Seattle Insight Meditation Society

Fundamentals of the Dharma: Bare Attention

webmaster@seattleinsight.org (Rodney Smith) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Any review of the fundamentals must go squarely through bare attention. Bare attention is the essence of our practice, and the single tool that nourishes our wisdom and understanding all along the way. "Baring" our attention is why the practice seems to take so long to mature. We are so used to looking to thought for guidance that we overlay a film of thought on our attention to give a familiar tinge to what we see. Without that film of memory there would be the simple essence of emptiness seeing itself. Many of us feel unprepared for that level of reality so we subtly think about what we see, and our thinking makes this great expanse feel safer and more manageable. Cleaning up our attention becomes our work. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/551/Default.aspx

Fundamentals of the Dharma: Moving Toward the Struggle

webmaster@seattleinsight.org (Rodney Smith) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Why did the Buddha say he only taught suffering and the end of suffering? If this is the core of what he taught, how diligently do we practice it? Do our practices attempt to understand the nature of anguish, or do they sidestep that issue and attempt to create anguish-free environments and foster greater dependency on pleasant experiences? Do we see anguish as a fundamental dharmic principle that guides and directs us toward liberation, or do we pull back and adapt a philosophical approach to anguish - "This too shall pass." Suffering provides all that is necessary for a complete understanding of the formation of self, but we must be willing to move toward the difficult for that to be imparted. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/548/Default.aspx

Fundamentals of the Dharma: Death and Denial

webmaster@seattleinsight.org (Rodney Smith) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In this series we open an exploration of a few fundamental dharma principles. Students will already have some familiarity with many of these topics, and some may seem trivial. But the reality is there is no trivial truth. Any and all truths can only take us as deeply as we allow them to enter. Most of us reach a comfort level with these fundamentals and then build our practice on top of that partial understanding. If our practice is to move forward these principles must be reexamined and thoroughly realized, then the simplest truth can have a profound impact. This first homework is looking at death as an expression of denial - the unwillingness to face facts. Death is an example of the many ways we refuse to face life on its terms, the many ways we turn away and pretend life is other than what it is. But the dharma rests on facing facts without distortion, and unless we renew our commitment and trust to doing just that, our understanding will remain superficial. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/547/Default.aspx

The Happiness of Letting Go: Part 2

webmaster@seattleinsight.org (Kamala Masters) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Kamala Masters urges us to be vigilant and not negligent in the face of craving. By recognizing the face of attachment, the attachment cannot be strengthened by habit. When we see it, we can recognize and accept it, then turn the mind to something else.

The Happiness of Letting Go: Part 1

webmaster@seattleinsight.org (Kamala Masters) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In this talk, Kamala Masters reflects on "renunciation," one of the ten paramis. Kamala reminds us that letting go means both a letting go of the object of grasping, and of the grasping itself.

The Power of Resolve

webmaster@seattleinsight.org (Kamala Masters) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Kamala Masters explores the energy of resolve, in the context of the Ten Paramis. What is resolve? How is it experienced? And how does it connect to the resolution being carried out? (The recording begins as Kamala is already speaking.) This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/546/Default.aspx

Satipatthana Sutta, Fourth Foundation: Discerning the Self

webmaster@seattleinsight.org (Rodney Smith) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Discernment must ultimately understand the nature of self completely. Awareness saw in the Third Foundation how the self was born from a feeling and elaborated on with thought forming the story and image of "I." Even though that process is now understood (wisdom), still, because of its tremendous momentum, there may be a residual belief in the self when it arises. Discernment wears down that residual belief by tracking the sense of self through all its manifestations until there is no longer the belief in self even though there is the occasional arising of self. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/543/Default.aspx