An overview of the four Brahma Viharas, focusing on mudita/appreciative joy, and equanimity.

PLEASE NOTE: This series of talks is intended for experienced practitioners who have already developed some understanding of and working familiarity with practices of emptiness, samatha, metta, the emotional/energy body, and the imaginal, as well as basic mindfulness practice. In particular, it is strongly recommended that before approaching this set you study and work with the material from the following talks and series: The Theatre of Selves (Parts 1 - 3); Approaching the Dharma, Part 1 (Unbinding the World), and Part 2 (Liberating Ways of Looking); the three-part series Questioning Awakening, Buddhism Beyond Modernism, In Praise of Restlessness; Image, Mythos, Dharma (Parts 1 - 3); An Ecology of Love (Parts 1 - 4); The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course); and Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course.

Exploration of the Brahma Viharas, with some reference to their value within mindfulness teaching and psychotherapy.

This mediation guides the listener through four beautiful rooms: the room of goodwill, the room of care, the room of appreciation and the room of equanimity.

Recollection of Qualities of Refuge in Pali. 5 Subjects of Frequent Recollection. Cultivation of Well Being. Highest Blessings (Mangala Sutta). 4 Brahma Viharas(Divine Abiding). Heart Sutra. Great Compassion Mantra.

The three parts of the path for Westerners. Includes precepts as practice, and an exploration of the Brahma Viharas as a template for giving

This talk and guided reflection invites us to recognize and incline towards our good heartedness for the welfare and happiness of all beings.

This talk introduces the four heavenly abodes (Brahma Viharas), their relationship to one another, they're near and far enemies and a range of motivations for practice. The second half of the talk is dedicated to the practice of compassion, the second of the four Brahma Viharas

How to reset and release common programs of sankhara through embodiment and brahmaviharas.

This daylong includes general talks on the theme of cultivating equanimity into your dharma practice. In addition to the talks and discussion, I offer the following practices with instructions that can be used to incline the mind toward equanimity (edited to remove lengthy periods of silence during the guided meditations): Practice #1 - Seeing things as they are Practice #2 - Looking through the lens of impermanence Practice #3 - Looking through the lens of vedana (feeling tone; 2nd foundation of mindfulness) Practice #4 - Equanimity with Big Mind meditation Practice #5 - Equanimty using traditional Brahma Viharas phrases

What is the Buddhist concept of gratitude? Why practice gratitude? How? What is the relationship between gratitude and other Brahma Viharas? And finally, what is radical gratitude?

The Brahma Viharas Intentionality Refreshing mind and body Not being fixated on suffering Attention amplifies Energetic shift out of patterning Opening to pain is already goodwill Harmlessness

The talk discusses what compassion is, what it is not, its relationship to the other brahma viharas and finally, why practice compassion. Some research studies are also discussed.

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