During this talk, Allie Vaknin reviews Buddhist concepts regarding mortality, referring frequently to the Bardo, a descriptive term for the states of birth, death and rebirth from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective. Her report is followed by comments from participants regarding their views of mortality, often referring to the impact after witnessing their witnessing of the death of loved ones.
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During this meeting, Peter responds to questions posed by those participating, such as describing the “Middle Way” as a dynamic balancing of mental energy–not too energized or too tranquil–along with mental acuity–not too rigid or too “sloppy”. He also commented on the benefits of deciding to cultivate equanimity when confronted with very noisy and variable social events.
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During this talk, Lezlie reviews four key liberating functions in the mind: diligence, mindfulness. clearly knowing what is emerging into awareness, supported by the integrative and unifying function of concentration–the persistent operation of the three qualities already mentioned. She describes how these qualities help her investigate and deny unwholesome views of herself and others left over from her childhood. Her comments are followed by comments from others participating in the meeting.
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During this talk, Peter reviews the characteristics of intention, suggesting that this function of the mind emerges from the complex interactions between various neurological networks in the brain, not attributable to the existence of a self. This contemporary view of how intentions form and operate describes two functions of consciousness–cognitive intentions and behavioral intentions. We can train to be able to mindfully monitor the emerging intentions associated with thoughts and beliefs, accompanied by the ability to mindfully attend to the intention to either act or not act on the cognitive manifestations, depending upon their ethical attributes or suitability in a situation. This review includes quotes from Buddhist commentaries on the characteristics of cetana, the Pali word typically translated as intention or volition.
This talk was preceded by a supportive guided meditation: “Guided Contemplation of Intention”, which is posted in the Audio archive on this site.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Intention Creates the Self
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The mindful investigation and effective management of intention is considered to be a primary goal of meditation practice, beginning with the intention to aim attention on the changing sensations occurring while practicing mindfulness of breathing meditation. During this guided contemplation Peter suggests various ways to cultivate mindfulness of two ways that intention manifests, focused on cognitive processes and focused on behavior.
This meditation is intended to be supportive of the information that is provided during the Dharma talk that follows, titled “Intention Creates the Self”.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:02 — 41.2MB)