Dharma practice is not only about learning to be with suffering. Cultivating wholesome states and noticing when they're here is an essential part of practice that leads to the highest happiness. This talk includes some teachings of the Buddha on how to develop happiness in our lives.
This two-part series offers a clear and fresh understanding of practices that cultivate mindful awareness. The first class examines our attitude towards practice and gives guidance on posture, establishing an anchor for attention, and learning to concentrate and collect the mind - “coming back.” The second class focuses on the practice of mindfulness - “being here,” and the component qualities of clear recognition and an allowing non-judgmental presence.
We look in more depth at two more ways to "thin" the self, to explore anath:
1. cultivating of "flow" and
2. examining several ways that there is a "thick" sense of self
Mindfulness used investigatively leads to insight. Insight leads to liberation/freedom of mind and heart. this talk describes how to "investigate" in meditation practice.
An exploration of the challenges of connecting our mindfulness and heart practices, of how equanimity practice interpenetrates with the other three brahmavihara, of the nature of equanimity, and of some of the "near opposites" (or near enemies) of equanimity.
The practice can be seen in terms of balance and an unfolding process. The Five Spiritual Faculties - Faith, Effort, Mindfulness, Concentration & Wisdom - describe both of these perspectives.
In this talk we explore the "relative" reality of kinship - patterns that harm (blindness, silence, and sameness) and mindful practices that heal and bridge separation.
These regularly scheduled mornings begin with a guided meditation, sometimes followed by standing or walking meditation. There is a Dharma talk and often a question and answer period where attendees can inquire about practice.
Developing compassion requires us to learn to face pain rather than run from it. Gratitude practice helps us to see that we are connected to every thing- Good and bad. In the end we're grateful even for our pain, which turns out to be the gateway to a deeper love.
Our conditioning is to pull away from our physical experience when it is difficult. When we regularly dissociate, we are removed from the source of our power, intuition and capacity to love in a full way. This talk looks at the ways we leave our body and the path of homecoming to living loving presence.
Integrating the qualities of kindness and mindfulness provides the capacity to be with a range of experience in ourselves and others with wisdom and ease.
In this final talk of the series, Martin looks at the social implications of widening our sense of identification, including not only the world but also other human beings within the field of our experience. The talk explores the suffering born of the us and them mentality and points to how the need to awaken together and take all beings into our heart.
Suffering is pervasive-there's no escape. But we all suffer together in exactly the same way, so we are close to one another. Bodhisattvas know this means love and compassion are the most real emotions in our lives.
In this talk Martin looks at the tendency to conceive in terms of objects rather than process, unpicking the way we maintain and reinforce the ego structure, and offering a vision of a more expansive and inclusive participation in life.
Here we look at fourth satipatthana and its specific instructions on what to see and how to see it—the five hindrances, the five aggregates, the six sense bases, the seven factors of awakening, and the four noble truths—with an eye to realizing how this practice helps us overcome self-view.
Continuing from the previous talk, Martin looks at the ways we imagine, maintain and reinforce our psychological sense of self. The talk explores how we live in images and descriptions of who we think we are, layered by our constant critical self evaluation, and points us beyond our psychology to a fuller and freer embodying of our life.
