The Eight Worldly Winds

0:01 There are a number of the phrases in the Mettā Sutta that, as I was paying particular attention tonight, that actually touch on some of the things that I'll be talking about. But it's not specifically Mettā. Tonight I thought that we would have a look at the weather, in particular at the eight worldly winds that the Buddha talked about. Report an error in the passage at 0:01 Highlight the passage at 0:01

0:34 I've got a friend who is a meteorologist and he really does look at the weather. And because we're going to look at the weather tonight, it made me think, what's the definition of a meteorologist? Because in some ways we're going to be meteorologists. And Wikipedia says that a meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology. Report an error in the passage at 0:34 Highlight the passage at 0:34

1:03 And that is... and short-term atmospheric phenomena, aiming to understand or predict the Earth's atmospheric phenomena, including weather. That takes a long time to train to be a meteorologist and even longer to become effective in that field. My friend who's a meteorologist is actually coming towards the end of his career and he's thinking about retirement. Report an error in the passage at 1:03 Highlight the passage at 1:03

1:37 I was talking to him yesterday about this and he was saying, you know, after decades of study and work in this area, he feels that he now has experience and expertise that is of value to others and is keen to share that with upcoming meteorologists, both in Australia and in developing countries. Report an error in the passage at 1:37 Highlight the passage at 1:37

2:01 He didn't learn to understand weather patterns quickly. And it's similar for us as we are learning to understand the eight worldly winds. It takes time, tension, intention and a commitment to better understand the eight worldly winds and hopefully as a result of that process be less blown about by them. Report an error in the passage at 2:01 Highlight the passage at 2:01

2:31 I do like the analogy of us being meteorologists because there's... That reference to being a scientist and the Buddha is, you know, a very diligent and effective scientist of the mind, heart, body. Report an error in the passage at 2:31 Highlight the passage at 2:31

2:51 So we are learning to understand and predict our own weather patterns and as a result be able to hopefully respond more effectively, more skillfully. Report an error in the passage at 2:51 Highlight the passage at 2:51

3:06 Now, I'm assuming that many people here, most people here probably have a good understanding of what the eight worldly winds are. But just as a reminder, and maybe just acknowledging, I'm using the phrase worldly winds. Report an error in the passage at 3:06 Highlight the passage at 3:06

3:27 It seems that it's a more accurate translation from the Pāli to say eight worldly conditions. conditions, but the input. If you like, the idea, the meaning is pretty much the same. And I liked the idea of using the winds in this talk, both because it's more poetic, if you like, but it also has that connection with nature. Report an error in the passage at 3:27 Highlight the passage at 3:27

3:57 And these worldly winds are a part of nature. They have causes and conditions. They arise because of causes and conditions, and they can also disappear because of causes and conditions. So we see here the eight, and these are winds that blow around all of us every day. Gain and loss, pleasure and pain, praise and blame, fame or status. Report an error in the passage at 3:57 Highlight the passage at 3:57

4:27 And it's opposite disrepute, disgrace, failure. So we're going to have a look at those. We sometimes can surf those waves pretty well and the wind is behind us and we're having a great time. And sometimes they can shipwreck us like that top image. So how can we be more skillful in the way we respond to these eight worldly winds? Report an error in the passage at 4:27 Highlight the passage at 4:27

4:56 Okay, Report an error in the passage at 4:56 Highlight the passage at 4:56

5:02 let's... I'm going to just put up now a part of one of the Buddhist suttas that touches on how we usually respond to it and how we might respond to it. So we can see here that the Buddha, in talking to his monastics, said there are two kinds of people. And how they respond to the eight worldly winds. We've got the uninstructed worldly, and then we've got the instructed noble disciple. Report an error in the passage at 5:02 Highlight the passage at 5:02

5:45 And, you know, I think probably looking at this, we'll all be able to feel some familiarity with how the uninstructed worldly responds to gain, loss, fame, ill repute. And Report an error in the passage at 5:45 Highlight the passage at 5:45

6:04 we're repelled by their opposites. loss, blame, pain. Report an error in the passage at 6:04 Highlight the passage at 6:04

