Discovering Buddhism - How To Meditate (20 October 2011)

0:05 So welcome to How to Meditate. My name is Carol and I am teaching this class. It's a Discovering Buddhism class. I don't know which module this is, but I see lots of very, some familiar faces and some new faces, so that's really nice. Report an error in the passage at 0:05 Highlight the passage at 0:05

0:31 I hear an echo. Jessica? Somehow I have an echo now? Is it? Maybe I'm too close. Is that better? Better? Okay. I think that's better now. There's a little less. It still seems to be somewhat of an echo, but okay. Report an error in the passage at 0:31 Highlight the passage at 0:31

0:54 Okay, whatever. So what we'll do tonight, I thought to get right into it, let's start with a little bit of breathing meditation. We're going to go through a lot of the details later, but right now just find yourself a comfortable position. and we're just going to Report an error in the passage at 0:54 Highlight the passage at 0:54

1:14 Meditate on the breath for just maybe five or ten minutes. We'll see how it goes. So at this point, you Report an error in the passage at 1:14 Highlight the passage at 1:14

1:27 can begin with your eyes closed or looking down at the floor about three feet in front of you. The most important thing at this point is to have your back straight but not stiff. And then just to find a comfortable place. Report an error in the passage at 1:27 Highlight the passage at 1:27

1:55 And now mentally just let go of all the things on your mind, all the day's concerns, the things that... Want to follow you here? Leave them behind. Report an error in the passage at 1:55 Highlight the passage at 1:55

2:07 Just let yourself be here and Report an error in the passage at 2:07 Highlight the passage at 2:07

2:13 let go of all the noises around the traffic and people walking around, coming in and out. It's okay to recognize it's there and then you just let it go. Report an error in the passage at 2:13 Highlight the passage at 2:13

2:33 You're going to bring your attention to the breath. Report an error in the passage at 2:33 Highlight the passage at 2:33

2:40 That's going to be the object of this meditation. So you can focus on the sensation of your breath. It's the sensation of breathing at your nostrils as you breathe in and out. Report an error in the passage at 2:40 Highlight the passage at 2:40

2:57 Or you can focus on the rise and fall of your chest as you breathe. Report an error in the passage at 2:57 Highlight the passage at 2:57

3:05 And I want you to put like 90 % of your focus there. Report an error in the passage at 3:05 Highlight the passage at 3:05

3:13 And then with the 10 % that you sort of keep behind, you're going to watch yourself watching the breath. So we're just going to make sure that our attention stays on the breath. Report an error in the passage at 3:13 Highlight the passage at 3:13

3:35 to help focus our attention. Report an error in the passage at 3:35 Highlight the passage at 3:35

3:39 We can count our breaths. So just inhaling, exhaling, that's one. Report an error in the passage at 3:39 Highlight the passage at 3:39

3:49 And so just do this now and see if you can reach a count of ten without finding your mind, you know, on something else. But if you do find it, it's wandered, that's okay. Just gently bring the attention back. Report an error in the passage at 3:49 Highlight the passage at 3:49

· · · silence, 5 minutes

9:29 Okay, Report an error in the passage at 9:29 Highlight the passage at 9:29

9:35 relax a little bit and I'm going to look for our little, we have a nice little chime. Jessica? Do we have that little chime? It's a nice way to end the meditation. I don't see it anywhere. Report an error in the passage at 9:35 Highlight the passage at 9:35

9:55 Oh, yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even see that. No, it's fine. I should have put it up. I'll put it up front. It's okay. Oh, that might be bad. Report an error in the passage at 9:55 Highlight the passage at 9:55

10:18 So welcome, everybody. I hope that helped just kind of center and separate this class, this meditation time, from, you know, the time leading up to it. And that's... That's sort of the mindset of this meditation practice. We spend our lives either in meditation or out of meditation. And what we do in meditation affects very much our mindset outside of meditation. So to give you an idea, I thought tonight in this class we'll cover, this is how to meditate. Report an error in the passage at 10:18 Highlight the passage at 10:18

10:56 We're going to talk mainly about posture and motivation and dedication. And a little bit starting with why we meditate. And if you have any questions, please feel free to raise your hand anytime or just speak up. It's fine. Oh, right. Report an error in the passage at 10:56 Highlight the passage at 10:56

11:47 Okay. Thanks. Report an error in the passage at 11:47 Highlight the passage at 11:47

11:52 So first, I thought maybe we'd just go around the room and just say your name and what you'd like to get out of this class, basically. Report an error in the passage at 11:52 Highlight the passage at 11:52

12:04 As I said, I'm Carol. And for me, this is a good chance to really review all the basics of meditation and to revisit just how useful and important a meditation practice can be. Report an error in the passage at 12:04 Highlight the passage at 12:04

12:36 Do you want to hand... And that way you also get to try the magic microphone. My name is Jessie, and I would like to learn how to... Report an error in the passage at 12:36 Highlight the passage at 12:36

12:52 Calm myself down and be more mindful and live more in the moment. Report an error in the passage at 12:52 Highlight the passage at 12:52

13:01 My name is Susan, and I've tried to read books about how to do this, and I haven't been very successful. Report an error in the passage at 13:01 Highlight the passage at 13:01

13:12 Hi, my name is Antonio. I just wanted to learn how to be more present in the moment. My name is Dalglish. I took this course somewhere else before, but I was hoping for a refresher. My name is Gina, and I'm new to this class. Report an error in the passage at 13:12 Highlight the passage at 13:12

13:34 Hi, my name is Winnie and I've been meditating a little bit and I went up to Vajrapani and took a weekend. But the discipline, you know, just getting my butt on that cushion every day. Report an error in the passage at 13:34 Highlight the passage at 13:34

13:49 Hi, I'm Steve and yeah, I'm here to learn how to meditate. I've been doing it, but I have a really, it's difficult for me to find a consistent time in a day to do it consistently. Report an error in the passage at 13:49 Highlight the passage at 13:49

14:05 Hi, my name is Jenna, and I am here to work on the discipline aspect of meditation, and I'm fairly new to meditation, so learning. Report an error in the passage at 14:05 Highlight the passage at 14:05

14:16 Jenna is also the volunteer for Thursday night, and she's in training, so just so you know, in case you need anything to ask her or me, I'm Jessica, and I'm just here helping out, too. Report an error in the passage at 14:16 Highlight the passage at 14:16

14:30 Hi, I'm hiding in the back. My name is Janet, and I'm sitting in on the class. Because you can never know too much. Report an error in the passage at 14:30 Highlight the passage at 14:30

14:41 Hi, I'm Irimino and I'm here to learn how to meditate. I'm Nikki and I'm Carol, a venerable Carol has been my Dharma sister for 23 years and I would go anywhere that she's teaching a class, especially now that my children are growing up and flying the nest. Report an error in the passage at 14:41 Highlight the passage at 14:41

