Mindfulness of Mind: Liberated Mind vs. Clinging (attached) Mind Instructions on cultivating mindfulness of mind from Satipatthana Sutta (translated by Bhikkhu Analyo): “And how, monks, does he in regard to the mind abide contemplating the mind? “Here he knows a lustful mind to be ‘lustful’, and a mind without lust to be ‘without lust’; he knows an angry mind …
Mindfulness of Mind: Week 6
Mindfulness of Mind: Thinking Talk from our class on 11/5: Formal Practice Suggestions 1. Mindfulness/awareness of thinking meditation (31 minutes long) from our class on 10/29. Mindfulness/awareness of thinking meditation (30 minutes long) from our class on 11/5. 2. Use the ‘thought game’ (as explained in the guided meditation above) to learn about the patterns and content …
Mindfulness of Mind: Week 5
Mindfulness of Mind: Joy & Steadiness of the Concentrated Mind Instructions on cultivating mindfulness of mind from Satipatthana Sutta (translated by Bhikkhu Analyo): “And how, monks, does he in regard to the mind abide contemplating the mind? “Here he knows a lustful mind to be ‘lustful’, and a mind without lust to be ‘without lust’; he knows an angry …
Mindfulness of Mind: Week 4
Mindfulness of Mind: Denial as an expression of delusion Formal Practice Suggestions 1. When in formal meditation practice, periodically feel into the mind/heart (citta) to notice if mindfulness/awareness is present or not. – According to Bhikkhu Analayo, when mindfulness/awareness is present, the mind/heart (citta) has a particular texture and flavor, such as being open, receptive, flexible, alive, centered, clear …
Mindfulness of Mind: Week 3
Mindfulness of Mind: Mind State of Delusion Delusion (Moha in Pali) as: not knowing (what is wise/wholesome or foolish/unwholesome), bewilderment, confusion, mental dullness, boredom, sleepiness, laziness, sloth, torpor, doubt. “Ignorance (avijja) is actually identical in nature with the unwholesome root “delusion” (moha). When the Buddha speaks in a psychological context about mental factors, he generally uses the word “delusion”; when …
Mindfulness of Mind: Week 2
Citta (consciousness of mind) = knowing the object The Pali word citta is derived from the verbal root citi – to cognize, to know. Translation for our learning purposes: citta=mind/heart. The function of citta is to experience, to feel/sense & to know. Below is my talk from our class on 9/17. It is about 30 minutes long. Formal Practice Suggestions …
Mindfulness of Mind: Week 1
Citta (consciousness of mind) = knowing the object The Pali word citta is derived from the verbal root citi – to cognize, to know. Translation for our learning purposes: citta=mind/heart Formal Practice Suggestions 1. Mindfulness of mind guided meditation from our class on 9/10. 2. When in formal meditation practice, periodically check in with the mind/heart (citta). – Is greed/lust …
Vedana: Week 2
Vedana is derived from the verb vedeti, which means both to experience, to feel and to know. Instructions on cultivating awareness of vedana from Satipatthana Sutta (translated by Bhikkhu Analyo): “And how, monks, does he in regard to feelings abide contemplating feelings? “Here, when feeling a pleasant feeling, he knows ‘I feel a pleasant feeling’; when feeling an unpleasant feeling, …
Vedana: Week 1
Vedana (feeling, feeling tone or hedonic tone) = the affective tone or hedonic quality of experience Talk on attention, embodiment and vedana plus short guided vedana meditation from our class on 8/6. Formal Practice Suggestions 1. Awareness of the body and breathing guided meditation from our class on 8/6. 2. The mind has a tendency to focus on the pain …
Contemplation of Death
Right Mindfulness: Contemplation of Death “Mindfulness of death, when developed and cultivated, is of great fruit and benefit, culminating in the deathless, having the deathless as its consummation.” – the Buddha (AN 8.7) “Death is our eternal companion. It is always to our left, an arm’s length behind us. Death is the only wise adviser that a warrior has. Whenever …