Some of those who read this post may already be aware of how NBA championships often follow basketball coach Phil Jackson around the league. Here’s an article on the man who taught Jackson mindfulness meditation and how this came to be.
I hope you find this interesting. I wish you well. Peter
This recording follows the Guided Four Tetrads And Four Foundations Meditation recording posted just prior to this posting. During the talk, Peter reviewed the 16 stanzas/four tetrads of the Anapanasati Sutta, explaining that the first three tetrads focus on the cultivation of samadhi/passadhi (concentration and tranquility), primarily through using the first and second foundations of mindfulness (mindfulness of the breath/body and mindfulness of feelings) to set aside the five hindrances to samadhi/passadhi. The fourth tetrad involves the cultivation of vipassana, that is, the direct knowledge of impermanence, which, along with samadhi/passadhi, develops dispassion, liberation from craving/clinging and letting go of the misperception of a secure, enduring self.
This posting contains the notes for the dhamma dialogue presented by Peter on March 11, 2015. The focus of this talk reviews the remaining wholesome mind conditioners, emphasizing the “six beautiful pairs”. Peter suggested that these conditioners represent a harmonious and integrated reflective interaction between the mind conditioners and the quality of conscious awareness associated with them. He also suggested that these pairings are most effective in the process of vipassana, stating that after several days of cultivating samadhi/passadhi (concentration/tranquility) during an intensive retreat, the operation of these pairs becomes increasingly evident, enlivening the practice of vipassana. He then reviewed the wholesome virtues (Right Speech, Action and Livelihood) and the cultivation of compassion and sympathetic joy. Culmination of the process of awakening, fostered by vipassana practice, perfecting the seven factors of awakening, results in the last of the mind conditioners listed, Wholesome Understanding. Here is the attached file: WHOLESOME MIND CONDITIONERS PART 2
This posting contains the notes associated with the previously posted .mp3 recording of March 4, 2015: WHOLESOME MIND CONDITIONERS
These notes accompany this week’s dhamma dialogue, and the .mp3 recording has the same title: THE UNWHOLESOME MIND CONDITIONERS
HOW MIND CONDITIONERS WORK
THE UNIVERSAL AND OCCASIONAL CETASIKAS
In exploring the section of the Anapanasati Sutta related to training oneself to be “…sensitive to mental fabrication…calming mental fabrication”, there’s benefit in understanding the nature of the factors that fabricate each moment of self-awareness. These fabrications emerge from the categories of conditioning factors called cetasikas. The meaning of the term is “that which is associated with the mind”. This term is a kind of categorical listing of what are called sankharas, a term synonymous with karma. Both are derived from the word karoti, which means “to do”. If you imagine the cetasikas to be just the conditioners, then the “action potential” is karma. For me, the basic value of the cetasika “system” is to “deconstruct” the notion of a separate, enduring self.