15:03 My name is Anne and I think I'm similar to Winnie with... I like to work a little bit on the discipline part, but also just methods, study some methods, I guess. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 15:03 Highlight the passage at 15:03

15:19 Hi, I'm Jemaine, and I've been meditating for years, but I've never actually had a full course in it, so I think I should probably by now. Report an error in the passage at 15:19 Highlight the passage at 15:19

15:30 Hi, my name is Ray. I've taken this class before, but obviously it didn't take. I just wanted to learn how to be more... Disciplined and also to create a more consistent practice. I'm John and I just like any chance to come to the center. So any class that I can come and attend, I just love coming. I'm Jean-François. Maybe you reach a bit more peace of mind. Report an error in the passage at 15:30 Highlight the passage at 15:30

16:03 I'm Alexis and I'm not even sure I know what meditation is yet. So it's a good place to start, I guess. I'm Jason and I'm here because I just need a little stamina. Report an error in the passage at 16:03 Highlight the passage at 16:03

16:18 I'm Katie and coming here is just a way to recommit myself to my practice. Report an error in the passage at 16:18 Highlight the passage at 16:18

16:28 You can just keep it right there. So for those of you who are looking for some, you know, for a time and a regular practice, we'll have that for the next six weeks. And we will be meeting every Thursday, except I believe we'll take off toward the end of November. We'll meet November 10th, but then the next two weekends, which come into Thanksgiving, we won't meet and then we'll come back on December 1st. Report an error in the passage at 16:28 Highlight the passage at 16:28

16:59 And there is a practice day, practice slash retreat day, which occurs on December 10th, which is a Saturday. And if you decide to take the class for Discovering Buddhism credit, then you do have to take part in that day. We hope you all will because we'll all want to be meditating so much then. But it'll be a day of kind of a little mini retreat day and we'll give you more details on that later. Report an error in the passage at 16:59 Highlight the passage at 16:59

17:30 And I think there's also, if you take this for credit, there's an exam involved at the end. The 10th of December, yes. Report an error in the passage at 17:30 Highlight the passage at 17:30

17:44 So also, it's really good because I think going around the room it gives me a chance to learn your names a little bit. At least take a shot at it. And to find out, you know, just where everyone's coming from. So we've got some people have been meditating for a long time and some people are just starting. Report an error in the passage at 17:44 Highlight the passage at 17:44

18:06 And it's a good mix. And one of the real benefits you'll find in taking a meditation class is the opportunity to meditate with a room full of people. It's definitely a different energy there. And you'll notice this when you go home. To start your own practice and to do your, quote, homework each week. It'll be different. So a little bit of an aside here on materials. Report an error in the passage at 18:06 Highlight the passage at 18:06

18:32 I think there will be some reading materials that go along with this class. And we'll have some printed out next week. If you're going to stay with the class, there's a sign-up sheet. I think that Jessica probably has it back there. So we'll make enough copies for that list. And then this is a book called How to Meditate. Report an error in the passage at 18:32 Highlight the passage at 18:32

19:00 It was written by Kathleen McDonald and her ordained name is Sangye Kadro. It actually looks like that now. I have a very old copy. It's a very good basic book. it's uh it's uh It's very hands-on and it answers a lot of questions and it's a nice thing because it has a lot of meditations in it that are easy to read and they're the kinds of things that you can kind of read through and then sit down and meditate at home because we'll be talking about different types of meditation and again it really is a very practical guide. Report an error in the passage at 19:00 Highlight the passage at 19:00

19:42 And then I think we also have a few copies of a book by Genlon. Again, Lama Rinpoche was a great meditator himself. He's passed away several years ago. But I think his book was called Calming the Mind. And that deals with a more, probably it's a more intermediate to advanced book. But if you go on with your meditation practice, there are a lot of good books by meditators that help us. Report an error in the passage at 19:42 Highlight the passage at 19:42

20:17 Understand, you know, sort of the stages because as we're going to talk about this, when we meditate, we're really working with our minds and it is a sort of a cumulative practice in terms of what we're able to get out of it and and the effect on our minds. So what I'm hoping to help you with here is is to explain all the basics. Report an error in the passage at 20:17 Highlight the passage at 20:17

20:47 Developing a meditation practice and helping you find a way to achieve a quieter mind. We all know that in this sort of the pace of life right now is such that quiet Report an error in the passage at 20:47 Highlight the passage at 20:47

21:06 is hard to find and a quiet mind is really, sometimes it's very challenging given the things that take our attention these days. Report an error in the passage at 21:06 Highlight the passage at 21:06

21:21 20, 30 years ago, there was no internet. So much has happened. I mean, there was TV, but you could turn that off. Now, if you are away from email for a day, people are wondering what happened, or even half a day. Cell phones, I can't reach you. It's been an hour. So you think about what's happened with the pace of life and the demands on our attention. Report an error in the passage at 21:21 Highlight the passage at 21:21

21:48 That coupled with... Sort of the tendency to promote multitasking. It's like that's the only way you can survive this kind of pace. And all those things are very counter to what we're trying to do with meditation because we really want, we're taking this time to focus our minds, to quiet them. So it'll be an interesting practice and it will be challenging at times. Report an error in the passage at 21:48 Highlight the passage at 21:48

22:20 But it's definitely something that you all can do and that if you stay with it, it will have a great benefit for you. Report an error in the passage at 22:20 Highlight the passage at 22:20

22:35 I was going to mention that this course, being a Buddhist center and being a Buddhist nun, I'm teaching it from a Buddhist perspective. But the material itself, it's about that lineage. It's not about religion. You don't have to be a Buddhist. You don't even have to want to be a Buddhist. It's fine. This is really about learning this technique. And one of the nice things about the Buddhist tradition is that because of this lineage, it's an unbroken lineage. Report an error in the passage at 22:35 Highlight the passage at 22:35

23:22 So this method one that has been... You know, tried out and used through the ages. So it's based on experience, not belief. And the Dalai Lama always says, you know, when it comes to teachings, if what you hear is useful, then great, you know, apply it to your life. And if it doesn't work for you, just let go of it. So just use that in the same way here. Report an error in the passage at 23:22 Highlight the passage at 23:22

23:56 Although, like I said, when it comes to meditation, there will be times when you want to just get up from that cushion and walk away, but there is a time when you want to stay with it and work on it. So first, I think it's pretty clear that we're looking at meditation. A reason for meditation, or a big reason for meditating is calming the mind, quieting the mind. Report an error in the passage at 23:56 Highlight the passage at 23:56

24:25 we think, you know, we... Kind of look at, okay, what's behind that calming the mind? It's also about wanting, just wanting a simple happiness in our lives. Report an error in the passage at 24:25 Highlight the passage at 24:25

24:41 And if we consider, I mean, everybody wants to have happiness and be free of suffering. And that's not only human beings, animals, you know, every life form basically is looking for, every sentient life form, I should say. Wants to have some happiness, wants to, you know, wants to avoid suffering. And one of the things that we recognize early on in life is that, you know, we can't control the world outside ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 24:41 Highlight the passage at 24:41

