paul Linden’s Being in Movement (mindbody education, stress reduction, compassionate power, peacemaking)
Suttas
With Queen Mallikā (SN 3.8)
Translation: by Bhikkhu Sujato
Loved (SN 3.4)
Translation: by Bhikkhu Sujato
The Bamboo Acrobats (SN 47.19)
Translations: by Bhikkhu Sujato, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Andrew Olendzki, Bhikkhu Thanissaro