Tonglen Retreat: Developing the Courage of Heart and Mind (17 March 2012, morning)

0:07 So, good morning everybody. I trust you slept well last night? Lovely to see you here this morning. Report an error in the passage at 0:07 Highlight the passage at 0:07

0:23 So, as we mentioned yesterday, the most significant aspect of any activity that is the main determining factor as to whether that activity is going to be truly beneficial or not. is the motivation with which we engage in that activity. And so here, we're continuing on the activity begun last night of speaking, thinking, questioning about the fundamental Mahāyāna practice of Tonglen, sending and receiving. Report an error in the passage at 0:23 Highlight the passage at 0:23

1:05 And so before we actually get in, To the main body of this activity, of participating in this session, we should try to cultivate as positive, as expansive a motivation as we can. And that will ensure that no matter what we do here, over the next two hours or so, it will be of maximum benefit and reap the greatest rewards in the future. Report an error in the passage at 1:05 Highlight the passage at 1:05

1:36 So the method that we typically follow is to recite, or even more importantly, to think about the meaning of the four-line prayer with which nearly every teaching in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition begins. Report an error in the passage at 1:36 Highlight the passage at 1:36

1:56 If you don't have it memorized, if you'd like to follow along, it's on page 34 of the book in front of you, Taking Refuge in Generating Bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 1:56 Highlight the passage at 1:56

2:11 So what I would like to do this time is to approach this prayer as a meditation practice of its own. So to do that, I'm going to make a few introductory remarks and then a Report an error in the passage at 2:11 Highlight the passage at 2:11

2:34 recitation, a brief recitation of the prayer in English so that we can focus our mind on the underlying meaning. And then, for whoever wishes to participate, three repetitions of the prayer in Tibetan. And this morning, for that prayer, I'm going to share a method of recitation or chanting, which I learned, my goodness, Report an error in the passage at 2:34 Highlight the passage at 2:34

3:07 some 40 years ago, when I was first a student in India from the great teacher Geshingawan Darge. And I'd like to share that one with you. It's always nice to have a variety of methods for reciting or chanting any particular prayer or mantra. It gives variety. Each one has its own flavor, its own quality. And then we can be like shoppers in a supermarket and choose which method on whichever day seems to suit us the best. Report an error in the passage at 3:07 Highlight the passage at 3:07

3:45 As a reminder of the underlying meaning of this prayer, the first two lines direct our attention to the objects of refuge, that which provides a safe and beneficial direction for this life. Now, because this is a Buddhist center and because the topics that we're focusing on comes from the Buddhist tradition, then these objects of refuge are identified as the three jewels. That is, the Buddha as a teacher, the Dharma, the actual refuge itself, which is the teachings and realizations passed on, taught by the Buddha, and then the Saṅgha, the community of supportive practitioners. Report an error in the passage at 3:45 Highlight the passage at 3:45

4:36 But, you know, you don't have to simply identify the objects of refuge. Solely in Buddhist terms. Without knowing all of you individually, I wouldn't be surprised if there are people who feel a stronger connection to another spiritual tradition. For example, Christianity, let's say, as an example. And they're coming to this center, not to become Buddhist, but to learn from the Buddhist traditions, methods that they can use. Report an error in the passage at 4:36 Highlight the passage at 4:36

4:46 I. Report an error in the passage at 4:46 Highlight the passage at 4:46

5:12 In terms of their own inner development. And if that's the case, whether it be Christianity, another tradition, or even something that's outside of the spiritual tradition altogether, a recognized spiritual tradition, those three jewels can be understood in terms of that as well. So even if the language here is Buddhist, you can understand it in whatever terms really speak to you. Report an error in the passage at 5:12 Highlight the passage at 5:12

5:41 So, in that case, the three jewels, the objects of refuge, which traditionally are Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha, can be understood as any being embodying the goodness from which we derive our own happiness, the exemplar, the inspiration. So, of course, for many people from the Christian tradition, that would be Jesus or Mary or Saint Francis. Report an error in the passage at 5:41 Highlight the passage at 5:41

6:13 Or any of the whole range of saints and holy beings who have been inspiring to us in our life. And by extension then you could understand that similarly for other spiritual traditions. And then the Dharma are the teachings, the realizations generated in the minds of those holy beings that we wish to cultivate in our own inner psychology, in our own life. Report an error in the passage at 6:13 Highlight the passage at 6:13