6:38 Failure. Of course, that's how we respond. And then the Buddha goes on to say, well, that's the usual way to respond, but that's not the only way to respond. Report an error in the passage at 6:38 Highlight the passage at 6:38

6:54 Instructed noble disciple doesn't get obsessed by these things. They're not attracted to the positive and they're not repelled by the unattractive, the ones that we don't want. And as a result, Report an error in the passage at 6:54 Highlight the passage at 6:54

7:09 They're freed from birth, old age and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, dejection and anguish. They're freed from suffering. Well, that sounds all right. Report an error in the passage at 7:09 Highlight the passage at 7:09

7:21 Worth investigating a little bit further, you might think. So we'll do that. As Report an error in the passage at 7:21 Highlight the passage at 7:21

7:37 I said, it's really natural that we respond to the positive winds with attraction. And it's really natural. that we respond to the unpleasant winds with aversion. Human beings, all of us here, we've evolved with a nervous system, includes our brain and the other parts of the nervous system, that is wired to keep us alive. Report an error in the passage at 7:37 Highlight the passage at 7:37

8:10 It's wired to chase after things that look shiny and pleasurable. And it's wired to... Get us out, move us away, get us fighting when something looks like it could cause us suffering, could cause us danger. Report an error in the passage at 8:10 Highlight the passage at 8:10

8:29 And we're thus responding to the stuff of life with emotions that were laid down eons ago, a long time ago, at a time when we were prey. We were being eaten by other animals. We weren't the biggest predator on the planet. And so we have to work now in 2026 with a biology that evolved a long, long time ago, outdated hardware and software, you could think. Report an error in the passage at 8:29 Highlight the passage at 8:29

9:02 Paul Gilbert, who is a professor of psychologist at the University of Derby, he describes this as having three emotion regulation systems. Report an error in the passage at 9:02 Highlight the passage at 9:02

9:17 And I've already alluded to two of them, the threat system and the drive system. So the threat system designed to keep us alive, safe from danger. That's the fight, flight, freeze response that we have. Adrenaline, cortisol, all of the responses involved in that. Report an error in the passage at 9:17 Highlight the passage at 9:17

9:38 And that is the biggest, strongest, first, most easily activated of the three. Emotion regulation systems, safety. The second of the emotion regulation systems is the drive system or the reward system. And that gets us chasing after things that we think are good, things that we perceive as good. And they may be or they may not be, but if we perceive them to be good, we'll be chasing after them. We want more. Sometimes they help our survival and they might also be social benefits. Report an error in the passage at 9:38 Highlight the passage at 9:38

10:14 benefits and the new neurochemical most involved in that is dopamine that gets us chasing, gets us looking for what we think will keep us alive and responding well. And the third of the emotion regulation systems that Paul Gilbert talks about is the, he calls it a number of things, the soothing system. Report an error in the passage at 10:14 Highlight the passage at 10:14

10:37 It's about affiliation, care. It keeps, it's when we feel safe. He also talks about it as the mammalian care. So it's when you're in that gorgeous, safe, warm, connected kind of feeling with others and the feel-good neurotransmitters that are involved in that are things like oxytocin, endorphins and opiates, natural opiates. Report an error in the passage at 10:37 Highlight the passage at 10:37

11:10 Now, I mention that because sometimes we can take personally that which isn't personal. And these worldly winds and our responses to them aren't personal. So just highlighting, we can feel failure when we get buffeted by these worldly winds, when we do get blown off course, when we are attracted to, you know, pleasure and gain and fame and praise, and when we want to run away from the other side. Report an error in the passage at 11:10 Highlight the passage at 11:10

11:49 It's part of how we're wired. And given that that is what we bring into the world, learning to understand that, the natural responses that we have, to accept them for what they are, even potentially to care for those hardwired reactions that we have, not expect ourselves to behave differently, can be a key step in finding some stability and freedom when those worldly winds get stirred up and are blowing us around. Report an error in the passage at 11:49 Highlight the passage at 11:49

12:32 In Meteor... Meteor... I knew I was going to stumble over that word. Why am I going to use it so much in this talk? Anyway, in meteorology, weather is external. All of the weather is external to us. If we look at the eight worldly winds, Report an error in the passage at 12:32 Highlight the passage at 12:32

