Book Study

2. The Cause of Suffering

  • Practice mindfulness to cope with cravings and map out a personal path of recovery

  • Go to Inquiry Title Page, if you want an overview of ways to work this with this inquiry practice.

  • Go to Truth Inquiry, if you want an overview of this practice with the Four Noble Truths

Meeting Resources

  • Use this section if you are looking for a meditation, reading, or discussion topic for a meeting.

  • Read the Book Study page for more ideas on how to work with this page.

Format Options

RD Meditation

Mindfulness

Mindfulness Meditation

RD Meditation

Concentration

Concentration Meditation

Other Sources

Mindfulness & Concentration

Recorded Meditation

RD Reading

Aversion

  • Read: Second Noble Truth

  • Start: Page 14, 1st paragraph: "As people who have..."

  • End: Page 15, 1st paragraph: "...of one day losing them."

  • Length: 2 paragraphs, 325 words, ~2 minutes

Discuss

  • Clinging to impermanent and unreliable things

  • We don't want to be who we are

  • The freedom to choose

RD Reading

Craving

  • Read: Second Noble Truth

  • Start: Page 15, 2nd paragraph: "In the way..."

  • End: Page 15, 3rd paragraph: "...that create suffering."

  • Length: 2 paragraphs, 172 words, ~1 minute

Discuss

  • Craving tells us we’ll only be happy if we get certain results

  • Conditions or circumstances, in and of themselves, don't cause suffering

  • we create more suffering when we act in ways that deny reality

Practice Resources

  • Use this section of the page to support practice between meetings

  • Read the Book Study Title Page for more guidance on how to work with this section.

  • The Inquiry section of this site offers more resources to support an ongoing daily practice.

Refuge in Dharma

Learning the Concepts

  • Choose just one of the readings or the whole chapter to read, underline and study.

  • Think about or write about the title of the reading or the discussion topics listed above


Refuge in Buddha

Brief Personal Meditation

Pause - at least once a day, for a minute or two - to practice any of the following meditations.

  • Mindfulness of Breath or Body : Choose a part of your body and do a brief, compassionate body scan. For instance:

    • Head & shoulders

    • Torso and arms

    • Hips, legs & feet

  • Concentration on Compassion: Repeat to yourself: "May I be kind and gentle with myself

Renunciation Inquiry

  • List five of your most important values in a friend. Write briefly about each one.

Refuge in Sangha

Sangha

  • Meetings: Notice how your insights from this practice relate to the meetings you attend this week.

Wise Friends and Mentors

  • Survey: Every day, practice reaching out to 1-3 Wise Friends you have met at the meeting.

  • Ask each one about their experience with this week's meditation practice or topic.

  • If you don't reach someone, leave a message with your question, and try with 1-3 other Wise Friends tomorrow.

Sangha Support

  • Use this section to integrate Personal Practice with Sangha Practice

  • Read the Book Study Title Page for more guidance on how to work with this section.

Core Intentions


The Practice


Wise Friends & Mentors