| Don't Chase The Leaves |
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| Los Angeles, CA, March 11, 2012 |
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Putting attention on the experience of breathing; what to do when lost in confusion; working with strong patterns; dealing with life’s setbacks; working with depression
passage from article: Lineage is not the passing on of “The Truth” from one generation to another. It is the passing on of the methods, the tools, with which you uncover and live this natural knowing.
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the illusion of choice is an indication of a lack of freedom |
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passage from article: What is freedom? It is the moment by moment experience of not being run by one’s own reactive mechanisms. Does that give you more choice? Usually not.
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Working with the instruction: "Do nothing" |
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passage from article:When I did open to everything, there was no opposition — there was no enemy. I didn’t have to struggle with experience. At the same time, there was no truth, no state of perfection, no ideal, no final achievement. Again, years later, in a conversation with another teacher about this experience, he said, “Don’t worry about truth. Just develop devotion so strongly that thinking stops, and rest right there.”
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Pointing out mind nature in the tradition of old sages |
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passage from text: Now, as you experience this vague knowing in which there is no thought or movement, look at what knows that this is happening, look at what is mentally or emotionally inert, and rest there. Then you experience an awareness that is free from thought and movement, has no sense of inside or outside, and is utterly clear and transparent, like space. Experience and experiencing are not separate. Yet you are unshakeable about what you are, thinking, “This is all there is!”
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A trio of threes: the marks of existence, doors to freedom, aspects of meditative experience |
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passage from article: This is the final step in letting go of any attempt to categorize our experience. The experience which comes out of this is non-thought. Out of this comes a confidence of possibilities within ourselves. We are increasingly able to act without second thoughts and do what is appropriate. In other words, we come to know the stillness of the mind that no longer depends solely on conceptual processes to formulate responses to the world of experience.
passage from article: Who am I? In the world of social conventions, the answer is a story. Lots of things may go into this story: interests, history, quirks, talents, achievements, background, likes, dislikes, successes and failures. And the story we tell changes according to the circumstances.
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11 common misunderstanding about practice |
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passage from article: Meditation is not a quick cure-all. We are used to quick fixes: ten ways to better communication, the five magic steps for better relationships, the eight things every manager should know, etc. The trouble is that all of this good advice is useless if we aren’t sufficiently present to implement it. Meditation cultivates just that presence, so we could regard it as a foundational skill.
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A prayer by Padmasambhava |
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passage from text:
All the matter of the world,living and not living,
Appear as objects to my eyes.
Let me rest in the appearance of things,without seeing them as things.
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How the buddha principle transforms the six realms |
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passage from text:
Through my awakened intention
May all who are quarrelsome and competitive
Stop their hostility and relax where they are.
As knowing finds its own place,
May they attain the pristine awareness of effective action.
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Taking money seriously as spiritual practice |
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passage from article: Increasingly, money has become the only medium for exchange between people in our culture. The human part of us resists this as we feel that there is more than simply financial value in our interactions. But money is now used to determine the value of time, the value of any material article, the value of culture, the value of social programs, etc. It is this seeming willingness to measure every aspect of life in money that indicates the true extent to which we have engaged this collective thought.
A series of guided meditations beginning with “body like a mountain”, opening to the experience of the body sitting, free from any kind of effort, and grounding awareness in the present. With “breath like the sea”, opening to the constant movement of the breath, like the waves in the sea, up and down. Finally, “mind like the sky”, receiving everything that arises and not reacting or controlling. Participant experience at each stage of the process.
The problems of idealizing; seeing the mirror; awareness; commentary on Aspirations for Mahamudra.
| 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.’
| Practices 18, 19 (continued) |
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| Los Angeles, CA, May 16, 2006 |
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Reflection Questions, continued: Verse 19 doesn’t seem directly related to taking and sending. What is the intention behind it? Why does giving things away through taking and sending feel better than regarding them as an empty experience? (verse 18), How can I maintain sufficient attention and awareness to do these practices so my patterns finally dissipate? Translated text available on the website.
| Practices 14, 15, 16, 17 (continued) |
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| Los Angeles, CA, May 9, 2006 |
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Reflection Questions, continued: What do you have to do to actually do this? (practices 14 – 17), How can you prevent ‘coming into awareness’ from becoming just another concept?, How do these practices compare with the Christian teaching of turning the other cheek? Understanding the intention of these practices (practices 14 – 17), How are we supposed to lavish our worst enemy with love when that runs so counter to what society does? (practice 14) Translated text available on the website.
| Practices 2 and 3 |
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| Los Angeles, CA, April 11, 2006 |
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Questions on previous session’s content including importance of sequence in lists, how to approach a mythic cosmology in a rational culture, translation points around “spiritual heir”, comments on leaving your homeland (practice 2) including the three levels of meaning (inner, outer, and secret), the need to take action, two levels of ignorance, three poisons, and the six realms; comments relying on silence (practice 3) including what it means not to engage disturbances or distractions, relationship between clear vivid awareness and confidence. Translated text available on the website.
| Releasing through bare attention, part 1 |
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| Upaya Zen Center, Santa Fe, February 14, 2005 |
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Emotional reactions, what they are, why they are problematic, what does releasing mean, difference between releasing and suppression, instruction in five-step method of releasing from Thich Naht Hanh based on bare attention and the four foundations of mindfulness
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Follow UM
Pointing Out Instructions 6
The problems of idealizing; seeing the mirror; awareness; commentary on Aspirations for Mahamudra.