6:41 And then the Saṅgha are all those people who support us in the effort to put those teachings, those realizations into practice in our own life. So I mention this, realizing that it might be unnecessary to speak this. Maybe everyone here is a committed Buddhist already. And three jewels in terms of Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha is completely sufficient. But my suspicion is there's people who have a connection. Report an error in the passage at 6:41 Highlight the passage at 6:41

7:09 Either to another spiritual tradition, which is meaningful to you, or don't identify with any one spiritual tradition, but understand that there is a basic goodness in this world that we can tune into. So if any of those are the case for you, then don't have a limited mind, even if the words are Buddhist or traditional or Tibetan or Sanskrit. Report an error in the passage at 7:09 Highlight the passage at 7:09

7:38 They can be understood in terms of your own psychology, in terms of your own experience. Does that make sense? Because the important thing, which Lama Yeshe used to always point out, is to be able to touch something, to communicate something that's real for us, not just adopt a pattern which may have, may be traditional, may be valuable in its own right, but doesn't speak to us, doesn't touch our heart. Report an error in the passage at 7:38 Highlight the passage at 7:38

8:08 So if our heart has been touched by anything, whether it's Buddhist or non-Buddhist, whether it's religious or non-religious, try to bring that up, try to contact that source of goodness in our life, and then understand the prayers and the practices we do in terms of what's meaningful for each of us. Report an error in the passage at 8:08 Highlight the passage at 8:08

8:37 So, first there'll be a repetition of the... More or less literal meaning of this prayer in English and again if you wish you can read along or you can just meditate on the meaning of the words and then there will be the recitation of this same prayer in the original Tibetan. I Report an error in the passage at 8:37 Highlight the passage at 8:37

9:05 go for refuge until I'm enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Supreme Assembly by my practice of giving and other perfections. May I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings. May I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 9:05 Highlight the passage at 9:05

9:29 I become the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 9:29 Highlight the passage at 9:29

9:33 benefit all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 9:33 Highlight the passage at 9:33

9:55 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 9:55 Highlight the passage at 9:55

10:05 up and chill. Sangye Report an error in the passage at 10:05 Highlight the passage at 10:05

· · · silence, 1 minute

10:42 up and cheer. Sangye. Report an error in the passage at 10:42 Highlight the passage at 10:42

11:15 it nice. Report an error in the passage at 11:15 Highlight the passage at 11:15

· · · silence, 1 minute

12:22 Now, in order to continue on from yesterday, a... Hopefully a brief recap of how the Course has been evolving so far. The main topic is the practice of Tonglen, or sending and receiving. And as mentioned yesterday, this practice can be done in many different ways, in many different levels. And I thought it would be helpful for this weekend to start. Report an error in the passage at 12:22 Highlight the passage at 12:22

12:54 In the most simple, most accessible manner, and then build up each method, building on the last, to reach finally a very profound level of this Tonglin practice. So yesterday we began by the... The foundational practice, with the foundational practice, of developing sustained attention. Because without some level of sustained attention, then it's virtually impossible to transform the mind in terms of whatever Dharma that we're studying. Report an error in the passage at 12:54 Highlight the passage at 12:54

13:35 We need to be able to place the mind as single-pointedly as we can and to allow our mind to marinate. In the flavor of that particular teaching, rather than just dipping into it every once in a while. So, for that purpose, we use a very simple breathing technique, and that will also lead in organically into the Tonglen practice itself, which can be done in terms of a breathing technique. Report an error in the passage at 13:35 Highlight the passage at 13:35

14:07 So, this morning... We're going to begin with a simple, shortened practice of this breath awareness meditation, and then move on from that to a basic loving-kindness meditation, which will serve as a very excellent foundation for the Tong Lin, an excellent entranceway into the practice of sending and receiving. Report an error in the passage at 14:07 Highlight the passage at 14:07

14:44 A remark I wanted to make before we practice these introductory meditations this morning is a word or two about words. If we have been studying Buddhism for any length of time, we've probably come across readings or teachings that point out that desirous attachment known by other Report an error in the passage at 14:44 Highlight the passage at 14:44

15:15 Terms such as greed, covetousness, lust, is at the source of whatever problems we're experiencing. That the mind which is overcome by this desirous attachment leads inevitably to disappointment. And if we're frustrated, even if we gain the object, Of our desirous attachment, it, as the Buddha said, is like trying to quench one's thirst by drinking salt water. Report an error in the passage at 15:15 Highlight the passage at 15:15

