Basic Program - Buddhism From A-Z (5 September 2008)

0:00 Our mind on the breath, for example, but actually it goes all over the place. It thinks about what we need to do when we get home or thoughts of the day. Many different thoughts come up when we try to meditate. So this helps us see kind of the fundamental premise of the Dharma is that all of our suffering ultimately comes from the mind. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:31 And the way to improve our lives, improve our experience is through changing, transforming the mind. So Buddhism is really about mind transformation. And so we can improve our day-to-day existence through meditation, through mind transformation. And Report an error in the passage at 0:31 Highlight the passage at 0:31

0:59 ultimately we can even get out of psychic existence. Actually get out of this cycle of suffering through meditation. And there are two types of meditation. There's stabilizing meditation and there's analytical meditation. So this is the topic for this evening, talking about these two types of meditation and why these are necessary and why we need to do both. Because oftentimes I think it's a very kind of widely... Report an error in the passage at 0:59 Highlight the passage at 0:59

1:33 A widely believed myth that meditation is just about sitting and maybe spacing out, trying to be peaceful, or just focusing on one object, just focusing on the breath, and that's what meditation is. And there's certainly some benefit to that. Actually, sitting there and spacing out, there's some benefit to that. Report an error in the passage at 1:33 Highlight the passage at 1:33

2:04 We can feel more relaxed. We don't have a lot of worries. But there's not a long-term benefit. It might help our peace of mind at the moment. Report an error in the passage at 2:04 Highlight the passage at 2:04

2:16 But stabilizing meditation is where we're focusing on one object. It might be the breath. It might be the image of a Buddha. It might be meditating on the spaciousness of the mind. Report an error in the passage at 2:16 Highlight the passage at 2:16

2:32 And we Meditate on that with attention, a lot of focus and clarity and relaxation. So through stabilizing meditation, we're learning to relax very deeply and we're learning to focus the mind more and more clearly to the point where when we get to advanced stages of meditation, we can keep the mind on the object. Report an error in the passage at 2:32 Highlight the passage at 2:32

3:05 For as long as we want. So if we're trying to meditate on, let's say, love for all beings, we can meditate on that love. And we can keep our mind on love for beings for as long as we want. For four hours, for six hours, for weeks, even months. So through meditation. Report an error in the passage at 3:05 Highlight the passage at 3:05

3:34 Through stabilizing meditation, we can learn to really focus the mind with a lot of attention, a lot of clarity for a long, long period of time. And whenever negative thoughts arise, we can easily let them go. If resentment arises, oh, it's just a thought. Let that go. If irritation arises, oh, it's just a thought. Report an error in the passage at 3:34 Highlight the passage at 3:34

3:56 Let that go. Because actually all of these negative states of mind are just thoughts. Jealousy is just a thought. Anger, it's just a thought. Report an error in the passage at 3:56 Highlight the passage at 3:56

4:11 Embarrassment, it's just a thought. Humiliation is just a thought. You know, all of these, the emotional dramas we have, actually they're just thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 4:11 Highlight the passage at 4:11

4:29 So through stabilizing meditation, we're learning to recognize these things as just thoughts and let them go. Report an error in the passage at 4:29 Highlight the passage at 4:29

4:38 And developing a power of the mind, a power of the focus of the mind. So that as we get further along the path, we can really use that power of the mind to deepen our wisdom and to actually get out of the cycle of suffering again and again that we experience. Report an error in the passage at 4:38 Highlight the passage at 4:38

5:02 So stabilizing meditation has the benefit of stability of the mind, control of the mind, focus and what we call serviceability. You develop serviceability so you can focus on any object you want for as long as you want. And that can bring a tremendous benefit in our lives, even if we just do stabilizing meditation. Report an error in the passage at 5:02 Highlight the passage at 5:02

5:32 But stabilizing meditation in itself isn't enough. Report an error in the passage at 5:32 Highlight the passage at 5:32

5:41 It's not going to increase our wisdom. It's not going to help us get out of cyclic existence. So cyclic existence is... You know, according to the Buddha Dharma, we're circling again and again through these cycles of suffering. You know, sometimes we have good periods and sometimes we have bad periods. Report an error in the passage at 5:41 Highlight the passage at 5:41

6:04 You know, up and down. This is the nature of our existence right now. You know, things go really well. People really like us. Things are going well at work. Our relationships are going well. You know, and guess what? That doesn't last. Right? Surprise, surprise. We all experience that, right? Things are going really well and then the economy collapses and we lose a bunch of money. Our friends get sick. Report an error in the passage at 6:04 Highlight the passage at 6:04

6:33 Our loved ones die. We get sick. People at work start treating us badly. Up and down. As long as we stay in this cycle of existence, we're going to experience these ups and downs. Report an error in the passage at 6:33 Highlight the passage at 6:33

6:53 So doing just the stabilizing meditation alone will help us deal with these ups and downs, but they're not going to get us out of this cycle of ups and downs. So according to Buddhism, we need to realize what's called emptiness. In order to get out of the cycle of suffering, we need to realize emptiness in order to get out of cyclic existence and end our suffering forever. Report an error in the passage at 6:53 Highlight the passage at 6:53

7:23 So we need to realize emptiness through analytical meditation and actually a bunch of other topics as well in the Dharma. We need to analyze with analytical meditation. And that way we can increase our wisdom and actually we also increase our compassion for others. Report an error in the passage at 7:23 Highlight the passage at 7:23

7:45 So for example, let's say one of the sources of suffering is our expectation that things should last. The things are permanent. Like our relationships are permanent. Our houses are permanent. Our jobs are permanent. And then we get really surprised and disappointed when our partner changes. They're not who they were when we met them. Report an error in the passage at 7:45 Highlight the passage at 7:45

8:22 They change because we think they should stay the same. Or Or we lose our job. No, we were supposed to keep that job. We were supposed to have that job as long as we wanted. Report an error in the passage at 8:22 Highlight the passage at 8:22

8:40 Or we lose our money. No, no, no, we were supposed to have this stable amount of money. Again and again, we're suffering because we're thinking that things should last, and they don't. Report an error in the passage at 8:40 Highlight the passage at 8:40

8:56 So one of the core teachings of Buddhism is the teaching on impermanence, how everything is impermanent. No matter what is happening in our lives right now, it's just not going to laugh. The good things and the not so good things. So we can use analytical meditation to develop this wisdom of understanding that everything is impermanent. Report an error in the passage at 8:56 Highlight the passage at 8:56

9:21 So we hear, so first we listen to teachings and think, okay, oh well, everything is impermanent. Oh, this building is impermanent. So if it burns down, we're not surprised. We don't suffer. Okay, well, it's impermanent. Oh, my relationships? Oh, it's impermanent. My loved ones aren't going to be around forever. So, of course, it's very difficult to lose our loved ones. Report an error in the passage at 9:21 Highlight the passage at 9:21

