Episode 1 How to Create a Happy Reality
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Release Date: 11/02/2018
Episode 200 - Living Generously
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
What does it mean to live generously? In this episode of Buddhism for Everyone, we explore the subtle ways we can practice abandoning stealing—not just materially, but in the countless small ways we might take without realizing it, like stealing time, being late, or complaining. Living generously is about cultivating a mindset of abundance and integrity. In daily practice, it means transforming our actions into gifts of kindness, consideration, and fairness. Small, mindful shifts can make a big impact on the way we live and interact with the world. Through Buddha's teachings, stories, and...
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Episode 199 - A Disciplined Mind Brings Happiness
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Buddha taught that "A disciplined mind brings happiness." In this episode, we explore how shedding the habits of mind that are harmful to ourselves or others is the key to our own happiness. In the stillness of reflection, we may notice how easily the mind clings to habits that bring harm—to ourselves, to others, to the fragile beauty of our relationships. Perhaps it is anger, rising like a sudden storm, that steals our peace. Or it could be an endless loop of self-criticism that pains us. These are habits of mind that obscure our happiness. When we take up the work of letting go—of...
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Episode 198 - The Five Gatekeepers of Speech
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
The Buddha, in his gentle wisdom, offered us a path to mindful speech through what he called "The Five Gatekeepers of Speech." These gatekeepers stand like sentinels, reminding us to pause before we speak. We ask ourselves: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it beneficial? Is it necessary? Is it the right time? Our speech, whether it lands on another's heart or drifts unnoticed through the air, always leaves its karmic mark on us. If we are kind to others with our speech, we create causes for our own happiness. When we are unkind to others, we create suffering for ourselves. Words are the most...
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Episode 197 - Metta Practice
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Metta, or loving-kindness, is a beautiful practice in Buddhism that calls on the heart to soften, to expand, to reach out with the wish for others’s happiness and well-being. It’s about nurturing love, not just for those who easily come to mind, but for everyone—the stranger, the difficult ones, and even ourselves. Metta practice, at its core, is deeply intertwined with non-violence because it cultivates the kind of love that makes harm unthinkable. In a world that so often pushes us towards division, Metta reminds us to see the shared humanity in each person. When you...
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Episode 196 - Making mindful choices
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
This episode explores how to make mindful choices that lead to happiness and well-being in the future. We can learn how to distinguish between virtuous actions and nonvirtuous actions Virtuous actions are those that lead to positive outcomes, both for oneself and others. They are rooted in wholesome mental states such as generosity, compassion, and wisdom. With mindfulness, we can detect whether our mind is in a virtuous mental state. Virtuous states of mind feel, like loving-kindness, feel pleasant and peaceful. Conversely, non-virtuous actions are those that lead to negative...
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Episode 195 - Feel before you act
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
In this episode we explore one of the core teachings of the Buddha—the Five Aggregates and their connection to our problems and suffering. The Buddha taught that life is pervaded by dukkha, which means dissatisfaction or suffering. More specifically, in the First Noble Truth, Buddha taught that “The five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.” These aggregates—form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—are the parts that make our self. When our five aggregates, including our consciousness, are conditioned by ignorance, we experience an unenlightened life...
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Episode 194 - Enjoying without attachment
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Joy and pleasures are woven into the fabric of our lives. The teachings of Buddha invite us to dance with moments of delight without the chains of attachment. In this episode, we explore how to savor the pleasures of life while releasing the grip of attachment. Way to enjoy life's pleasures without the pain of attachment: Enjoy the Moment Accept what is Let go of the past and future Enjoy the moment We discover a world of joy by fully immersing ourselves in each moment. Instead of fixating on the past or yearning for the future, let's learn to be present, allowing joy to...
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Episode 193: Compassion as antidote to anger
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
For the average person, Moments of anger are inevitable. They can flare up in response to various triggers, from personal frustrations to global injustices. However, according to the Buddha's teachings, there is a powerful antidote to this destructive emotion: compassion. In Buddhism, compassion is revered as a guiding light, illuminating the path towards healing and awakening. At the heart of Buddhist philosophy lies the understanding of interconnectedness. Understanding interconnectedness leads to an awareness that everything we do as an individual affects the rest of humanity....
