{"id":3499,"date":"2022-03-05T21:39:09","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T21:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/?p=3499"},"modified":"2022-03-07T18:58:40","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T18:58:40","slug":"have-few-desires-number-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/?p=3499","title":{"rendered":"Have Few Desires Number ONE"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-header\">\n<div class=\"nv-title-meta-wrap\">\n<h1 class=\"title entry-title\">Cooped Up? A Good Time for the Eight Awarenesses \u2013 First of Eight<\/h1>\n<ul class=\"nv-meta-list\">\n<li class=\"meta author vcard\"><span class=\"author-name fn\">by\u00a0<a title=\"Posts by Yao Xiang Shakya\" href=\"https:\/\/zatma.org\/?author=6\" rel=\"author\">Yao Xiang Shakya<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"meta date posted-on\"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2020-03-22T20:42:42+00:00\">March 22, 2020<\/time><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"nv-thumb-wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/MF.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/MF.jpg 240w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/MF-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/MF-180x240.jpg 180w\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"320\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"nv-content-wrap entry-content\">\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<blockquote>\n<h1><a href=\"http:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Eight-Awarenesses-GLOW.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2583 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Eight-Awarenesses-GLOW-241x300.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Eight-Awarenesses-GLOW-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Eight-Awarenesses-GLOW-822x1024.jpg 822w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Eight-Awarenesses-GLOW-768x957.jpg 768w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Eight-Awarenesses-GLOW-193x240.jpg 193w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Eight-Awarenesses-GLOW.jpg 994w\" alt=\"\" width=\"241\" height=\"300\" \/>Have Few Desires<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In late winter the sugar ants arrive, uninvited.\u00a0 We first notice one or maybe two walking across our counter top, scouts checking, we are not sure just what they are checking.\u00a0 Then, a few days later there are a few more boldly walking on spoons and cups waiting to be washed.\u00a0 A dollop of jam left on a knife is soon covered with ants.\u00a0 And when at night we are too tired to clean-up the kitchen, the morning reveals lines of marching ants\u2026going back and forth with their booty.<\/p>\n<p>The arrival of the ants is very much like the arrival of desire in our mind.\u00a0 We notice a small desire\u2026wanting more sunshine, fewer clouds, warmer weather.\u00a0 These are scouts that lead to more and more desire\u2026moving to a warmer climate, which means a new house (renting or buying) and then selling or renting the one we have and finding a moving company and giving away furniture or selling it.\u00a0 On and on it goes.\u00a0 Our desires swarm around things, forms, feelings, perceptions, impulses, memories, experiences, fears.\u00a0 This is how we think\u2026wanting and not wanting.\u00a0 Our desires just like the ants keep coming.\u00a0 And soon we are miserable.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past few years we\u2019ve tried many strategies with the ants. Most of them involved killing lots and lots of ants. The ant problem eventually gets solved with great sorrow and regret at killing so many ants, which really aren\u2019t causing any harm.<\/p>\n<p>This year, thinking about the arrival of ants and the arrival of desire in the mind we are working with a practice of simplicity and persistence.\u00a0 With the ants, it is obvious:\u00a0 put all food away, leave nothing on the counters.\u00a0 Rinse off all silverware, dishes, cups, glasses.\u00a0 Wipe the counters down every time food is prepared.\u00a0 Do this all day, every day.\u00a0 The ants can scout around but they won\u2019t find anything to message home about.<\/p>\n<p>Simplicity and persistence can also work with desire.\u00a0 We can physically begin to simplify our life, so example:\u00a0 put away everything we take out.\u00a0 If what we take out doesn\u2019t have a \u201chome\u201d clean out drawers and closets until there is a place to simply put away what we take out.\u00a0 Do this all day every day.<\/p>\n<p>With mental desires, a key is to simply catch it when it comes up\u2026see it scouting around for other desires to latch onto.\u00a0 To begin with maybe we won\u2019t see the scout desires, we will only notice desires when they become swarms\u2026entangled thoughts.\u00a0 Persistent practice can help here\u2026when you notice a desire filled thought,\u00a0 just say \u201cSTOP\u201d and move the mind away from the swarm.\u00a0 It takes persistence to pay attention to what our mind is up to.\u00a0 In fact, if we want to have few desires we must pay attention all the time\u2026minute by minute, hour by hour.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>PRACTICE<\/h4>\n<p>Memorize. Repeat. Practice.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/mental-desires-little-thoughts.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2591\" src=\"http:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/mental-desires-little-thoughts-198x300.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/mental-desires-little-thoughts-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/mental-desires-little-thoughts-675x1024.jpg 675w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/mental-desires-little-thoughts-768x1164.jpg 768w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/mental-desires-little-thoughts-1013x1536.jpg 1013w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/mental-desires-little-thoughts-158x240.jpg 158w, https:\/\/zatma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/mental-desires-little-thoughts.jpg 1048w\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/old.zatma.org\/Dharma\/zbohy\/Images\/birdborder.gif\" alt=\"Humming Bird\" width=\"540\" height=\"35\" \/><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Author: Lao di Zhi Shakya<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Old Earth<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Zen Contemplative Priest of the Order of Hsu Yun<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Image credits: Fly, 2020<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">ZATMA is not a blog.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0If for some reason you need elucidation on the teaching,<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">please contact editor at:\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:yao.xiang.editor@gmail.com\" data-slimstat=\"5\">yao.xiang.editor@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cooped Up? A Good Time for the Eight Awarenesses \u2013 First of Eight by\u00a0Yao Xiang Shakya March 22, 2020 Have Few Desires &nbsp; In late winter the sugar ants arrive, uninvited.\u00a0 We first notice one or maybe two walking across our counter top, scouts checking, we are not sure just what they are checking.\u00a0 Then,&hellip;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11,4,184,12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english","category-espanol","category-essays","category-essays-by-old-earth","category-french","category-uncategorized"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3499"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3501,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3499\/revisions\/3501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}