Meeting aversion with mindfulness can lead to freedom from suffering

Metta is the quality of the heart/mind that wishes for the welfare, happiness and benefit of all sentient beings. Daily practice of Metta can reduce anger, aversion and lead to joy, happiness and concentration. All of which is very critical to the path of liberation.

Overview of the retreat; practicing with anger and aversion.

We continue with the exploration opened up last week in our examination of "skillful desire," starting again with the common misunderstanding of the Buddha's teachings as suggesting giving up all wanting of the pleasant and all not wanting of the unpleasant. There are, to be sure, some passages in the teachings which seem to suggest this approach; here is one example, from the Sallatha Sutta about the results of practice: “Desirable things don't charm the mind, undesirable ones bring no resistance." In the talk, we first review the nature of skillful desire and the distinction between skillful and unskillful desire. A starting reference point is the understanding of the sequence from contact to grasping in the teaching on Dependent Origination and. We look again at the Buddha's teachings on chanda or "skillful desire" and the importance of experiences of pleasure, joy, and happiness in different practice contexts. We then look in a similar way at skillful aversion, asking about the distinction between skillful and unskillful aversion, and pointing especially to the importance of inquiry into the experience of aversion; we look with some detail into the experience of anger. Finally, we connect our explorations with the experience of darkness and light at the time of the Winter Solstice, four days from now.

0:00 Q1 What is the purpose of meditation? 19:14 Q2 I've been practicing for a long time, but recently feel I've reached a plateau with no further progress. Can you advise? 29:53 Q3 [Am I on the right track] when I reach a certain level of samadhi and contemplate the truth, like impermanence? Will wisdom come by itself? 32:02 Q4 In order to practice the parami, do we dwell on each part of them one by one? I'm not aiming for buddhahood, so do I still have to do this parami stuff? 42:25 Q5 Does avijja mostly refer to the illusion of selfhood? 42:49 Q6 Can the viveka /stepping back from anger and aversion gradually chip away at them to complete elimination?

Reflections and guided practice on cultivating karuna (compassion) for a friend and a stranger.

Suffering is the Buddha's 1st Noble Truth. Sometimes it can feel like it's all too much, especially in these days of extreme unpredictability. Legitimate reactions of anger, confusion and discouragement can lead to feeling of hopelessness or resigned acceptance. How can we use the practice to not only skillfully hold those feelings, but to transform them into wholesome uplifting responses such as courage, trust and compassionate action?

Overview of the last 12 months, Conditions that help engagement: 1. contentment and appreciation; Dr Luke Kemp, his study on civilizational collapse and the value of happiness; contentment and burnout; 2. Anger as being pivotal, types of anger; recent world changes related to anger; tempus nullius; risks and care in relation to anger; Aristotle on the value of anger; Mahakala as a helpful image; 3. An inclusive way of looking; Mother Theresa and one’s family circle; Analyo Bhikkhu and the question of what can one do; 4. Equanimity: perspective of John Gray on the myth of progress in the field of ethics and politics - with examples; Philip Blom on a view of homo sapiens and the comedy of homo sapiens seeing itself as the ruler of nature; 5. A sense of duty and the soulful quality that can come with that; 6. Stories and images: Ursula Le Guin and the Ones who Walk Away from Omelas - with an interpretation; James Hillman and Michael Ventura; Kuan Yin as an image and how she is seen by some in a large Buddhist charity.

This dhamma talk, guided meditation, questions and responses was offered on September 6, 2025 for “How do I apply the Dhamma to THIS!?!” 00:00 - Guided Meditation 19:45 - DHAMMA TALK 45:10 - Questions & Responses