We exist and move in the world of sense contacts, and yet often we neglect to examine this relationship very deeply, or it becomes just another way to judge ourselves. Can we challenge our assumptions, habits and views and inquire caringly in this area in order to open to a more profound and unexpected freedom?
A discussion with community member Janet Keyes about a proposal to create a community support network with the intention of helping the IMCB sangha grow in caring and connection. The evening includes an invitation to attend an introductory meeting to help identify priorities and move forward in creating a more caring community. The talk also includes James reading a moving letter from Barack Obama to a 4-year old girl.
The way we experience ourselves and the world is highly conditioned by our perceptions , known as sañña in the Buddhist teachings. Through the process of perception we judge and filter our experience, preventing us from seeing things as they really are. The practice of mindfulness offers the possibility of working directly with our perceptions, and even inclining the mind towards more skillful and pleasant ways of experiencing ourselves and the world.
The Buddha taught that when our understanding of impermanence is direct and non-conceptual, it is liberating. By directly opening to the radical impermanence of all experience, including the truth of our own mortality, we discover the natural capacity to let go. With this "mind that clings to no thing" awakens wisdom, authentic spontaneity and a natural cherishing of life.
