by Peter Carlson | Jan 27, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This guided meditation is intended to accompany the Dharma talk entitled “Cultivating Lovingkindness” recorded on January 26, 2022 and posted on the website. During the meditation, a series of suggestions are offered that cultivate focusing benevolent intention towards one’s own self-experience, followed by focusing lovingkindness towards a traditional hierarchy of persons, and then contemplating radiating lovingkindness towards all creatures that we share life with on the planet.
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by Peter Carlson | Jan 20, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This is the second of a series of talks reviewing the Divine Abidings, with emphasis on understanding the characteristics of Equanimity as a balancing factor, to avoid what are called the Far Enemy and Near Enemy of the four factors. The talk also includes suggestions for cultivating the factors of Mindfulness, Investigation of Mind Conditioning Factors and Energy/Right Effort to support the functioning of Equanimity.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Balancing Lovingkindness Compassion and Sympathetic Joy
The topic for the next talk in the series will be a review of Lovingkindness, the primary focus in the cultivation of the Divine Abidings.
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by Peter Carlson | Jan 13, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
The Brahma Viharas are better known as the Four Divine Abidings and include lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. Future meetings will review each of these qualities of consciousness individually, while this talk reviews the factor of skillfully managing empathy as the basic characteristic they represent. During the talk, Peter suggests that the cultivation of these qualities represents an evolutionary development of human history and is cultivating theme provides a very important way to function effectively in these trying times.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: THE FOUR BRAHMA VIHARAS
The topic for next week’s review is equanimity, which provides balance in the cultivation of lovingkindness, compassion and sympathetic joy.
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by Peter Carlson | Jan 6, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Peter has committed to two-week self-retreats for the last 15 years. This talk reviews that experience during the retreat last December, using excerpts from Analayo’s “Mindfulness of Breathing–a practice guide and translations” to complement what occurred during the retreat, as that book was the primary reference source during the retreat. The intention of this review is to provide ways to understand how a meditative progression through the Four Tetrads of the Anapanasati Sutta, the Mindfulness of Breathing Discourse, was useful for deepening his practice and insights regarding the process of Awakening during the retreat. This presentation also includes questions posed by those participating in the meeting regarding the information in the Sutta.
Here are the extensive excerpts from the book provided by Peter for reference during the talk and for further inquiry by those interested in the approach used by Analayo to improve understanding and practice issues regarding this important discourse: 2021 Year end retreat review Analayo can be considered as one of the preeminent authorities of our era regarding the doctrines and practices found in the Theravada Buddhist tradition.
The topic for next week’s discussion will be a review of Lovingkindness, the first of what are called the Four Divine Abidings.
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by Peter Carlson | Dec 16, 2021 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This last Dharma talk of 2021 builds on the previous week’s review, “Working With Intentions”, recorded on December 5th, 2021. That talk emphasizes the core importance of intention, which can be associated with wholesomeness or unwholesomeness, depending upon the other conditioning factors involved. This talk expands that view to include how we value what is important in life and whether the valued goals that we seek to realize are manifesting a life that is truly valuable from the Buddhist perspective of Virtue–Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood. The Buddhist concept of Four Clear Comprehensions, combined with Right Mindfulness and Right Effort can be applied in various areas on one’s life: physical health and well-being, finances, relationships and the environment, the goal being a life that is healthy, financially secure, socially engaged and environmentally sound. The goal of cultivating a well-integrated personality with a wholesome lifestyle creates the conditions that promote the process of spiritual Awakening.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Cultivating An Intentional Life
There will not be another meeting or posting until January 5, 2022, as Peter will be on his annual 2-week self-retreat; the topic of the January 5th meeting will be a review of that retreat experience.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:48 — 56.6MB)