25:14 We're, there's, all we can do really is control our response to it. And oftentimes it's hard to do that. that's what with um with the Sort of the accumulation of karma. I'm going to say that word now, but I'll explain it in a bit. Report an error in the passage at 25:14 Highlight the passage at 25:14

25:43 We're often at odds with our situation because things don't come out the way we want them to or the way we expect them to. And you could say, okay, fine, I can stand back and I'm just going to be, I can make myself happy because I'll just accept everything that happens. Lasts about five minutes because we really, that's not how we're made and our minds just right now are driven very much by a very strong sense of I, this person inside our heads that from, you know, probably the day we became conscious of, you know, of the self in this particular life, there was always something. Report an error in the passage at 25:43 Highlight the passage at 25:43

26:31 Telling us what we need to do, what would make things better. I'm hungry, I'm thirsty. Report an error in the passage at 26:31 Highlight the passage at 26:31

26:42 It's sort of a never-ending progression of satisfying our needs. And some of those things are just basic physical needs, but a lot of them are emotional. And we find ourselves in a situation where, from a Buddhist perspective, Um. Report an error in the passage at 26:42 Highlight the passage at 26:42

27:05 It said that our problem with the world is it's not really the world. It's what we're projecting on it. We see things and we don't see them in the way they really exist. We see them in the way we expect them to exist. Report an error in the passage at 27:05 Highlight the passage at 27:05

27:28 This gets a little bit complicated, but essentially it's saying that things... They exist in what we'll say is a conventional way, just as they are. But we get into trouble because we kind of project a kind of permanence on things and sort of we project on things sort of inherent qualities. So let me give you an example. You know, we think about, you know, in a very simple way, a dish of ice cream. Report an error in the passage at 27:28 Highlight the passage at 27:28

28:11 If you're hungry or you feel like having some ice cream, ice cream can be lovely and it's enjoyable. But if you keep eating ice cream, then it's not so lovely. Then you get uncomfortable and you feel, oh, I should have eaten that. Or maybe it's a nice meal and you just really enjoy it, gobble it down, and then it's like, oh, my stomach hurts. Report an error in the passage at 28:11 Highlight the passage at 28:11

28:36 And we're kind of surprised by that. and oftentimes Oftentimes, we're disappointed as well. It's like, oh, well, that was something that was supposed to be an enjoyable experience. Or maybe it is an enjoyable experience, but you really want more. It's like, oh, it's all gone. Gee, I wish there was more. So it's our view. Report an error in the passage at 28:36 Highlight the passage at 28:36

29:01 I mean, part of it is our expectations. But part of it is that when we think ice cream, we think pleasure. And if ice cream really existed the way we expect it to, then every time you had ice cream, it would just be very pleasurable and it wouldn't change and you wouldn't get an unpleasant experience from ice cream. Report an error in the passage at 29:01 Highlight the passage at 29:01

29:20 It would always be good. And the same with our relationships, you know, with people, with friends, with family, in our, you know, love relationships, things would just be like a fairy tale. Because they would always go the way we expect them to, you know. And that's why we're disappointed and upset that things never do. And unfortunately, the truth of the fact is that, you know, the world exists simply the way it does. Report an error in the passage at 29:20 Highlight the passage at 29:20

29:51 It's from the teachings, it said, you know, things exist just based on causes and conditions. Things are just out there. But we kind of look at things and project more. You know, we meet someone, we say, I'm going to spend my life with this person. This person's totally wonderful. Well, the person is just who they are, just as, you know, we are the same. Report an error in the passage at 29:51 Highlight the passage at 29:51

30:14 And we have times when we're really wonderful and times when we're not, you know. The same thing with jobs, with everything that we deal with, they simply exist. There's nothing inherently good or bad or pleasant or unpleasant. All of that is our making, okay? Report an error in the passage at 30:14 Highlight the passage at 30:14

30:35 I know this is a very different kind of view. What I'm basically trying to describe in a practical way comes down to the Buddhist view of emptiness or impermanence. In some traditions, it's labeled as impermanence. Report an error in the passage at 30:35 Highlight the passage at 30:35

30:58 the kind of thing that the problems arise, just necessarily because of... Of things that we encounter in life. It's definitely about our projections of those things and our wish to manipulate and change those things. An example of, I remember early on meeting some high practitioners, Lamas, who had been practicing, probably meditating for many years. Report an error in the passage at 30:58 Highlight the passage at 30:58

31:35 And I was always amazed at how... Happy they are. I mean, just they really are very happy. And when things go wrong, they don't, you know, the world does not fall apart. They're able to maintain a kind of equilibrium that comes from what we would call a tamed mind. It's a mind that, you know, that sees things and isn't surprised when, you know, when the bottom drops out, isn't really surprised when. Report an error in the passage at 31:35 Highlight the passage at 31:35

32:07 Things don't go according to plan and isn't really affected by it. And when I talk about this kind of a view, I'm not advocating sort of like a pushing away so that, oh, I'm just not going to get involved. I won't. If I'm not emotionally involved with things, if I'm more aloof, then nothing's going to bother me. Report an error in the passage at 32:07 Highlight the passage at 32:07

32:34 It isn't about that at all. It's simply about Being able to just let go of that control factor and to really be open. And it's a kind of pliancy of mind that one of the things we're going to talk about with regard to meditation is kind of softening our minds, letting go as well. Because a lot of times, you know, we just hang on very tightly to everything. Report an error in the passage at 32:34 Highlight the passage at 32:34

33:05 one of the This realm that we live in from a Buddhist perspective is called the desire realm. And one of the main downfalls we face is attachment. We get attached to things. And there's a difference between love and attachment. We're going to talk about that a little bit later on. But does anybody have any questions or anything at this point? Report an error in the passage at 33:05 Highlight the passage at 33:05

33:47 Still going back to this whole idea of happiness and suffering, the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths and the first truth was the truth of suffering. So part of our being able to cope with this environment that we live in that sometimes feels very hostile is to recognize that nature of this existence that we sometimes call cyclic existence is suffering. Report an error in the passage at 33:47 Highlight the passage at 33:47

34:20 So, um... So it sounds a bit depressing to think, oh gosh, this whole realm is suffering. Where do I go from there? But the good news is that the Buddha went on to teach the true origin of suffering. So that was like there's a cause to the suffering. And if you remove the cause, there's a cessation to the suffering. And the means to that removal of the cause, to that ending, of the suffering is the path. And so the Buddha taught this path. Report an error in the passage at 34:20 Highlight the passage at 34:20

34:58 what's Report an error in the passage at 34:58 Highlight the passage at 34:58

35:04 What's a little bit different about this path is that the Buddha didn't say, you should do this. I did it, you should do it. It's more like, I did this and it really worked. You should try it. See if it works for you. So when we talk about this idea of following this path, the purpose of that is to really gain control of our minds, to tame our minds. Report an error in the passage at 35:04 Highlight the passage at 35:04