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Episode 192 - Solving Anger with Dharma
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
In this episode, we delve into a universal human experience: anger. But fear not! We're not just exploring the problem; we're diving into solutions. Get ready for an enlightening journey as we uncover practical strategies rooted in Buddhist wisdom to tame the flames of anger and cultivate inner peace. We can learn how to transform the energy of anger into understanding and compassion. Through understanding and compassion we can heal ourselves and be a refuge of peace for others. In fact, in the story associated with the following verse, Buddha said: ‘Because I am patient and do...
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Important Announcement
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Virtual Classes with JoAnn Fox start this Saturday, March 2nd! You can enroll any time! What: An ongoing study program to practice the entire path of Buddhism. Join us at any point! When: Saturdays 10 am EST Why: People often have to study Buddhism in a piecemeal fashion. JoAnn participated in a virtual teacher training program for over ten years that presented the whole path of Buddhism. This systematic approach makes the path very clear. It makes it much easier to practice and creates deeper inner change. JoAnn wants others to have the...
info_outlineBuddha taught that our mind creates our reality. Our mind creates our life and whether we are happy or unhappy. In this episode, we delve deep into HOW our minds create our reality.
Here we begin the study of the Dhammapada, the oldest text in the Buddhist canon. It is a collection of things Buddha actually said 2600 years ago, written down by his followers.
The mechanics of the creation of every moment of your consciousness involve the five all- accompanying mental factors.
- Contact - making contact with an object
- Feeling - a mental factor that experiences a pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral feeling. * Feeling functions to experience OUR karma
- Discrimination - identifies the object
- Intention - Moves our mind to the object. Function to CREATE karma
- Attention - Focuses on specific attributes of an object. We either focus on something with "appropriate attention" that gives rise to peace, or inappropriate attention that gives rise to suffering.
An example of the creation of a moment of suffering is this: We experience an unpleasant feeling (due to our karma), but we discriminate the person in front of us as the cause of the pain and as "bad". Then we focus on the faults of the person with inappropriate attention, which generates our anger. Anger causes us to have the intention to harm that person because we are feeling upset. If we continue to dwell on the faults of the person (aka inappropriate attention) will continue to be angry and feel bad. No fun!
We also learned three methods to create a happier reality for ourselves, particularly in a very difficult situation or in regards to a person that cause us pain or frustration. The meditation and daily practice is as follows.
Step 1: Bring to mind a situation that regularly causes you pain. Or bring to mind a person that causes you pain, irritation, or frustration.
Step 2: Try to think about this situation or person with gratitude for a few minutes. What are you grateful for? Try to think of at least five things you are grateful for.
Step 3: Are there good qualities about this situation or person? Please contemplate at least a few good qualities you sincerely observe.
Step 4: Try to generate compassion for the person, or for yourself. Compassion is a mind that really sees the suffering that is there, and, out of love, Wishes to take that suffering away so happiness remains. Remember that happy people don't go around making other people unhappy. Unhappy people inadvertently cause other people to suffer.
Step 5: Choose which of these three methods (gratitude, contemplating their good quailiteis, or compassion) that most moved your mind toward peace. Determine toput this method into practice in the coming week; let it be like a swaord of mindfulness, cutting through pain.
Step 6: Make a strong determination that, whenever unpleasant feelings start to arise in this partilcar situation, you will put your chosen method into practice. Generate this determination and hold it in your heart for a few moments.
Daily Mindfullnes Practice: Whenever unpleasant feelings start to arise about this partilcar situation, remember the method you chose and put it into practice. Feel compassion for the person, contemplate their good qualities, or try to feel gratitude. You can do it! Let me know how it goes...Leave a message, question, or comment and I'll try to respond via:
In this episode we study Chapter One, Verse 1 - 2 of the Dhammapada:
“All experience is created by mind
Led by mind,
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a corrupted mind
And suffering follows,
As the wagon wheel follows the hoof of an ox.
All experience is created by mind
Led by mind,
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a peaceful mind,
And happiness follows
Like a never-departing shadow.”
-Buddha, The Dhammapada: A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic with Annotations, by Gil Fronsdale
Other References:
Abhidharmasamuccaya (The Compendium of Higher Training) by Asanga. Originally translated into French by Warhol Rahula; translated from French into English by Sara Boin-Webb