12:56 We'll see that some of them have, all of them potentially have an external element, but they will also always have an internal element. Report an error in the passage at 12:56 Highlight the passage at 12:56

13:10 For example, someone says to you as you are walking down the street in your new outfit, gosh, you're brave wearing that. Report an error in the passage at 13:10 Highlight the passage at 13:10

13:26 Depending on lots of factors. The wins that will be internally generated will be different. If we're somebody who loves being out there, loves being seen, loves being noticed, who sees themselves as a trendsetter, that might be just what they need to get the positive worldly wins generated. They feel pleasure, they feel gain, they feel praise, they feel status. Report an error in the passage at 13:26 Highlight the passage at 13:26

14:00 If you're somebody that's a little bit more timid, you weren't sure if it was the right thing to buy, you stepped out with trepidation, somebody saying, gosh, you're brave to be wearing that, could easily generate all the opposite winds, you know. You just want to slide home and get into your pyjamas and into bed. So we are generating a lot of our worldly winds depending on our history, what happened that day, all sorts of things. Report an error in the passage at 14:00 Highlight the passage at 14:00

14:33 And it could change. The same thing could generate a different wind at a different time at a different day. So just acknowledging what we bring to the generation of worldly winds. Report an error in the passage at 14:33 Highlight the passage at 14:33

14:58 These winds are blowing about us all the time. How do we train ourselves to respond more effectively? I'm just going to put up again a bit from the Sutta that I shared earlier. Same Sutta, different part. So the Buddha encourages us to train our minds so that firstly we need to see the winds. We need to know that One of those winds has been generated. So we need to be mindful. Report an error in the passage at 14:58 Highlight the passage at 14:58

15:39 When we do see that one of these winds has been generated, the Buddha recommends that we reflect on each of the winds, whichever side of the positive or negative, pleasant or unpleasant side of the spectrum it was on, to look at each of them and reflect that they are impermanent, suffering and subject to change. Report an error in the passage at 15:39 Highlight the passage at 15:39

16:11 And I've just put a note down there just mainly to remind myself to say that this practice that we're doing and the dharma is not at all saying we will not meet these worldly winds. We are going to meet each of these worldly winds. They are going to come along. What we can do is meet them more skillfully. Report an error in the passage at 16:11 Highlight the passage at 16:11

16:36 I think sometimes we get attracted to meditation and things like that in the hope that life will somehow transform. Report an error in the passage at 16:36 Highlight the passage at 16:36

16:48 And of course, I think by now we all know that rather than life transforming, where the potential is for us to experience life is in how we meet it. And that's why we're training the mind. Report an error in the passage at 16:48 Highlight the passage at 16:48

17:12 Now, I thought I'd bring a little, personal example of meeting the worldly winds to share, a recent example. And it happened a few weeks ago, the one I'm going to share, when my dad, who's 91 and has a discussion group with other members in the community that he lives in, invited me to talk to his group about mindfulness and meditation. Report an error in the passage at 17:12 Highlight the passage at 17:12

17:48 And he'd been saying this for a number of years and I'd said yes every time, but this time he actually made it happen and set the date and sent out emails and okay. So I arrive at the discussion group, chat, chat, chat with everybody, start my talk, the things that I'd thought about. I'd spent some time thinking about what I'd say and how I'd say it. And after that experience, Report an error in the passage at 17:48 Highlight the passage at 17:48

18:19 I left the group and the group continued on. And I expected after that morning that my dad would call me and thank me. I expected him to tell me I'd done a good job. That's the kind of thing I thought he would do. He didn't. Report an error in the passage at 18:19 Highlight the passage at 18:19

18:42 I expected he would ring to tell me he was proud of me. He didn't. I'm sitting in this pretty murky space for a little bit with this expectation, a very clear expectation of what ought to happen and it hadn't happened. And I just didn't really want to go anywhere near the feelings around it. I didn't want to acknowledge what was going on. I kept hoping that he'd ring soon. Report an error in the passage at 18:42 Highlight the passage at 18:42

