In this second part of a two-part set of talks, we first review briefly last week's talk, including the three traditional areas of training--in wisdom, meditation (including the development of concentration, mindfulness and insight, and the heart practices), and ethical practice. We then identify two further contemporary areas of practice: Psychological work of different kinds (including psychotherapy, various forms of "shadow" work, examination of one's social conditioning) and social engagement that extends ethical practice. We also identify some of the deeper dimensions of traditional practice, including the deepening of concentration practice in the jhanas, the three modes of liberating insight--seeing impermanence, reactivity (or dukkha), and not-self, the opening to non-dual awakened awareness, practices transforming the body (as in tummo practice), and the resting in non-doing. The talk is followed by discussion.

Connected with the later talk giving a contemporary map of our practices, we review four foundational practices: (1) developing concentration (samadhi); (2) cultivating general mindfulness, (3) cultivating mindfulness of impermanence; and (4) a heart practice developing kindness, compassion, or other heart qualities. This is followed by two brief reflections on one's practice.

In the first part of a two-part talk, we first identify the value of having a comprehensive map of our practice, and how a contemporary map builds on traditional maps but includes dimensions of practice not identified traditionally. We then explore the three traditional areas of training--in wisdom, meditation (including the development of concentration, mindfulness and insight, and the heart practices), and ethical practice--while briefly mentioning (more next time) two further contemporary areas of practice: Psychological learning of different kinds and social engagement that extends ethical practice. The talk is followed by discussion.

Connected with the talk giving a contemporary map of our practices, we review four foundational practices: (1) developing concentration (samadhi); (2) cultivating general mindfulness, (3) cultivating mindfulness of pleasant or unpleasant feeling-tones, and being mindful of any ensuing reactivity (grasping after the pleasant and pushing away the unpleasant in relatively unconscious, automatic, and habitual ways); and (4) a heart practice developing kindness, compassion, or other heart qualities. The guided meditation is followed by a brief period of discussion.

A main way to understand generally our practice is by seeing it as combining (1) avoiding “unskillful” or “unwholesome” actions and states of mind (and knowing how to practice when they arise), and (2) developing skillful or wholesome qualities. We explore different aspects of this way of seeing our practice: Understanding its relationship to the teaching on wise effort; seeing the core unskillful quality as reactivity (dukkha) in its two forms as grasping after the pleasant and pushing away the unpleasant, each in myriad ways; and developing positive qualities like concentration, mindfulness, kindness and compassion, generosity and the other paramis, and the Seven Factors of Awakening. We examine some of the complexities of practicing with reactivity, with a main one being that reactivity is often enmeshed with discernment; I can be judgmental and caught in reactivity, for example, as an activist who sees injustice clearly, with discernment. This calls therefore for transforming the reactivity, so we can make use of the discernment skillfully. We also look into some examples of both forms of practice, both in meditation and in the flow of daily life. The talk is followed by discussion.

We begin with a brief introduction to the theme of this evening’s talk on the foundations of our practice—avoiding “unskillful” or “unwholesome” actions and states of mind (and knowing how to practice when they arise), on the one hand, and developing skillful or wholesome qualities, on the other. There is then a guided practice, linked with the talk theme, focused on developing (1) concentration (samadhi), (2) mindfulness (sati), and (3) awareness of reactivity, developed in part by noticing how we relate to what is moderately pleasant or unpleasant.

We begin by reviewing briefly last week's session, including how contemporary practice can expand the traditional focus on ignorance to include contemporary psychological and social perspectives on further dimensions of ignorance, including our initially unconscious social conditioning. We look again briefly at how the Buddha related both to caste and to women's roles in the sangha, and the basic of social conditioning, including how this is related to "in-groups," "out-groups," and "implicit bias." Most of the talk is devoted to suggesting the basic ways that we can explore and transform social conditioning. We focus on the main supports for such practice, including working with groups and guidelines, knowing the history of a particular form of conditoning (we give the examples of gender and race), using different forms of inquiry, mindfulness in meditation and daily life (including being mindful of the judgmental mind, anger, sadness, shame, etc.), the heart practices (including the importance of self-love, compassion, forgiveness, and joy), and other practices, such as involving ritual. The talk is followed by discussion.

We begin by focusing on a fundamental perspective for our practice: How our practice moves from underlying ignorance to wisdom. We look at both the traditional understanding of such ignorance and how contemporary psychological and social perspectives help us to identify further dimensions of ignorance, including our initially unconscious social conditioning. We start by considering how the Buddha related both to caste and to women's roles in the sangha. We then look at the nature of social conditioning, including how this is related to "in-groups" and "out-groups," along with "implicit bias," and ways that our practice can help us see more clearly and ultimately transform our social conditioning.

After some personal stories from Donald about his father, who was a veteran, and about Donald’s experiences growing up at the time of the Vietnam war and being introduced to nonviolence, we explore the three main dimensions of our practice (training in ethics, meditation, and wisdom) related to the holiday. We focus on the ethical teachings about killing and nonviolence, including the complexities of these teachings; the importance of bringing mindfulness to grief, loss, and sadness, and of grounding in kindness, compassion, and love; and the wisdom and insight teachings about seeing the roots of violence. The talk is followed by discussion.

We begin with a review of the nature of samadhi and of samatha practice, in which we develop greater samadhi. Samadhi is understood as a natural quality (including with other species) that we may know through times in which we are deeply immersed and absorbed in an activity, such as being with another, art, music, or sports. Samatha is one of the two main forms of meditation taught by the Buddha, along with insight practice. We also give an overview of how samatha practice deepens, going into some depth on the model of the five jhanic factors, and pointing to the experiences of the first two jhanas (as taught by the Buddha). The talk is followed by discussion.