Loving awareness - mindfulness and compassion arising together

Most of us have a strong habit of not measuring up to our idealized standards of who we would like to be. Understanding this habit with compassion and learning to skillfully work with it as practice can become a potent doorway to awakening.

Guided compassion meditation

Compassion is a central quality in life and practice - and is a beautiful expression of an awakened life. This talk explores what compassion is and how it can be developed and integrated into mindful awareness.

Developing the skill of recollection and the experience on the citta; where does the meaning sit?; the arising of citta to meaning; cultivating the immeasureables; the experience comes first; what is the quality of being touched by others’ suffering? Being willing to stay present with that is the movement of compassion; mudita; appreciating a feature or lucky moment for another, for oneself; appreciating the absence of physical pain; learning, sustaining and enriching the experience

coming out of self view; bringing forth energy; recalling the spiritual faculties; applying wise energy regardless of the system used; calm as a consequence of faith and confidence; two recollections; don’t let the citta be bound by historical or domestic considerations; willingness to do the work; feeding the citta; mindfulness of the body, the inevitable decay of the body; what is it that evades or finds truth uncomfortable; differing views of Samadhi; the” I-am” looking for support; learning to push away the hindrances through experience; noticing craving, ill will and resistance; using metta, compassion, mudita, upekkha to approach unification of the citta by removal of the 5 hindrances; now is the time to rise up to it; restlessness, boredom, doubt; know them as they are not as myself; this is not worthy of this citta; using the wisdom factor to find appropriate attention; who is that?; feel how it is; going beyond thought; discernment of the release of grasping; the shift moment and the growth of confidence in it; noticing the struggle to find something; what about the measurelessness/ the sign-less?

metta (good will/ loving kindness –the experience of the lovability of beings), karuna (compassion – sees the vulnerability of beings), mudita (sympathetic joy - experience of the enjoyment of one’s own and others’ good states)and upekkha (equaminity – the ability to be present with the ups and downs of phenomena); the citta has 2 inputs – feelings(from body or mental perception) and associations/ images/ impressions; skillful intention and the associated joy; volition and sustaining volition as a characteristic of the citta; to others as to myself; the citta adopts various clothes, one of which is “me”; the citta is abundant, rich, calm, exhaulted, measureless/ suffusing, free from hostility and ill will; the significance of the metaphors of language; the measureless empathy of the Buddha; “just like me”, we are all like this as a source of the volition; it’s not so much object oriented as cultivating states of mind and freeing the citta from any state of ill will; identifying the signs that lead to the bonding with / settling of the citta and unification of the mind; find one that works for you; the object one chooses to facilitate this is not important; pitfalls and sidetracks to be avoided in the cultivation – the story of other particular people and of the self, thinking of the past and the future ; finding satisfaction and comfort; the wisdom faculty sees it has been identified and sustained and not owned personally

Includes chanting, recognizing space can be balancing and intimately tender.

The merging of wisdom and compassion. How to unite the heart and the mind.

In the spirit of beginning again and with a renewed zeal for the promised goal of a mind liberated from suffering and a heart available for impartial compassionate response, this day is spent practicing Mindfulness and Metta Meditation.

In the spirit of beginning again and with a renewed zeal for the promised goal of a mind liberated from suffering and a heart available for impartial compassionate response, this day is spent practicing Mindfulness and Metta Meditation.

The archetypal figure of the Bodhisattva (“awakening being”) reflects our potential to realize our connectedness with all beings, and care for this living world with an open tender heart. This talk explores the four types of patterning that keep us stuck in the pain of separation and the key heart practices that evolve us on the bodhisattva path. "Compassion arises when you see the truth behind the veils."

This new version of the acronym RAIN is a powerful way of bringing compassion to the life within you, and to attuning and deepening compassion for others.

This solstice talk explores two pathways to realizing the Secret Beauty that is our essence. One is through the compassion that arises when we stay with vulnerability and suffering, and the other is through love that arises as we learn to see the goodness that shines through all beings.

The Buddha teaches us about seven lights to gain true freedom. They are none other than the factors of enlightenment. Three are dynamic skills that deeply cleanse the mind. In turn, these give rise to four 'septic friendly' brightening agents that lead us to inner wisdom. We learn how to practice forgiveness and compassion, and how to awaken to a selfless benevolence - an unassailable joy, peace and complete freedom of heart.

This talk explores three key features of the trance of unworthiness and introduces a guided meditation based on a new version of the acronym RAIN that awakens self-compassion and de-conditions the suffering of being at war with ourselves. Please visit www.tarabrach.com/selfcompassion/ for a written description of the new version of the RAIN practice.

It is not uncommon for us to feel confused, numb, angry or overwhelmed when we hear about environmental change and uncertainty. The health of our planet, our homes, our bodies and minds all depend on the continuous balancing of so many interdependent natural processes. It is no surprize that we often prefer distraction and denial rather than an honest acknowledgement of this uncertain dynamic. In this workshop we will explore how a fearless opening to uncertainty can be the cause for a more wise and compassionate response to this world we share together. These Living the Practice Workshops include talks, guided meditations, guided reflections, and large and small group discussions designed to reveal the essential art of awakening wisdom and compassion in our actual lives.

Desire is intrinsic to our aliveness, yet when we have unmet needs, it can possess us. This talk explores how to relax open the grip of wanting and heal the suffering of addiction. You will learn how to bring mindfulness and compassion to the roots of desire, and be carried home to open loving presence. “Recovery is also about spirit – about dealing with that ‘hole in the soul’ … so how does this hole get filled and become holy space?”