Practical Buddhism

Dr Paramabandhu Groves is a Consultant in addiction psychiatry in London. He trained in medicine at Cambridge University and University College London and is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists of Britain and Ireland. Dr Groves has lived and taught at the London Buddhist Centre for over 20 years. He is the clinical director of Breathing Space, which teaches mindfulness meditation for depression, addiction and for carers. He is a Core Process Psychotherapist and has developed Kindness BehaviourTraining (KBT) to complement the mindfulness courses at Breathing Space.

Contents



Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. xi

Forewords:

Dr. Sarah Eagger ............................................................................................xiii

Vishvapani Blomfield........................................................................................xv



Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1



Chapter 1: The Buddha in Context .................................................................... 3

The Historical Context.......................................................................................3

The Four Sights..................................................................................................4

Going Forth........................................................................................................4

The Buddha’s Awakening ..................................................................................5

The Buddha’s Teaching Career .......................................................................... 6

The Spread of Buddhism ...................................................................................6

Early Buddhism .............................................................................................7

Mahāyāna Buddhism ..................................................................................... 7

Vajrayāna Buddhism ...................................................................................... 8

Western Buddhism ......................................................................................... 8

The Significance of the Buddha’s Life for Us Today.........................................8



Chapter 2: Starting with Mindfulness ............................................................. 11

What is Mindfulness? ......................................................................................11

Breath and Body ..............................................................................................12

Patterns of the Mind.........................................................................................13

1. Sense Desire.............................................................................................13

2. Aversion ...................................................................................................13

3. Anxiety ..................................................................................................... 13

4. Sleepiness.................................................................................................14

5. Doubt........................................................................................................14

Misconceptions About Meditation...................................................................15

Mindfulness Outside of Meditation ................................................................. 16

Practising Mindfulness Meditation..................................................................17

Guided Meditation: Mindfulness of Breath and Body.................................17
Preparation ............................................................................................... 17

Stage one..................................................................................................17

Stage two..................................................................................................18

Concluding the practice ........................................................................... 18



Chapter 3: Working with Difficult Thoughts and Emotions..........................19

Rumination and Catastrophic Thinking ..........................................................20

Turning Towards Our Experience .................................................................... 20

Ways to Help Turning Towards Our Experience..............................................22

1. Accept, Don’t Reject................................................................................22

2. Move Towards and Investigate.................................................................22

3. Look for the Deeper Meaning..................................................................23

Guided Meditation: Mindfulness of Breath and Body Working

with Difficult Thoughts and Emotions.............................................................24
Preparation ............................................................................................... 24

Stage one..................................................................................................25

Stage two..................................................................................................25

Concluding the practice ........................................................................... 26



Chapter 4: Introducing Kindness.....................................................................27

Why Kindness is Important .............................................................................28

Kindness True and False .................................................................................. 28

Weak Kindness.............................................................................................28

Stupid Kindness ........................................................................................... 29

Manipulative Kindness ................................................................................29
Sentimental Attachment ............................................................................... 29
True Kindness .............................................................................................. 29

Cultivating Kindness in Five Stages — The Mettā Bhāvanā...........................30

(1) Self .........................................................................................................30

(2) A Friend..................................................................................................30

(3) A Neutral Person .................................................................................... 31

(4) A Difficult Person...................................................................................31

(5) All Beings...............................................................................................31

Some Tips for Cultivating Kindness ................................................................ 32

Kindness is Not Toothpaste! ........................................................................ 32

Start with Receptivity...................................................................................32

Intention is More Important Than Feeling...................................................32

Kindness Breathing Space ............................................................................... 33

Practising Kindness Meditation ......................................................................33

Guided Kindness Meditation ......................................................................34



Chapter 5: Living Skilfully ...............................................................................37

Karma and Happiness ...................................................................................... 38

The Five Precepts.............................................................................................39

(1) Abstention from Taking Life and Practising Loving Kindness .............. 39

(2) Abstention from Taking The Not-given and Generosity ........................41

(3) Abstention from Sexual Misconduct and Contentment..........................42

(4) Abstention from False Speech and Truthfulness .................................... 43

(5) Abstention from Intoxicants and Mindfulness ....................................... 44

Practising the Precepts and the Environment...................................................45



Chapter 6: Taking the Teachings to Work ....................................................... 47

The Buddha’s Emphasis on Right Livelihood ................................................. 47

Right Livelihood at the Time of the Buddha................................................48

Right Livelihood Today ...............................................................................49

Working Skilfully in Any Context ................................................................... 51



Chapter 7: Friendship ....................................................................................... 53

The Third Jewel of Buddhism: Sangha............................................................53

Gaining Guidance from More Experienced Practitioners................................54

Finding Support and Understanding from Peers..............................................55

Reaching Out to Others....................................................................................57



Chapter 8: Ritual and Devotion........................................................................59

The Language of the Imagination....................................................................59

Negative Connotations of Ritual......................................................................60

Imagining Enlightenment.................................................................................60

Bowing and Offerings..................................................................................61

Mantras and Chanting..................................................................................62
Pūjā .............................................................................................................62



Chapter 9: Buddhism and Psychotherapy.......................................................65

Mindfulness for Mental Health........................................................................65

Buddhism, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy....................................................67

Psychotherapy for Buddhists ........................................................................... 67

Choosing a Therapist ................................................................................... 69

The Goals of Buddhism and Psychotherapy................................................69

Chapter 10: Wisdom and the Big Picture ........................................................ 71

Finding Freedom is the Final Aim of Buddhism .............................................71

The Three Marks of Conditioned Existence .................................................... 72

1. Impermanence..........................................................................................72

2. Insubstantiality.........................................................................................72

3. Unsatisfactoriness .................................................................................... 74

Cultivating Wisdom .....................................................................................76

The Underlying Principle of Conditionality .................................................... 77

Different Orders of Conditionality...................................................................77

Acting Through the Karma Order............................................................77

Opening Up to the Dharma Order............................................................78

Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 78



Notes ....................................................................................................................81
Resources ............................................................................................................. 89

Online Resources ............................................................................................. 89

Further Reading...............................................................................................89
Index ..................................................................................................................... 93