Taking off your social identity is a huge relief. Examine the qualities of heart, mind and body. Authenticity and persistence are food for the heart.

Ajahn gives a dhamma talk and answers questions at the 17th International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony. 00:00 Introduction 03:15 Dhamma talk 41:27 Q&A - Questions are précised. 41:27 Q1: On retreat I can sit for about 45 minutes before I have to move, but outslde retreat, I can sit still for only about 20-25 minutes. Can you advise me please? 57:12 Q2: Can you clarify please ' I read a translation that says one mark of awareness is 'holding'. But my experience is that it is discernment or acknowledgement that is a mark. 1:00:40 Q3: I have read the word 'feeling' being applied to the body and also 'feeling' applied to the mind. But my understanding is that feeling is in the mind only and what the body experiences in called a sensation, not a feeling. Can you clarify this? 1:02:23 Q4: Why is 'form' included in the 5 kandas / skandas? It seems I experience 'feeling', not form. 1:04:29 Q5: Can you please describe the 37 path factors? (Ajahn says he will address it in his talk on Dec 8th). 1:05:50 Q6: Regarding attachment, how can we relinquish attachments when we also want to live in a state of love and compassion with others? Is there not a conflict there? 1:10:25 Q7: We do meditation to empty our minds, but can we live in this world with an empty mind? 1:13:24 Q8: I am new at this and struggle to conduct a practice and not being imposed on by kalyanamitta who advise me not to meditate but only to serve. 1:14:47 Q9: (in view of your answer) Should we then practice alone and not have kalyanamitta? What is sangha then? 1:16:39 Q10: Is consciousness really conscious in itself or is it dependent?

We use retreat experience to loosen up how we see and experience our habits and feelings. We see citta being shaped by clinging, being bound into the aggregates.

Guided meditation on sīlanussati. Dhamma Talk: SN22.1 Nakula's Father. Discussion of Sāriputta's analysis of what is meant by the Buddha's statement on coping with old age: “Even though I am afflicted in body, my mind will be unafflicted.”

00:00 Retreat culture seems rather elitist in some ways. What would the Buddha make of IMS Forest Refuge? 04:13 You talked about feeling feelings, so they can move through. Any tips on how to do this without getting embroiled in negative feelings? 19:28 Can you talk about working with knots or obsessions that are very strong? 26:33 Can you speak about neutral vedena. It seems most experience is neutral. 28:46 What is meant by worldly and unworldly vedena? 30:25 What is meant by internal and external vedena? Might external mean sensitive to other beings, being sensitive to their presence? 35:30 What is the relationship of the citta, the fine material, the ordinary sensorial body and to the felt sense of embodiment?42:09 How does the citta settle into knowing? 47:28 Regarding upekkha and the other brahma vihara, when do these wholesome states become another “project”, something to do? 49:37 What’s the difference between upekkha in the brahma vihara and upekka as an enlightenment factor? 51:31 How can one fulfil ones’ duties, roles and responsibilities in a way that inclines towards letting go and releasing the sense of self? 57:54 I’ve been taught that it’s better to pause and linger at the end of the inhalation but it seems to get tight. What can you suggest?

All things converge on feeling. Using mindfulness, we can scan our experience, developing authority over feeling - and wisdom to discern how things actually are.

Includes a 15-minute introduction.

Reflections on the beautiful qualities that have supported this retreat, and celebration of what's been achieved here

Body awareness notices the energy that creates form, of the body and the mind/citta. It creates a "me", a blueprint for suffering. Wisdom is an observer that is not taken over by it.

In this interview, Mingyur Rinpoche shares about his 4 1/2 years on a wandering retreat and the lessons he learned from a near-death experience. The two then talk about what it means to befriend panic as well as other strong emotions, and the qualities that express our intrinsic awareness. They also talk about compassion for our world, the evolution of consciousness, and the value of hope.

Every moment of right mindfulness is a gift of pure attention, clarity and discovering the true origin of our pain. Applying the alchemy of kindness and compassion towards ourselves and others, we break through the veils of delusion to experience a selfless happiness, peace, and wise benevolence. Measureless are these blessings of the Dhamma.

Simplicity is not about wearing one colour, shaving your head or fasting but rather a way of mental fasting. When we choose simplicity, we have time to stop, and to observe and study the mind. We see the extent of our suffering and the origin of it. This is of great value to us. Start simplifying on the outside, then slowly draw inward to see the complex world of our ideas, thoughts, fears, longings, and attachments. Stop defending our vulnerability and investigate it. Make time for what is precious. Simplicity reveals the silence and sameness of life that can help us discover the deepest truth of our conditionality and the way to free ourselves from it. That is our work. No one else can do it for us

The citta is open and gets formed and filled with whatever the input is and forms a me.

In meditation practice, particular places of hurt me arise repeatedly. These places may be is by mindful reflection on the theme of forgiveness and the wisdom of letting go.

Practicing to experience energies which are subtle and supple, physically and mentally. Goodwill allows the citta to flow and release stuck states.

Exploring practices from the first establishment of mindfulness that support insight into impermanence of the body, and some of the benefits that come from prractising maranasati, contemplation of our own mortality

Practicing to experience energies which are subtle and supple, physically and mentally. Goodwill allows the citta to flow and release stuck states.

There is unaware nutriment/ input and awakened input involving deep attention and the enlightenment factors. Practice helps us to spot how unawareness leads to tunnel vision.

At times our heart-mind can feel spacious, tender and open. At other times it can feel hardened, tense and closed. Can we recognise, understand more deeply and even honor these movements of the heart-mind, without creating seemingly unbridgable dualities?