Category: Uncategorized

This past week Mike Blouin guided our reflections on Fear — a factor of mind that can produce effects from subtle unease to total panic, with effects that radiate into our own lives and the lives of those around us.

In addition to a very productive discussion, we listened to excerpts from several recorded talks:

• Tara Brach, Beyond the Fear Body, Part 2: http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/175/talk/27791/ (we listened from about 7:00 to 12:00)
• Guy Armstrong, Working with Fear: http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/79/talk/29354/ (we listened from about 6:40 to 13:15)
• Joseph Goldstein, Working with Fear: http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/96/talk/17678/ (we listened to various parts of this talk)

Dear friends of the Vipassana Sangha
There will be no Sangha meeting this Sunday, March 13.

The Fire Department is testing the alarms and sprinkler systems during the hours we would normally meet !

See you the following Sunday. 

Today Payton led a discussion on ways we can engage with the Eight Worldly Winds in a skillful manner, without being caught by the sense of self.

Here are some notes on the Winds:

Praise: there is a difference between accepting praise and needing it.

Blame: if someone blames me does it mean that they are blaming the whole of me?

Gain and Loss: having something does not necessarily say something about me; the loss of something does not take away from my sense of worth.

Pleasure and Pain: appreciate pleasant things knowing they will not last forever; don’t be afraid of painful things because they won’t last forever.

Fame and Disrepute: does my sense of self depend on fame? What can I learn from disrepute? Where does our sense of worth come from? Where does our sense of contentment come from?

Creatively engage with views, ideas, thoughts: We often think, “I am my thoughts. I propose my thoughts to somebody. If somebody rejects my thoughts, I think they are rejecting me.” When we feel that someone is refuting my whole being, then we get angry. But if instead we can remain open, not defensive, then a dialog develops and we may come to realize a new idea which is better than the first one.

The discussion was supported by a talk from Martine Bachelor, available on Dharmaseed here:

http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/119/talk/11907/

Margaret led our reflections this past Sunday on how we respond to real or perceived criticism. What are our own responses to our perceptions of criticism from within and without? How about praise? How can we respond wisely when these “worldly winds” blow in our lives?

The talk was supported by this recording of James Baraz:

http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/86/talk/17337/

Last Sunday, Michael directed our reflections on breath, dividing the session into two parts. First was the way the Buddha described his own default practice during the long rains retreats as a “sacred dwelling, a noble dwelling, and a tathagatha’s dwelling. To explicate this, we began by listening to a short excerpt (minutes 11-27) from a talk by Stephen Batchelor.

http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/169/talk/27499/

To explore breathing from a physical standpoint, and vary our breathing patterns without necessarily controlling them, we undertook some sensory awareness experiments with the breath. And of course, we explored our discoveries in practicing meditation on breathing.

This Sunday Wendy guided a discussion which revolved around the idea of Personas and the sense of self. The central theme was being able to exist in roles and experience the world without being caught up in one “self” or another. That is, to still have an ego, but to recognize it and be able to see it with some perspective.

The discussion was formed around two talks, one by Pascal Auclair here:

Pascal Auclair
2016-01-13 Joy On The Path 52:28
http://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/audio_player/198/32129.html

And another by Tara Brach:

Tara Brach
2009-10-21 Behind the Mask 49:00
http://dharmaseed.org/talks/audio_player/175/7344.html

This past Sunday, Sam guided our reflections on Non-Duality. This spiritual approach spans a number of different orientations and appears in different forms in Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as esoteric versions of other faiths. The discussion was broadened with a recorded talk by James Baraz:

http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/86/talk/11695/

In particular, we listened to minutes 6:47-13:03 and 21:59-54:44.

Following our discussion of dukkha, Joey offered the guidance by Yanai Postelnik on the hindrances and how we can work with them.  You might notice how they are arising in your practice this week, naming them and bringing any part of that experience to our discussion.  Just to remind you, the hindrances are desire, aversion, torpor or sleepiness, restlessness and doubt.

Yanai Postelnik on Hindrances

http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/193/talk/32040/

Payton led the discussion on Sunday around the topic of sitting (or walking, or standing, or lying down) with physical discomfort and pain. The focus was a talk given by Sky Dawson, available here:

http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/199/talk/20612/

Some key points from her talk:

• Is a mountain heavy? Only if we try to pick it up.

• What happens when you feel pain in the body? How do we know it’s pain? Is your experience of pain always the same? The concept of pain can be huge, but isn’t it contextual?

• It’s best not to try to endure the pain; allowing it to reach a peak without trying to manage it takes much longer to drop down again. If it increases, take steps to manage it.

• “In practice, why do I move? … Why do you stop sitting?” Is it to alleviate discomfort? Right there is Dhukka: the nature of having a body and the feeling of always being dissatisfied.

• We anticipate pain and then we can’t relax in the here and now. With chronic pain, even if you have no pain right now, we can’t relax because you’re always waiting for the next onslaught.

• Shinzen Young: Suffering = Pain x Resistance.

Sam hosted this session on Freedom, with differing perspectives offered by three dharma teachers: Jack Cornfield, Tara Brach, and Christina Feldman.

“A Taste of Freedom”,  Christina Feldman, 12-27-08,  [0:00—1:38 and 9:38-19:37].

http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/44/talk/10805/

“The Great Perfection: The Taste of Freedom”,  Tara Brach, 10-5-99, [0:00-22:01].

http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/175/talk/1950/

“Freedom and the Way it is…”, Jack Kornfield, 9-6-10,  [10:53-15:52].

http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/85/talk/10011/