During this talk, several people who participated in the annual weekend residential retreat at the Franciscan Center in Tampa reviewed their experience during and after the retreat. It is hoped that the opportunity to “think out loud” about the experience, perhaps supported by comments from the teacher and other participant, will enhance the integration of the subtle but significant changes from the retreat into daily life experience. It is also hope the comments will inspire others in their practice and increase a commitment to participate in a residential retreat, an important supportive experience for cultivating the awakening process.
Next week’s discussion will continue the explanations of the cetasikas, that is, the categories of conditioning functions in the mind. The focus will be on the universal unwholesome cetasikas which appear in every self-state organization the manifests dukkha, that is confusion about the true nature of reality and the distress that arises from that confusion.