Energy is a factor that is useful for preventing or overcoming unwholesome states of mind and for cultivating wholesome states of mind. A joyful mind is a natural outcome of this unfolding prcess that leads to freedom and enlightenment.
This is the opening talk for a retreat that aims to integrate the practice of meditation with the ideas and doctrines that support and illuminate such practice. This talk also includes Stephen Batchelor.
Through meditation practice we can learn to release the pressure and demands we place on our experience to be different, and receive life just as it is. Unconditionally engaging with each moment we can awaken to innate peace and freedom.
Based on one of the great legends from the court of King Arthur, this talk examines the freedom that is possible when we can see past the veil of illusion and realize the true nature that shines through all beings.
This talk discusses the current research in mindfulness, including the areas of physical health, attention, mental health, self-compassion, and brain research.
Life on retreat; life back home. The same? Different? Perhaps there is just life- always. The Buddha’s onapalda sutta (King Pasensadi goes on a diet) will be explored in detail regarding mindful eating as a wisdom practice.
Is this it? Or has transcendence gone out of fashion? An exploration of the Buddha's radical teachings on transcendence and their implications for our practices and for our lives.
With our thoughts we make the world,"says the Buddha. What limiting beliefs do you have about yourself and practice? What would it be like if you were not constrained by them. This talk also explores the different temperaments that people bring to practice, seeing there is no one right personality style that is required for awakening.
Life on retreat; life back home. The same? Different? Perhaps there is just life- always. The Buddha’s onapalda sutta (King Pasensadi goes on a diet) will be explored in detail regarding mindful eating as a wisdom practice.
The Buddha's main instruction to us is how to 'turn our mind' toward that which is good and wholesome and brings the deepest happiness and peace. How do we do that?
One understanding of suffering is that as individuals and a culture we are uprooted, that we have disconnected from our natural world, our inner life and a sense of belonging with each other. Some flags are speediness and over consumption, anxiety and depression. This talk explores how we have become uprooted and the three gateways of rediscovering our natural wholeness, spontaneity and inner freedom.
The source of our awakening is right inside us. As we learn to listen deeply to the wisdom and purity of heart that is connected to the truth we are following the Buddha's instructions to be "be a lamp unto yourself."
When awareness mingles with sensations in the body, it is like returning home after a long journey. So why is it so hard to rest in the immediacy of our experience called 'body'?
To live freshly we will need to go beyond all that is known and familiar to us, which we avoid at all costs. Why do we hold on so tightly when what we are longing for is in the relaxation and letting go?
Ajahn Sumedho reflects on the use of the Four Noble Truths to investigate experience. He also continues to explore the fetters that block the spiritual path, while also speaking about the paticca samuppada, or Dependent Origination.