15:55 That the more we partake, the more we partake, the thirstier we become. And not only is it frustrating, but if our aims, the object that we're feeling this desirous attachment for, If we're frustrated in our attempt to achieve it, then easily that frustration can easily lead to anger and even hatred, which is a very virulent delusion which destroys all positive qualities. Report an error in the passage at 15:55 Highlight the passage at 15:55

16:30 And so this desirous attachment arising from a misconception of the nature of reality or ignorance is often pointed out as A root cause, and in some cases, the root cause of suffering and dissatisfaction. But the words desirous attachment, longing, yearning, are just that. They're just words. And their meaning can vary depending on which context they're being used. Report an error in the passage at 16:30 Highlight the passage at 16:30

17:12 So we shouldn't think that all desires, all yearnings, All longings are negative, are all productive of suffering. The only desires, longings, attachments that serve as the cause for suffering and disappointment, dissatisfaction, are those directed towards objects that don't have the ability to provide us with the happiness and peace of mind that we're looking for. Report an error in the passage at 17:12 Highlight the passage at 17:12

17:47 So, for example, we use the example Yesterday, of having this kind of greedy, covetous desire for something like food, which is capable definitely of giving us momentary pleasure, but the more we partake, instead of providing more and more happiness and peace of mind, the more it sets us up for disappointment, discouragement, indigestion and all other forms of unhappiness. Report an error in the passage at 17:47 Highlight the passage at 17:47

18:21 So it's not that all forms of desire, yearning, longing are negative. It's only those that are directed towards inappropriate objects, meaning objects which, even if they have an ability to provide us with momentary pleasure, do not have the ability to provide us with the deep happiness and sense of well-being that we desire. Report an error in the passage at 18:21 Highlight the passage at 18:21

18:49 But there is a longing, there is a yearning. There is a desire which comes from deep down in our being for genuine happiness, which can be understood as deep abiding contentment, peace of mind, a sense of well-being, Report an error in the passage at 18:49 Highlight the passage at 18:49

19:11 meaning and purpose in our life, flourishing and not merely existing. And if our longing and yearning is directed towards that, that is not a delusion. Report an error in the passage at 19:11 Highlight the passage at 19:11

19:27 That in fact is awakening to what His Holiness sometimes referred to as our birthright. The fact that we're here alive on this planet means that there is something within us that is longing, yearning, desiring this sense of fulfillment, this sense of genuine happiness. That is not a delusion. That's tuning in to something very deep and basic. Report an error in the passage at 19:27 Highlight the passage at 19:27

20:02 And it's quite interesting that our culture, no matter how much it's mired in materialism and consumerism and the like, our culture reflects this deep abiding yearning for something greater in many, many forms, in myriads of forms. One of the nicest, one of the most poetic expressions of this yearning For me, it's in a line from a song by Leonard Cohen. They're leaning out for love, they shall lean this way forever. Report an error in the passage at 20:02 Highlight the passage at 20:02

20:43 They're leaning out for love, they meaning everyone. They shall lean this way forever, meaning it's a basic yearning of our nature to Report an error in the passage at 20:43 Highlight the passage at 20:43

21:00 have that sense of connectedness, connectedness to our own deep nature, Connectedness to the deep nature of all other beings, expressed as love. This wish for ourself and others to experience true, genuine happiness and to cultivate the causes for this happiness. Report an error in the passage at 21:00 Highlight the passage at 21:00

21:24 So that's one example that's found in our culture which expresses and resonates, I think, with many people when they hear that song by Leonard Cohen for this deep yearning. That's one. There's another one which is, I find it very, very powerful, but in fact it's a perversion of this deep longing. Report an error in the passage at 21:24 Highlight the passage at 21:24

21:48 It seems like every few years the advertisers change their slogan for their product. Specifically, Coca-Cola has been famous for doing that. They'll come up with a slogan and they'll use it and you can't avoid it. You'll hear it. Hundreds of times a day, if you tune into the media. And then after a certain period of time, perhaps when the advertisers think it's getting stale, they'll come up with another slogan, another campaign. Report an error in the passage at 21:48 Highlight the passage at 21:48

