dharmapunx NYC

We are always evolving, for that is our nature. Our breath, sensory awareness, gut feelings, level of conscious awareness, the content of our thoughts—all that constitutes our present experience and internal landscape—are shifting and flowing. Yet while we live, speak and listen from a perceptual vantage points that are unstable, our innate disposition is to staunchly protect our views, tastes and opinions, even to the point of feeling threatened by other beliefs and world views. This rigidity and defensiveness can be seen as the root of all conflict and disputes, as the Buddha taught in the wonderful “Ball of Honey Lesson” ( Madhupindika Sutta, MN 18): “When we give up our attachment to our views and opinions, we become less obsessive and caught up in our identity views; this in turn brings about a release from the passions that fuel arguments, accusations and lies that in turn lead to violence and unskillful behavior.”  Detaching from ones thoughts and views