metta (good will/ loving kindness –the experience of the lovability of beings), karuna (compassion – sees the vulnerability of beings), mudita (sympathetic joy - experience of the enjoyment of one’s own and others’ good states)and upekkha (equaminity – the ability to be present with the ups and downs of phenomena); the citta has 2 inputs – feelings(from body or mental perception) and associations/ images/ impressions; skillful intention and the associated joy; volition and sustaining volition as a characteristic of the citta; to others as to myself; the citta adopts various clothes, one of which is “me”; the citta is abundant, rich, calm, exhaulted, measureless/ suffusing, free from hostility and ill will; the significance of the metaphors of language; the measureless empathy of the Buddha; “just like me”, we are all like this as a source of the volition; it’s not so much object oriented as cultivating states of mind and freeing the citta from any state of ill will; identifying the signs that lead to the bonding with / settling of the citta and unification of the mind; find one that works for you; the object one chooses to facilitate this is not important; pitfalls and sidetracks to be avoided in the cultivation – the story of other particular people and of the self, thinking of the past and the future ; finding satisfaction and comfort; the wisdom faculty sees it has been identified and sustained and not owned personally

1. On energy and breathing; 2. On 'traffic lights' 3. Moderating the practice 4. On dealing with rapture; 5. On world-weariness & death; 6. On choiceless awareness; 7. Mindful responses to sense contact; 8. On 'not being good enough'; 9. On fatigue

Includes 30 minute meditation

Ajahn suggests how to prepare a question

1. Ache, pains, and aging 2. “Choiceless awareness”; 3. Is intensity necessary? 4. How to let go; 5. The nature of the citta 6. Benefits of each the four main postures; 7. Progress in terms of abandonment?

need to take a long view of spiritual development; caution with idealism; moving from head to heart; the importance of checking in with yourself; listening sympathetically internally; trusting the retreat form; taking it steady to steady the citta; patience; recalling, it’s like “this” now; dukka is not personal, not ‘mine ‘; good will points to the exit; Christian sin /guilt and Buddhist “bap”/ bad karma; going into the head closes down the heart; gestures and offerings of courtesies to others; dana – the spirit of the heart; sila – manufacturing mutual harmlessness; metta, karuna, enjoying gladness and goodness; anumodana; dissolving the boundaries of self and other; seeing what the citta responds to; equanimity – it’s like this now; the citta can be bigger than the conditions it meets; the measurelessness of awareness; living in the wide sphere; thanking mistakes as a necessary way of learning