Dharma Talk from the Monday Night Meditation Class at Spirit Rock on February 1st, 2016

Our practice is aimed at developing in three ways: brightening the mind, finding deep inner peace, and understanding the nature of things. The talk explores the role of wholesome qualities in this development: giving, conduct, lovingkindness, concentration, and right view.

This talk looks at different Sutta references on the four right efforts and how to work with them on retreat. includes an erroneous statement on karma. Please excuse. Oops.

Renunciation can seem like rejection or a penance. But true renunciation is more like relinquishment - letting go of what no longer serves us, allowing the mind and heart more space to open and find freedom.

Most of us have a strong habit of not measuring up to our idealized standards of who we would like to be. Understanding this habit with compassion and learning to skillfully work with it as practice can become a potent doorway to awakening.

One aspect of Right view is understanding when wholesome and unwholesome mental qualities are present. The 7 factors instruct us in what to practice and how to practice.

The practice of lovingkindness (metta) brings many benefits. It makes the heart more responsive, brings about purification of mind, develops concentration, connects us to all beings, and brings happiness.

There are five factors, known as the jhanic factors, that are cultivated in meditation practice, especially as our practice deepens on long retreats. These factors collect and gather the attention, and then bring the qualities of joy and contentment into the mind and heart. From this place, the mind naturally settles into one-pointedness and equanimity.

The Buddha encouraged cultivating, maintaining and increasing wholesome states in his teaching on Wise Effort. He also said to notice the gladness connected with these states. This helps create the conditions for the highest happiness to be experienced.

This talk explores the Buddha's teaching on not-self through the schema of the five aggregates. A sense of self is created by grasping at form, feeling, perception, formations or consciousness. What is the experience like when no grasping is taking place?

This talk begins with the 3 kinds of Dukkha and Tanha (Craving). It then outlines how mindfulness transforms Dukkha through (1) HOW we focus, (2) WHAT we focus on and the (3) VIEW we take in our focus.

Every moment we are planting seeds of suffering or seeds of happiness. Through mindfulness, we are cultivating letting go and generosity (non-greed), kindness and love (non-hatred) and clarity and wisdom (non-delusion)

Upasika Kee was a wonderful woman teacher in Thailand in the last century. She used "unentangled knowing" to refer to a mind that is not caught up in sense objects, but is keenly aware of its own nature. Dependent origination shows how we get caught and how we can be freed.

With so many strategies and messages about how to practice, how do we know the "right" way to practice? The Buddha said ultimately you should "be a lamp onto yourself." This comes down to trusting the wisdom inside. How can we discern the wisdom voice from the voices rooted in fear and confusion?

This talk reviews the Vipallasa Sutta: the Buddha's teachings about the distortions of the mind on our perceptions, thoughts and views. It gives examples of how distortions of view impact the speaker and how we might work backwards to clear up distorted perceptions based on what we know about the nature of ignorance (Avijja)

This talk is about the similarities and subtle differences of the 3 kinds of intention: Cetana (...intention, purpose, objective, agenda, goal, target, etc.), Sankappa (right thought and intent, avoiding unwholesome mind states, cultivating wholesome, etc.) and Aditthana (decision, resolution, self-determination, will and resolution, etc.) All three types are important resources as we train our heart/minds through intensive practice and in our day to day lives.

In addition to formal meditation, the Buddha gave 5 supports for one's dharma practice (Meghiya Sutta) In addition, other attitude for deepening practice are offered.