Mindfulness as a practice begins with bare attention to sense – contact, establishing safety, ground and balance. Breathing trains us in terms of proper attunement. This non-grasping awareness gives fruition in the Four Noble Truths.
Prayer is a communing with our enlarged being. This talk examines less conscious forms of prayer, and how we can evolve the power of our prayers by opening into the depth of our longing, and reaching toward our true belonging.
Sylvia and Donald introduce John Namkung, a practitioner of the Wednesday community at Spirit Rock. John reflects on why he decided to help the refugees. He presents photos and videos of his experiences in the accompanying PowerPoint presentation.
Awake awareness includes both the foreground of bodily sensations, thoughts, feelings and sounds, and the background of open, still presence. In this meditation we explore discovering interior space and aliveness, and the continuous space that all existence arises and passes in. Resting as a boundless sea of awareness, we are fully open to the changing waves of experience.
The 5 indriya arise from the grounded citta – they lead the meditation process. Without these we unnecessarily re-activate samsaric processes: perfectionism, projection, self-criticism. Get on the right track!
Our awareness touches and responds. To set it in line with Dhamma, we use the occasion to bring forth, to offer heart – so that it can open. This is Dhamma practice, Sangha is the human individual quality of our subsequent endeavor.
Get the body grounded, set the spine, sense the balance. Trace the rhythm of breathing, apply some tuning, let its energy spread through the body. Enjoy.
Evening reflection on how we need to apply the practice differently as our path progresses - and a reminder of how we can get caught by the hindrances, and how to get un-caught.
Andrea Fella gave the fifth talk in a seven-week series on lesser known Buddhist teachings titled "Thus Have I Heard." This talk discusses early teachings by the Buddha contained in the Sutta Nipata, wherein the Buddha addressed suffering and its causes, such as clinging to sense pleasures and views.
Citta moves through Kamma, not through space-time. It is triggered by ‘old Kamma’ – perceptions, attitudes, personality programs. It keeps recreating these unless there is direct insight – the Kamma that ends Kamma.
Tara gives brief instructions on the forgiveness practice, then guides us through a process of forgiveness of ourselves and others.
“Forgiving is a movement of your heart not to carry aversive hatred or blame. That you can care about someone and still create boundaries… Each of you has this wisdom, heart, being place that intuits that there really isn’t freedom in the moments that you’re carrying blame and judgment.”
Question and Response from Retreat ~ After morning meditation, Tara responds to questions on deepening our meditation practice, working with unpleasant and pleasant thoughts, and forgiveness from the IMCW 2016 Spring Residential Retreat.
