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    The Four Sublime States: The Brahmaviharas
    The Four Sublime States: The Brahmaviharas
    The Four Sublime States: The Brahmaviharas
    Ebook39 pages39 minutes

    The Four Sublime States: The Brahmaviharas

    By David Tuffley

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    About this ebook

    The Four Sublime States were a subject very dear to the heart of the Buddha. He spoke of them often. A person can achieve rebirth in a Brahma realm through the practice and attainment of the Four Sublime States; unconditional love, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

    Sometimes called the Brahmaviharas (or divine abodes) they describe an attainable divine state in which your mind, imbued with the virtues of the four states reaches out to embrace the entire world and all of the sentient creatures within it.

    The Four Sublime States are the best possible relationship with the world and everyone in it. They also offer the possibility of liberation from the cycle of re-birth when your time comes to leave this life. Could there be a more worthy goal in life than this? The Buddha urged people to adopt these sublime states as their habitual state of mind.

    This book outlines a way for you to cultivate these states of mind which have great practical value for how you relate to the world. They engender harmony and good-will with others and with society as a whole. They act as levellers of social barriers, and makes us feel generous towards others as we widen our circle of care to include everyone in the world, not just our immediate family and friends.

    A mind that has attained the four states is untroubled by random thoughts and petty considerations. The consciousness that flows through it is calm and majestic, like a mighty river fed from pure mountain springs. The river flows into the sea but the sea level does not rise because an equal amount of water has evaporated, become clouds, and then fallen as rain on the mountain again. This dynamic process illustrates the essence of equanimity.

    With the four sublime states firmly established and working in dynamic harmony, mindfulness blends with faith, courage with serenity, and insight with strength of purpose. They combine to make you an unstoppable force of nature. You are no longer prone to being trapped in the labyrinth of your own base nature, you have risen above it.

    Your mind becomes like a facetted jewel. The light that comes into it is reflected back out to the world as a beautiful focussed beam of light; healing, dynamic, divine.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAltiora Publications
    Release dateFeb 9, 2012
    ISBN9781466070479
    The Four Sublime States: The Brahmaviharas
    Author

    David Tuffley

    David Tuffley (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & Socio-Technical Studies at Griffith University in Australia.David writes on a broad range of interests; from Comparative Religion, Anthropology, Psychology, Ancient and Modern History, Linguistics, Rhetoric, Philosophy, Architectural History, Environments and Ecosystems.

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      Book preview

      The Four Sublime States - David Tuffley

      The Four Sublime States: The Brahmaviharas

      Contemplations on Love, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy & Equanimity

      David Tuffley

      Published by Altiora Publications at Smashwords

      www.altiorapublications.com

      © Copyright 2012 David Tuffley

      But if you do not find an intelligent companion, a wise and well-behaved person going the same way as yourself, then go on your way alone, like a king abandoning a conquered kingdom, or like a great elephant in the deep forest – The Buddha.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

      About the Author

      David Tuffley PhD is a Lecturer and researcher at Griffith University in Australia. David has a broad range of interests; Anthropology, Psychology, Philosophy, Ancient and Modern History, Linguistics, Rhetoric, Comparative Religions, Architectural History, Environments and Ecosystems.

      David Tuffley’s Profile & other eBooks: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tuffley

      Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tuffley/

      Contents

      Introduction

      The Immeasurables

      Meditations on the Four States

      The Four Sublime States

      Love

      Compassion

      Sympathetic Joy

      Equanimity

      Dynamic interaction of the Sublime States

      Essential Truth

      The essence of Buddhism

      The Four Noble Truths

      Equanimity and the Tao

      Introduction

      Many people have heard of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-Fold Path. These were the subject of the Buddha’s first address after becoming enlightened. They rightly form the foundation of Buddhist thought and can be seen for reference in a later chapter called Essential Truth.

      Fewer people have heard of the Four Sublime States. They naturally follow the Four Noble Truths because they describe how to achieve a divine state of mind that leads to the best possible relations with the world and everyone in it, plus liberation from the cycle of re-birth when your time comes to leave this life. Could there be a more worthy goal in life than this? The Buddha urged people to adopt these sublime states as their habitual state of mind, making them your living space, your abode.

      The Four Sublime States are benevolence, compassion, sympathetic happiness, and mental calmness. This book outlines a practical way for you to cultivate these states of mind

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