19:15 He didn't. So that's... That was the first part, you know, it was like, ugh, don't really want to touch it, don't want to go near it, don't want to name it. A very natural response that we have to the unpleasant. We don't even want to see it. He wants to turn towards pain, really. The next stage of that process was that my mind then generated a whole heap of stories about why he hadn't rung. Report an error in the passage at 19:15 Highlight the passage at 19:15

19:44 He hadn't rung because, you know. I'd done a bad job. Most of the stories my mind created were pretty negative towards myself. I hadn't done a good job. I hadn't targeted it well towards the group. I hadn't been sensitive or I hadn't answered the questions effectively or any number of stories about me deciding I'd been a failure, in effect, during the presentation. Report an error in the passage at 19:44 Highlight the passage at 19:44

20:17 And the discussion. There were a few little voices that were also saying, come on, Kathryn, you don't know what the reason is. Just hold this whole thing lightly. The negative voices were stronger, even though I had no idea. And then of course the mind, I think most of us will know this part of the process, added self-judgment. Report an error in the passage at 20:17 Highlight the passage at 20:17

20:45 It was like, oh, Kathryn, in that sort of, belittling voice. Look at how needy you are. You're 62 and you still want your daddy's approval. Surely you should be above that. So that was all a bit unpleasant. Those worldly wins, most of which I generated myself, were all on that unpleasant side of the spectrum. Report an error in the passage at 20:45 Highlight the passage at 20:45

21:15 And within that process of approval. Report an error in the passage at 21:15 Highlight the passage at 21:15

21:23 Experiencing those feelings and those voices and those thoughts. I heard a talk by Forrest Hansen where he was encouraging everybody, Report an error in the passage at 21:23 Highlight the passage at 21:23

21:39 I think, but I heard it as an encouragement to accept that we will disappoint others and that the freedom comes when it's possible to sit with the discomfort. Report an error in the passage at 21:39 Highlight the passage at 21:39

21:55 That will arise when we believe or we know that we've disappointed somebody. So that felt quite useful, actually. It felt a much more grounded and realistic way of dealing with the worldly whims that I was dealing with. It was really helpful to reflect on the value of accepting that reality of life. Report an error in the passage at 21:55 Highlight the passage at 21:55

22:29 Sometimes I will let other people down. Sometimes other people won't be happy with what I've done. At times I will disappoint people, people I love. Report an error in the passage at 22:29 Highlight the passage at 22:29

22:46 And there's also part of that process. It's not just accepting the reality of those things being part of life, but also that it's painful. It's painful to be in that situation, Report an error in the passage at 22:46 Highlight the passage at 22:46

23:06 Those things, whether you're projecting or whether it's really, really happening. I Report an error in the passage at 23:06 Highlight the passage at 23:06

23:16 still don't know what my father thought of the presentation to his discussion group. He might have loved it. And I do intend having a chat with him about it shortly. But I don't know. And it's absolutely my preference to operate in a way that's skillful. Report an error in the passage at 23:16 Highlight the passage at 23:16

23:41 But I'm now... Very, very grateful that he didn't call me and thank me for doing the presentation. His silence has given me the opportunity to stretch a little into the unpleasant side of those worldly winds and become more comfortable with being okay. with the possibility of having failed. So ease came not from receiving my dad's approval. Report an error in the passage at 23:41 Highlight the passage at 23:41

24:23 Approval is uncertain. It's unreliable. That ease or peace that came eventually was from accepting the possibility of having let him down. Report an error in the passage at 24:23 Highlight the passage at 24:23

24:38 And while I would never choose to do that, it feels really helpful to be able to acknowledge I will do that from time to time and it's uncomfortable and I can be with that. Report an error in the passage at 24:38 Highlight the passage at 24:38

24:57 It's such a normal part of being a human being that we want approval from our tribe, whether it's family or friends or colleagues, others. It's a key human need and we can see where it comes from when we... Particularly, I think perhaps when we were in small bands surrounded by danger, not being approved, being rejected by the band, by being banished, could actually have meant life or death. Report an error in the passage at 24:57 Highlight the passage at 24:57

25:34 It could have been a very precarious situation we'd find ourselves in. We need each other. Report an error in the passage at 25:34 Highlight the passage at 25:34

25:50 That situation that I described with my dad. is a very small example of a normal part of life. Unpleasant, unwanted, and something that in one way or another we all experience. Report an error in the passage at 25:50 Highlight the passage at 25:50