35:40 Sometimes you'll hear or read in some of the Buddhist books, they'll make a comment and call it the monkey mind. And it's just sort of, if you think about... This high energy of the monkey jumping around the trees. Our minds are like that sometimes. Sometimes it's very hard to just really settle down and stay on one thing. When we meditate, one of the things we'll do is observe our minds. Report an error in the passage at 35:40 Highlight the passage at 35:40

36:18 It's amazing sometimes how you can jump from point to point to point. End up way over here when you started out here. And we'll look at techniques for sort of quieting that. And the first step toward controlling that, of course, is recognizing it. Because, you know, if we're still following every, you know, I think, oh, there was some internet. Report an error in the passage at 36:18 Highlight the passage at 36:18

36:46 I can't even remember what. product it was but there was some commercial where I think it were search engines you know and it's like does have and you could be in a search engine and you'll start with one point and then it you know it'll bring back all these crazy things and if you kept following it you'd you know you'd end up on a different planet basically and And it's that kind of thought of, you know, all these things sort of assailing our attention, vying for our attention. And, you know, and just getting pulled off. Report an error in the passage at 36:46 Highlight the passage at 36:46

37:16 I know. Some days it's a challenge to just get to my email because there are so many things that come up with news stories or something and the eye is just sort of drawn to these different things and you get pulled in and ten minutes later you realize you haven't even looked at your email yet. So it's sort of being able to use our meditation, I mean the techniques we learn in meditation. Report an error in the passage at 37:16 Highlight the passage at 37:16

37:46 To quiet the mind are also useful when we're not in our meditation. And they will give us that we're going to talk about mindfulness next week. And we'll gain that kind of mindfulness that basically stays with us. So whether we're in meditation or outside of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 37:46 Highlight the passage at 37:46

38:17 So from a Buddhist perspective, you know, I mentioned cyclic existence. We've been circling around, taking rebirth, you know, many times from a Buddhist perspective, say from like beginningless time. And during that time, most of the time we've been following this I, you know, which sometimes we call the self-cherishing mind because it's a mind that's just looking to satisfy what do I want. Report an error in the passage at 38:17 Highlight the passage at 38:17

38:56 That would be okay if it brought satisfaction, but we've seen that it really doesn't. It seems like you can go one thing no matter what you get. Report an error in the passage at 38:56 Highlight the passage at 38:56

39:07 There's always either something else that ends up being more important or replacing what you did get, or if I just could get this, then I'd be fine. And whether it's the job that then... You know, you get the job, but then the job really isn't quite enough and the job is boring and if I could only get a better job or, you know, it goes on and it's just kind of a broken record basically and that's why we call it, you know, this cycle. Report an error in the passage at 39:07 Highlight the passage at 39:07

39:40 So if, you know, if following this self-cherishing I doesn't do it, then one thing to look at is, okay, what if we don't? So what if we turn our view out to others? Report an error in the passage at 39:40 Highlight the passage at 39:40

39:59 And what we find is if we look at, you know, you can think about your own experience, but in situations where we end up doing something nice for others, helping others, we get an immediate satisfaction. You know, in crisis situations, people, you know, jump in to help others. And they don't do it. I mean, they're not doing it for money. They're not doing it for any kind of gain. They're really doing it. I mean, these are just ordinary people. And what happens is that, you know, you find when someone does something nice for you, it makes you feel good and it makes you want to do something nice for someone else. Report an error in the passage at 39:59 Highlight the passage at 39:59

40:41 There's definitely a sort of a pay-it-forward kind of reaction. And sometimes we, in the teachings, this is called, you know, cherishing others or... Developing what's called an altruistic mind, the mind that does cherish others. And it brings on this kind of joy. Maybe it's almost a relief of sort of having some break from always having to satisfy the I to figure out what it's going to be next. Report an error in the passage at 40:41 Highlight the passage at 40:41

41:13 It sort of diverts your attention away from that responsibility that we've carried around for countless lifetimes. Report an error in the passage at 41:13 Highlight the passage at 41:13

41:27 So, you know, we can... We've seen how, like I said, in crisis situations, helping out your family. Sometimes it could be friends, community outreach, even animals. People have pets. Sometimes people are, you know, they can be ornery as anything with other people, but very kind to their pets. Report an error in the passage at 41:27 Highlight the passage at 41:27

41:53 Was that a question? Report an error in the passage at 41:53 Highlight the passage at 41:53

41:57 Caring for animals, you know, animals that are in species that are in danger. All these are basically the result of this kind of altruistic view of cherishing another being. Report an error in the passage at 41:57 Highlight the passage at 41:57

42:14 So if we look to this view and we consider, okay, maybe embarking on that path and... This is the sort of path that leads to that equilibrium mind I was mentioning before. Report an error in the passage at 42:14 Highlight the passage at 42:14

42:41 When we're turned outward and thinking about others, then things in terms of satisfying the I are no longer as important. We're able to tolerate a lot more things, to do things, to extend ourselves in ways. It comes out a lot when there are major crises and things happening. You hear about the heroes of 9-11 and people who really just gave their lives even for people they didn't know. Report an error in the passage at 42:41 Highlight the passage at 42:41

43:19 So we have this self-cherishing on one hand and this cherishing others on the other. And we really have to develop what's called skillful means. It's like a method for... For managing this or discerning the best way to do this. And sometimes in the beginning it's a little bit challenging because on one hand you can think, okay, fine. Report an error in the passage at 43:19 Highlight the passage at 43:19

43:47 Self-cherishing is kind of a pain and it's just gotten me frustration all these years. So I'm going to turn the other way and really cherish others. But then you find that it becomes... Report an error in the passage at 43:47 Highlight the passage at 43:47

44:03 You try to do this, but then your plans fall apart because we're essentially, you know, we're trying to do the same thing. We're trying to do a different thing, but basically with the same mindset. So we have to, you know, we have to use this method. We have to learn what this path is that the, you know, when the Buddha was talking about, hey, this works, here's a path out of suffering, you know, there's more to it than just the news that it's there. Report an error in the passage at 44:03 Highlight the passage at 44:03

44:33 And just saying, oh yeah, you know, giving up, self-cherishing is the way and cherishing others is what you want to do. So again, it comes back to knowing our minds, taming them. Sometimes we say we're subduing the mind, kind of subduing the wildness and curbing the extremes and softening the hardness of our minds. Report an error in the passage at 44:33 Highlight the passage at 44:33

45:07 I think that pretty much covers why we want to meditate. Report an error in the passage at 45:07 Highlight the passage at 45:07

45:14 And I think it's a good time to do a little meditation. Report an error in the passage at 45:14 Highlight the passage at 45:14

45:22 So this one, we'll spend maybe 10 minutes. How's everybody doing? Anybody want a break yet or we're okay? We're going to go until about 8.30. So maybe after this meditation we'll take a little break. Stretch your legs. Report an error in the passage at 45:22 Highlight the passage at 45:22

