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Michael guided our reflections today, first by setting Investigation (dhamma vicaya) in the context of the progressive chain of the 7 Factors of Awakening (mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, calm, concentration and equanimity) and then by distinguishing the different versions of these factors which do or don’t aim at enlightenment.  The two types of investigation, analytic and intuitive, were then explored.  Ajahn Sumedho’s approach to holistic or intuitive investigation is articulated in the first 48 minutes of this talk

http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/10/talk/5382/

Donia framed our second inquiry into Mindfulness, the first Factor of Awakening, with short excerpts from two talks, both by Donald Rothberg

2010-10-13 Mindfulness-What it is and What Makes it Difficult

http://archive.dharmaseed.org/media/recordings/2010/10/20101013-Donald_Rothberg-SR-mindfulness_what_it_is_and_what_makes_it_difficult.mp3

2007-10-26 Supporting And Deepening Daily Life Practice

http://archive.dharmaseed.org/media/recordings/2007/10/20071026-Donald_Rothberg-SR-supporting_and_deepening_daily_life_practice.mp3

and then invited us to enter on-the-spot experiments in mindfulness.  For those interested in revisiting the music we listened to mindfully, the piece was the third movement from Beethoven’s String Quartet Opus 132 – a hymn of thanksgiving, after being delivered from a great illness.  If you’d like to listen to it again, you may click this link or copy it and paste it into your browser:

http://db.tt/CaZa4E8u

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.

http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/3/talk/3944/

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

http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/153/talk/17235/

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

http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/96/talk/296/

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.”

http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/10/talk/5382/