17 (AM) Summarising the practice
06/06/10 18:07
Here we summarise the practice of
satipaṭṭhāna. The essence of the practice is
extremely simple — be present to this, now. When we do
this continuously over time, we find that this, now,
changes; this, now, is different, now. And so we enter
into the perception of impermanence
(anicca-saññā).
How can we continue this practice in our workaday lives, outside retreat? And can we keep our insights (ñāṇa) that we may have realised during retreat? If insight is not our possession, how can we take it with us? These are the kind of issues we examine this morning.
Podcast
How can we continue this practice in our workaday lives, outside retreat? And can we keep our insights (ñāṇa) that we may have realised during retreat? If insight is not our possession, how can we take it with us? These are the kind of issues we examine this morning.
Podcast
16 Seeing & understanding
06/06/10 16:21
Vipassanā bhāvanā (the development of insight)
has two aspects — seeing (dassana) and
understanding (ñāṇa). Seeing entails
a direct engagement with this present event;
understanding entails a stepping back from the
immediate present to appreciate the patterns of events
as they come and go over time. It is this second
movement — understanding — that opens up insight.
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Podcast
15 (AM) Balancing energy
06/06/10 15:58
This morning we look at how the Buddha describes the
various imbalances of energy that can characterise how
practice — energy that is too slack or too tense,
constricted internally or distracted externally.
To be in a state of imbalance is normal; how do we learn to balance the mind? First, by recognising and understanding the imbalance, which already stimulates mindfulness (sati), the balancing factor; and then by trying various strategies appropriate to the condition.
Podcast
To be in a state of imbalance is normal; how do we learn to balance the mind? First, by recognising and understanding the imbalance, which already stimulates mindfulness (sati), the balancing factor; and then by trying various strategies appropriate to the condition.
Podcast
14 The not-self characteristic
06/06/10 15:46
Tonight we examine the Buddha’s teaching of not-self
(anattā), contained in his second discourse,
Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (The not-self
characteristic). This is possibly the most obscure
and difficult — in the sense of counter-intuitive —
aspect of the Buddha’s teaching. It was so in the
Buddha’s time, and continues to be so today. The Buddha
introduced it only when he thought his students were
ready for it.
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Podcast
13 (AM) Contemplating choice
03/06/10 16:49
This morning we discuss cetanā, “intention,”
“choice,” “decision to act.” We are constantly making
choices, most of which become habits and disappear
beneath the surface of awareness. The realm of choice
is centrally important because it is the major way in
which we shape or form our lives. The arena of choice
is the arena of moral responsibility.
How do we get to understand the choices that we make? By learning to aim our awareness more accuracy. This, in turn, allows us to cultivate a greater skill and flexibility in our meditation practice.
Podcast
How do we get to understand the choices that we make? By learning to aim our awareness more accuracy. This, in turn, allows us to cultivate a greater skill and flexibility in our meditation practice.
Podcast
12 Faith & wisdom
03/06/10 16:32
Tonight we examine the Buddha’s teaching of
saddhā, normally translated “faith” or
“confidence,” and its relationship to paññā
“wisdom” or “understanding.” For us, faith is
essentially about belief, but for the Buddha,
saddhā represents the heart relationship to
reality — how the heart is moved to act because of what
it sees to be true. Faith partners wisdom, rather than
being opposed to it. And faith, in its maturity, is
virtually indistinguishable from wisdom.
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Podcast
11 (AM) Contemplating citta
03/06/10 15:13
This morning we are looking at how we can track the
state of our citta. Citta is a key
technical term used by the Buddha. It could be
translated as “mind,” “heart,” “heart-mind,” or even
“soul,” in the non-theological sense of that word. In
the context of our practice, citta represents
our inner state; how we are, at this time. It is
intimately connected to the body, and is in a state of
constant change. While the state of our citta
may be quite subtle, often we are moved to contemplate
it when we find ourselves disturbed by emotion. Here we
discuss using emotion as a meditation object.
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Podcast
10 Impermanence & time
03/06/10 14:37
We continue our examination of impermanence, here
seeing it in terms of our relationship to the present.
We think we are “permanent,” lasting unchanged over
time, and this perception blinds us to the real nature
of what is happening, now. And so in our practice we
learn to see the freshness, the uniqueness, of things,
and discover the impossibility of ever returning to our
meditation object after a period of distraction.