22:22 Well, quite a number of years ago, I don't know, it might be before some of the people in this room who were even born, the slogan went like this. Report an error in the passage at 22:22 Highlight the passage at 22:22

22:36 It's in the back of your mind. It's what you're hoping to find. It's the real thing. Coca Cola. Does anyone here remember that? Remember that? It was a while ago. I haven't heard it recently. It's in the back of your mind. Oh, good. It's in the back of your mind. It's what you're hoping to find. It's the real thing. Well, that is a very, very psychologically astute way of catching this deep yearning that we have. Report an error in the passage at 22:36 Highlight the passage at 22:36

23:16 The only problem is that the object which is said to satisfy that yearning is some bubbly liquid which makes you burp and maybe rots your teeth and maybe throws off your metabolism. But it's the real thing. It's what you're hoping to find. It's in the back of your mind. Lama Yeshe, when he came to the West in 1974, he said he thought that Madison Avenue, the advertising industry, Report an error in the passage at 23:16 Highlight the passage at 23:16

23:49 Contained some of the most skillful psychologists on the planet because they really knew how to catch the makeup and the deep interest, the abiding interest of the mind and then manipulate it for their own purposes. And I think this is an example of that because that slogan, if we leave off the punchline at the end, is really talking about this deep abiding yearning that we have for peace of mind. Report an error in the passage at 23:49 Highlight the passage at 23:49

24:20 For a sense of fulfillment, for contentment, for the real thing, what we're hoping to find. So desire, longing, yearning for the real thing, what is capable of bestowing on us the happiness and cultivating the causes of that happiness, that is not, even if you use the words desire or yearning or longing, it's not at all a delusion. Report an error in the passage at 24:20 Highlight the passage at 24:20

24:47 It's just in line with what bubbles up. Deep from the depths of our heart. We can even identify the source of that as our Buddha nature, our potential for full enlightenment. Report an error in the passage at 24:47 Highlight the passage at 24:47

25:05 So, as we get into this meditation and what follows through the remainder of this course, it's very, very helpful to try to identify for ourselves what this deep yearning is, what the Report an error in the passage at 25:05 Highlight the passage at 25:05

25:24 What a source of goodness is that we're hoping to bring into our life. And actually for that purpose, if you don't mind, I'd like to get some ideas, kind of a range of ideas or suggestions, what in your own experience represents that deep source of goodness that we are longing to experience. What is the real thing? Now, it's helpful if we don't... Report an error in the passage at 25:24 Highlight the passage at 25:24

25:52 Keep it on the level of a general abstraction. They often make fun of these beauty contests where they ask the young woman, what is your greatest wish? And then the joke answer is world peace. Because, of course, everyone wishes for world peace. But just saying those words doesn't necessarily connect with that deep yearning. Report an error in the passage at 25:52 Highlight the passage at 25:52

26:23 So, when you check to see, in your own experience, what it is that you're hoping to find, what that connection to the real thing is, from Report an error in the passage at 26:23 Highlight the passage at 26:23

26:39 your own experience, what is something that represents that real thing for you, that source of goodness, that font from which love truly arises? Anything? Report an error in the passage at 26:39 Highlight the passage at 26:39

26:55 Yes. Report an error in the passage at 26:55 Highlight the passage at 26:55

27:03 a connection and a giving and receiving with all. So to feel connected, a connectedness, right? In other words, the very opposite of fragmentation or alienation, of being caught in one's own private, separate cocoon, but being truly in touch with others. Report an error in the passage at 27:03 Highlight the passage at 27:03

27:28 That's definitely a very, very salient feature of right, Report an error in the passage at 27:28 Highlight the passage at 27:28

27:34 Goodness, of genuine happiness. Anything else? Maybe you covered them all. Does anything else come to mind? Yes, please. Safety. Safety, a feeling that you're protected from harm. Report an error in the passage at 27:34 Highlight the passage at 27:34

27:56 Yeah. And that relates directly to what we were discussing yesterday and a little bit this morning about refuge. I mean, refuge... It is a longing to be connected and to follow a safe direction in life, not something that's going to expose us to continual turmoil and danger and attacks, but something that's going to provide safety. Report an error in the passage at 27:56 Highlight the passage at 27:56