9:49 But we shouldn't really be surprised because that's just the nature of existence. Our loved ones change. They have different priorities. They don't pay attention to us so much anymore. They're more focused on different things. Report an error in the passage at 9:49 Highlight the passage at 9:49

10:09 There's no surprise there because everything is impermanent. So first we hear that, oh yeah, everything is impermanent. And so we kind of understand this intellectually, right? It's like we all understand intellectually that we're going to die. We all know that. And we even understand intellectually that it could happen any time. It could happen tonight. It might happen in 20 years. Report an error in the passage at 10:09 Highlight the passage at 10:09

10:42 It might happen in 50 years. Or it might happen tomorrow. We understand this intellectually. But it doesn't necessarily go further than on the intellectual level. Because then if we go to the doctor and we get diagnosed with, You know, a serious illness, we get surprised, right? We really get floored, right? Because we didn't really think it's going to happen to us, you know, and not so soon, right? Report an error in the passage at 10:42 Highlight the passage at 10:42

11:13 Maybe later. So analytical meditation helps us bring this intellectual knowledge down to a level of experience, of living, living this knowledge, living, you know, understanding very deeply. You know, through our pores really that we could get sick at any moment, we could die at any moment, that things are impermanent. Report an error in the passage at 11:13 Highlight the passage at 11:13

11:45 So it's like the difference between understanding that we could die at any moment and being diagnosed with cancer and living, you know, knowing that you can die at any moment. Report an error in the passage at 11:45 Highlight the passage at 11:45

11:58 And that might sound really morbid, right, to talk about death. But actually in that way, when we understand that we can die at any moment, then we can use our lives much more beneficially. We really live more. When we understand that we're not going to live forever, when we really understand that, then we can really choose what's important and live. Report an error in the passage at 11:58 Highlight the passage at 11:58

12:31 So also we can develop more love and compassion for others through analytical meditation. Report an error in the passage at 12:31 Highlight the passage at 12:31

12:42 um... So for most of us, we really have a lot of love for those people that are friends, our family, the people who have really been good to us, people who are close to us. Report an error in the passage at 12:42 Highlight the passage at 12:42

13:00 But then we generally have this kind of sense of indifference for the larger world. So maybe the people at the gas station, we don't even notice. Or at the grocery store, the grocery store clerks and all of that we don't even notice as we go into the grocery store. They're not like real people to us. Report an error in the passage at 13:00 Highlight the passage at 13:00

13:27 And in Buddhism we're trying to develop this sense of equanimity and a sense of caring for all beings regardless of whether they've been kind to us or not. And this gives us a much greater sense of well-being. Report an error in the passage at 13:27 Highlight the passage at 13:27

13:45 So we can use analytical meditation to develop more and more love for others, more and more compassion for others, and a happier and happier mind as a result. Because really when we get irritated at somebody, it's a tight, unhappy mind. When we feel jealous, it's a tight, unhappy mind. Report an error in the passage at 13:45 Highlight the passage at 13:45

14:10 When we have a judgment about somebody, when we see somebody walking down the street and they're... Well, let's say, actually, we're in election season, right? So if somebody, you know, somebody holds a position that we don't agree with, you know, the mind kind of goes grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble, right? Report an error in the passage at 14:10 Highlight the passage at 14:10

14:34 So then the mind really polarizes, right? And thinks, okay, well, this guy is good and this guy is bad, right? This guy is 100 % good, right? And this guy is 100 % bad. And whatever good the guy we support does, we really focus on that. And whatever negative aspects, we kind of just let that go. We don't think about that. Whereas the one we don't agree with, we just focus on their negative qualities. Report an error in the passage at 14:34 Highlight the passage at 14:34

15:13 And anything good we hear about them, oh, well, you know. That's not really true. Report an error in the passage at 15:13 Highlight the passage at 15:13

15:22 And then we develop this kind of black and white way of looking at things. And then we might get into arguments about people or about politics. Report an error in the passage at 15:22 Highlight the passage at 15:22

15:37 We might get really annoyed because all these people are supporting the wrong candidate. How could anybody support? or you know Report an error in the passage at 15:37 Highlight the passage at 15:37

15:48 Whoever, I'm not going to say any names. We might not agree. And I notice this with myself. It's just very interesting. It's like if I listen to the speech of the candidate I don't agree with, my mind kind of automatically starts off with this skepticism. Like, oh, you know, I don't know. I don't know about this person. I'm not going to really believe them. Whereas the candidate I... Report an error in the passage at 15:48 Highlight the passage at 15:48

16:17 Support, right? Open heart. Oh, isn't this person wonderful? And it's not in accordance with reality, right? The way we look at these things, it's not in accordance with reality. It's not balanced. So we can use a kind of analysis to really try to develop a more balanced mind. Okay, well, this person has really good qualities and, you know, maybe some not so good qualities. And this person has some... Report an error in the passage at 16:17 Highlight the passage at 16:17

16:48 Not so good qualities and some good qualities too. So if the wrong person gets elected, the wrong person gets elected, we won't get so horribly upset. Report an error in the passage at 16:48 Highlight the passage at 16:48

17:00 Because actually who knows what's going to actually happen once they get elected. So how do we do this? So normally our minds, you know, when we have what's called a mental affliction, attachment, anger, irritation, right? Our minds are very narrowly focused on just the good qualities or just the bad qualities, right? Report an error in the passage at 17:00 Highlight the passage at 17:00

17:25 When we really like somebody, just the good qualities. Our mind is just focused on the good qualities. When we don't like somebody, our mind is just focused on the bad qualities. Report an error in the passage at 17:25 Highlight the passage at 17:25

17:40 And we can develop a much happier and healthier and spacious mind by kind of changing our perspective, widening our perspective. Like remembering, oh. And so deliberately spending time and thinking about, let's say, the good qualities of the candidate you don't like or the good qualities of the person that hurt you, right? Report an error in the passage at 17:40 Highlight the passage at 17:40

18:05 When somebody hurts us. Since a lot of you were expecting to hear about relationships tonight, we'll talk a little bit about that. So, right, so do we notice in our relationships, you know, sometimes we really, really think that our partner or our mother or our brother or sister is great. You know, they're just wonderful, right? And then they do something to disappoint us. They do something really inconsiderate. Report an error in the passage at 18:05 Highlight the passage at 18:05

18:38 They do something really unfair. They treat us unfairly. And then our mind just kind of starts focusing on how could they do that, you know? I've been so, you know, I don't know, I've treated this person really well, you know, how could they do this to me? And, you know, and then the more we run that story through our minds, then the more irritation, more anger comes. Report an error in the passage at 18:38 Highlight the passage at 18:38

