Rebecca began our explorations of the Seven Factors of Awakening with a look into the first factor – Mindfulness – from a neurological point of view. The core reading for the morning was Daniel Siegel’s article from the Shambhala Sun, titled “The Science of Mindfulness,” to which the following link will lead you.
http://shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3501&Itemid=0
This Sunday Michael, as a balance to the Five Hindrances and a bridge to the Seven Factors of Awakening, introduced an excerpt from Steve Armstrong’s talk on A Lifestyle of Awareness, which focuses on the Five Strengths: Confidence Energy Mindfulnes Concentration and Wisdom. We listened to and discussed the first thirty minutes, which addressed Confidence/Faith and Energy. The whole talk can be found here:
http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/170/talk/17025/
(Originally, another talk had been announced for the day – Adrienne Ross’s discussion of the Five Jhanic Factors and how each of them addressed a particular hindrance. Upon reviewing that talk, it seemed that it retraced much ground covered by the Hindrance presentations of the previous weeks, and so the topic was switched. For those interested in reviewing the hindrances with a fresh twist to , here’s the link to Adrienne’s talk.
Maryann guided our reflections on the fifth and final hindrance in our tour of these impediments and how to overcome them (and we noted that Restlessness is among the very last fetters to disappear before complete Awakening!). Maryann utilized excerpts from a Dharma Talk by Sally Clough Armstrong, given during the current three-month retreat at IMS, using the first half plus the last 3-4 minutes. Here’s a link to the talk as a whole
Joey guided our reflections on doubt, sparking our discussion with excerpts from two dharma talks: Joseph Goldstein on Doubt and Aversion and How They Influence our Lives and Practice
http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/96/talk/9014/
Tara Brach’s dharma talk, Trusting Our Secret Beauty, can be found here
http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/175/?search=trusting+our+secret+beauty
Though time prevented even an excerpt of a third talk being included in our time Sunday morning, for those who wish to explore Doubt further, Joey recommended a talk by Kristen Katz on the role of Faith in Buddhist practice.
http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/387/talk/17105/
The wonderful Rilke poem quoted was an excerpt from the Duino Elegies:
The nothing you are grasping
Do you still not know how little endures?
Fling the nothing you are grasping
out into the spaces we breathe.
Maybe the birds
will feel in their flight
how the air has expanded.
Translated by Joanna Macy & Anita Barrows
And the handout Joey distributed has been added as an attachment right here: Doubt PDF
Michael guided our exploration of Sloth and Torpor, drawing on Buddhist scripture, contemporary contrary interpretations of the dharma, and an excerpt of a talk by Joseph Goldstein. The sutta on the lazy monks is from the Anguttara Nikaya, and can be found at number 7.6, under persistance (or lack of it)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/study/recognizing.html#persistence
Jason Siff’s comments on the possibly positive utility of sleepiness can be found in his book “Unlearning Meditation”, esp. pages 108, 112, 124-5.
From Joseph’s talk, we listened to the traditional ways of overcoming sleepiness, utilizing minutes 30:38 through 45:38 of his talk on the Hindrance of Sloth and Torpor
Margaret guided our reflections on the various aspects of the hindrance of Aversion, from mild to extreme. The talk by Joseph Goldstein, from which she used some excerpts, can be found at
http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/96/talk/296/
Anne began our series on the Five Hindrances, by focusing on Greed. Among other resources, she drew on a talk by Joseph Goldstein, using selected excerpts (minutes 1-10, 14:30-27:10, and 34:30-44:29). You may find the entire talk at http://dharmaseed.org/talks/audio_player/96/294.html
If you are interested in further exploring the topic, Anne recommends you might want to listen to this talk by Gil Fronsdal. http://www.audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/1402.html
Today Michael introduced the technique of listening to the Sound of Silence, using a talk by Ajahn Sumedho. The portion we listened to begins at minute 13.40 of this link.
http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/10/talk/4264/
We also discussed and explored Ajahn Sumedho’s encouragement to look at each arising object of consciousness intuitively and holistically to see “the way it is.” He speaks of this often, and one good place to listen is talk on “Getting to the Root of the Problem.”
Payton played a talk by Tara Brach, linked below.
Tara Brach – Impermanence: the gifts of facing reality
Sam guided our reflections on Enlightenment this Sunday, framing them with a talk by James Baraz.
The talk offers a presentation of non-Buddhist perspectives on enlightenment through stories and quotes of Advaita (non-dualistic) teachers such as Ramana Maharshi, Poonjaji, Eckhart Tolle, and Adyahshanti. . . . The talk ends with a brief guided meditation.
http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/86/talk/11695/
(This talk is third in a series of four on Enlightenment from the point of view of different traditions, for which go to dharmaseed.org > teacher > James Baraz > Select from James Baraz’s talks dropdown menu > Enlightenment 1, 2, 3, &4
