We explore in general the Seven Factors as a guide to our practice and as an experience of awakened being and presence. We examine each of the seven: mindfulness, investigation, effort, rapture or joy, stillness, concentration and equanimity, with suggestions of what to do to cultivate each quality.
The 4th of July celebration of American Independence met with the Buddhist teaching of interdependence brings a deeper understanding of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The qualities of the summer solstice: stillness (between days with more or less light), light and clarity, openness and space, warmth, and abundant energy, parallel in many ways the factors of enlightenment in the teachings of the Buddha. We explore these qualities through teachings, poetry and suggestions of practice.
We continue exploring the nature and methods of inquiry, the freshness, openness, interest and energy it can bring to practice. We explore (1) mindfulness – based inquiry, (2) deep listening, (3) working with teachings (here particularly the Four Noble Truths and Precepts), (4) radical questions and (5) deconstructing fixed beliefs, with more time on numbers 3 – 5.
In this second talk on inquiry, we review some of the material from last time, including the Kalama Sutta, inquiry as a factor of awakening, and the inquiry methods of (1) mindfulness, (2) deep listening and (3) working with teachings to help inquiry. Then we explore (4) radical questions and (5) deconstruction of fixed beliefs.
Through our practice we can directly experience our body as a field of energy in constantly changing forms. Sometimes what seems to be a wall is actually a doorway into the direct experience of our true nature.
A guided meditation leading to an exploration of the first foundation of mindfulness. Questions addressed include: why focus on the body and how the body relates to the other foundations.