19:10 And then... Resentment comes, right? Then we start thinking about all of those things in the past that they've done that's similar. This person didn't listen to me. Oh, well, you know what? They never listened to me, right? For the past 10 years, they never listened to me. And then we get into this big grumble, grumble, dark cloud in the mind. Report an error in the passage at 19:10 Highlight the passage at 19:10

19:48 So how do we use analytical meditation to change that? So we can actually sit down and meditate on, okay, well, is my story really true? Is it really true that this person doesn't listen to me ever? Can I think of an example where they did listen to me? Oh my gosh, yes. Or you can think about the good qualities of that person. And the mind kind of goes off broader. Report an error in the passage at 19:48 Highlight the passage at 19:48

20:21 Or we can... Put ourselves in that person's shoes and think, okay, well, what was this person thinking? Did they purposely try to hurt me? Report an error in the passage at 20:21 Highlight the passage at 20:21

20:33 So I've been going through something quite recently, you know, with a relationship with a person where we were good friends and then she did something that I felt, you know, was totally unsupportive and totally defensive. Report an error in the passage at 20:33 Highlight the passage at 20:33

20:57 And totally inconsiderate, you know. And so my mind really wanted to go, well actually just habitually kind of went to, oh I can't believe it. Report an error in the passage at 20:57 Highlight the passage at 20:57

21:09 And it really brought my mind down, you know, really unhappy. Feeling betrayed, feeling hurt, feeling like I didn't want to be this person's friend anymore, you know, all of that. Report an error in the passage at 21:09 Highlight the passage at 21:09

21:26 So it was a really good opportunity for me to work with my mind. You know, so then I thought, okay, well, what was she thinking? Oh, well, you know, actually, she probably didn't do it on purpose. Oh, well, she's overworked. You know, she's just doing, you know, didn't really have time to think, you know, this thing through. Report an error in the passage at 21:26 Highlight the passage at 21:26

21:50 I don't think there were any bad intentions. Report an error in the passage at 21:50 Highlight the passage at 21:50

21:57 And it wasn't even about me, you know, whatever this person did. You know, it was really about what that person, you know, thought was, well, whatever that person was going through. Report an error in the passage at 21:57 Highlight the passage at 21:57

22:08 It wasn't even about me. So when we make it about me, then there's a lot more hurt. So using analysis to open up that situation and look at it from many different perspectives. Do Report an error in the passage at 22:08 Highlight the passage at 22:08

22:37 you have any questions so far? Report an error in the passage at 22:37 Highlight the passage at 22:37

22:42 Oh, you know, we record these teachings, so we ask people to ask their questions into the microphone. Report an error in the passage at 22:42 Highlight the passage at 22:42

22:54 I guess just in the last example that you used, and I get what you're saying about looking at things from different angles to try and understand why someone would have done something. But I'm a little confused in the difference between when are you making excuses for that person's behavior and how do you discern between that and expanding or changing your own mind and how you actually feel about what happened. Report an error in the passage at 22:54 Highlight the passage at 22:54

23:21 Like are you trying to change? So I think what Report an error in the passage at 23:21 Highlight the passage at 23:21

23:44 we're trying to do, I mean, oftentimes, you know, when we're hurt, we can't see things clearly, right? We can't see the situation clearly. We're kind of overwhelmed by the emotion. Report an error in the passage at 23:44 Highlight the passage at 23:44

23:59 And Report an error in the passage at 23:59 Highlight the passage at 23:59

24:06 so what I'm talking about is kind of step, you know. When we can, you know, stepping back from that emotion and trying to see the situation clearly. So it's not a matter of making excuses for that person, but really saying, okay, well, what was really happening? What was really happening in that situation? Because when we feel hurt, we think it's all about me. They purposely hurt me. Report an error in the passage at 24:06 Highlight the passage at 24:06

24:36 And so we can step back and think, okay, well... Is that what was really going on in their mind? Were they really purposely trying to hurt me? You know, in my experience, that very rarely happened. Report an error in the passage at 24:36 Highlight the passage at 24:36

24:51 Most of the time people are just kind of going about their business and doing their thing, and they do something that hurts me, but it's not intentional. Sometimes it is, right? But most of the time it's not, especially most of the time it's not, at least in my experience. So stepping back and just trying to look at it more clearly. It's like, okay, well, here's my perspective. Here's that person's perspective. Report an error in the passage at 24:51 Highlight the passage at 24:51

25:20 See if we can see the situation kind of all around from all of the different perspectives. And the hurt really, a lot of the hurt kind of lets go when you understand that they didn't do it intentionally. Report an error in the passage at 25:20 Highlight the passage at 25:20

25:35 So it's not a matter of rationalizing. It's a matter of... Kind of stepping back from the emotion, just trying to understand the situation. And then, you know, and then if we feel hurt, I mean, it's not a matter of invalidating that hurt either, right? I mean, we need to be kind and, you know, compassionate with our own experience as well. But I notice when I understand it's not about me, the hurt really lessens, you know, or goes away completely. Report an error in the passage at 25:35 Highlight the passage at 25:35

26:12 I mean, it's very interesting because I really try to work with my mind and it's very interesting to observe it, how my state of mind changes depending on what the story is that's happening. So if it's like, oh, I can't believe she did that, then the hurt gets really strong. And then it's, oh, well, she didn't mean to do it. Report an error in the passage at 26:12 Highlight the passage at 26:12

26:36 And then the hurt, let's go. And then the mind goes, but! And then the hurt gets strong again. And then we can let it go. It's like a breath of fresh air when you can let go of that. So really the benefit, one of the great benefits of looking at it from different angles and practicing forgiveness is our own mind is much lighter. Report an error in the passage at 26:36 Highlight the passage at 26:36

27:06 Our own mind is much happier. Sometimes people don't want to forgive the other person because... They were wrong and we don't want them to get away with it, right? But really we suffer. We suffer the longer we hang on to resentment and anger, Report an error in the passage at 27:06 Highlight the passage at 27:06

27:29 whatever that strong emotion is. We suffer. The other person suffers too, but we really suffer. So if we can just let that go, we can be happier. Report an error in the passage at 27:29 Highlight the passage at 27:29

27:41 And it doesn't mean that, you know, well anyway. Yeah, okay. And I am no expert in relationships at all. That's just sharing some of my own experience. Just trying to work with the Dharma in relationships is very interesting. Report an error in the passage at 27:41 Highlight the passage at 27:41

28:02 Interesting to just watch the correlation between our thought process and our feelings and our feeling of well-being. Report an error in the passage at 28:02 Highlight the passage at 28:02

28:17 So, any other questions? I've kind of covered, you know, I've kind of gone all over the place. I'm sorry about that. I wasn't really prepared for, you know, this particular class. Report an error in the passage at 28:17 Highlight the passage at 28:17

