by Peter Carlson | Feb 10, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk reviews the concepts and practices associated with cultivating Mudita, translated as Sympathetic Joy, one of the four Divine Abidings. Mudita is the empathetic cognitive and emotional response shaped by lovingkindness which celebrates the success and happiness of others in an unselfish way. The description also clarifies the characteristics of the far enemy and near enemy of sympathetic joy, along with suggestions for reflecting on the value of gratitude and generosity in the cultivation of Mudita. There is a recorded meditation posted in the archives of this website entitled “Guided Contemplation Of Sympathetic Joy”, which is intended to supplement the concepts and practices reviewed in this recording.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: CELEBRATING HAPPINESS FOR OTHERS
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:30 — 54.5MB)
by Peter Carlson | Feb 10, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This guided meditation focuses attention the cultivation of empathetic joy, which supports and celebrates the success and happiness of another sentient being. This experience is most often related to the joy of another human, but can also be experienced regarding pets or other animals we encounter. During the contemplation you are invited to recall the feelings experienced while being the recipient of another person’s generosity or good will as the memory resource, which is then accessed while celebrating the happiness of others. Comments during the meditation are provided to support recognizing and disregarding what are called the far enemy or the near enemy of sympathetic joy, through applying mindfulness, investigation of mental phenomena and Right Effort.
This meditation is intended to accompany the Dharma talk entitled “Celebrating the Happiness of Others” recorded and posted the same day, February 9, 2022.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:55 — 41.1MB)
by Peter Carlson | Feb 3, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk reviews the second of the four Divine Abidings, Karuna, which emerges from the cultivation of lovingkindness. Compassion involves developing mindful awareness of empathy regarding the experience of dukkha, distress and confusion, in one’s subjective experience. The characteristics of the “far enemy” and “near enemy” of compassion are reviewed, as well as how contemporary psychological research supports the personal and social benefits of cultivating effective actions to bring relief from dukkha for oneself and others. The Tibetan Buddhist practice of Tonglen is reviewed as a way to integrate mindfulness of breathing, investigation of mental phenomena and Right Effort with the expression compassion.
This talk is intended to be supplemented by the recording entitled “Guided Compassion Contemplation”, which can be found in the archives of this site.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Cultivating Compassion
The topic for next week’s talk will be on cultivating Sympathetic Joy, another of the four Divine Abidings.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:46 — 47.4MB)
by Peter Carlson | Feb 3, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This guided meditation provides a review of how to cultivate compassion through developing targets of focused attention: First, establish stability of attention and emotional tranquility through mindfulness of breathing meditation; second, cultivate lovingkindness; third, generate an empathetic awareness of distress and confusion that others are experiencing, and then generate a sincere desire for them to be liberated from these conditions. This contemplation is intended to accompany the recorded posting entitled “Cultivating Compassion”; both recorded on February 2, 2022.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:02 — 41.2MB)
by Peter Carlson | Jan 27, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk is the third in a series that review what are termed the “Divine Abidings”. The first talk is entitled “Reviewing the Brahma Viharas”, and the second “Manifesting Equanimity”–both can be found in the archive. Lovingkindness is an over-arching contemplation, as the contemplations focusing on Compassion and Sympathetic Joy emerge from the cultivation of Lovingkindness. During the talk, the traditional understandings of this practice are reviewed, with additional support from contemporary research commentaries regarding the neurological underpinnings of the contemplation, which changes the way the brain and body function, particularly the beneficial effects of the practice that enhances what is called “vagal tone”, a high level of functioning for the important neural link between the heart and the brain. The emotional potency of sincere repetition of the lovingkindness mantra is also described.
There is an accompanying “Guided Lovingkindness Contemplation” found in the archives.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Cultivating Lovingkindness
The topic for next week’s review will focus on cultivating Compassion.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:10 — 60.6MB)
