The Dhammapada is a Buddhist scripture that distills the complex teachings of the Buddha into concise, crystalline verses. It is part of the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. The text includes various chapters that cover themes such as earnestness, thought, the nature of the fool and the wise man, and the path to enlightenment. It emphasizes the importance of controlling one's thoughts and actions to achieve happiness and avoid suffering. The verses are traditionally believed to have been spoken by the Buddha on various occasions and are accompanied by commentaries that provide context and stories to illustrate the teachings[1][2][4].
In this retreat recording, Gil Fronsdal applies Buddhism to parenting and explains family life as one of the best forms of practice.
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This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal explains:
- Buddhism as a training for all aspects of our lives
- Finding balance, freedom, and compassion in the day-to-day
- Family and children as one of the greatest forms of practice
- Equanimity as the crown jewel of Buddhism
- How children are more influenced by how we are rather than what we say
- Our emotional presence as an integral part of our children’s development
- How anger and anxiety can pass onto our children
- Stepping back and looking at our priorities
- Taking responsibility to show up for practice
- Controlling ourselves and staying present
- Being accepting and allowing our children to be themselves
- Making space when our children say hurtful things
- Gil’s own stories and examples as a father
- Modeling equanimity and acceptance towards ourselves
About Gil Fronsdal:
Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. Gil has an undergraduate degree in agriculture from U.C. Davis where he was active in promoting the field of sustainable farming. In 1998 he received a PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University studying the earliest developments of the bodhisattva ideal. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.
“We can’t really control the world and there are enough times we can’t control our children. But, we can control ourselves, or part of ourselves. When we can’t control the situation around us, can we at least monitor ourselves enough so that we can stay balanced, not caught, not lost, not distracted, but really stay present in an effective way?” – Gil Fronsdal
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