This guided meditation reviews the Universal and Occasional mind conditioning functions that may be investigated while practicing mindfulness of breathing meditation. It is intended to accompany the Dharma talk entitled “The Occasional Mind Conditioners” recorded the same evening.
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This meditation reviews the experiential characteristics of what are called the “Six Beautiful Pairs” of wholesome mind conditioning factors. During the meditation, suggestions are offered that provide an opportunity to identify the characteristics of these qualities of a highly trained mind, developed through practicing mindfulness of breathing meditation. It is intended to accompany the Dharma talk entitled “Reviewing the Six Beautiful Pairs of MInd Conditioners”.
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This talk reviews the function of intention, which coordinates and initiates each moment of self-experience, whether wholesome or unwholesome. The ability to monitor and effectively manage intention to promote liberation from greed, hatred and ignorance is considered to be one of the most important goals to master on the path to Awakening. The talk reviews the concepts associated with intention as well as various ways to mindfully cultivate intentional awareness and action, primarily through mindfulness of breathing meditation, but also including various opportunities that might arise during daily routines.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Working With Intentions
The end of the old year and onset of the new year can be a time of personal renewal as the solstice, occurring on December 21, signifies the transition from the past to the future, so the focus for next week’s talk will be on how intentions guide our daily life decisions, with emphasis on cultivating a wholesome lifestyle in the midst of contemporary consumerist and internet-oriented cultural conditions.
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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.
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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)