One time per month, Peter provides the opportunity for those participating in the meeting to ask questions about Buddhist concepts and meditation practice. He also provides a brief review of the relationship between each of the Four Noble Truths, emphasizing that different subjective experiences require different focusing on each of the Truths.  During the meeting, Peter also provides comments about his understanding of emptiness, the absence of an enduring/autonomous self.  He describes his experiences of awareness that is disinterested in defining bodily boundaries and is inclusive of the totality of sensory and cognitive “flow” without interest in differentiating objects within the flow experience.  During the description, he recalls hearing Joseph Goldstein talk about the importance of “effortless effort”, and the benefits of just letting go of any resistance or attachment during the out-breath, when the mind is stable and tranquil.  He also suggests that these qualities of awareness are not “created” by a meditator, that liberating states of mind are ever-present, and that cultivating the Seven Awakening Factors frees the mind from hindrances that obstruct direct awareness of emptiness.

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