After some personal stories from Donald about his father, who was a veteran, and about Donald’s experiences growing up at the time of the Vietnam war and being introduced to nonviolence, we explore the three main dimensions of our practice (training in ethics, meditation, and wisdom) related to the holiday. We focus on the ethical teachings about killing and nonviolence, including the complexities of these teachings; the importance of bringing mindfulness to grief, loss, and sadness, and of grounding in kindness, compassion, and love; and the wisdom and insight teachings about seeing the roots of violence. The talk is followed by discussion.

This talk explores why one would practice meditation in Nature, even when conditions are difficult. Mark explores how the Four Foundations of Mindfulness are beautifully explored in Nature.

An exploration of the First Establishment of Mindfulness

Morning instructions

What happens when I'm *not* mindful? (i) Loss of fluency in our attention — (ii) Loss of the here & now (iii) Loss of the space: collapsing into things. (iv) Loss of embodiment (vI) Loss of the other

Morning instructions