The Dalai Lama has said that compassion develops through a deep insight into and understanding suffering. The difficult times we go through on retreat are a wonderful opportunity to explore the possibility of compassion in relationship to our own experience.
The habit of judging; ourselves and others can be a huge source of suffering. Exploring the conditioned nature of this tendency of mind can lead to greater happiness and freedom.
The second in a series of talks explores the formation of self through the five aggregates, a list which describes our total human experience. The Buddha talked about the activities of "I-ing" and "my-ing" as creating a self view around each one of the aggregates.
Suffering can lead to contraction and more suffering or can be a catalyst for awakening. Just why and how some people have the good karma to hear the Dharma and practice is a mysterious blessing and precious opportunity.
This talk explores the different temperaments that fuel practice, known as the Four Iddhipadas.
We usually think of renunciation as giving up what we cherish, but true renunciation can be a practice that springs from a sense of well being, giving up what no longer serves us to find greater happiness.