45:49 So this is going to be a guided meditation. Report an error in the passage at 45:49 Highlight the passage at 45:49

45:56 And it's going to be on altruism or kind of a giving and taking meditation. So we're going to give out happiness and take on suffering. So again, just getting yourself in a comfortable position and Report an error in the passage at 45:56 Highlight the passage at 45:56

46:24 just breathe in a, again, at a comfortable pace, not too deeply, not too lightly. You Report an error in the passage at 46:24 Highlight the passage at 46:24

46:37 can focus your attention on the breath. Report an error in the passage at 46:37 Highlight the passage at 46:37

47:04 So now just imagine yourself. Sitting here comfortably and being aware of countless sentient beings, just kind of like having all the beings that are on this planet surrounding us here, but not in a threatening or difficult or crowded way. Just being nearby. Report an error in the passage at 47:04 Highlight the passage at 47:04

47:36 And just imagine that with each breath, Report an error in the passage at 47:36 Highlight the passage at 47:36

47:42 that when you inhale, you could actually take on the suffering of those beings. Relieving them of their suffering and that with each breath that you exhale, you could give them happiness by virtue of giving them anything and everything they need. Report an error in the passage at 47:42 Highlight the passage at 47:42

48:03 So taking on the sicknesses of others, giving them health, taking on the sadness of others, the despair, Report an error in the passage at 48:03 Highlight the passage at 48:03

48:16 giving them just reassurance, security. And imagine that you have just infinite... Abilities to do this just based on this altruistic love, this attitude of cherishing others that resides in your heart. Report an error in the passage at 48:16 Highlight the passage at 48:16

48:46 So it's like you have this infinite well of love and compassion at your heart. And just imagine as you breathe, you're taking on the suffering of others and you're sending out happiness and joy. Report an error in the passage at 48:46 Highlight the passage at 48:46

49:07 Again, whatever's needed. Report an error in the passage at 49:07 Highlight the passage at 49:07

· · · silence, 1 minute

49:59 You can imagine your family, your friends, all the people you love are a part of this group surrounding us, Report an error in the passage at 49:59 Highlight the passage at 49:59

50:18 taking on their sufferings and sending out joy, happiness, taking on their needs, sending out whatever they need. Report an error in the passage at 50:18 Highlight the passage at 50:18

50:32 Just continue to still breathe at just a relaxed, comfortable pace. It doesn't take any effort as you breathe to send these things along. It's just part of your breathing. Report an error in the passage at 50:32 Highlight the passage at 50:32

· · · silence, 1 minute

51:45 So as you see yourself sending out Report an error in the passage at 51:45 Highlight the passage at 51:45

51:51 love and kindness and happiness to Report an error in the passage at 51:51 Highlight the passage at 51:51

51:58 your friends and loved ones, taking on their sufferings, Report an error in the passage at 51:58 Highlight the passage at 51:58

52:06 also imagine that seated around us are also people that you consider enemies or people you've been angry with, people you've had difficulties with. Report an error in the passage at 52:06 Highlight the passage at 52:06

52:26 And imagine doing the same thing. Imagine them being Report an error in the passage at 52:26 Highlight the passage at 52:26

52:33 there, suffering. You being able to take on their suffering and to send out this happiness, this relief. So Report an error in the passage at 52:33 Highlight the passage at 52:33

· · · silence, 1 minute

54:05 just as you've been sending out this love and happiness to those you love, to your friends and family, and Report an error in the passage at 54:05 Highlight the passage at 54:05

54:20 to those whom you have difficulties with, Report an error in the passage at 54:20 Highlight the passage at 54:20

54:28 those who might have threatened you or hurt you, Report an error in the passage at 54:28 Highlight the passage at 54:28

54:44 likewise imagine just everyone else, all these other beings, beings that you don't know. Just imagine sending out this loving kindness and compassion to Report an error in the passage at 54:44 Highlight the passage at 54:44

55:04 all these beings we don't know, these strangers, just Report an error in the passage at 55:04 Highlight the passage at 55:04

55:15 taking on their sufferings and sending out this happiness, this healing energy to all. Report an error in the passage at 55:15 Highlight the passage at 55:15

· · · silence, 1 minute

56:32 So just seeing all these beings, just like ourselves, wanting happiness and to be free of suffering. And the more loving kindness you send out on your breath, the Report an error in the passage at 56:32 Highlight the passage at 56:32

56:50 more appears in your heart. Your heart overflows with this loving-kindness and Report an error in the passage at 56:50 Highlight the passage at 56:50

57:04 it just absorbs all the suffering. So all the negativities that you take on just become completely transformed by this loving-kindness. Report an error in the passage at 57:04 Highlight the passage at 57:04

· · · silence, 3 minutes

1:00:03 Let's take about a five-minute break. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:03 Highlight the passage at 1:00:03

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:00:53 Yeah, I could do that. Yeah, let's do that because that way we can... Yeah, I like that idea. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:53 Highlight the passage at 1:00:53

· · · silence, 5 minutes

1:05:52 are you drafting an altar? Report an error in the passage at 1:05:52 Highlight the passage at 1:05:52

1:05:59 To the holy objects, basically. One of the reasons for prostrating, besides paying respect, is also to discourage our own pride. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:59 Highlight the passage at 1:05:59

1:06:22 Especially if you're teaching. Yeah. Yeah. And... Report an error in the passage at 1:06:22 Highlight the passage at 1:06:22

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:06:36 Well, no, they're just, I mean, the statues are blessed because the statues are filled with, like, certain substances. There might be a lot of certain mantras that have been written out and rolled up and they're filled. There's a whole, like the Shakyamuni Buddha statue probably has certain levels filled with certain objects, a certain, yeah, and Lama would. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:36 Highlight the passage at 1:06:36

1:07:06 Do that and then offer prayers and then it's sealed. And the tankas, they may have been blessed at times, but it's just kind of for our own minds, you know. And, I mean, ideally, you know, if we could kind of perceive things more accurately, then, you know, we'd actually see enlightened beings instead of just representations of them. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:06 Highlight the passage at 1:07:06

1:07:36 But since we have this limited view, that also helps us remember that we're surrounded by enlightened beings and we all have that potential. I mean, they're precious because they've attained this. It's not like the deities in particular are sort of the embodiment of certain qualities, of enlightened qualities. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:36 Highlight the passage at 1:07:36

1:08:04 Like enlightened activity and various types of overcoming obstacles, those kinds of things. Did you have a question? Oh, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:04 Highlight the passage at 1:08:04

1:08:21 Yeah. You know, that's a good question. No. You know, I know that I've seen some places in Berkeley where they're, you know, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:21 Highlight the passage at 1:08:21

1:08:39 It's funny though because there was actually, I visited Vermont recently, this little tiny town, Barnett, Vermont. And there was a cushion place there in the middle of town, I thought. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:39 Highlight the passage at 1:08:39

