by Peter Carlson | Jun 28, 2018 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk is a continuation of several focused on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse, in particular, the part of the Fourth Foundation describing how to identify and overcome the Five Hindrances. In this case, the hindrance is thina/middha, sloth and torpor. This quality of mind is overly sedated, drowsy and lacking in sufficient energy to investigate emerging self-state organizations. The antidote for sloth and torpor involves a more energetic application of the intention to bring focused attention to the breath sensations and maintain this focus persistently. When this strategy is insufficient, other useful remedies found in the traditional teachings were described. Peter emphasized that, when one participates in a retreat lasting at least a week, there comes a period of time when awareness “wakes up”, becoming more alert, manageable and sensitized to mental processes. This insight reveals how often our everyday consciousness is impaired by “subtle dullness”, such as when daydreaming. This was accompanied by discussion regarding how this hindrance affects various people attending the talk.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: OVERCOMING SLOTH AND TORPOR
The topic of next week’s talk will be overcoming restlessness and worry.
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by Peter Carlson | Jun 8, 2018 | Listen to Dharma Talks
The talk explored the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, with specific emphasis on being mindful of what triggers sense desire, how it operates in the brain and what can be done to overcome this hindrance to mental clarity and tranquility.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Overcoming Sense Desire
Next week’s talk will be given by Robert Lockridge from the Orlando Zen Center. Upon returning, Peter will continue exploring overcoming the hindrances, focusing on aversion and ill-will.
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by Peter Carlson | Mar 29, 2014 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk begins several weeks of exploration of the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, dhammanupassana. During the discussion, Peter pointed out that Mindfulness of the Body and of Feelings are projected onto the Third Foundation, that of consciousness, and that the culminating practice of this teaching is to notice the interactions between the foundations, Mindfulness of Mental Phenomena. He also suggested that the word “dhamma” conveys something static, a thing; however, a dhamma is transient, lasting a fraction of a second, and therefore is best considered as a dynamic process that commingles the four foundations. During the next several weeks, the dhamma called the five hindrances, the dhamma called the five aggregates, the dhamma called the six sense bases (which he terms “the six sense functions”, the dhamma of the seven awakening factors, and the dhamma called the full realization of the Four Noble Truths (which he called the Four Ennobling Truths) will be explored.
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