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     It is sometimes noted that the Early Buddhist teaching tradition, in which our sangha mainly operates, is not entirely intuitively persuasive about anatta, non-self.  

     Other related traditions can provide experiential and intellectual support for the context out of which anatta arises.  This week, Eric brings to us a guided meditation from Richard Lang and a talk from James Low, a Scottish teacher in the Dzogchen practice of Tibetan Buddhism, who invites us to zoom out and notice the no-thingness of any arising phenomena.  Even trees.

Listen to the full talks here (we heard excerpts from the first two): https://simplybeing.co.uk/audio-records/year/dissolving-attachment-18-2017/

Some may be familiar with the poet Matsuo Basho’s haikus, each a literary snapshot of a moment in time.  One of his most famous is “The old pond,” here translated by Robert Hass:

The old pond–

a frog jumps in,

sound of water.

The more we look into it, the more remarkable it becomes. Artistic expression has a long-standing history in Buddhist tradition, with mindfulness and creativity feeding one another and resulting in an increased sense of presence and aliveness. Andrea hosted this week’s talk with a recording by Anne Cushman that elaborates on the role of creativity in our mindfulness practice.  

You can listen to today’s talk here:

https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/15870.html

The year’s beginning is a good time to renew our practice – and going back to basics with a fresh perspective can be a good way to do that.

Jackie guided our session this Sunday, drawing on the approaches taught by dharma teacher Tuere Sala, known for her emphasis on meeting overwhelm and stress with grounding in somatic experience.

You can listen to the talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/80508.html

Doubt is the fifth of the Five Hindrances, which the Buddha taught. Phillip Moffitt considers doubt to be the most devastating of the hindrances because when it arises and overwhelms the mind, the mind ceases to work to understand itself. Doubt also undermines effort. In this talk, Moffitt deconstructs doubt and suggests ways of applying mindfulness practice to it. Stephanie shared the talk this Sunday and guided a lovely New Year’s Eve discussion.

You can listen to the talk here: https://dharmawisdom.org/doubt/

At the height of this season when so many are wishing each other joy and happiness, Jane presented a talk by Sharon Salzberg which unpacks the relationship between the four qualities of heart she thinks of as “our best home.” She describes key perspectives about the Brahma Viharas of Metta, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity, which can nourish our potential to go a step beyond wishing each other well, increasing the possibility of generously offering those qualities to life in the ways we show up.

You can listen to Sharon’s talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/2850/

There are many injuries, pains, and limitations that we must contend with as we age. Buddhist dharma advises us to see these things just as they are and remember our true nature. But what happens when our memory itself is injured? How can we practice and progress when we forget? This week, Payton tried to tackle this difficult topic in our in-person Sangha gathering.

Payton played a talk by Amita Schmidt, which you can listen to here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/41205/

Also referenced was a talk by Gil Fronsdal, which is available here: https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/8570

It is said that we have 86,000 thoughts per day, almost all of which we also had yesterday.  When we examine our habitual thought patterns, do we see the roots of self-generated suffering? 

     How we shape and frame our incessant “stories” profoundly affects not only our own happiness, but that of those we contact, and ultimately our world. The effect of savoring moments of goodness and beauty ripple into our communities, and are themselves acts of peacemaking.  

     This Sunday we listened to brief and focused teachings by two modern buddhists, Bhante Buddharakkhita and Tara Brach, on how to rewire our own brains to experience more happiness.  Lorilee then facilitated a reflection where we each will have the chance to do a bit of that rewiring ourselves.

You can listen to Bhante’s talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/81321.html

You can listen to Tara’s talk here: https://www.tarabrach.com/part-1-rewiring-happiness-freedom-2/

This Sunday, we had the opportunity to meet in person in our new space and to explore practice as Embodiment, guided by Ron, and drawing on a talk by Sebene Selassie titled “There is a Body,” which casts new light on mindfulness.

You can listen to Sebene’s talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/55071/

Beyond the degree of attention we normally give in mindfulness meditation lies the terrain of deeper absorption: the jhanas.  

Although these states are described in the sutras, they often seem to be exotic and distant. Don shared with us this past week a step-by-step instruction video by Ajahn Brahm on cultivating the jhana state in our own practice.

A link to the video is forthcoming.

     Loss. It is part of our lives and naturally part of the teachings of the Buddha. We are encouraged to reflect on a daily basis that we will be separated from all that we hold dear. One pair of the “worldly winds” which tug us in opposing directions is “gain and loss”. 

     We lose small material things, which can be low in monetary value but very special to us. We lose mental states, such as deep collectedness, which may be difficult to reestablish. And sometimes we lose the people closest to us. 

     Jeff guided our reflections this week, sharing a Dhamma talk titled “Opening to Loss” given by Brian Lesage at a retreat earlier in November. Brian explores the range of loss in our lives, bringing to bear several poems about loss as well as Buddhist stories and dhammic perspectives on loss.

You can listen to Brian’s talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/81002/

When we experience loss we often think, “it was not supposed to happen like this.”

One of five daily reflections has been translated as follows: Everything that is dear and delightful to me shall change and vanish. We can interpret this as meaning that when we die, we will lose everything, which may be easier to accept in an intellectual sense. In reality, we experience loss to varying degrees throughout our lives, often when we are not prepared. We are surprised by something because we did not expect it, and then we do not want to experience the results. Hence the pain of loss.

Ananda’s reaction to loss includes a lack of clarity about the Buddha’s teachings. We can have difficulty with our practice after loss, to the point of stepping away from our routine practice.

From Mary Oliver’s poem: “It’s not the weight you carry, but how you carry it. Books, bricks, grief: it’s all in the way you embrace it, balance it, carry it when you cannot and would not put it down.”

The tapestry of grief can be complicated: deep pain, poignancy, bittersweetness, joyfulness, gratitude, relief.

Our practice can include setting aside the content and fully feeling the undulations and the reverberations in the body. We can fully feel emotion with capacity.

Things can become precious after they are lost.

Finally we also heard the poem Museé des Beaux Arts, which you can read here. It references the painting Landscape with The Fall of Icarus.