The Buddha said that the perception of impermanence, when developed and cultivated, can lead to liberation. This talk explores some of the ways we can begin and continue to perceive this truth more accurately.
Meditation is the work of the mind: as in the famous saying of the Buddha: Avoid evil, do good and purify the mind. The attitude with which we approach our practice can be a continuation of our usual habits of getting and doing, or we can shift the view (the paradigm) to that of trust and confidence in natural awareness.
Suffering is often what brings people to the Dharma as well as opening us up to resources inside we didn't know were there. Looking at hindrances and difficulties in this way allows us to relate to them wisely and realize the gifts that they bring and the ways they help us grow.
This is an opening night talk for a month long mindfulness retreat which presents the rationale for practicing in the form that we do. It includes readings from the Foundations of Mindfulness Sutta. It also makes the connection between mindfulness and metta practice and the rationale for practicing both simultaneously.
The intrinsic nature of mind is naturally lucid, aware, bright, open, empty and cling free. It is only temporarily limited or corrupted by being mixed with adventitious obscurations.
Lama Surya Das explains & elucidates natural meditation, nowness-awareness, how to sit and gage and be, and explains his original four kinds of mindfulness.