1:08:54 Yeah. Oh, they didn't have cushions, huh? Yeah. There's, I'm trying to think of where else. I think, Report an error in the passage at 1:08:54 Highlight the passage at 1:08:54

1:09:07 oh maybe, oh okay. That might be on 16th, I think. Well, I'm not sure who that is actually. I know there's a Vietnamese temple. thought, how Report an error in the passage at 1:09:07 Highlight the passage at 1:09:07

1:09:17 Oh, Report an error in the passage at 1:09:17 Highlight the passage at 1:09:17

1:09:21 maybe, no, Report an error in the passage at 1:09:21 Highlight the passage at 1:09:21

1:09:27 that's not the Hartford Street Zen Center, is it? No, because that's over on, this is on 16th. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:27 Highlight the passage at 1:09:27

1:09:44 Just whatever's comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:44 Highlight the passage at 1:09:44

1:09:49 Yeah. Yeah, but like the kidney shape. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:49 Highlight the passage at 1:09:49

1:10:03 Oh. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:03 Highlight the passage at 1:10:03

1:10:09 Well, you know, we could find out where they got the kidney shaped ones made at Vashrapani. Oh. Oh, Report an error in the passage at 1:10:09 Highlight the passage at 1:10:09

1:10:21 you know what they might do? Well, I mean, I don't know what their return policy is like. Yeah, it's kind of a pain. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:21 Highlight the passage at 1:10:21

1:10:32 Yeah. Well, I'll keep an eye out because if I see something in Berkeley, I'll let you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:32 Highlight the passage at 1:10:32

1:10:52 We're going to talk about that now. So, perfect. Guys want to come back? That's one of the problems of having breaks. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:52 Highlight the passage at 1:10:52

1:11:08 So, hopefully everybody who wanted to sign up, signed up. One of the things Janet mentioned that might be a really good idea is if you'd like, instead of getting a hard copy of the readings, I can email them out to you because they're all in a PDF format. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:08 Highlight the passage at 1:11:08

1:11:35 Can I say maybe a show of hands of people who would prefer to get their readings electronically? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:35 Highlight the passage at 1:11:35

1:11:49 Oh, you have them. Okay, great. so Report an error in the passage at 1:11:49 Highlight the passage at 1:11:49

1:11:51 We've got one, two, three, four, five, six. Okay, so that just gives us an idea of how many copies to make so we don't have to make copies for everybody. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:51 Highlight the passage at 1:11:51

1:12:09 Okay, if you want a hard copy, then I, yeah, yeah, I will have, yeah, otherwise we'll. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:09 Highlight the passage at 1:12:09

1:12:19 You know, it's up to you, although I went to a global warming lecture today, so I am, you know, highly motivated to encourage. Electronic copies if you can. But again, if it's a hardship or something, cutting them in half is a great start. So go by whatever works for you. Okay, now we're getting into the really good stuff. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:19 Highlight the passage at 1:12:19

1:12:53 So we've talked about having this unbroken lineage of the Buddhist tradition and this definite method. And so it begins with preparation of place. OK, we're going to talk about preparation of place, preparation of person and preparation of mind. So with regard to the place, the teachings talk about arranging an environment. So for you to have a successful meditation practice, it's really, it's really beneficial if before you start, you choose a place. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:53 Highlight the passage at 1:12:53

1:13:31 It's always good to come to the center, be here for meditations, but obviously the center isn't open all the time, and you need to have a place where you can go. And it's best if it can be a place where you're comfortable and relatively quiet if possible, but we all live in the city, so that's a relative thing, and that can be part of a practice, is kind of meditating. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:31 Highlight the passage at 1:13:31

1:14:00 With ambient noise. And, you know, having a little bit of solitude in the sense of having it be your own space, a place where people aren't going to be walking through all the time, that can be kind of undisturbed with your, you know, sort of your presence. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:00 Highlight the passage at 1:14:00

1:14:24 It could be just a corner. It could be the whole room if you've got space, that's great. Oh my goodness, another one. Yeah, we got one in Berkeley today. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:24 Highlight the passage at 1:14:24

1:14:41 Yeah, it was a 4.2 and it was fairly shallow. So, wow, things are happening. So, anyway, it's good if you can, so if you can have a place. Like I said, that's relatively quiet. I was just thinking, if you're a beginner, probably not a good idea to try to meditate in a shopping mall. Better to keep it low-key. Part of the practice is having a clean and neat place. If you think about it, clutter. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:41 Highlight the passage at 1:14:41

1:15:27 It upsets the environment and your mind. So we're trying to, with meditation, we're decluttering the mind. So the place we're meditating should also have, you know, sort of a neatness to it, a decluttered, a decluttering to it at least. And cleaning it can be part of the practice. We, there actually, there's a traditional... Report an error in the passage at 1:15:27 Highlight the passage at 1:15:27

1:15:54 The six preparatory practices and one of those begins with cleaning, physically cleaning, sweeping and it's actually a meditation of its own in a sense because we can symbolically as we sweep the dust we're cleaning the obscurations from our minds, all of the blockages that would keep us from having this nice clear. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:54 Highlight the passage at 1:15:54

1:16:23 Clear view and clear mind. Few of us were talking about cushions. You can meditate on a cushion or if it's difficult, if you have a bad back or whatever, you know, for whatever reason, a chair is fine too. Usually you want a relatively straight back chair, but a comfortable chair. And as far as the cushion, you can choose it. As you sit on a cushion, you'll, you know, you'll sort of discover what. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:23 Highlight the passage at 1:16:23

1:16:50 What's the best height for you? What's the best shape? That kind of thing. Whether you want something hard or soft. It varies with people. And it doesn't have to be something fancy. I mean, you can just take, you can experiment with pillows you have at home, with whatever you have. That's fine. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:50 Highlight the passage at 1:16:50

1:17:12 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:12 Highlight the passage at 1:17:12

1:17:16 I was at a retreat once. It was Buddhist, but it wasn't Tibetan Buddhism. And they said that it's inappropriate to stick your feet straight out. But if you're in pain. What are your other options? Yeah, usually when they're talking about extending your feet, particularly if you're in, you know, this room in Tibetan is gompa, and gom means meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:16 Highlight the passage at 1:17:16

1:17:42 So it's like the room for meditation. And there are a lot of, you know, like usually if you went to a class or something or retreat, you probably had a teacher in there. And traditionally... From the eastern viewpoint, your feet, everybody's walking around, the streets are dirty, so feet are considered not the nicest part of your body, and it's considered disrespectful when you stick your feet out. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:42 Highlight the passage at 1:17:42

1:18:08 But when you're at home, you could extend your feet. I'm going to talk about having an altar or something, so if you have an altar, it's best not to be extending your feet. directly at that because it is kind of, it's disrespectful. And when we do that, we're sort of compromising our own sense of our own practice in a way. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:08 Highlight the passage at 1:18:08

