Being comes before doing. Openness needs the protection of Refuge, not the defensiveness of ill-will. Renewal is not a case of planning or trying something new, but of stopping the re-creating of the old self. Citta then renews by itself.
As phenomena arise, align understanding to direct experience. Clear away inferences such as time and the notion of the body. All phenomena arise within awareness. Extend awareness through breathing. Pervade the body with tonalities of goodwill rather than of ill-will or no will.
This talk emphasizes Wise Intention in the context of a long retreat: Wise Intention includes the three aspects of renunciation (letting go of the sense desire), loving kindness and compassion.
The Satipatthāna Sutta is one of the most famous discourses in the Pali Canon that has informed the practice of Vipassana meditation and mindfulness meditation. The talks give an overview of the whole sutta.
This Path often leads into unknowns, disorientation, places where things don’t fit our normal ways. Meeting these places with strategies doesn’t work, but good qualities of heart leads into a quiet, joyful openness. This supports faith.
The essence of meditation is engaged receptivity. This is the skill of pausing for a minute and witnessing the flow of dhammas. It becomes fully established by strong mindfulness, so that ‘full knowing’ (sampajañña) gives the view of the causal web: that dhammas arise from causes and are not self.