28:32 But I thought what we could do is an example of analytical meditation and stabilizing meditation. So I thought what we could do is an analytical meditation on equanimity. Developing equanimity, which I find is a beautiful, beautiful meditation. It uplifts my mind again and again. Report an error in the passage at 28:32 Highlight the passage at 28:32

28:58 And so what we start, Report an error in the passage at 28:58 Highlight the passage at 28:58

29:05 we'll meditate on the breath for a few minutes. Report an error in the passage at 29:05 Highlight the passage at 29:05

· · · silence, 1 minute

30:31 So normally we divide people and beings into kind of three different categories. Report an error in the passage at 30:31 Highlight the passage at 30:31

30:44 Those who are our friends, those that we really care about, are concerned about. So friends and family. Report an error in the passage at 30:44 Highlight the passage at 30:44

30:58 Those who are strangers that we tend to be indifferent to and we don't even notice. Report an error in the passage at 30:58 Highlight the passage at 30:58

31:14 Those people are beings that we have difficulties with, Report an error in the passage at 31:14 Highlight the passage at 31:14

31:24 that irritate us with. Report an error in the passage at 31:24 Highlight the passage at 31:24

31:48 So this meditation is about really generating the feeling of understanding that all of these beings are just like us, just trying to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 31:48 Highlight the passage at 31:48

32:08 We may not agree with their methods of being happy, but they're just trying to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 32:08 Highlight the passage at 32:08

32:20 So we start this meditation by getting in touch with our own feeling of wanting to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 32:20 Highlight the passage at 32:20

32:37 Everything that we do is in order for us to be happy. The reason why we're here tonight, trying to increase our happiness. Report an error in the passage at 32:37 Highlight the passage at 32:37

32:58 The reason why we eat. Report an error in the passage at 32:58 Highlight the passage at 32:58

33:05 The reason why we have relationships. Report an error in the passage at 33:05 Highlight the passage at 33:05

33:15 The reason why we have a home. Report an error in the passage at 33:15 Highlight the passage at 33:15

33:21 We think about everything we do is in order to get some happiness. Report an error in the passage at 33:21 Highlight the passage at 33:21

33:35 So see if we can feel that desire for happiness. Report an error in the passage at 33:35 Highlight the passage at 33:35

33:45 Not just leave it on an intellectual level, but the feeling of wanting to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 33:45 Highlight the passage at 33:45

· · · silence, 2 minutes

35:25 To the category of friends and loved ones. Report an error in the passage at 35:25 Highlight the passage at 35:25

35:33 So think of our loved ones and friends one by one. Picture them in our minds. Report an error in the passage at 35:33 Highlight the passage at 35:33

35:48 And they go, just like the fact that I want to be happy, so does my partner want to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 35:48 Highlight the passage at 35:48

36:06 So do my children. Report an error in the passage at 36:06 Highlight the passage at 36:06

36:21 And see if we can feel their desire to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 36:21 Highlight the passage at 36:21

· · · silence, 3 minutes

39:16 On to the category of strangers. Report an error in the passage at 39:16 Highlight the passage at 39:16

39:22 People that we run across in Report an error in the passage at 39:22 Highlight the passage at 39:22

39:29 the grocery store, Report an error in the passage at 39:29 Highlight the passage at 39:29

39:34 one by one. Report an error in the passage at 39:34 Highlight the passage at 39:34

39:39 The guy at the post office, the teller at the bank, Report an error in the passage at 39:39 Highlight the passage at 39:39

39:53 one by one. Just like Miller to me. Now I want to be happy. And similarly, this other person wants to be happy. And Report an error in the passage at 39:53 Highlight the passage at 39:53

40:12 see if we can feel that, feel that desire for them to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 40:12 Highlight the passage at 40:12

· · · silence, 2 minutes

42:20 And then we can move on to those that we have difficulty with. Report an error in the passage at 42:20 Highlight the passage at 42:20

42:30 Maybe the annoying person at work, or the politicians we don't like, Report an error in the passage at 42:30 Highlight the passage at 42:30

42:44 or the mosquitoes who want to bite us. We're Report an error in the passage at 42:44 Highlight the passage at 42:44

42:55 all just trying to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 42:55 Highlight the passage at 42:55

· · · silence, 2 minutes

45:11 Questions or comments on that? I Report an error in the passage at 45:11 Highlight the passage at 45:11

45:31 kind of like that practice. Particularly with enemies. When I remember, I do it particularly while I'm watching television. It's a really excellent practice and it lets me kind of sit and not be what I call actively doing Dharma. Like I'm not reading a little book or doing homework or something, but I can still be doing my Dharma by watching the news and watching. Report an error in the passage at 45:31 Highlight the passage at 45:31

46:05 Watching my mind while I do it. It's a nice little practice. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 46:05 Highlight the passage at 46:05

46:14 I find it's very interesting in the election season when somebody you really disagree with is giving a speech or something and just trying to remember, oh, they're just trying to be happy. I don't agree with what they're doing. But they have a right to their opinion, right? But they're just trying to be happy and they think this is the way. Report an error in the passage at 46:14 Highlight the passage at 46:14

46:38 to be happy so that helps cut that negative mind like okay well sure lot of people don't agree with things that I do either. I find it a lot more difficult in my personal life. Report an error in the passage at 46:38 Highlight the passage at 46:38

47:04 Right. Well, yeah, the closer people are, the harder it is. Report an error in the passage at 47:04 Highlight the passage at 47:04

47:13 I mean, were people able to do the meditation? Report an error in the passage at 47:13 Highlight the passage at 47:13

47:19 Sort of. I mean, the mind tends to wander a lot, doesn't it? Do people find that it wandered more when you're trying to do enemies than more difficult ones? Report an error in the passage at 47:19 Highlight the passage at 47:19

47:37 I mean, it seems like a really kind of obvious practice. Oh yeah, everybody wants to be happy. Maybe it doesn't seem very beneficial. Report an error in the passage at 47:37 Highlight the passage at 47:37

47:47 And I didn't do it for years, but then I started doing it. And whenever I do it, I find it to be a really good practice for, you know, for uplifting the mind and, you know, kind of cutting through the judgments, you know, cutting through the dislike, cutting through fear, you know, if you're afraid of somebody. Report an error in the passage at 47:47 Highlight the passage at 47:47

48:15 Just remember, oh, they're just trying to be happy like me, you know, cutting through that feeling of being threatened by somebody. Report an error in the passage at 48:15 Highlight the passage at 48:15

48:25 Cutting through jealousy. Oh, they're just trying to be happy. Oh, they're just like me. They're just trying to be happy. You know, envy. Report an error in the passage at 48:25 Highlight the passage at 48:25

48:35 Just trying to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 48:35 Highlight the passage at 48:35

48:43 Okay, so we have a really quiet group today. Any other comments or questions? Yeah, Anna. Report an error in the passage at 48:43 Highlight the passage at 48:43