26:13 One of the benefits of having explored that experience in the way that I did was that my experience of vulnerability, of accepting the unpleasantness and the discomfort of failure, Report an error in the passage at 26:13 Highlight the passage at 26:13

26:30 Connected me to everybody because that's part of the human condition and being able to see that as being an element of our common humanity really helps to soften the self-judgment and the isolation that can arise when we take it all so personally. Report an error in the passage at 26:30 Highlight the passage at 26:30

26:57 Self-judgment in its own right can be a very Report an error in the passage at 26:57 Highlight the passage at 26:57

27:05 force generating blame. Report an error in the passage at 27:05 Highlight the passage at 27:05

27:12 Pain, loss, that's the other one. Report an error in the passage at 27:12 Highlight the passage at 27:12

27:17 ill repute um so it's it's useful to be able to work with with that without um the edge that it already always has usually So we're going to go into the meditation in a minute. Report an error in the passage at 27:17 Highlight the passage at 27:17

27:39 be useful to go into the meditation holding lightly any expectations of what worldly winds, even light breezes, we could call them light worldly breezes, might flow through the meditation. Report an error in the passage at 27:39 Highlight the passage at 27:39

27:57 even perhaps which worldly breeze we want to have maybe even holding putting that down Report an error in the passage at 27:57 Highlight the passage at 27:57

28:10 Simply bringing care and curiosity to the experience that we have. Report an error in the passage at 28:10 Highlight the passage at 28:10

28:19 Yeah, we're Report an error in the passage at 28:19 Highlight the passage at 28:19

28:24 all just giving it our best shot, doing our best. And what we will experience in the meditation is to a large extent outside our control. Report an error in the passage at 28:24 Highlight the passage at 28:24

28:36 So having an orientation to bring some care, some kindness, some curiosity to the experience rather than expectations and then judgments can be much more can be supportive just Report an error in the passage at 28:36 Highlight the passage at 28:36

28:58 looking at the time I was going to suggest that we get up and move and I'm going to get up and move and you're welcome to get up and move with me just for a minute or so because I find it quite useful as a bit of a way to help the mind settle after Into a meditation. So if you feel like getting up and moving, you can just watch me jump around like a silly chook. That's fine as well. But just having a bit of a letting the body know that we are also bringing Report an error in the passage at 28:58 Highlight the passage at 28:58

29:44 it along with us. Report an error in the passage at 29:44 Highlight the passage at 29:44

29:49 Oh, now I need to take off the scarf. Report an error in the passage at 29:49 Highlight the passage at 29:49

29:58 Whatever feels good. And then coming on back down and finding Finding the posture that will support you, whether it's sitting or lying down or standing. Report an error in the passage at 29:58 Highlight the passage at 29:58

30:20 And we're going to be meteorologists, scientists of the mind, scientists of the weather, but scientists with a heart. And I mentioned my friend who's a meteorologist, and he has the biggest heart. Report an error in the passage at 30:20 Highlight the passage at 30:20

30:42 He's a beautiful man. I think it was this year or last year he dedicated the year to a year of kindness. So bringing whatever heart is available to you as we move into the meditation, as well as that attention and awareness. And Report an error in the passage at 30:42 Highlight the passage at 30:42

31:23 having let the body have a bit of a stretch or a shake or a jump around. If that's what you did, you might notice how the body's feeling now. There Report an error in the passage at 31:23 Highlight the passage at 31:23

31:40 might be some aliveness in the body or Report an error in the passage at 31:40 Highlight the passage at 31:40

31:52 maybe your body's heavy and tired. Report an error in the passage at 31:52 Highlight the passage at 31:52

32:04 Seeing clearly as we can, how is the body? And Report an error in the passage at 32:04 Highlight the passage at 32:04

32:30 whether you're at the end of the day, the beginning of the day or somewhere in between, there Report an error in the passage at 32:30 Highlight the passage at 32:30

32:44 may have been events or experiences. Report an error in the passage at 32:44 Highlight the passage at 32:44

32:51 less traces in the body. Report an error in the passage at 32:51 Highlight the passage at 32:51

