Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia has been offering instruction in Theravada Buddhist teachings and practices since 1990. She is a student of the western forest sangha, the disciples of Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Chah, and is a Lay Buddhist Minister in association with Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California. She served as resident teacher of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts from 1996 through 1999. Taraniya teaches at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and at Dhamma centers in the United States.
This talk includes a brief description of the classical meaning of skeptical doubt as well as a more comprehensive examination of everyday doubt and confusion and how to work with this state.
In the early years, practice is driven by the very states we are trying to overcome. But it seems to get worse before it gets better - as we let go of self-view.
Through practice we learn to relate with non-attachment to the condition of the body and mind as well as the conditions of our lives. We do this through the practice of the four foundations of mindfulness, the cultivation of somadhi and the gradual eroding of self-view. Then we are well-positioned for insight.
As we practice, we confront our karma, cultural conditioning, and the realities of anicca, dukkha, anatta. Anyone who wishes to progress along the path, must act on faith and the factors that support that.
This talk defines what constitutes the five spiritual faculties and what it takes to develop them. It offers a hands-on understanding of how faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom, when developed, lead to freedom.