49:00 I was just remembering that Venerable Amy Miller made a presentation and she had us meditating on... I got on a bug, you know, but really I got so in touch with that, that really the bug, let's say in your kitchen or whatever, all they really wanted to was to survive, you know, have their little meal and go on. Report an error in the passage at 49:00 Highlight the passage at 49:00

49:32 And I was thinking, well, that's just like me. You know, and so I got so in touch with it. I mean, I started crying and everything. It was quite dramatic, but it was very potent, very real. Yeah, yeah. It's like the mosquito that lands on our arm and tries to suck our blood, right? They're just hungry, right? They're just hungry, right? It's not like they're trying to hurt us. Report an error in the passage at 49:32 Highlight the passage at 49:32

50:02 They're just, you know, they just want to eat. You know, we can relate to that, right? Just wanting to eat, yeah. And then, you know, instead of swatting the mosquito, we can just escort it outside, right? It goes back to your example of your friend, you know, and you were trying to, well, you were so angry, of course, and disappointed, but then when you started analyzing it, then you realize, well, wait a minute, you know, I've acted the same way or I can, I understand now how that could happen. Report an error in the passage at 50:02 Highlight the passage at 50:02

50:36 So it's a great way of, I think, getting in touch with others and then yourself, right? Report an error in the passage at 50:36 Highlight the passage at 50:36

50:53 Any other questions or comments? Report an error in the passage at 50:53 Highlight the passage at 50:53

51:00 I find the most difficult part of the meditation to be focusing on those that I'm indifferent to. Report an error in the passage at 51:00 Highlight the passage at 51:00

51:13 Why? Perhaps because... Report an error in the passage at 51:13 Highlight the passage at 51:13

51:24 It's just difficult to envision them. I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 51:24 Highlight the passage at 51:24

51:42 Yeah, it's just difficult to envision who am I indifferent to. Report an error in the passage at 51:42 Highlight the passage at 51:42

51:51 Who don't I care about or know well? I don't know. Oh, is it hard for you to identify the people who you're indifferent to? Yes. Oh, okay. Like Report an error in the passage at 51:51 Highlight the passage at 51:51

52:11 people walking down the street that we don't notice? Do you have that? Report an error in the passage at 52:11 Highlight the passage at 52:11

52:23 Because when I'm meditating, I'm actually visualizing. In my mind's eye, I'm thinking about... You know, loved ones. I'm thinking about people that I don't care about. But I find it hard to envision those that I'm indifferent to. You know, it's just more difficult because once I know you, I don't know. Once you know them, you either like them or you dislike them? Report an error in the passage at 52:23 Highlight the passage at 52:23

52:52 Is that what you're saying? I guess they fall into it. I'm indifferent to them. Actually, I feel, I don't know. To say I feel equanimity would be, yeah, but maybe I do. I don't know. I just have a difficult time with that portion of it, and I guess I can't explain why, so I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I picked up the microphone. No, no, no. Report an error in the passage at 52:52 Highlight the passage at 52:52

53:27 I've heard other people say that they... They find it difficult to find someone that they're indifferent to because their minds are constantly judging. So when we encounter somebody, we don't even know, right? We're judging, we're putting them into the good or the bad category of whether we like them or we don't like them, like them or don't like them. So I can see from that standpoint, it's hard to find someone that we're indifferent to. Report an error in the passage at 53:27 Highlight the passage at 53:27

53:56 But then we can think of maybe animals. You know, like the cows and the pigs, you know, we don't usually have strong opinions about cows and pigs, right? So then we can do meditation on, oh yeah, that pig that just wants to be happy, you know, that chicken, you know, that I'm eating, just wants to be happy or, you know, something like that. Report an error in the passage at 53:56 Highlight the passage at 53:56

54:25 But I'm not sure if you're saying that you have a hard time identifying them or you have a hard time visualizing them in your mind. Report an error in the passage at 54:25 Highlight the passage at 54:25

54:40 So I don't know if that was helpful at all. Report an error in the passage at 54:40 Highlight the passage at 54:40

54:50 Do people have other questions? Like, why are you here tonight? Oh, I thought you meant like a... You thought maybe somebody had the question, why are we here? Yeah. All right. Wow. Yeah, that one. Report an error in the passage at 54:50 Highlight the passage at 54:50

55:27 So are people here because they're having difficulties in their relationships? Or they're just here because they wanted to see Venerable Rabina? Or are people... Report an error in the passage at 55:27 Highlight the passage at 55:27

55:43 Because we can open this up. Because, I mean, I think the subject of the two types of meditation... Actually, the subject that we're planning to cover tonight is very difficult to kind of... Broaden into a general talk. I'm struggling. So we can kind of adjust it according to what people want. I had a question about meditation. And you started talking about it in the beginning, about some of the long-term effects and the difference between just breathing deeply or meditating. Report an error in the passage at 55:43 Highlight the passage at 55:43

56:18 and been I've been doing yoga for about three years and meditation is something that I've never really touched on too much. And that's actually how I ended up here with someone in my yoga class that does a lot of meditation here. And so it would be helpful for me to understand the different types and some of the benefits of the different types. Report an error in the passage at 56:18 Highlight the passage at 56:18

56:52 The reasons would be to, she said she does more of a visualization and her partner does some other type which I can't remember. Report an error in the passage at 56:52 Highlight the passage at 56:52

57:07 So maybe just more on the different types and effects. Okay. Okay. Okay, so if we talk about stabilizing meditation, you know, meditating on one thing, you know, if it's meditating on the breath or the image of a Buddha or something like that, right? So oftentimes it's said with meditation we choose the meditation object based on kind of our own minds. Report an error in the passage at 57:07 Highlight the passage at 57:07

57:39 Like if we have a prevalence of thinking too much, it's very good to meditate on the breath because that really helps kind of bring the mind down. It helps to stop what's called discursive thinking. Report an error in the passage at 57:39 Highlight the passage at 57:39

57:59 Whereas if we have, let's say, a prevalence of pride, Report an error in the passage at 57:59 Highlight the passage at 57:59

58:13 or let's say we have a prevalence of anger, then it's very good to meditate a lot on love for beings, love and compassion. Or if we have a jealousy, meditating on kind of being happy for others, happy in... Others' success, happy, and others' good fortune, good qualities, etc. So choosing the kind of meditation really depends on your particular mind. Report an error in the passage at 58:13 Highlight the passage at 58:13

58:51 So getting to know what our minds are and what we need. But oftentimes it's recommended to start meditating on the breath. Report an error in the passage at 58:51 Highlight the passage at 58:51

59:08 So Report an error in the passage at 59:08 Highlight the passage at 59:08

59:16 oftentimes people do the stabilizing meditation. To really relax their minds, right? To relieve stress, right? To learn to relax more. And I think that's a really good way to start, right? Really seeing the benefits, right, of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 59:16 Highlight the passage at 59:16