33:03 often there's a bit of build-up of tension Report an error in the passage at 33:03 Highlight the passage at 33:03

33:17 different experiences of the day We ask a lot of this body, this soft, vulnerable body. to go into the world to have experiences that might be scary even a little bit Report an error in the passage at 33:17 Highlight the passage at 33:17

33:39 those social challenges. Feeling inadequate or unsure. Report an error in the passage at 33:39 Highlight the passage at 33:39

33:52 Just checking with the body now. Report an error in the passage at 33:52 Highlight the passage at 33:52

34:00 Maybe there's a bit of a softness as we do this and understanding. How are you doing, body? Report an error in the passage at 34:00 Highlight the passage at 34:00

34:30 You may know the places where the body can hold tension at times. And so gently checking out those places. Report an error in the passage at 34:30 Highlight the passage at 34:30

34:51 How the little muscles around the eyes, the Report an error in the passage at 34:51 Highlight the passage at 34:51

35:04 jaw, the Report an error in the passage at 35:04 Highlight the passage at 35:04

35:14 shoulders, the Report an error in the passage at 35:14 Highlight the passage at 35:14

35:23 throat, the Report an error in the passage at 35:23 Highlight the passage at 35:23

35:30 chest, the Report an error in the passage at 35:30 Highlight the passage at 35:30

35:41 belly, the Report an error in the passage at 35:41 Highlight the passage at 35:41

35:50 hips, Report an error in the passage at 35:50 Highlight the passage at 35:50

35:58 the legs, and the feet. Report an error in the passage at 35:58 Highlight the passage at 35:58

36:16 Checking in with the body so that we get information back from the body about how it's traveling, how we're traveling. Report an error in the passage at 36:16 Highlight the passage at 36:16

36:36 Listening, this Report an error in the passage at 36:36 Highlight the passage at 36:36

36:47 pause enables us to Report an error in the passage at 36:47 Highlight the passage at 36:47

36:53 Engage with the body, maybe in a different way than we usually do when we're requiring it to do the work of the mind. Take us from place to place. Show up. How Report an error in the passage at 36:53 Highlight the passage at 36:53

37:13 are you doing, body? Report an error in the passage at 37:13 Highlight the passage at 37:13

37:26 Maybe the body gives a sigh of relief. Ah, thanks Report an error in the passage at 37:26 Highlight the passage at 37:26

37:36 for listening. Report an error in the passage at 37:36 Highlight the passage at 37:36

37:46 Maybe not. Maybe the body stays tense and guarded. something else. The Report an error in the passage at 37:46 Highlight the passage at 37:46

38:03 invitation then is to see how we can be with whatever it is that we notice, whatever the wind, the bodily wind is, tension, discomfort, tiredness, and Report an error in the passage at 38:03 Highlight the passage at 38:03

38:35 we open towards that, allow it, care Report an error in the passage at 38:35 Highlight the passage at 38:35

38:43 for it. And Report an error in the passage at 38:43 Highlight the passage at 38:43

· · · silence, 1 minute

39:15 how's the mind heart? Report an error in the passage at 39:15 Highlight the passage at 39:15

39:34 Maybe the attention is quite settled, restful. Maybe the attention is trying to do a lot of work that we've set it to earlier in the day. Problem solving, paying attention to the sounds that are around us, moving Report an error in the passage at 39:34 Highlight the passage at 39:34

40:00 from one thing to the next. Report an error in the passage at 40:00 Highlight the passage at 40:00

40:07 Again. Report an error in the passage at 40:07 Highlight the passage at 40:07

40:12 So this is how it is. It's like this. And Report an error in the passage at 40:12 Highlight the passage at 40:12

40:24 we soften towards what we... Experience what we find in the mind-heart. What's Report an error in the passage at 40:24 Highlight the passage at 40:24

41:01 the weather inside you now? Report an error in the passage at 41:01 Highlight the passage at 41:01

41:13 Firstly, getting a bit of clarity and Report an error in the passage at 41:13 Highlight the passage at 41:13

41:23 acknowledging that this is how it is. No Report an error in the passage at 41:23 Highlight the passage at 41:23

