Questions are précised - 00:15 Q1 What’s the difference between QiGong and standing meditation? 02:34 Q2 Is there a specific QiGong for meditation? 03:00 Q3 What is the proper balance between sitting, standing and walking? 04:49 Q4 Can you speak more about the forms of knowing described in the satipatanna sutta? 20:38 Q5 What’s a helpful sequence of steps to take in a meditation?28:16 Q6 I find a lot of energy goes into the head when I meditate. What do you suggest? 30:20 Q7 Normally I find in my meditation there is a subtle feeling of pushing or trying. If that is acknowledged there is more of a sense of flowing and playfulness. How can I cultivate this more consistently? 33:36 Q8 I had a very nice walking meditation experience with gratitude and opening. Then there were feelings of fragility and vulnerability. What can you advise? 36:01 Q9 I find myself getting very frozen or locked when I go into my job responsibilities. What’s happening here? 39:19 Q10 We talk about safety and feeling secure. I think this attachment is not the same as the attachment we talks about in Buddhism. What do you think?

Questions précised - 00:16 Q1 Is it possible to start waking up and still have a mind that is clinging or fixating at times? What are the characteristics of awakening? 14:27 Q2 Sometimes there are moments where everything is gone or stops, with no thoughts or awareness f an outside world. Time seems to be gone as well. Can you say something about this?16:21 Q3 It seems the heart needs to be allowed to know itself. When with family and partner there seems to be no possibility for this. This is desperately uncomfortable which doesn’t resolve and is filled with fear. Can you offer some guidance. 22:54 Q4(a) I feel parts of the body frozen in anxiety. Spacious awareness and reclining help. What else would help? Patience? (b) I get feelings of joy, gratitude then contentment. When contentment arises I feel the desire to move on rather than stay with it. What can I do about this? (c) What can I do if the energy flow gets overwhelming say with sickness? 34:46 Q5 What would you say to a teenager who seems to have ill will in the family? 36:44 Q6 No matter how good meditation is in the previous evening, there will come sleep and with it the end of awareness. Next morning we have to start again.

Marking the occasion of Vesak, this talk, explores, the interwoven relationship of generosity, giving, merit, and gratitude

Gratitude and Joy nourish us on the Path.

To escape clinging to the world and the creations of thought, we purify and tame the restless mind until we directly know the impermanence, unsatisfactory and selfless nature of all conditioned things. No matter what comes, we endure. A diet of discernment, gratitude, and the heart's unconditional compassion rescue us from the swamp of fear and unwholesomeness. Seeing the whole truth and nothing but the truth, we walk with the Buddha, a true spiritual friend to ourselves and to all the world.

Introductory Reflections for the retreat. Guided meditation focusing on Gratitude

The hindrances are a necessary part of practice. They build resolve, determination, stamina, and patience. They also inspire appreciation, inspiration and gratitude. This talk is about learning to connect with the inspiring nature of the hindrances.

Rather than running away from suffering, we use it as the way to deliverance. Out of suffering, we draw beneficial mind states, especially compassion – not blaming our dukkha on any external or internal conditions but letting them go. If we are content with simple blessings, our gratitude consecrates the breath that we are breathing right now. We rest in awareness and experience the truth of the present moment – fleeting, flawed, formless and empty. In the stillness of now, we taste the mountain.

Gratitude is like breathing in – letting ourselves be touched by the goodness in others and in our world. Generosity is like breathing out – sensing our mutual belonging and offering our care. When we are awake and whole, breathing in and out happens naturally. But these beautiful expressions of our heart become blocked when we are dominated by the fear and grasping of our survival brain. This talk explores how we can facilitate the evolution of consciousness with the deliberate cultivation of generosity, and ends with a guided meditation on gratitude and generosity.

Puja is a form of praising and honouring. It is the nimitta of the citta, flavoured with a sense of lineage and gratitude.

Online Dharma Hall session including guided meditation and Dharma talk on the theme of the interwinding co-creating aspects of appreciation, gratitude, and joy.

Developing gratitude as a resource that strengthens our capaity to turn towards challenges, based on the Active Hope training by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone

The subtle energies of practicing generosity include feelings of gratitude or respect, avoiding the pitfalls (e.g.) of a sense of obligation or comparison with others. This is right motivation. We note the beauty of our own heart, steady and receptive, void of ill will. (Les énergies subtiles de la pratique de la générosité incluent des sentiments de gratitude ou de respect, évitant les pièges (par exemple) d'un sentiment d'obligation ou de comparaison avec les autres. C'est la bonne motivation. Nous notons la beauté de notre propre cœur, stable et réceptif, dépourvu de mauvaise volonté.)

Very Windy Conditions

From Harris Park. Guided gratitude meditation. Dhamma talk on the topic Why am I always right? Discussion on ahankāra (I-making), thinking, truth, and views.

Orienting the heart-mind towards gratitude as a support for muditā, appreciative joy

This Earth Day week we share an evening of gratitude and celebration for our natural world. When we get in touch with our love for something we are more motivated to care for it. Rather than going into the dire situation that most of us are all too familiar with, we can get connected with the beauty of the world that is our home We share a clip on the natural world and the experience of gratitude, which starts with an adorable little girl talking about the wonder of exploring nature instead of watching a screen followed by Brother David Steindl-Rast on gratitude. Although it is audio only you can still here the magic in the words. To see the video here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpkEvBtyL7M

A guided meditation beginning with a reflection on gratitude, opening to joy, and then cultivating Mudita - joy in the happiness of others.

From Harris Park. Sīla - a life in the Dhamma as foundation for meditation. Mettā meditation guided by Bhante Sujato. Q+A: gratitude as an aspect of mudita. The role of mettā when dealing with trauma.

Saturday afternoon dharma talk on gratitude as a doorway to belonging (Susie), and as a powerful practice in difficult times (Jeanne).

Saturday afternoon guided practice in gratitude for subtle pleasant experiences and in the importance of supporting our meditation through noticing these pleasant states. The sit ends with a guided meditation and walking instruction in experiencing the body through the senses. (Jeanne)