Begins with a 30m meditation and is followed by a Dharma Talk

In this talk, Gullu reviews prior week's teachings on Wise Effort, including what supports initiating effort, the middle way between extremes, and the four wise efforts using the acronym PACE: (P)reventing unwholesome states from arising, (A)bandoning unwholesome states that have arisen, (C)ultivating wholesome states, and (E)xtending (sustaining) those wholesome states. He then briefly discusses the Seven Factors of Awakening (Satta Bojjhaṅgā)—mindfulness, investigation of dhammas, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity—emphasizing that energy naturally arises from Mindfulness and investigation. He concludes with a quick overview of the Four Bases of Power (Cattāro Iddhipādā): chanda, viriya, citta, and vīmaṃsā. Particular attention is given to viriya as the engine of awakening and to vīmaṃsā as the spirit of ongoing discernment and refinement in practice. NOTE: Group discussion has been removed.

Begins with a 30m meditation and is followed by a Dharma Talk

A practical exploration of wise effort as a balanced, sustainable path: “not too tight and not too loose.” Gullu looks at the effort it takes to begin practice (and the conditions that can support and inspire that effort, including nibbidā and saṁvega), as well as how to cultivate the mind over time through the Four Wise Efforts, offered here with the acronym PACE: P — Preventing unwholesome states from arising A — Abandoning unwholesome states that have arisen C — Cultivating wholesome states E — Extending (sustaining) wholesome states

Begins with a 30m meditation and is followed by a Dharma Talk

In mettā (lovingkindness), as in so many kinds of spiritual practice, we are instructed to love our neighbor, excluding none: folks we like and don’t like, appreciate, fear, or judge by their actions to be very difficult people. We often think of “difficult person practice” as a kind of emotional purification, where we work through our judgment and aversion. This is good, but there’s more to enjoy about it than this! Difficult people are just a symptom, and the sickness is Saṃsāra, the wandering. We start by understanding difficult people as wounded people, and then as victims of the great poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion. Seeing with the eyes of compassion in this way, blame and hatred drain away. Sean Oakes supports movements for individual and collective liberation in our time of great trouble. He teaches and writes on somatics and philosophy in Buddhism, Yoga, and contemplative movement. Dr. Oakes practiced as a monk in Burma, received authorization in Insight Meditation from Jack Kornfield, wrote his PhD dissertation on extraordinary states of consciousness in Buddhist meditation and experimental dance, and lives in human and non-human community on a ridge near the ocean.