41:32 need to add those reactions that are so natural of aversion or wanting. Making Report an error in the passage at 41:32 Highlight the passage at 41:32

41:53 peace with the weather as it is, if Report an error in the passage at 41:53 Highlight the passage at 41:53

42:03 that's possible. And sometimes that can be really hard. And the best we can do is make peace with it being really hard to make peace with it. Take Report an error in the passage at 42:03 Highlight the passage at 42:03

· · · silence, 1 minute

42:55 a step or two back and open up to a wide sense of the weather map. Report an error in the passage at 42:55 Highlight the passage at 42:55

43:16 Perhaps having a sense more of sitting in the awareness of the weather as Report an error in the passage at 43:16 Highlight the passage at 43:16

43:29 it changes, as it arises, as it passes. Report an error in the passage at 43:29 Highlight the passage at 43:29

· · · silence, 2 minutes

45:28 Maybe just asking the question with the changing weather internally as to whether there's a slight attraction to some elements of it or a slight repelling of other elements of it as we observe the changing inner weather, whether it's in the body, the mind, the heart. Report an error in the passage at 45:28 Highlight the passage at 45:28

46:09 Is there a wanting of some elements and an aversion to other elements? Report an error in the passage at 46:09 Highlight the passage at 46:09

46:21 Buddha suggested that a noble one lets that go. Not always easy. Useful to know that it's possible. It's Report an error in the passage at 46:21 Highlight the passage at 46:21

46:52 our reaction to the weather. Report an error in the passage at 46:52 Highlight the passage at 46:52

47:19 We observe the breezes that blow through the body, mind, heart. Report an error in the passage at 47:19 Highlight the passage at 47:19

47:31 caught up in any drama, opinions, reactions to them. Report an error in the passage at 47:31 Highlight the passage at 47:31

47:44 The understanding and care. Report an error in the passage at 47:44 Highlight the passage at 47:44

· · · silence, 9 minutes

57:01 And how is the internal weather at the moment? Report an error in the passage at 57:01 Highlight the passage at 57:01

57:13 What's arisen? What's passed away during the last 30 minutes? Report an error in the passage at 57:13 Highlight the passage at 57:13

57:35 What did you notice, if anything, about the reaction to what? What you observed, your experience, taking Report an error in the passage at 57:35 Highlight the passage at 57:35

57:52 this last minute or two to Report an error in the passage at 57:52 Highlight the passage at 57:52

58:05 reflect on the experience. Report an error in the passage at 58:05 Highlight the passage at 58:05

· · · silence, 2 minutes

59:55 Welcome back. Just Report an error in the passage at 59:55 Highlight the passage at 59:55

1:00:14 letting you know, I don't know if you can hear it, but where I am, I'm a few hundred metres away from the Perth Royal Show, which is a festival or a carnival, if you like, and at the moment they have 30 minutes of fireworks going on. So there's a lot of sound where I am, but I'm hoping that my mic isn't picking it up. Great. It Report an error in the passage at 1:00:14 Highlight the passage at 1:00:14

1:00:42 did make me reflect listening to that on the reality that some of the worldly winds are very external to us and completely out of our control. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:42 Highlight the passage at 1:00:42

1:01:05 And Report an error in the passage at 1:01:05 Highlight the passage at 1:01:05

1:01:09 I'm also interested in that. Two of the four pairs are very much about how we are in social groups. The fame, praise and blame, fame and failure, fame and ill repute are very much about humans as social animals. It just seems to highlight for me how much of our fear and reactivity and wanting is connected to how we are. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:09 Highlight the passage at 1:01:09

1:01:43 in interpersonal relationships with others and so perhaps I guess Report an error in the passage at 1:01:43 Highlight the passage at 1:01:43

1:01:57 it just helps me to put into perspective those urges that come up in me or those fears that come up in me around how I am in in relation to other people you know of course it's going to be hard at times we are such sensitive beings to the perceptions or realities of other people's judgments and treatment of us. And, you know, the Buddha was saying this 2,600 years ago. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:57 Highlight the passage at 1:01:57

1:02:29 It's something about humans. We need each other. We need to feel approved of and wanted and part of a group and included. So when that's in danger, it can be very unpleasant for us. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:29 Highlight the passage at 1:02:29