Mindfulness of the body is absolutely fundamental for our practice and was for the Buddha, both a starting point and an end point. We explore (1) why mindfulness of the body is crucial both in the Buddha's teaching and especially in our highly mental culture; (2) how we practice mindfulness of breathing and mindfulness of postures and activities; and (3) how mindfulness of the body works to transform us.
Why our dear doomed attempts to be well need revising, and how nourishing our spirits while Staying, Loving, Opening and Wondering are the strategies that actually bring wellbeing by clearing the dust away.
It is important to learn the meditation technique, but to adhere too strictly to the form of the practice can mask self-doubt. Risking doing it wrong begins the "art" of practice, and insight develops within the art of quiet observation free from the pressure of failure.
The wisdom of the two truths-the relative and the transcendent, points to a way of being with our experience that acknowledges the beautiful qualities of the heart while opening to the freedom that is available here and now.
The source of our awakening is right inside us. As we learn to listen deeply to the wisdom and purity of heart that is connected to the truth, we are following the Buddha's instructions to "be a lamp unto yourself".
We suffer when our words or actions arise from unconscious wants and fears. This talk explores how we can awaken from the habitual ways we cause harm to ourselves and others, and live from our natural intelligence and tender warmth.
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.
We review briefly our previous practices and investigations of body practices in the last three weeks. We then focus on the body's connection with mind and heart, how we practice individually with each of them, how we explore the dynamic relationship of body, mind, heart. We end by focusing on heart practices for our bodies and those of others, and on opening to the further mysteries of bodies.
