Reflections after just having returned from retreat, on (1) the nature and beauty of retreat, (2) the range of practices done---concentration, insight, metta, and open awareness; and (3) the deep intention to connect retreat and daily life.
Using the Satipatthana Sutta as a guide, we explore the first three practices of mindfulness of the body. We point to the great traditional and contemporary importance of mindfulness of the body, and suggest a number of ways to practice in daily life.
Much of our daily life is make-believe. To be with the real we have to withdraw from this charade and embrace our actual experience, including the perception of impermanence.