When we start the spiritual journey we see that our mind is filled with unskillful habits of thought, colored by attachment, aversion and confusion. The Buddha described the process of purification that enables us to purify and transform first our outward conduct, then our thoughts and finally our subtle spiritual aspirations. This purification process leads ultimately to full awakening. The talk includes the Buddha's teaching of how this process works through the simile of the "Refinement of Mind."
A Dharma talk given to the Sierra Insight Sangha on the sutta of the Royal Bull Elephant, Anguttara Nikaya 4.114, on listening, unwholesome mind states, patience, and intention.
The dukkha of restriction is experienced in this very body, and manifest as a person restricted by upbringing, ethnicity and gender (etc) living in a world restricted by nationality and social structures. We can train ourselves in the unrestricted state through meditation and through living in a way that connects the open heart to service, in the ‘all -encompassing world’ touched by goodwill.
Jhāna is an embodiment practice. Absorbing and settling deeply into presence, use awareness to encourage opening each part of the body. Enriched energy and heart can then begin to digest the events of the day and release them.
