Q1 OO:04 Does kamma in its wider implication presume the concept of rebirth? Q2 17:09 Doesn’t the need for goal orientedness in life work against practice? Q3 21:34 During meditation can I approach a personal issue that requires attention? Q4 26:17 Is it possible to be fully present with an open heart? Could you explain that please? Q5 29:35 Does slow mean mindful? Isn’t it intention that’s important? Q6 33:58 Could you talk more about annata and self please? Q7 20:14 Q8 Why does standing meditation seem more effective than sitting? Is there a time or situation where standing is recommended over other postures? Q9 43:58 How can I give back living more than I take living in Switzerland? Q10 45:22 In developing samadhi, is it possible to have periods where we have to refocus more on bodily sensations and drop the external? Q11 48:19 How can we reflect on God and Christ in dhamma practice? Q12 51:09 Restlessness is my most frequent hindrance. How do I deal with it? Q13 52:19 I contemplate death daily and often get a heavy heart about being separated from my two children. How can I come to peace with that? Q14 57:38 Could you do a brief summary of your top five wisdoms? Q15 1:03:52 If QiGong is so relaxing and low energy why do I sweat?

Practice means moving out and returning repeatedly, discovering the end of the world – our kammic predicament - that must be experienced internally, “in this very body”.

This meditation establishes an atmosphere of loving kindness with the “smile”; relaxes and awakens through the body; and guides us into a spacious presence. We then rest in that presence, letting go of any controlling, and simply allow life to be as it is. It’s in “letting be” that we come home to the luminosity and tenderness of natural awareness. We close with a verse from Mary Oliver…

It’s natural that we do what we can to ward off danger and further ourselves. While our control strategies – such as aggression, judging, planning, seeking approval, pretending – have a developmental role, they are not a recipe for happiness, intimacy and freedom. An essential part of our evolution is to recognize when we are over-managing our lives, and learn to let go of the controls. These talks explore how we can release the grip of the over-controller, and the profound awakening of our hearts and minds that is possible in the shift from doing to being.

Recognizing the primary importance of the internal domain is essential for right view. Unlike other species we can cultivate love and wisdom, to benefit all creatures coming after us.

Meditation instructions are often interpreted as paying pointed attention. But wide attention allows energy and mind to decompress. Cultivating a cool awareness of the body is the key to this.

Graduated Discourse 5

Q1 00:12 Can you say more about stream entry. What is it? Q2 19:26 Are open awareness and presence the same? Is citta who we essentially are? Q3 22:39 I find staying with the breath difficult and more conducive to sleepiness than to gratefulness. What can I do? Q4 26:59 I fight sloth and torpor that seems to be due to self inflicted isolation. Q5 31:10 Can you say more about QiGong? Why do you do this rather than yoga asanas? Q6 36:37 What is the optimal time of day to practice? Q7 38:04 A 74 year old relative is developing dementia and Altzheimers. What is happening to the mind here? Could a practice be developed in this case? Q8 46:01 How do we meet feelings of fear? Or unwanted sexual attention? Q9 47:46 How can I meet the pain caused by my father who died when I was nine? I’d like to forgive him. Q10 51:08 Can you speak more about relational field and the experience of being a human among human beings? Q11 1:04:10 What is the difference between sankara and latent tendencies?

Get a sense of this skin bag moving through space. Where do the internal and external meet? How does the body organize itself as it moves?

Learning to meet experiences we like and don't like. What meets? Cultivating space for the meetings provides understanding of our cravings and the arising of faith in our dhamma potential.

We need tools to travel in the internal body- mind domain. Developing mindfulness allows us to witness the settling and the arising of samadhi, noticing the non-events in between the events.

The ever-changing nature of experience is fundamental to Buddhist understanding. Learning how to directly apprehend these dynamic energies reveals the deathless.

Intention, and wise attention