1:18:33 It's really good to do the best we can. So fine, you know, if you feel more comfortable with your feet extended, just, you know, you can turn your body a little bit and just extend them so that they're not pointing it. At your altar, if you have one. I was going to say this idea of having an altar. If you want, you can have that. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:33 Highlight the passage at 1:18:33

1:18:58 You can see a lot of altars here. A Buddhist altar basically just requires a representation of the Buddhist body, speech and mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:58 Highlight the passage at 1:18:58

1:19:08 The body would be a representation, like a statue or a picture or something. Then the speech is having a text. And the mind is the stupa, which you can see. This is a stupa here. So that represents the enlightened mind. And, you know, if you're not Buddhist, you can have something, you know, it could be something just that makes your brings your mind to a higher place to makes you think of something like a higher consciousness or something or something that gives you a sense of peace. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:08 Highlight the passage at 1:19:08

1:19:45 You know, something that you have respect for. Yes. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:45 Highlight the passage at 1:19:45

1:19:54 Exactly what is a stupa? Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:54 Highlight the passage at 1:19:54

1:20:00 This is a stupa and it is a, oftentimes it's actually a large building. And the shape, there are different shapes of stupas. This is one. There's some, there's what's known as a Kadampa stupa, which is a... It's like a circular, more of a, it has a circular profile and various diameters of rings sort of going up to a point. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:00 Highlight the passage at 1:20:00

1:20:30 There's a whole, it's very symbolic. As I mentioned, it represents the Buddha's, or the Buddha, or when I say Buddha, I mean just enlightened beings. So the Buddha was the enlightened being who came to this world system. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:30 Highlight the passage at 1:20:30

1:20:47 The stupa represents the enlightened mind. If you go to India or Nepal, particularly Nepal or Buddhist countries, you'll see them. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:47 Highlight the passage at 1:20:47

1:20:59 Sometimes stupas contain the ashes of a Lama who was cremated. Sometimes there are different stupas that have different contents in them. Again, they're filled with... you'll see when at Vajrapani Report an error in the passage at 1:20:59 Highlight the passage at 1:20:59

1:21:17 With special items, sort of ritual objects and mantras and special items. But it's, like I said, the symbology has to do with the Buddhist, with this enlightened mind. And unfortunately, I don't know though the details. I mean, there's actually quite a lot of symbolism involved with the, like the dimensions, the, you know, like they're built to scale and the shape having the square and then, and I. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:17 Highlight the passage at 1:21:17

1:21:46 I will try to find out a good reference for that, a little more information maybe for next time. Oh, in the bookstore? Yeah, because it's really interesting. I remember years ago looking at something, and clearly it's kind of gone in one ear and out the other, but there's a lot of interesting history there, and like I said, symbology. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:46 Highlight the passage at 1:21:46

1:22:14 So if you were going to create your altar, You need a stupa. Well, you can have a picture of one. So a lot of times you'll see the Mahabodhi stupa in Bodhgaya in India. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:14 Highlight the passage at 1:22:14

1:22:33 So you can have just a postcard of that. You could even take a photo of one of the stupas here, and that's fine. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:33 Highlight the passage at 1:22:33

1:22:46 So that's about it for a place. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:46 Highlight the passage at 1:22:46

1:22:52 Again, it doesn't have to be elaborate, and it's something you can work on, too, as you're getting this together. One of the things I always think about, too, if you have guests over, it's nice to have a place that can be sort of your private space. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:52 Highlight the passage at 1:22:52

1:23:13 One time I was living in a studio apartment, and I thought, what am I going to do here? And I was able to get a little... Like a Japanese screen. So I could just kind of wall off a corner and that was my space and it sort of kept it separate and away from all the clutter in the rest of the room. So there are different things you can do. And we should move on here. So the next part we had mentioned was the preparation of person. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:13 Highlight the passage at 1:23:13

1:23:41 So this gets into posture. And you've probably heard about the seven point viruchana posture. Or maybe you haven't. It's a traditional or one mode of posture. Again, most of these modes are assuming you're on a cushion, but you could just as well be in a chair because it begins with having the back straight. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:41 Highlight the passage at 1:23:41

1:24:12 And as I had mentioned before when we started our meditations, to kind of remember that. You can imagine your spine like a row of coins and imagine yourself kind of planted and your legs, again the traditional position is sort of like the full Vajra position where the legs are crossed on top of each other. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:12 Highlight the passage at 1:24:12

1:24:38 I can't even do it. Just having your legs crossed is fine. Even having your legs just sort of out in front of you. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:38 Highlight the passage at 1:24:38

1:24:47 As you sit in this position, you'll get more used to it. We're so used to sitting in chairs that, you know, a lot of times our knees and legs are not used to being in this position. But when you develop your practice, if you continue to do this on a regular basis, you will get to a point where it becomes quite comfortable to sit that way. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:47 Highlight the passage at 1:24:47

1:25:09 If it's difficult to start with, you have any other problems, you can always sit in a chair. It's perfectly fine. You can even meditate lying down. It's okay. Just the big challenge when you're lying down is to stay awake. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:09 Highlight the passage at 1:25:09

1:25:25 There's also walking meditation. So there are many things you can do. But the easiest way to start is with this kind of the tried and true position. And the hands. In the Virachana position, you may have noticed, you place your right palm on the left with your thumbs touching, and that's usually about four finger widths below your navel. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:25 Highlight the passage at 1:25:25

1:25:52 And the idea is to keep the elbows out so that air circulates around your body. And you want your shoulders back because we don't want to hunch over. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:52 Highlight the passage at 1:25:52

1:26:09 Throws off the back and what we're trying to do is just kind of give ourselves support and structure but have a lightness about the body. So we're not sort of weighed down. And then I think in this reference that I looked at, it mentions the chin should be tucked in. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:09 Highlight the passage at 1:26:09

1:26:38 Kathleen McDonald's book, she mentions, she talks about the same thing, but she uses the head as a reference. So she says the head should be sort of looking down slightly or tilted downward. And it said that, you know, if the head begins to rise, this increases excitement and tends to encourage the mind to go off in other places. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:38 Highlight the passage at 1:26:38

1:27:02 So we try to subdue that a little by keeping the chin tucked or the head. The eyes should be relaxed, looking into space maybe about three feet in front of you at the floor. Again, if we're looking up, technically we're supposed to just be gazing, and it's perhaps less challenge for the eyes to be gazing downward. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:02 Highlight the passage at 1:27:02

1:27:32 There's not as many visual distractions. Some books will say that you can close your eyes and it is okay if you know as long as you don't again get tempted into sleep but it will become a bit of an obstacle later on if you continue into more advanced types of meditation where you really do need to keep your eyes open. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:32 Highlight the passage at 1:27:32

1:27:54 So just keep that in mind because I for many years I did close my eyes and now it's more of a challenge to keep my eyes open. You sort of avoid that problem if you learn and practice always with your eyes just cast down and open. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:54 Highlight the passage at 1:27:54

