Short talk followed by a guided meditation on working with vedana in the mind. How to practice with thoughts and their machinations in the third foundation of mindfulness from the Satipatthana Sutta.

Retreat is an occasion in which to repair, reset. In terms of life and meditation practice. In this process, mindfulness is accompanied by atapi - ardour, keeping things fresh - and various forms of clear comprehension (sampajano): to sense what is appropriate and fitting. Through referring to what arises in terms of objects one cultivates comprehension of purpose: to know objects as they are, and not self. This is comprehension in terms of non-delusion. There is also comprehension in terms of context (gocara), both internal and. external. This cultivation brings stillness in the midst of conditions, and if we keep this going results build up. Through sustaining clear comprehension one realizes an openness that is stable, alert and all-encompassing

This dhamma talk, guided meditation, and Q&A was offered on February 8, 2025 for East Bay Dhamma 00:00 - MEDITATION 14:08 - DHAMMA TALK & Q&A

We start with basic instructions in developing (1) concentration and stability, and (2) mindfulness, and then practice developing these two qualities. With mindfulness practice, we notice the main patterns of thoughts, emotions, and bodily experience. In the second half of the session, we work with being aware of the feeling-tone (linked with the Second Foundation of Mindfulness), noticing moderate (or somewhat greater) pleasant or unpleasant feeling-tones, and what occurs after we notice them. We also attend for a short period of two minutes to the moment-to-moment feeling tones of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, and then go back to basic mindfulness practice for the last part of the session.

A brief overview of noting practice as done using sounds, body, or breath as our primary anchor. Description of how to use perception (sañña) as the proximate cause for a moment of mindfulness to arise, followed by a silent 30 min meditation.