59:50 And that can help us, right, in our day-to-day life, right? Report an error in the passage at 59:50 Highlight the passage at 59:50

59:58 But sometimes people just focus on this kind of stabilizing meditation and they don't do the analytical meditation. They just think stabilizing meditation, you know, to relax the mind is what's beneficial. But what happens if you just do stabilizing meditation, the mind can become more, like, less intelligent, less sharp, because we're just focusing on one object. Report an error in the passage at 59:58 Highlight the passage at 59:58

1:00:30 So analytical meditation helps the mind become more sharp, more intelligent, more kind of flexible in that way, more clear. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:30 Highlight the passage at 1:00:30

1:00:43 So then it's good to do both, the stabilizing and the analytical. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:43 Highlight the passage at 1:00:43

1:00:55 Meditating on the image of a Buddha. Sometimes people do that, different Buddha images, and that tends to create a positive imprint in the mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:55 Highlight the passage at 1:00:55

1:01:09 Which helps with further Buddhist practice if you're wanting to continue all along the path. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:09 Highlight the passage at 1:01:09

1:01:19 And then there are many other traditions. So this is all kind of within Tibetan Buddhism, the types of meditation that I'm talking about. And then there's other kinds of meditation that I'm not so familiar with. Meditations, you know, the Vipassanā tradition, it's called bare awareness, where you're just kind of opening the mind and just being aware of whatever. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:19 Highlight the passage at 1:01:19

1:01:44 It's probably Report an error in the passage at 1:01:44 Highlight the passage at 1:01:44

1:01:58 best to start with a stabilizing meditation where you focus on the breath and my Report an error in the passage at 1:01:58 Highlight the passage at 1:01:58

1:02:10 mind will kind of slow down a little bit. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:10 Highlight the passage at 1:02:10

1:02:15 Is that maybe for a period of a couple months or just later on that day? Just because I'm so new to it, I'm trying to think of how to get a foundation. Okay. Yeah, so it's recommended actually to do both, do analytical meditation and stabilizing meditation. So we can do, and actually in this tradition it's recommended to do analytical meditation first because we listen to the teachings and we're getting a correct understanding of the causes of happiness through analytical meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:15 Highlight the passage at 1:02:15

1:03:04 And that helps create a more and more positive mind. It's through understanding the teachings correctly and doing analysis. And then stabilizing meditation, we can do every day. We can try to do that every day to calm the mind, especially when we're stressed out. Or we can do it in the context of a retreat. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:04 Highlight the passage at 1:03:04

1:03:30 You know, so oftentimes there are these 10-day retreats or, you know, weekend retreats or things like that. You know, so we can do the stabilizing meditation. And we'll go more deeply if we go, you know, do a retreat. But for you to start, you know, if you haven't listened to many teachings, then there's not really much to analyze, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:03:30 Highlight the passage at 1:03:30

1:03:54 I mean, in terms of analytical meditation. So to start by doing, you know, meditating on the breath. Just to relax yourself. And then if you're interested in the Buddhist teachings, attend the teachings and then meditate with analytical meditation on what we hear. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:54 Highlight the passage at 1:03:54

1:04:14 So with the stabilizing meditation, so to start, what's recommended is to choose a duration of time where you can stay focused. So sometimes people try to start meditating by 45 minutes a day. And what happens is they just kind of space out or they're just sleepy for 45 minutes. And there's really no benefit to that, right? Because we can just lay in bed and take a nap, right? But there's no particular benefit to meditating in a sleepy, dull way. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:14 Highlight the passage at 1:04:14

1:04:53 So we can meditate so that we need to meditate. With a relaxed mind and a focused mind. So kind of balancing the relaxation and the focus. So for however long you can maintain that. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:53 Highlight the passage at 1:04:53

1:05:13 So it might be five minutes in the beginning. It might be three minutes. But it's better to start short and then gradually lengthen it. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:13 Highlight the passage at 1:05:13

1:05:28 Then to start long and just have a dull meditation the entire time. So we start short, develop that relaxation and that focus and really see the benefit of that and then gradually lengthen. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:28 Highlight the passage at 1:05:28

1:05:55 I was going to say something else, but I forgot. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:05:55 Highlight the passage at 1:05:55

1:06:03 Hillary. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:03 Highlight the passage at 1:06:03

1:06:07 I think there are a couple of meditation classes here sometimes. Like there's a drop-in 9 a.m. every Saturday. Which at least exposes you to different types of meditation. And I think, I'm not sure on Tuesday night if that's what it is. Tuesday night. Tuesdays at 7. Tuesday night. Right, yeah. For people who are available, there's like a Friday 12, 30 or something like that in the day. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:07 Highlight the passage at 1:06:07

1:06:36 Anyway, you can check the calendar. We have calendars on the desk. That also, if you have no background, it kind of gives you some exposure to different types. Yeah, good. Thank you. So Report an error in the passage at 1:06:36 Highlight the passage at 1:06:36

1:07:01 I'm thinking about other pursuits in life, intellectual pursuits, or we concentrate when we read a book or when we have a problem that we try to figure out a solution to and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:01 Highlight the passage at 1:07:01

1:07:22 That also involves these capacities you're talking about, both a concentrated mind, which is, I think, just a child going to school and learning to read or something is also developing concentration. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:22 Highlight the passage at 1:07:22

1:07:42 And I'm wondering a little bit about the difference here, and if it primarily has to do with the content. So if we took a scientist, Who is used as sitting and focusing on something for a very long time. Would they also be more likely to sit and focus on their breath for a long time? Because they might have that capacity of concentration developed, but not necessarily on their own mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:42 Highlight the passage at 1:07:42

1:08:11 They may not have the capacity to observe their own mind, but they may have the capacity to observe a mathematical dilemma or something. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So I think that we all are able to concentrate on certain things, like something that we're really interested in, like a really good movie. We're able to naturally concentrate on that. But that doesn't really help us in our lives, if we're really able to concentrate on a good movie or really able to concentrate. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:11 Highlight the passage at 1:08:11

1:08:53 On chocolate, you know, a good meal, right? Because in the Dharma, we're trying to learn to control our minds, right? So whatever object it is, particularly, you know, objects that create causes for long-term happiness, right? We're trying to focus more and more on those as opposed to, you know, just temporary pleasures. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:53 Highlight the passage at 1:08:53

1:09:18 So with meditation, we're learning to really focus the mind on what's called a virtuous object, an object that is a cause of happiness. So meditating on love or meditating on impermanence or meditating on karma. So these types of things. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:18 Highlight the passage at 1:09:18

1:09:46 Perhaps if we're really good, let's say we have a very good concentrated mind at work, that could help in our meditation. But normally when most people sit down to meditate, they notice their mind goes all over the place. So that indicates that that ability to concentrate at work isn't really translating to being able to control your mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:46 Highlight the passage at 1:09:46

