The Buddha encouraged cultivating, maintaining and increasing wholesome states in his teaching on Wise Effort. He also said to notice the gladness connected with these states. This helps create the conditions for the highest happiness to be experienced.
There are five factors, known as the jhanic factors, that are cultivated in meditation practice, especially as our practice deepens on long retreats. These factors collect and gather the attention, and then bring the qualities of joy and contentment into the mind and heart. From this place, the mind naturally settles into one-pointedness and equanimity.
After a brief review including practicing with "gross" impermanence (and death), we focus on (1) practicing with more subtle, moment-to-moment impermanence, (2) or some characteristic challenges to practicing with impermanence, and (3) on how practicing with impermanence takes us more deeply.
