Shaila Catherine gave the second talk in a four-week series titled "Cultivating Mindfulness." Shaila explored a number of ways to practice mindfulness of the body according to the Buddhist teachings. These methods include (1) using the body as a way of grounding our attention in the present moment, (2) working with mindfulness of the breath as an aspect of the body, (3) working with sensory experiences, (4) reflecting upon death, (5) seeing the body in terms of the four elements (earth, fire, wind and water) and (6) observing the body as anatomical parts. Methods 5 and 6 allow us to view the body as material constructions. From this perspective we no longer conceive our body as "I" or "mine;" thereby, attachment and ignorance dissolve.

On reclining; social/environmental action;enlightenment;rapture; death

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.

How a friend's death reminds us of the freedom and joy possible as we let go. Specific suggestions that keep us open and let go.

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'.

When universal love leading to liberation of the heart is ardently developed, unrelentingly resorted to, it becomes the foundation of our life. We travel in a divine vehicle, our inheritance from the Buddha, the sublime abiding of mettā, loving kindness. This is our shelter from unwholesome states, a true salve for impure and damaging mental afflictions. More and more as we purify the mind, it triumphs over hateful feelings and forgiveness and compassion are perfected. Indeed, by the power of loving kindness, we are crossing the stream to the farther shore, awakening to the Deathless.

A remembrance of Donald's mother, Bernice, five weeks after her death (4 weeks were in retreat), identifying the main spiritual themes of her life (love and family, music and beauty, and social justice), and exploring the dynamics and sequence of Donald's grieving process.

Softening boundaries Unskillful and skillful abstraction Objectification Friendship with the lovely Supports for entering the stream Buddha, & archetypal mother and father Recollection of death Not being good enough

After a brief review including practicing with "gross" impermanence (and death), we focus on (1) practicing with more subtle, moment-to-moment impermanence, (2) or some characteristic challenges to practicing with impermanence, and (3) on how practicing with impermanence takes us more deeply.

Using citta to cultivate citta with experience; using the imagination / the world of the citta to help steer the citta; using the Five Subjects of Frequent Recollection; taking it up at least at the end of each day; cleaning up at the end of the day

This talk by Shaila Catherine is the first in the speaker series "Doorways to Insight." Shaila Catherine describes the importance that is placed on recognizing and contemplating impermanence. This is one of the three main characteristics that we observe in insight meditation practices. We see and know that things change. Everything is changing—thoughts, emotions, feelings, perceptions, sensations, tastes, and emotions. But when we don't see the impermanence of things, we tend to grasp and cling to them. We tend to want to make them to last, and thereby we identify and become attached. As a result of attachment, we suffer, because they are changing anyway. Can we see beyond things that change, and realize what might be called changeless or deathless, to awaken with insight, to realize nibbana?

the doors to the deathless; right view the essential reference; that which can arise and be gladdened; 11 doors or entry points –4 jhanas, 4 bhrama-viharas and three immaterial states; the Buddha advised meditators to “absorb”, rather than concentrate / tightening up; a sponge must absorb to open up, not contract; need to drench ourselves in withdrawal; viveka, vitaka, vichara, piti and sukka; in the body; using wise (rather than hard or tight) attention; withdrawal from unwise attention; intention (the inclination of the heart) comes before attention and replaces immature lunging in or irresolute attention; make the intention one pointed as the mind settles down and the attention will follow; necessary wise preparation; a wise cow in the mountains; shortcoming of language; tracking the breath through the body, its beginnings and endings; a careful and deliberate enjoying is to be encouraged; open and soften; spread it through the body by directing it; first jhana; seeing the presence and absence of hindrances and learning though the simplicity of the experience of it; it’s like THIS now; not rushed , not biased or corrupted by the mind turning things upside down/ getting things wrong; appreciate the comparative slowness of the dawning quality on the citta; the open moments; pausing at the end of things; what’s helpful now?

1. On energy and breathing; 2. On 'traffic lights' 3. Moderating the practice 4. On dealing with rapture; 5. On world-weariness & death; 6. On choiceless awareness; 7. Mindful responses to sense contact; 8. On 'not being good enough'; 9. On fatigue

Meditation can be thought of as a process of rewilding. The unnatural, toxic ‘me’ sense is removed so that what is natural – good, true and beautiful – can arise. Sometimes conventional life isn’t so beautiful, but we can find conventions and systems that help us practice – sila and recollection of death for example. Take the convention and feel it in the heart. Enjoy it, steady it, extend it.

How to contemplate on death and sickness; “Russial doll”contemplation of body; how to practice for insight; mindfulness as a refuge in busy city life

How to reach jhana; how to know if I’m meditating; feeling warm during meditation; elaborate on channeling breath out of solar plexus; meditation on death; emotions and feeling that arise in meditation – why and what to do with them; doubt; meditation practice vs. study of suttas

This talk explores the 1st Foundation Of Mindfulness, with particular attention to the gift of being with dying

The reflection on death helps us prepare for this unavoidable fact, makes us look at our priorities, and brings much gratitude, joy, and lightness into our life.

