Annie Nugent has practiced since 1979 and was an IMS Resident Teacher, 1999-2003. Her teaching style aims to reveal how all aspects of our lives can help us come to a clear and direct understanding of the Truth.
The practice of insight is all about developing wisdom. This talk describes both how this wisdom comes about – and what the resulting wisdom actually is....and how it shows itself in our worldly life.
At first our practice is for ourselves alone...but as wisdom begins to unfold through reflection and practice, we come to understand that all beings are in the same predicament that we are - suffering and wanting to be happy. Thus we can do our practice for the benefit of all beings. This was the motivation of the Buddha.
Of all of the vastness of the Buddha's understanding, he summed up the essence of his discovery with just these 4 truths - which are not meant to be an intellectual understanding, rather we need to see them manifest directly....in all areas of our lives. In this way our lives are onward leading towards freedom.
Because there are many different styles of teaching related to concentration, this sometimes leads to doubt in our own practice. The intention in discussing this topic is to call forth a common sense, broader perspective on what this important quality is and how it fits into the practice.
The skillful means for working with these difficult states of mind(emotions) vary from person to person and even day to day, depending on what is appropriate NOW. This talk looks at ways to develop a gently intuitive attitude of mind to support letting be with what is, revealing the true nature of these emotions.
In one way or another all of the Buddha's teachings point towards letting go... other words with the same meaning are: renunciation, abandoning, reliquishing or giving up... This talk is about the what, why, where and when of letting go..
How these 3 defilements of mind - greed, hatred and delusion - show themselves in formal practice and in our daily lives – and how to work with them so as not to be caught in their grip.. thus supporting ourselves towards complete freedom.
Bringing awareness to our speech as a path to freedom – an important inclusion in the practice since we spend so much of our lives communicating with others.