28:22 So that's definitely true. And of course, we can expand it, not just safety for ourselves individually, but safety initially for our circle of friends and loved ones and family. And then beyond that, The community in which we live, and then beyond that, all beings. So safety for oneself and for others. Anything else? Report an error in the passage at 28:22 Highlight the passage at 28:22

28:45 Maybe one or two more. Judith? Report an error in the passage at 28:45 Highlight the passage at 28:45

28:51 A quiet mind that's not reactive. A quiet mind that's not reactive. So possible synonyms for that would be peace, contentment, not being constantly buffeted this way and that way by Discursive thoughts by these bubbles which pop up and lead us this way and that way, like as if with a ring in our nose, pulling us first one way and then another. Report an error in the passage at 28:51 Highlight the passage at 28:51

29:24 But to have some sense of inner peace, contentment. Is that a fair paraphrase? Report an error in the passage at 29:24 Highlight the passage at 29:24

29:34 Maybe one more? Oh, maybe two more. First here? Yeah. Can you pass it to the front and then we'll go back to you. Report an error in the passage at 29:34 Highlight the passage at 29:34

29:44 Thank you. You said it last night. I don't usually hear it. Wholeness? Wholeness. Wholeness, right? In the sense that sometimes we feel that even though we're alive, we're not fully integrated. There's some fragmentation going on. And sometimes this represents itself as a split. In the Western culture, the split, let's say, between mind and heart, between what we think and what we feel. Report an error in the passage at 29:44 Highlight the passage at 29:44

30:10 But to feel integrated, that all... It's like when the rockets take off, all systems go. They're all integrated. They're all working together. They're whole. That's an element of the real thing. Report an error in the passage at 30:10 Highlight the passage at 30:10

30:25 And then we have another suggestion? The mind of bodhicitta for all sentient beings. You're cheating now with that one. But it's true. That's right. It's absolutely true. I was just joking with you. Bodhicitta. In other words, cultivating a mind. In which our concern is not limited to ecocentricity, but goes beyond that to consider the welfare of others as supreme, which is the whole purpose for the Tonglen practice, is to cultivate that. Report an error in the passage at 30:25 Highlight the passage at 30:25

31:03 Yes. I was just joking. That is not cheating. It's just that that's the perfect answer. But all of these answers, if you think about it, all of the answers that were given were the same answer. Report an error in the passage at 31:03 Highlight the passage at 31:03

31:17 Weren't they? Expressed differently. Report an error in the passage at 31:17 Highlight the passage at 31:17

31:23 But within that mind of bodhicitta, that love and compassion for other beings in which we at least temporarily put down our egocentric concerns and really open our heart to others, within that there's a sense of wholeness, a sense of peace, a sense of connectedness. These aren't totally separate things, are they? Report an error in the passage at 31:23 Highlight the passage at 31:23

31:52 They're just different ways of looking at the real thing, what we're hoping to find, what does provide a sense of meaning and purpose to this life. Now, the reason that I felt like doing that little exercise of getting some feedback from you is because it's very easy within teachings like this for us to rely on words which, after a certain amount of repetition, lose their flavor, lose their oomph. Report an error in the passage at 31:52 Highlight the passage at 31:52

32:23 But if we can check back to what we find in our own experience moves our mind, what really touches us, and then we can bring that into our meditation practice, then our meditation practice, our whole practice of Dharma for that matter, becomes so much richer. I know for myself that after I repeat something a number of times, then it's like my mind just shifts into neutral. It no longer touches, no longer moves. Report an error in the passage at 32:23 Highlight the passage at 32:23

32:54 And at that time, it's good to approach it from a different angle, to reconnect with the underlying meaning. So in the practices that follow, immediately after this and through the remainder of today's classes, try to connect with something which really communicates with you. Don't just, you know, rely on the same tried and true expressions, which can become trite after a while. Report an error in the passage at 32:54 Highlight the passage at 32:54

33:23 But relate, like when we use a term like genuine happiness, relate it to what the real thing is for you, what touches your mind. Does that make sense? That way, whatever we do, we'll actually be heartfelt. Report an error in the passage at 33:23 Highlight the passage at 33:23

33:44 It's like the difference between having Dharma in your mouth, which I'm very good at, and Dharma in your heart, which I'm still trying to cultivate. actually be heartfelt. Report an error in the passage at 33:44 Highlight the passage at 33:44

