by Peter Carlson | Nov 6, 2011 | Intro to Buddhism & Meditation, Listen to Dharma Talks
This recording provides training in the practice of “body sweep” meditation, which Peter received training for during a retreat with S. N. Goenka’s assistant trainers. They call this practice vedanupassana, mindfulness of feelings, which is the second of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. This training, an hour of practice, provided prompts for aiming attention at a particular spot on the body and sustaining that attention to develop the Awakening Factors of Investigation of Phenomena, Energy, and, of course, Mindfulness. It requires a lot of preparation through developing concentration to the level of upacara samadhi, access concentration. It can be quite frustrating for a beginning meditator, as the power of investigation is initially quite weak; it’s important to recall that this is meant to cultivate investigation, and not a test of willpower.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()
by Peter Carlson | Apr 6, 2023 | Listen to Dharma Talks, Study Resources
This talk focuses on reviewing some of my personal collection of Dharma books, divided into various categories. This recording provides my comments about the books, and the accompanying notes provide specific titles and suggestions for either purchasing copies or downloading free .pdf eBook copies from various sources. Progress on the path to Awakening requires both studying the books and diligently practicing the various meditative techniques, and i hope these offering are helpful for that integrative effort.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Buddhist Studies Resources
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:33 — 54.5MB)
by Peter Carlson | Feb 11, 2021 | Listen to Dharma Talks
It is customary for our Sangha to provide opportunities for those who have completed a residential retreat to have the opportunity to share their experience, as this integrates what they learned for themselves and offers inspiration for those not on retreat to further their practice with a residential retreat. Andy Quinn is the founding teacher of the Lakeland Insight Meditation Group and has been on dozens of retreats. He completed a two-week self-retreat recently and shared his experience with those participating in the meeting. During the talk, Andy spoke favorably of the value of Analayo’s book “Mindfulness of Breathing” as a resource during the retreat to guide his practice.
Next week’s talk will resume a review of the history of Buddhism, focusing on how the various Buddhist traditions entered into American culture over the last century. The intention of this review is to create a cultural context regarding the creative mixing of various Oriental traditions within contemporary American Buddhism, which will be reviewed during the next few talks.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10:25 — 128.9MB)
by Peter Carlson | May 13, 2021 | Listen to Dharma Talks
It has become a tradition for the Orlando Insight Meditation Group Sangha to provide an opportunity for a member to “think out loud” about their recent retreat experience. It is hoped that the review will provide the retreatant an opportunity to “connect the dots” regarding the retreat experience as well as providing insights and inspiration for others who contemplate a residential retreat. In this talk, Will Lindemann reviews a 7-day self-retreat he sat through at a local retreat center. He used the conceptual framework from the book “Satipatthana A Practice Guide”, by Analayo as the primary support for his practice. He describes his understanding and application of the “Seven Contemplations” model that Analayo describes that he studied and practiced with during the retreat. His review was followed by questions proposed by those attending the Zoom meeting.
Next week’s topic will be a review of Anatta, the Buddhist doctrine that deconstructs the view that there is an autonomous and enduring self; the review will include insights developed through current physical and psychological research that support the doctrine.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:05 — 99.0MB)
by Peter Carlson | Mar 9, 2023 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk focuses on reviewing the 16 stanzas of the Anapanasati Sutta, one of the core teachings of Buddhism. The stanzas are typically organized into four tetrads, which mirror the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, another key Buddhist discourse. The talk of March 1, 2023 reviewed how the practice of anapanasati, mindfulness of breathing meditation, restructures important neural pathways in the brain, supporting the process of Awakening, and this presentation is intended to complement that talk. There are several references within this talk from an important book on the subject: “Mindfulness of Breathing–a practice guide and translations” by Bhikkhu Analayo, a contemporary authority on this topic.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Anapanasati 16 Steps Review
Here is a translation of the Anapanasati Sutta by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, another respected scholar/monk: Anapanasati-Thanissaru Bhikkhu
The talk planned for next week will provide an opportunity for another of our teachers, Lezlie Laws, to review a residential retreat she attended that integrated intensive hatha yoga practice with mindfulness of breathing meditation.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:29 — 59.9MB)