1:28:18 It's helpful if you have your tongue behind your upper teeth or touching the upper palate because that way you don't feel like you have to swallow all the time. so um it's a little bit Report an error in the passage at 1:28:18 Highlight the passage at 1:28:18

1:28:29 you're Your lips should be slightly apart and you want your jaw to be relaxed. You don't want to clench your teeth and if you can it's good to breathe through the nose. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:29 Highlight the passage at 1:28:29

1:28:50 There's also a posture or guidelines for posture that are outlined in the middle length lamrim by Lama Tsongkhapa who's a great teacher in this particular tradition of Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:50 Highlight the passage at 1:28:50

1:29:05 What he says is you should sit on a very soft and comfortable seat and adopt a body posture with eight characteristics. The legs are fully crossed or half crossed. This is how you should sit. The eyes are directed over the tip of the nose, neither too open nor too closed. You should sit with your body straightened up and erect rather than too bent or crooked and with your mindfulness placed inward. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:05 Highlight the passage at 1:29:05

1:29:34 Your shoulders should be straight and even. The head is not held too high nor too low and without tilting to one side. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:34 Highlight the passage at 1:29:34

1:29:46 You keep yourself erect from the nose down to the navel. The teeth and lips should remain natural just as they are. The tongue should be placed near the upper teeth. As for the breath, your exhalations and inhalations should not be audible, forceful or uncontrolled. Rather, they're coming and going. Should by all means proceed imperceptibly, leisurely and effortlessly. So he says that is the way to do it. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:46 Highlight the passage at 1:29:46

1:30:18 In accordance with that, you should first of all achieve the body posture with the eight and especially even breathing the way it's been explained. So the main difference, this pretty much encompasses everything that we just talked about in the seven point vairachana. Posture, except for the hands. So basically this other text is saying that you can place your hands on your knees. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:18 Highlight the passage at 1:30:18

1:30:46 It's fine. So either way is good. Whatever you find feels more comfortable to you. And you may change as time goes on as well. You can try both ways. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:46 Highlight the passage at 1:30:46

1:31:00 So finally then, that completes the preparation of person. And then we have the preparation of mind. And it's about 8.30. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:00 Highlight the passage at 1:31:00

1:31:10 Well, I think we will cover this next time because we're talking about motivation and that will fit in with talking about mindfulness as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:10 Highlight the passage at 1:31:10

1:31:30 Let's do just a short meditation now. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:30 Highlight the passage at 1:31:30

1:31:36 Are there any questions? What we'll do is just let's apply, let's try out the posture this time. And just do a little breathing meditation and mindfully just dedicate the time we've spent doing this, spending our time working on the mind, that it might be beneficial for all. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:36 Highlight the passage at 1:31:36

1:32:02 So again, just checking the back, that your spine is straight, your shoulders are even, Report an error in the passage at 1:32:02 Highlight the passage at 1:32:02

1:32:12 your head tilted forward slightly, your hands either on your knees or folded. Just below your navel, your eyes looking down at the floor, maybe three feet in front of you, Report an error in the passage at 1:32:12 Highlight the passage at 1:32:12

1:32:32 your tongue behind your teeth, Report an error in the passage at 1:32:32 Highlight the passage at 1:32:32

1:32:43 your legs in a comfortable position. And as we do this, let's just go through. And before we start our breathing and focus on the breath, I want you to bring your consciousness to your body parts as we talk about them. So just relax your eyes. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:43 Highlight the passage at 1:32:43

1:33:09 Relax your jaw, your neck, your shoulders and your arms. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:09 Highlight the passage at 1:33:09

1:33:24 As Lama Tsongkhapa says, just breathe in a relaxed way, Report an error in the passage at 1:33:24 Highlight the passage at 1:33:24

1:33:33 not forcefully, almost imperceptibly. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:33 Highlight the passage at 1:33:33

1:33:46 Relax your torso and your hips, Report an error in the passage at 1:33:46 Highlight the passage at 1:33:46

1:33:52 your thighs and your knees, Report an error in the passage at 1:33:52 Highlight the passage at 1:33:52

1:33:58 your ankles, your feet and your toes. And now gently bring the attention to the breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:58 Highlight the passage at 1:33:58

1:34:23 Just observe the breath. So inhale and exhale, Report an error in the passage at 1:34:23 Highlight the passage at 1:34:23

1:34:30 letting go of everything else around you. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:30 Highlight the passage at 1:34:30

· · · silence, 2 minutes

1:36:35 So now just mentally dedicate this effort and this time that's been spent to Report an error in the passage at 1:36:35 Highlight the passage at 1:36:35

1:36:45 tame our minds, to develop a meditation practice, that it might be a greatest benefit so that each of us might attain enlightenment and thus benefit all beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:45 Highlight the passage at 1:36:45

1:37:03 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:03 Highlight the passage at 1:37:03

1:37:21 if you already signed up, but you want electronic-only versions, then let me know or write a little star on next year. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:21 Highlight the passage at 1:37:21

1:37:35 Thank you Report an error in the passage at 1:37:35 Highlight the passage at 1:37:35

1:37:57 very much. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:57 Highlight the passage at 1:37:57

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:38:42 I actually do this, this, packer. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:42 Highlight the passage at 1:38:42

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:39:33 How are you? How are you? Report an error in the passage at 1:39:33 Highlight the passage at 1:39:33

1:39:51 got to do like worm associates, like Jason jumping back, jumping jacks. Jason, the horror show. The horror show, yeah, Friday the 13th. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:51 Highlight the passage at 1:39:51

1:40:09 Yeah, I'll come to Freddy or something. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:09 Highlight the passage at 1:40:09

1:40:38 Thank you. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:38 Highlight the passage at 1:40:38

1:41:23 Yeah, I'll see it. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:23 Highlight the passage at 1:41:23

1:41:40 Thank you. Oh, I see. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:40 Highlight the passage at 1:41:40

1:42:09 it's over, it's over here. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:09 Highlight the passage at 1:42:09

1:42:20 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:20 Highlight the passage at 1:42:20

1:42:51 Oh wow, that's quite a job. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:51 Highlight the passage at 1:42:51

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:43:32 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:32 Highlight the passage at 1:43:32

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:44:59 no. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:59 Highlight the passage at 1:44:59

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:45:51 Yeah, thank you too. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:51 Highlight the passage at 1:45:51

1:46:10 No, no, no, I'm just fine. Okay, it's fine. Let me know if there's anything else. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:10 Highlight the passage at 1:46:10

1:46:18 you know what, can always let me in side, we'll probably be working together. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:18 Highlight the passage at 1:46:18

1:46:51 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:51 Highlight the passage at 1:46:51

1:47:12 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:12 Highlight the passage at 1:47:12

1:47:41 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:41 Highlight the passage at 1:47:41

1:47:59 Today, I was like, what do I mean? Report an error in the passage at 1:47:59 Highlight the passage at 1:47:59

1:48:07 boss. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:07 Highlight the passage at 1:48:07