33:59 So now that was another one of my brief introductions. So you've been sitting still for a while now. And so for the next meditation practice, just check to see how your body is feeling. And if it's already started to become a little stiff or uncomfortable, then give yourself a mini break. Sometimes if the stiffness has become significant, then you can stand and stretch. Report an error in the passage at 33:59 Highlight the passage at 33:59

34:31 If it's not so significant, then you can do things like shoulder shrugs, Report an error in the passage at 34:31 Highlight the passage at 34:31

34:41 leaning side to side or back to forward to kind of rejuvenate the whole spinal column, some kind of yoga practice, twisting, Report an error in the passage at 34:41 Highlight the passage at 34:41

34:57 rotating the head, Report an error in the passage at 34:57 Highlight the passage at 34:57

35:02 whatever brings your body back into a comfortable situation. For Report an error in the passage at 35:02 Highlight the passage at 35:02

35:14 me, that includes taking a sip of water. Report an error in the passage at 35:14 Highlight the passage at 35:14

35:31 I'm just going to wait an additional moment or two because one of the students had to step out of the room. So during this period of rest, try to place the body in a position which first and foremost is comfortable. So we feel I can stay this way for the next 10-15 minutes, whatever it is, without undue agitation. Report an error in the passage at 35:31 Highlight the passage at 35:31

36:01 But in addition to being still and comfortable, also try to check to make sure that our posture is upright and alert. So if we find ourselves collapsing, if our chin is starting to dig into our chest, or if we're slumping or slouching one way or the other, try to just lift the body up. Report an error in the passage at 36:01 Highlight the passage at 36:01

36:29 We don't have to be unnatural about it. We don't have to sit. Ramrods straight, but just raise our posture so that we don't easily succumb to lethargy or even sleepiness. And sometimes, for some people, all that's required is just lifting the chin a little bit. Not too much. Too much leads to distraction. Report an error in the passage at 36:29 Highlight the passage at 36:29

36:56 But if the tendency is to bob forward like this into sleepiness, you're just lifting it. Another suggestion, and I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here in most cases, and I think many of you have a posture which is 100 times better than my own, is to follow advice that I heard from one of my teachers, and that is to imagine that we're a marionette, and the cord that's supporting us is attached to the top of our breastbone, our sternum, and then just lifting up, feeling it's being lifted up. Report an error in the passage at 36:56 Highlight the passage at 36:56

37:32 The movement may just be a fraction of an inch, a centimeter or two, but just lifting our posture up as Report an error in the passage at 37:32 Highlight the passage at 37:32

37:45 if our sternum is being raised from above, with that the rest of our posture falls into alignment. Our shoulders are back, gentle opening of our chest cavity, and so we can be relaxed and yet alert. And Report an error in the passage at 37:45 Highlight the passage at 37:45

38:12 we'll start by taking a series of three or four cleansing breaths. Report an error in the passage at 38:12 Highlight the passage at 38:12

38:19 Imagine that during this that the air that we're inhaling is filled with a vibrant white light energy that has cleansing properties, invigorating properties. So as we take a long, slow inhalation, drawing the breath down to our lower abdomen and filling ourselves from the bottom to the top, feel that this white, invigorating, clarifying energy It enters into every cell of our body and illuminates every corner of our mind, dissolving any blockages and encounters. Report an error in the passage at 38:19 Highlight the passage at 38:19

38:59 And then when we exhale, all that tension, all those blockages leave like dark smoke from a chimney. Report an error in the passage at 38:59 Highlight the passage at 38:59

39:11 So let's take a series of three or four such cleansing breaths. No rush, slow and Report an error in the passage at 39:11 Highlight the passage at 39:11

· · · silence, 1 minute

40:01 now to stabilize our attention. Report an error in the passage at 40:01 Highlight the passage at 40:01

40:09 Relax to whatever extent is possible, conscious control over our breath. Let the breath come and go of its own accord, as mentioned before, as if the air were breathing us, instead of us breathing the air. Report an error in the passage at 40:09 Highlight the passage at 40:09

40:32 To come, allow it to go, all the while paying attention to it, and if our mind becomes distracted, bringing it back to the breath. Report an error in the passage at 40:32 Highlight the passage at 40:32

40:47 Noticing during each inhalation, breath is flowing in. And during each exhalation, breath is flowing out. Report an error in the passage at 40:47 Highlight the passage at 40:47

