We need places of refuge in our lives and we need an inner place of stillness.
Curiosity, confidence and contentment as we develop mindfulness can be useful in developing inner refuge.
We examine how mindfulness is distinguished from, yet leads to wisdom. We explore wisdom especially through the life story of the Buddha, moving from comfort and and illusion to deep wisdom and compassion, and through his first teaching of the Four Noble Truths - the most basic expression of wisdom in the tradition.
Transformation in practice, whether in mindfulness or metta practice, occurs through repetition, patience, understanding and faith, in a sometimes mysterious way. Using poems and stories, we explore the nature of lovingkindness (metta) and the kinds of transformation that occur as we practice.
On this first evening of the retreat, we explore the nature of mindfulness in general and how we practice mindfulness of the body in particular. We then examine the five "difficult energies" (nivarana or "hindrances"), and how they make mindfulness difficult and how to practice when they are present.
Mindfulness is the key to the entire path of practice. We explore the entire universe and plumb the depths of what it means to be human by bring mindfulness to our present moment experience.
How the phrases "May I Meet this Moment Fully, May I Meet it as a Friend," repeated as a focus for concentration, are both the instructions for practice and the goal of practice. How Effort, Mindfulness and Concentration are integral to each other, all present in any moment of clear understanding.
