The Buddha spoke of Nekkhama or renunciation as source of happiness. This is because it gives rise to contentment-seeing this moment as complete as it is. This talk explores the experience of inner contentment.
Everyone knows that "things change". Yet as the Mahabarata points out "only the surface-mind understands, the actual sense never goes into our heads".
Exploring our experience deeply, we can move past the surface understanding to deeply recognize this truth.
Practice is more than just opening to suffering. It is a path of happiness. We can incline the mind to open to and awaken wholesome states that lead to well-being and, ultimately, liberation.
The Buddha saw that we continually cling to and create a sense of self out of five aspects of our experience. Seeing this process clearly can lead to the possibility of letting go and freedom.
We often understand our habits and patterns as having many complex layers, and think we need to dive into the midst of the layers in order to "really" understand the pattern. This talk explores a gentle investigation of what is obvious in our experience, which allows a natural, organic understanding to emerge.
Emptiness is creative expression and creative potential. Both appreciating the immediate expression of emptiness as everything as well as emptiness as creative possibility to plant seeds of awakening.