1:10:15 And so the process as we practice the Dharma is we listen to teachings and we analyze the teachings. And we can analyze the teachings by sitting there. But then we do analytical meditation and the more focused the mind is, the deeper we can go. So when you're sitting there trying to solve a problem, oftentimes, well, I don't know, for different people, but oftentimes my mind kind of goes off in various different directions. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:15 Highlight the passage at 1:10:15

1:10:57 I'm thinking about this, and then I'm thinking about something else, and then I'm thinking about something else, and then I go back to this. But in analytical meditation, we're learning to really notice when the distractions arise. So we're trying to analyze something in particular. Then a distraction arises, and we're developing a level of mindfulness where we understand, oh, a distraction has arisen, and then we bring the mind back to the object of focus. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:57 Highlight the passage at 1:10:57

1:11:25 And then another distraction arises, we notice, we bring it back. Dullness arises in meditation. The mind becomes kind of foggy or unclear. clear. You know, we notice that and then we try to To bring more clarity and uplift the mind. So meditation is bringing a lot of elements to the analysis that we don't have when we're just sitting there and thinking about a problem. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:25 Highlight the passage at 1:11:25

1:11:54 And then the longer we're able to concentrate, then we do analytical meditation and the process is then we come to a correct conclusion about something and then we stabilize on that. For a period of time. So we stabilize on that. Through the force of the stabilizing meditation that we've done previously, we just focus on that one object. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:54 Highlight the passage at 1:11:54

1:12:22 And what happens is we go more and more deeply and we get what's called a realization. So understanding something intellectually is one thing and it doesn't necessarily help us so much. In our day-to-day life, like understanding intellectually that people are trying to be happy, you know, wanting to be happy. If somebody harms us, you know, it doesn't necessarily come up right away, oh, they're just trying to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:22 Highlight the passage at 1:12:22

1:12:53 But if we meditated on that and developed a realization of that, then when that person hurts us, then immediately we're not angry. Immediately, you know, just the thought, oh, they're just trying to be happy and we don't get angry. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:53 Highlight the passage at 1:12:53

1:13:11 So that ability to concentrate and stay on that conclusion deepens it to the point where we can live it. We live it as opposed to just keeping it on an intellectual level. It's like living and breathing love and compassion or wisdom, etc. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:11 Highlight the passage at 1:13:11

1:13:41 So sometimes people say, oh, you know, I really know what to do. I know the right thing to do but I'm just not able to do it. That's us leaving the knowledge here and the intellectual level so we haven't gotten a realization yet and we're not able to live it yet. So how do we bring it from the intellectual level to being able to live it is through meditation and deepening our meditation and developing realizations. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:41 Highlight the passage at 1:13:41

1:14:19 Does that answer your question? Report an error in the passage at 1:14:19 Highlight the passage at 1:14:19

1:14:30 Keith? Report an error in the passage at 1:14:30 Highlight the passage at 1:14:30

1:14:38 Well, I was thinking about the meditation of relationships because something happened to me a couple weeks ago that made me really think about relationships for a strange reason. It happened after class. I was walking home, a stuttering haze just in where Lama Park is, and there's dogs at the dog park. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:38 Highlight the passage at 1:14:38

1:14:56 And for no reason, this great big dog attacked me and jumped on me, and it was big, and it happened twice. He attacked me and I kind of pushed away and I was kind of roughed up and he attacked me again. And then the owner got control of him somehow. So I went home and I was really feeling kind of trying to figure it out. But it was very helpful because I started to do some meditation and thinking that there must have been, there were other people in the park that the dog wasn't upset with. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:56 Highlight the passage at 1:14:56

1:15:28 So it must have been some energy that I had with that particular dog. And so then I got to thinking that these relationships I've had all through my life really are much more dependent on something much different than what I think they are, what I do. I mean, somebody betraying me, I'm upset with them. Basically, it's much more complicated. And I was able to do that because it wasn't a person. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:28 Highlight the passage at 1:15:28

1:15:52 It was actually an animal that did it. But I really don't think, I'm really beginning to think that relationships are determined by... What has happened since beginningless time? And that we just have a snapshot of them in this short life of ours. And so we worry about them and there's nothing we can really do about it. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:52 Highlight the passage at 1:15:52

1:16:14 So essentially whatever happened long ago caused that attack, not anything else. And I think pretty much is what determines relationships. Anyway, that's just some new thinking on my part. So you could call it karma. I mean, it is karma. But it's so complicated. Yeah, yeah, it is. I mean, it's a confluence of many conditions coming together. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:14 Highlight the passage at 1:16:14

1:16:40 So we can say it's karma. Well, I mean, it is karma. When the dog attacks you, why did the dog attack you and not anybody else? It was your karma. But I wouldn't say that we can't do anything about them. I mean, we have specific karma from the past, and then we have... Presently, the conditions that we're creating. So we can create positive conditions for more positive karma to ripen, or we can create the conditions for negative karma to ripen. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:40 Highlight the passage at 1:16:40

1:17:14 So in a relationship, if we treat the other person very well and with respect and a lot of consideration and generosity, we're creating the causes for a happy, harmonious, healthy relationship. But if we're blaming and focusing on the negative and complaining, we're creating the conditions to have an unhappy, unhealthy, dissatisfied relationship. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:14 Highlight the passage at 1:17:14

1:17:44 So it's the combination of the current conditions as well as the past karma that we've created. I think mostly so, but I think that in relationships it's possible to be really virtuous and really nice and the other person... Isn't going to be like you quite as much as or do quite what you want them, how you want them to be because of other issues. For sure. Right. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:44 Highlight the passage at 1:17:44

1:18:09 Right. Exactly. Exactly. I mean, yeah, I mean, we can create all the wonderful conditions now, but if we created the karma in the past, right, for that person to dislike us, then there's not, we can't necessarily change that. But it's still better to try to create the positive conditions. It certainly doesn't hurt. But we see some people have a karma in this life to have really wonderful, harmonious relationships and they don't seem to be very kind people. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:09 Highlight the passage at 1:18:09

1:18:46 Whereas other people who are very kind and consider it, they don't have the karma to have a... Good relationship in this life. So it's both, right? The previous karma as well as the current condition. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:46 Highlight the passage at 1:18:46

1:19:08 Okay. Is there a question? Okay. Yeah, we can talk more about relationships if you want, Irene. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:08 Highlight the passage at 1:19:08

1:19:23 Well, actually, I had a question on meditation. Is that okay? Sure, of course. All right. So with the analytical meditation, I kind of have a hard time distinguishing... Between like what is just my mind being distracted or like trying to apply it to what I'm supposed to be kind of contemplating. And I'm not exactly sure what like what the activity of the mind is supposed to look like when you're doing analytical meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:23 Highlight the passage at 1:19:23

