GET REAL Reality is threatening when we try to live in our stories and preconceived notions. But when the mind is free of the falsity of delusion, things that are real pose no danger to the mind. RIGHT NOW What you're doing right now is very important -- a principle that applies to any 'right now,' because what you're doing right now is always shaping 'right now' as well as the future. JUST THIS BREATH In one breath you've got everything you need for the practice, so be fully aware right here, and the fullness of your awareness will develop over time without your having to pace yourself or to plan ahead. SHAPING YOUR LIFE As meditators, we can easily slip into the attitude that we're like people watching T.V. -- passive consumers, watching a reality that's ready-made -- but that's not what's really going on. We've always active, always shaping things, even when we seem to be perfectly still. The purpose of the meditation is to be more careful about our intentions, more alert about how we're shaping things. DEVELOPING YOUR POTENTIAL The simple things we already have in the present can be put together in such a way that they can lead to true happiness. We don't have to go searching outside. All we need is to develop what's right here. FIVE TALKS ON ONE CASSETTE OR CD

INTRODUCTION TO BREATH MEDITATION Learn how to enjoy keeping the mind with the breath. If you spend time with the breath, you get sensitive not only to the breath, but also to what the mind is doing in the present moment and to the way it causes unnecessary suffering for itself. GETTING TO KNOW THE BREATH We live with the breath, and yet we don’t know it, and as a result don’t get as much out of it as we could. The breath can provide food, clothing, shelter, and medicine for the mind if you take the time to get to know it well. INSIGHT FROM THE BREATH The type of insight that’s going to make a difference in the mind has to come from the mind’s being solidly based. So, until your mindfulness of the breath is really solid, this is where you want to focus all your efforts. WHY THE BREATH The breath is like a mirror for the mind. When there’s greed, anger, delusion, they’ll show up in the breath. And you find that not only does the breath reflect the mind, but you can use the breath to have a positive effect on the mind as well. THE FULLNESS OF THE BREATH When the breath in the body is full, you find that it’s really resilient and eases your burdens in lots of ways. So experiment to see what a “full breath” is. THE BREATH'S POTENTIAL The mind is like an animal: that if it hasn’t been trained it’s difficult to live with. Once we train it, though, it stops creating so much suffering for itself. So we begin by staying in one place with something really simple: the breath.

Homage to the Blessed, Noble, and Perfectly Enlightened One. Buddham saranam gacchami. I go for refuge to the Buddha

Recollection of the Triple Jewel

I pay homage to Sakyamuni Buddha

I bow my head in devotion to the excellent Buddha

I pay homage to the sage, the great silent sage, the Tathagatha