by Peter Carlson | Sep 5, 2024 | News
This talk presented by Peter is intended to provide information regarding three very important mental “skill sets” that are necessary for developing effective mindfulness meditation practice. First, defining characteristics of each mind-conditioning function are reviewed, followed by suggestions for integrating their combined effects. There is a guided “Contemplating Mindfulness, Investigation, and Right Effort” meditation preceding this talk, which was recorded and posted in the Audio folder, under Guided Meditations. It is intended to provide a practice mode to accompany this conceptual presentation.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Mindfulness Investigation and Right Effort
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by Peter Carlson | Sep 5, 2024 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This guided meditation provides opportunities to become more clearly aware of three important mind-conditioning functions and how to cultivate their functioning, which provides the basis for experiencing high degrees of mental clarity and stability, benefiting the practice of vipassana, insight meditation. The coordinated and integrated effects of these three factors will be reviewed during a talk occurring just after this meditation training exercise, recorded and posted as “Reviewing Mindfulness, Investigation, and Right Effort”.
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by Peter Carlson | Sep 15, 2023 | News
During this talk, Peter Carlson reviews Dhamma Vicaya Bojjhanga, the Investigation of Mental Phenomena Awakening Factor. This quality of investigative curiosity, in coordination with the Mindfulness and Energy Awakening Factors, provides a primary support for the development of the other four Awakening Factors. Peter describes how investigation builds from the simple practice of aiming attention at the sensation of breathing and maintaining this focused attention during the cycles of breathing in an breathing out.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: INVESTIGATING MENTAL PHENOMENA
There is a supplemental “Guided Investigation of Mental Phenomena Meditation” posted in the archives, recorded just prior to this talk.
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by Peter Carlson | Jun 18, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk Peter discusses the characteristics of the second of the Seven Awakening Factors, Dhamma Vicaya (dah-mah vih-chah-yah), which he interprets as Investigation of Mental Phenomena. This awakening factor works in close coordination with the Mindfulness and Energy Awakening Factors (the energy factor will be the focus for next week’s talk). A careful reading of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse reveals that dhamma vicaya is repeatedly mentioned in regards to mindfulness of the body, of feeling, of the mind and of mental factors, so it is an essential aspect of how the process of Awakening is developed. The cultivation of this factor begins with mindfulness of breathing and involves the suggestion of directing attention to the beginning of the in-breath and sustaining this attention for the duration of the in-breath, then repeating this for the out-breath. This intentional process uses the sensation of breathing to increase the mind’s agility and insight into how the mind makes meaning from what primary sensations stimulate, and this skill becomes more and more important as it matures into the ability to notice the arising and passing away of self-state organizations, revealing the transient and essentially unstable delusion of an enduring and autonomous self. This explanation is followed by a general discussion to clarify the ways to cultivate dhamma vicaya.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Mindful Investigation for Awakening
Next week’s talk will focus on the Energy Awakening Factor
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by Peter Carlson | Jun 11, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This is the second of a series of reviews of the Seven Awakening Factors, with the first talk as an overview of the factors on June 3, 2020, posted on June 4. Sati (sah-tee), translated as mindfulness, is perhaps the most important characteristic of the mind to be cultivated during the process of Awakening. Mindfulness as an awakening factor has the function of monitoring the presence or absence of the other six factors as well as supporting the most appropriate and effective coordination of these factors. Peter provides a brief history of the application of sati in Buddhist history and reviewes how it operates in relation to supporting the other factors, based on the practice of mindfulness of breathing meditation. Passages from the Satipatthana Sutta are read to emphasize the refrain in each of the four foundations that repeatedly urges atapi sati sampajanna (ah-tah-pee sah-tee sahm-pah-jah-nyah), diligent, mindful, clearly knowing what arises in the mind in an ongoing way. The explanations are followed by a brief question and answer period to clarify how mindfulness can be applied in the context of challenging decision-making, focused on two approaches: one is to be mindful of how the mind can be balanced as the information and solution stages are developed and the other is of monitoring during the process of applying a solution, alert to changes in circumstances that might alter the intended outcome and requiring a different approach.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Working With The Mindfulness Awakening Factor
The topic for next week’s meeting is the cultivation of dhamma vicaya (dah-mah vih-chah-yah), the investigation of mental phenomena, another of the Seven Awakening Factors.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:02 — 86.1MB)