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Podcast
09 (AM) Contemplating the thought-stream
03/06/10 12:01
Our addiction to thinking creates a major barrier to
settling into samādhi, “unification” or
“concentration.” Often we try to push thought away, or
simply endure it as an unpleasant fact of life. But the
essence of this practice, according to Mahāsī Sayādaw,
is to “note,” or be deliberately aware of, whatever is
predominant in any of the six sense fields, now. If
thinking is currently predominant, then thinking should
be our meditation object.
How can we become objective spectators of our subjective mental processes? This morning we conduct some experiments in using the thought-stream as a meditation object, and discuss the results.
Podcast
How can we become objective spectators of our subjective mental processes? This morning we conduct some experiments in using the thought-stream as a meditation object, and discuss the results.
Podcast
08 Contemplating impermanence
03/06/10 11:48
Here we look at the cultivation of the “perception of
impermanence” (anicca-saññā), which the Buddha
sees as central to the awakening of insight
(vipassanā). The perception of impermanence is
meant to reveal an existential anxiety, where we see
that our sense of “self” — of who we think we are and
what we think the world is — is a product of our
continual attempts to avoid facing the groundlessness
of things. The perception of impermanence is the first
step into facing that groundlessness, and finding the
courage to step into it.
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Podcast
07 (AM) Contemplating feeling
03/06/10 11:32
This morning we move onto the third
satipaṭṭhāna, that of vedanā, usually
translated “feeling.” We explore what we mean by
feeling, and try to come to an understanding of what
the Buddha means by “vedanā.” Vedanā
can be seen as the affective aspect of experience, the
capacity of any given experience to move us in some way
— to provoke a response. For the Buddha, feeling and
response are inextricably linked. To understand what we
do, we must understand what — and how — we feel.
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Podcast
06 Establishing mindfulness
03/06/10 11:19
We continue to examine the nature of mindfulness,
beginning with its inescapably ethical function of
“guarding” (rakkhati), creating the conditions
whereby we can distinguish between the
wholesome/skilful (kusala) and the
unwholesome/unskilful (akusala). From there we
look at how the Buddha speaks of the process of
becoming mindful — of “establishing”
(upaṭṭhahati) mindfulness, and what this tells
us of the nature of mindfulness. Finally, we look at
the relationship between mindfulness and the work of
“insight” (vipassanā) and equanimity
(upekkhā).
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Podcast
05 (AM) Contemplating breathing
03/06/10 10:04
This morning we experiment with breathing as our
meditation object. We learn to experience breathing as
air element (vayo dhātu) — the movements
within the body associated with inhalation and
exhalation — and cultivate a sense of detail and
precision in tracking these movements.
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Podcast
04 Some characteristics of mindfulness
03/06/10 09:38
What do we mean by “mindfulness” (sati)?
Tonight we look at how the Buddha speaks of mindfulness
in Mahāsīhanāda Sutta (Greater discourse on the
lions roar M12), and in particular the
relationship between mindfulness and wisdom. This may
explain why satipaṭṭhāna is regarded as a
wisdom practice.
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Podcast
03 (AM) Contemplating elements
02/06/10 16:17
The foundation of satipaṭṭhāna (establishing
mindfulness) is the tracking (anupassanā), or
contemplation, of our experience of body. As we remain
present to physical experience over time, we learn to
drop beneath our concepts of body to its direct,
sensual impact. What we normally take to be “my body”
becomes, as we go deeper, different manifestations of
the four elements of earth, air, fire and water.
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Podcast
02 Introducing satipaṭṭhāna
02/06/10 16:09
Tonight we examine the opening section of Satipaṭṭhāna
Sutta, to gain an understanding of how the Buddha
conceives the cultivation of mindfulness as a practice.
Satipaṭṭhāna, establishing, applying or
cultivating mindfulness, is a meditation method which
is not limited to any particular meditation object or
technique. Then what is it?
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Podcast
01 (AM) Introducing Mahāsī method
02/06/10 15:14
Today we introduce the method of meditation we are
practising during this retreat. By applying a specific
method to our investigation of experience we practise
what the Buddha calls yoniso manasikāra,
“appropriate attention.” Our meditation method is that
created by Mahāsī Sayādaw of Burma (1904-1982), which
is structured by his division of experience into
primary and secondary object, along with the
fundamental activities of noting, naming and noticing.
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Podcast