Episode 179 - Work with your greatest afflictions first
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Release Date: 09/13/2023
Episode 186 - Change your view and everything changes
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Within Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhists are sometimes referred to as "inner beings." What this means is that we turn inward. We learn to cultivate happiness and solve problems by changing our thoughts and actions. Like a sculptor with clay, our mind shapes our experiences. By observing thoughts, feelings, and habits, we gain insight into the workings of the mind. With this awareness, we can transform mental mental states to alleviate suffering. Understanding that the source of a problem is inside a person doesn't imply blame but highlights our potential for growth and transformation....
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Episode 185 - How to Transform through Buddha's Teachings
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Learning how to listen to teachings and having respect for the teacher create the right conditions for your mind to change. In this episode, we explore Je Tsongkhapa’s instructions on “How to listen to the teachings by relying on the Six Ideas. Your mind opens when you feel the teaching is medicine that can cure your specific suffering or difficulty. Buddhist Teacher JoAnn Fox explains how to put these instructions into practice with some struggle you're currently experiencing. When you receive Buddhist teachings in a formal setting and see the teacher being prostrated before or...
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Episode 184: The Art of Ethical Living
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
This episode explores the art of ethical living, guided by the practice of restraint. Restraint involves intentionally moderating and controlling one's actions, speech, and thoughts. We cultivate restraint to minimize the harm we cause and to build the foundation for spiritual development. A good guide for our practice of restraint is the Five Precepts. The Five Precepts were given to his lay (not ordained) followers as ethical guidelines that include the vow to abstain from killing, stealing, engaging in sexual misconduct, lying, and becoming intoxicated. How to practice the ethical...
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Episode 183 - How to prevent anger
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
This episode explores the question “Where does anger come from?” Buddhist teacher, JoAnn Fox, also provides several practical ways to prevent anger from arising (when it typically would)! Anger doesn’t come from another person or a situation. Anger comes from our thoughts. Specifically, when we pay inappropriate attention to an unpleasant object and dwell on its faults, we work ourselves up until anger arises. That point at which anger is manifest is when the mind is unpeaceful and uncontrolled. A very sad aspect of anger is that this mental state has the wish to harm. The...
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Episode 181 - Radiating Compassion
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
The primary motivation behind wanting to become a Buddha for the sake of all living beings is boundless compassion. This unconditional love and concern for the well-being and liberation of all sentient beings, without exception, takes effort to cultivate. A bodhisattva is someone who, out of compassion, vows to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. The wish itself is called "bodhicitta." What marks becoming a bodhisattva is that their intention to become a Buddha is unmovable (meaning they've developed bodhicitta). While the Bodhisattva Vow is central to the Mahayana...
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Episode 180 - Practicing Kindness Toward Ourselves
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Metta meditation, also known as loving-kindness meditation, is a fundamental practice in Buddhism that cultivates feelings of love, compassion, and goodwill towards oneself and others. The word "Metta" is a Pali term that translates to "loving-kindness" or "benevolence." In this meditation, practitioners typically sit in a comfortable position and focus on generating feelings of love and kindness. The practice involves silently repeating phrases or affirmations that express well-wishes, such as "May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe, may you live with ease." The...
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Episode 179 - Work with your greatest afflictions first
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
The Lojong slogan "Work with your greatest defilements first" emphasizes the importance of addressing the negative habit that is most deeply disturbing our inner peace and happiness. Lojong, which means "mind training" in Tibetan, is a set of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism aimed at developing compassion, wisdom, and the ability to transform adverse circumstances into opportunities for spiritual growth. Central to Lojong are short, pithy instructions called "slogans," like "Work with your greatest defilements first." By working with the habit that causes us the most problems first, we can make...
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Episode 178 - Seeking The True Nature of Reality
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
In this episode we look at the practice of wisdom. In particular, this refers to wisdom realizing the true nature of reality. Little by little we touch reality as we gain wisdom. We come to understand why we suffer, where our problems truly come from, and how to solve our problems inwardly. Buddha's guidance remains as practical for his followers today as it was when he first shared it. This is a journey of finding peace and understanding, accessible to all who seek it. The Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths to provide a clear framework for understanding the nature of our suffering and...
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Episode 177 - Thirst
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
"The rain could turn to gold and still your thirst would not be slaked' the Buddha said. In this episode we explore the connection between the Buddhist teachings of emptiness and craving. Understanding this connection is fundamental to understanding the nature of suffering and the path to liberation. Emptiness (Shunyata) Emptiness refers to the fundamental nature of reality, which is devoid of inherent, fixed, or independent existence. The empty nature of all things is the opposite of how we normally perceive reality. If we see something as beautiful, we do not think our mind has anything to...
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Episode 176 - Light up this world like a moon set free
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
The Buddha said that an earnest practitioner, even when just beginning the path to enlightenment, "lights up this world like the moon set free from a cloud." This episode explores how to relate to being this light in our world, specifically through the practice of metta, or loving-kindness. Metta practice involves cultivating a heartfelt attitude of unconditional love, benevolence, and goodwill towards oneself and all sentient beings. Metta meditation is a practical way to strengthen these qualities. It can be done in formal meditation or "off the cushion" with the simple recitation of a...
info_outlineThe Lojong slogan "Work with your greatest defilements first" emphasizes the importance of addressing the negative habit that is most deeply disturbing our inner peace and happiness. Lojong, which means "mind training" in Tibetan, is a set of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism aimed at developing compassion, wisdom, and the ability to transform adverse circumstances into opportunities for spiritual growth. Central to Lojong are short, pithy instructions called "slogans," like "Work with your greatest defilements first." By working with the habit that causes us the most problems first, we can make significant strides in our quest for peace and happiness.
In Buddhism, defilements (or kleshas in Sanskrit) refer to mental states that cloud the mind and lead to suffering. Sometimes called delusions or afflictions, common defilements include greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and jealousy.
Tackling our greatest defilement first helps us in two ways. First, we can open up so much more peace and joy in our lives. We also remove a major obstacle to spiritual growth. This approach acknowledges that we all have deeply ingrained habits that hinder our progress toward liberation and mental peace. It takes courage and vulnerability to take responsibility like this, especially if it’s creating a big mess in our lives or affecting others.
How to work with your greatest defilements first
The practice starts with self-awareness. We identify the habit causing us the most difficulties or suffering. Perhaps it is a delusion like jealousy that is currently very strong, like a thorn raking through our hearts. Or it is a habit that frequently bothers us. Through mindfulness, we observe how the habit is triggered. We also try to understand the consequences it brings.
Once revealed through mindfulness and self-reflection, our greatest defilement can then become a target, something we gradually work on as we gather spiritual tools. If it’s anger, for example, one can find Buddhist teachings focusing on anger or seek therapy to address it. Several episodes of this podcast are dedicated to working on anger, for example. We can't expect to solve our greatest defilement right away. However, we take a huge step toward peace just by becoming aware and taking responsibility for it.
| Him I call a brahmana who has for him neither this shore (i.e., the sense-bases) nor the other shore (i.e., the sense objects ), and who is undistressed and free from moral defilements. (Verse 385) |
--Buddha, The Dhammapada
Links to References
Buddha (1986).The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories. Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A. (Website). Edited by Editorial Committee, Burma Tipitaka Association Rangoon. Courtesy .of Nibbana.com. For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma.
https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=385
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