1:20:00 Okay. Okay. All right. Okay, so before we sit down and do an analytical meditation, we decide what exactly it is that we're going to meditate on, right? So analytical meditation isn't about sitting down and then kind of just following the mind and thinking about whatever comes up, right? It's deciding ahead of time, okay, I'm going to meditate on, let's say the example that we just had was equanimity. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:00 Highlight the passage at 1:20:00

1:20:30 So first I'm going to meditate on... My own desire to be happy. Then I'm going to meditate on my friends and kind of go one by one, thinking about how they want to be happy. And then the strangers and then the difficult ones. So you decide ahead of time what it is that you're going to meditate on. And then go kind of methodically through that would be the analytical meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:30 Highlight the passage at 1:20:30

1:21:00 Then if you start thinking about... Oh, you know, that person wants to be happy, but, you know, they're always doing, you know, doing things for me, you know, that really cause me problems, right? Then that starts to be a distraction, right? So then just coming back and focusing on, oh, just trying to be happy. They're just trying to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:00 Highlight the passage at 1:21:00

1:21:24 They're just trying to be happy. And then the but comes, and then bringing back, they're just trying to be happy. And then thought of... Dinner comes, and then we bring the mind back. So does that make sense? Does that address your question? Yeah, a little bit. I guess my second question is, the part I'm not clear about is, I can kind of think the words, Report an error in the passage at 1:21:24 Highlight the passage at 1:21:24

1:22:05 related to it. I can try to conjure up images of people, either friends, enemies or people that I'm indifferent to. I can try to visualize their faces or kind of say to myself, just like me, they want to be happy. But sometimes it's just kind of dry and neutral. It's just words and images. And I imagine there's something deeper that's supposed to be going on. So then a lot of times I start to try and come up with more specific kinds of things or come up with examples or something like that of how these people want to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:05 Highlight the passage at 1:22:05

1:22:58 And sometimes... or, um, uh, Report an error in the passage at 1:22:58 Highlight the passage at 1:22:58

1:23:02 I don't know if I really should be doing that because then I'm just using my imagination to come up with scenarios to try and get a deeper imprint or deeper emotional reaction or realization or something. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:02 Highlight the passage at 1:23:02

1:23:28 I, yeah. So I don't know if I'm on the right track or I should be doing something different or just... Yeah. No, if you're trying to deepen that experience, you know, like thinking about, oh, they're trying to be happy, they're just trying to be happy. Oh, and trying to find examples of that, I think that's fine, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:23:28 Highlight the passage at 1:23:28

1:23:52 But oftentimes, right, with meditation, we don't actually, like, feel anything. We're going through the motions, right? We're trying to develop. Equanimity or love and compassion. And it's not coming. So with meditation, we just do it. And we do it again and again and again. And there are some days which seems like nothing's happening. And other days, it's like this wonderful experience. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:52 Highlight the passage at 1:23:52

1:24:21 We get some insight or we get a strong experience. And it just kind of goes up and down that way. And people who have ever done a retreat will notice, even in one day, you might have one meditation that goes really well, and then the next session, two hours later, nothing. And then the next session, oh, it's wonderful. And then the next session for the next two days, nothing. And then it just goes up and down like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:21 Highlight the passage at 1:24:21

1:24:58 So meditation is about familiarizing. And really, you know, kind of persistence in doing that. And, you know, creativity too, you know, in trying to deepen that experience, like you were saying. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:58 Highlight the passage at 1:24:58

1:25:13 So, you know, so it's really important with analytical meditation to apply your own experience, right? It's like, oh yeah, people are trying to be happy. Then thinking about specific people. And good to think about how specific things that they're doing and how, oh, they're just trying to be happy when they're doing this, when they're eating dinner, when they're going to work, when they're, et cetera. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:13 Highlight the passage at 1:25:13

1:25:44 Okay? All right. Yeah. I'm just going to add that, you know, actually specifically in the Geluk tradition, logic. So just to expand a little bit on what you said, logic and reasoning are integral to analytic meditation. So there's a lot of training in linguistics, logic, debate, setting up, providing numerous examples to test the way that you think, to see if it's clear or not, and then to actually do behavioral testing. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:44 Highlight the passage at 1:25:44

1:26:19 So I think all of that is part of analytic meditation, according to the tradition. So analytic meditation really does involve using logic and reasoning and testing. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:19 Highlight the passage at 1:26:19

1:26:36 Both your own experience in getting examples that test whether the way that you're thinking and seeing is accurate or not. And then actually having experiences in testing whether that's accurate or not. Both internally and also by consensus. Especially if you think about testing. There are many types of analytic meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:36 Highlight the passage at 1:26:36

1:26:58 And in this class, the ongoing class... We're going through the entire path and we'll do a lot of analytical meditation, very specific analytical meditations in the coming weeks, months, years. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:58 Highlight the passage at 1:26:58

1:27:16 So if you want to keep coming to class, then we'll get much more specific. I've just tried to make this more broad because we have a broader audience today and I don't know how effective it really is. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:16 Highlight the passage at 1:27:16

1:27:32 We'll talk very specifically about how to meditate on perfect human rebirth, how to meditate on death, how to meditate on love and compassion, all of those things. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:32 Highlight the passage at 1:27:32

1:27:43 And sometimes we're using more logical reasoning and sometimes we're using more checking our own experience. We kind of do both in analytical meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:43 Highlight the passage at 1:27:43

1:27:59 Does that help? You Report an error in the passage at 1:27:59 Highlight the passage at 1:27:59

1:28:09 want to stop here? Report an error in the passage at 1:28:09 Highlight the passage at 1:28:09

1:28:15 Well, thank you for coming and I'm sorry again Rabina wasn't able to be here. But she's coming on Tuesday, right? So her talk was postponed until Tuesday, this coming Tuesday at 7. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:15 Highlight the passage at 1:28:15

1:28:30 So let's just spend a minute and dedicate our positive energy. So Report an error in the passage at 1:28:30 Highlight the passage at 1:28:30

1:28:47 dedicate whatever positive energy we've created, more and more peace in the world, more Report an error in the passage at 1:28:47 Highlight the passage at 1:28:47

1:29:01 and more happiness for all beings, Report an error in the passage at 1:29:01 Highlight the passage at 1:29:01

1:29:14 freedom from suffering for all beings. And Report an error in the passage at 1:29:14 Highlight the passage at 1:29:14

1:29:29 may we continue to develop our own inner qualities. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:29 Highlight the passage at 1:29:29

1:29:35 So that we can be more and more beneficial to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:35 Highlight the passage at 1:29:35

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:30:22 Okay, thank you very much. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:22 Highlight the passage at 1:30:22

1:30:34 the rooms set up as it is. same setup for tomorrow. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:34 Highlight the passage at 1:30:34