Contemplating death as a meditation practice and inquiring together in community encourages us to be more real, clearer about our priorities, and more courageous.

Contemplating death as a meditation practice and inquiring together in community encourages us to be more real, clearer about our priorities and more courageous.

This talk looks at how we are imprisoned by a limited sense of who we are, and how the wings of mindfulness and heartfulness enable us to realize the spirit that is our essence. We then look at how we can bring the wings of freedom to our engagement with others. The talk’s title is the name of a book written by Jarvis Masters, a deeply wise and inspiring African American man currently on death row at San Quentin prison.

Reflections on the benefits of contemplating our mortality.

Exploring this precious birth, views on death, and the promise of practice.

This talk was given as part of the series “Strengthening Mindfulness.” Dukkha, or suffering, includes pain, illness, and death; yet these are inevitable visitors to our lives. It is our practice to gently turn towards what’s difficult and painful in our lives, and understand truly these human experiences. When we are mindful, we become aware that there are the bodily sensations of pain and discomfort that we may not control, and there are our mind’s reactions to these sensations that we may observe and change. Mindfulness of death can lead us to a sense of spiritual urgency, and help us to cultivate compassion for this shared experience among all human kind. This knowledge of commonality can also help us to overcome fear.

Guided meditation on three primary themes, each divided into three sub themes

Trust Emergence 1. Impermanence A-B; 2. TE in nature; 3. Death A-B

Relinquishment and trust. Death as an advisor.

Several body meditations including death

Encountering aging, illness, and death have the power to awaken us out of the sleepy trance of our daily routines. How this happened for the Buddha and how it can happen for us are explored in the first of two talks.

How the teachings and practices of insight meditation (mindfulness) help us navigate the stormy seas of old age, sickness, and death.

We are bound by our biology, and our health, longevity and death are largely out of our control. This talk explores the way our biology impacts us, including the influences of the sex drive, the survival drive and the social drive. Martin looks at how we can explore and understand our biology in such a way as to inhabit it freely.

Kittisaro reflects on his father and his death. The ending of greed, hatred and delusion is nibbana. An analogy from the Shurangama Sutra. Entering the living silence.

Kittisaro reflects on his father's life, as his father approaches death. Seeing and working through the force of greed, hatred and delusion.

The practice of renunciation. Leaving behind & going forth. Contemplation of death. Tolerating uncertainty. Entering the flow of Life as an act of trust. The Great Earth & times of radical shift. Grace. Wisdom of the KoiSan People

Finding a place to rest; preparing a nest to allow the citta to settle with the body; breathing through the body; releasing the past, cleaning the house; mindfulness of death; forgiveness of oneself and others

Our capacity to live and love fully is entirely related to how we open to the truth of impermanence. This talk examines how our ways of trying to control life solidify our perception of being separate and threatened. We then look at the wings of mindful presence and compassion that open us to loss and grief, and reveal the loving awareness that is beyond birth and death.

Introduction to a day on preparing for death.

This talk was given as a part of the series "Enhancing Mindfulness Skills: A Seven-Week Series Dedicated to Cultivating Transformative Insight." This talk focuses on "Four Elements." It is a traditional practice of mindfulness of the body. In ancient India, the materiality of the body was thought to be composed of four elements—earth, fire, wind and water. These four elements, in turn, have twelve characteristics—(earth) heaviness and lightness, hardness and softness, roughness and smoothness; (fire) heat and coolness; (wind) pushing and supporting; (water) fluidity and cohesion. All of these characteristics can be known with our mind and in our body. Discerning the characteristics of material elements will lead to a profound contemplation of impermanence and death. Seeing the impermanence of the body, we know we cannot control it. The body is not-self, it is not possessable, not I, and not eternally me. Understanding the impermanence of material elements and this body composed of elements, we learn to let go. This talk concludes with a guided meditation of body scans, with emphasis on the four elements and their respective characteristics.

This talk was given as a part of the series "Enhancing Mindfulness Skills: A Seven-Week Series Dedicated to Cultivating Transformative Insight." How do we approach the breath? The breath can be used in a variety of ways to enhance mindfulness and to cultivate the insight into impermanence. Observing the breath calms the mind and allows us to tune into present moment experience. By observing the changes in breathing we can assess our feelings, emotions, and moods. Realizing the impermanent, conditioned, changing nature of the breath supports a skillful and powerful recollection of death. Let this contemplation of death be poignant enough to stir a sense of urgency. Reflect on what is really important in life.

The Buddha's advise on death