The constant factor that accompanies all mental states and activities is awareness- the ground of citta. Citta gets conditioned by sankhara of intention, attention and contact. Widening past these we return to awareness.
This talk introduces the four heavenly abodes (Brahma Viharas), their relationship to one another, they're near and far enemies and a range of motivations for practice. The second half of the talk is dedicated to the practice of compassion, the second of the four Brahma Viharas
Conscious recollection (eg of Buddha and of death) uses the doing thinking mind to touch and enter the citta as heart. This shifts us out of our personal mindset into the mind-tone of the sacred.
This talk describes some of the different kinds of happiness available to us through Dhamma practice. All of them are strange in that they do not involve having, getting or getting rid of anything.
In order to cultivate true well-being we need to learn to open to all the suffering in our lives. Living with integrity and learning how to forgive ourselves and others are essential supports in this process as well.
As all dharmas converge on feeling, mindful handling of feeling is crucial for happiness and liberation. Revealing mental feeling through inquiry and handling it skillfully is a thorough practice
Skillful inquiry reveals the factor of feeling in all experience. By resonating empathetically within as it is there is clarity, inspiration and release.
The world of Nature touches us & teaches us how to relate to ourselves as humans rather than socialized citizens. Integrating this can take us beyond our relations and stuck states to hold our lives in the light of Truth.
Ariyan realization is of moving beyond the personal identity. This is a step into vulnerability. Through meditation training we learn to ‘touch the ground’ -purity of intention- where the person can’t go.
The process of awakening joy starts with the intention to place well-being at the center of your life. Mindfulness is then utilized as the basic tool of a joyful life.
These two talks explore the two different kinds of happiness, the blocks to happiness, and the ways that mindful presence and intentional gladdening the heart (positive neuroplasticity) can open us to our full potential for true happiness.
After a brief account of the nature of the judgmental mind, we explore (1) a more direct way of working with judgment through mindfulness, inquiry, reflection, etc.; and (2) a more indirect way of working with judgment, through cultivating awakened states and resources.
Meditation reveals latent tendencies that can spring to life in 'neurotic' ways. To handle these skillfully we use calming, metta and inquiry. Through this these patterns cease.
-The nature of faith in the Triple Gem to replace personality-view.
-The nature of citta (pronounced 'chitta')-heart, mind awareness.
-The difference between disengagement and unfeeling disconnection.
Resolving dukkha comes through revealing its pain, while having the means to do so. These means are samadhi and primary empathy-these take us beyond the trap of conceiving ourselves.
Recollecting that these are the planes we get hit by and stuck in. We see the need to resolve old mamma. Meet it with metta-karuna, welcome the dissonances 'home'.
