There are five factors, known as the jhanic factors, that are cultivated in meditation practice, especially as our practice deepens on long retreats. These factors collect and gather the attention, and then bring the qualities of joy and contentment into the mind and heart. From this place, the mind naturally settles into one-pointedness and equanimity.
The Buddha encouraged cultivating, maintaining and increasing wholesome states in his teaching on Wise Effort. He also said to notice the gladness connected with these states. This helps create the conditions for the highest happiness to be experienced.
This talk explores the Buddha's teaching on not-self through the schema of the five aggregates. A sense of self is created by grasping at form, feeling, perception, formations or consciousness. What is the experience like when no grasping is taking place?
