I marvel at Google. I just do. Here's why.
Sitting, an insight arises as it did a few days ago. And right there, in the mind, vague remembrance of fragments of a sutta read long ago. Ancient wisdom with the power to stretch what I just felt and began to understand.
Before Google, to retrieve the whole teaching, I would have had to go through indexes, tables of content, a whole book of discourses even, or I would have had to ask my teacher.
Now, I find the sutta I am looking for, in just a few seconds. It goes like this. Simply go to Access to Insight, type enough keywords, click on 'Suttas only', and voila! One or several possibilities come up, and it does not take long before the familiar words surface within their original context. I usually copy the most relevant excerpt, and paste it into Blogger post editor. Blogging then becomes an extension of my meditation, a way of remembering the whole process of sitting, experiencing, and further reflecting based on relevant teachings.
Awesome!
How else have you find technology helpful for your practice?
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yes, google for sure is one of the amazing aspects of the virtual world for finding all kinds of Dharma writings, especially when only a snippet of something is remembered, as you mention. I also discover new work (to me) and teachers. Just the other day I discovered Nina Wise and am totally smitten by her presentation of the Dharma.
ReplyDeleteI also love having Tricycle's daily dharma come to my inbox. It's just lovely to have a new aspect of the dharma to ponder each day.
And then there is the "community" of like minded practitioners like yourself sharing wisdom.
And the art and artists available is another big treat for me.
When I started blogging I was awed by the what is available to us through this 13" screen. My world enlarged. And using technology mindfully is good practice!
Yes, Carol, only taking the good from technology . . . Easier said than done. As with anything pleasurable, the danger of clinging indiscriminately lurks :)
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