| Doing Nothing |
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| Des Moines, NM, August 1, 2008 |
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Retreat’s daily schedule and routine; subject matter for retreat (Buddhahood Without Meditation); sitting with questions rather than trying to answer them intellectually; the challenge of doing nothing; the importance of silence; resting & seeing.
| Dzogchen & willingness, know-how, and capacity |
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| Des Moines, NM, August 2, 2008 |
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Participants’ accounts of what is like to do nothing; overview of Dzogchen from the perspective of outlook/view, practice, and behavior; willingness, know-how, and capacity and related tools for Dzogchen practice
| The View |
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| Des Moines, NM, August 3, 2008 |
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Participants’ accounts on using tools described in previous sessions; discussion on guru yoga, negative emotions, and faith; instruction and questions on sky gazing; instruction, discussion, and experiences on using the breath and questions to learn how to rest in the view.
| The Tap On The Shoulder |
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| Des Moines, NM, August 4, 2008 |
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The hunter and the three bears; how different sets of instructions point to the same thing (Asanga, mind-training, mahamudra, dzogchen); forms of knowing; letting direct experience soak in to your core; the sense of self and ant colonies; the nature of experience; form and emptiness.
| Why not do what you want? |
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| Des Moines, NM, August 5, 2008 |
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Question regarding translation of Dogen’s Genjokoan; If objects and experiences are empty and there is no self, why does it matter what I do?; the struggle between patterns and ethical/virtuous behavior; Buddhist ethics as a way to create the conditions for a quiet mind; what would life be like if you could experience fully whatever arises?; intention; meeting what is there; what is buddha nature?
| Recognizing and resting |
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| Des Moines, NM, August 6, 2008 |
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Seeking ‘the experience’; the illusion of choice; recognizing what is arising and resting; useless and useful planning; resting as a means, not an end; the nature of mind; working with resistance; meditation instruction; emptiness and awareness; what is meant by ‘May I know that mind has no beginning.’
| The Futility Of Effort |
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| Des Moines, NM, August 7, 2008 |
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The story of tea; commentary and questions on The Wisdom Experience of Ever-Present Good and understanding apparent contradictions in the text.
| Acting In Ways That Leave You In Peace |
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| Des Moines, NM, August 8, 2010 |
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Conduct and behavior as ways to both set conditions for practice and enhance / deepen practice; the story of Mrs. Foo; applying the principle of the middle way; tightening up your life and keeping your intention clear; two lists of metaphors for conduct and behavior; engaging in a chosen behavior so as to experience in yourself the related reactive emotions.
| Practice as life, life as practice |
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| Des Moines, NM, August 9, 2008 |
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Historical tendency of practice being both separate from and more important than other daily activities; stabilization of attention (with and without activity) as the only type of practice; why incorporating practice into your life doesn’t work; why incorporating your life into your practice does work; using the primary practice continually; including your whole life in everything you do; the only thing you can know is what you experience; a knowing that is immediate and direct but not conceptual; find appropriate response through the four steps of standing up; open to both poles of a reactive pattern to step out of it.
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Buddhahood Without Meditation 7
The story of tea; commentary and questions on The Wisdom Experience of Ever-Present Good and understanding apparent contradictions in the text.