Exploring our understanding of death conventionally and from a Buddhist perspective

First, we consider further some of the qualities of mudita, how joy is central to the teachings of the Buddha, how the cultivation of joy is crucial for being able to address difficulties and painful situations, how joy can be understood as a deep expression of our fundamental nature, and how joy can be present even in the midst of difficulties. Then we explore the nature of equanimity, pointing to several of the qualities of equanimity, including balance, evenness, unshakability, undetstanding and wisdom, warmth, and responsiveness. We also examine some of the typical distortions of equanimity and importance of the interconnection of the four brahmavihara as one to avoid such distractions.

What is your personal relationship with Death?

Final day of our week reflecting on a year of life in the pandemic.

Exploring The Three Characteristics

This is a meditation to support arriving and settling in the body, mindfulness of breath, and opening to more of a natural awareness of the sense doors including sight and sound.

Have you ever wondered how your mind can move from one thought to getting lost in a complex story without you knowing how you got there? The Buddha describes this process in his Honeyball Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya #19) where he explains the phenomenon of papanća or proliferation of thought. The more we understand this porcess and work with it as practice, the less we get caught up in the stories the mind creates.

We begin with a 5-step process for caring for strong emotions and then look at ways to cultivate and strengthen the Brahmavihara of mudita or joy, also in relation to working with jealousy.