41:00 So this morning, let us give ourselves the task of observing as completely and as uninterruptedly as possible ten cycles of such in and out breathing. Report an error in the passage at 41:00 Highlight the passage at 41:00

41:15 So as we breathe in and out for the first time, we count one. With the next inhalation, count two, continue counting two, the next exhalation, then with the next inhalation, three, and so forth. And try to remain mindful and alert through ten consecutive cycles of breathing. Report an error in the passage at 41:15 Highlight the passage at 41:15

41:45 And if we notice that during that period of time our attention is diverted or hijacked to another thought, another sensation, another sound, Report an error in the passage at 41:45 Highlight the passage at 41:45

41:56 Let go of that extraneous object and gently, but firmly, with no sense of guilt or self-incrimination, escort the attention back to the present moment of the incoming breath. So let's do that for a couple of minutes, ten consecutive cycles. Report an error in the passage at 41:56 Highlight the passage at 41:56

· · · silence, 2 minutes

43:55 Allow the mind to rest in whatever state of calmness. Report an error in the passage at 43:55 Highlight the passage at 43:55

44:24 Now up to this point we've really been exercising the mind's ability To pay attention, single-pointedly to a chosen object, in this case the breath. And any time during our subsequent practices that the mind falls under distraction, we can return our attention back to the incoming and outgoing breath to re-establish that attention. Report an error in the passage at 44:24 Highlight the passage at 44:24

44:52 But at this point, we're going to shift into another mode of awareness. Because consciousness, your awareness, is capable of doing much more Then simply pay attention to a chosen object. It has the ability to envision, to remember, to experience, to know. So now we're going to begin to use this more active quality, this more active quality of conscious awareness. Report an error in the passage at 44:52 Highlight the passage at 44:52

45:27 And we can begin by bringing to mind that Report an error in the passage at 45:27 Highlight the passage at 45:27

45:37 goodness, that source of genuine happiness that we are... We're exploring earlier this morning. Report an error in the passage at 45:37 Highlight the passage at 45:37

45:53 Imagine what could arise in the world or what the world could provide for us that would help support that experience of genuine happiness, a feeling of wholeness, of connectedness, not only to ourselves but to all other beings. Report an error in the passage at 45:53 Highlight the passage at 45:53

46:21 Joy. Report an error in the passage at 46:21 Highlight the passage at 46:21

46:27 Try to imagine that we're receiving from the world Using the power of our memory, experience, those conditions which are conducive to such genuine happiness. Report an error in the passage at 46:27 Highlight the passage at 46:27

46:55 For some of us it may simply be remembering the smile of our own personal guru or Report an error in the passage at 46:55 Highlight the passage at 46:55

47:11 any of myriad other experiences which Report an error in the passage at 47:11 Highlight the passage at 47:11

47:18 helps put us in touch with this basic fundamental goodness, Report an error in the passage at 47:18 Highlight the passage at 47:18

47:27 the source of genuine happiness. Happiness and well-being. Report an error in the passage at 47:27 Highlight the passage at 47:27

47:47 So imagine we're receiving from the world in the form of radiant white light all the conditions conducive for such genuine happiness and well-being. Report an error in the passage at 47:47 Highlight the passage at 47:47

48:04 And let it flood into our heart, Report an error in the passage at 48:04 Highlight the passage at 48:04

48:16 grow within us until it pervades our entire being. Report an error in the passage at 48:16 Highlight the passage at 48:16

48:34 If a worry or a doubt comes up such as, but I'm not worthy to be truly happy. Report an error in the passage at 48:34 Highlight the passage at 48:34

48:45 Dismiss this as a malicious mystery. Report an error in the passage at 48:45 Highlight the passage at 48:45

48:55 There is purity in the depth of the Report an error in the passage at 48:55 Highlight the passage at 48:55

49:22 world. So allow ourselves to be filled with this light of radiant goodness pervading every cell of our body, illuminating every corner of our mind. Report an error in the passage at 49:22 Highlight the passage at 49:22

49:58 And once we have touched upon this deep yearning, this longing for the real thing in our life, at that point, expand the scope of our awareness. Report an error in the passage at 49:58 Highlight the passage at 49:58

50:18 Because our lives and the lives of all the beings around us are intimately interconnected. If we truly want genuine happiness and peace of mind, Report an error in the passage at 50:18 Highlight the passage at 50:18

50:40 then it is necessary for all those around us to also touch their own deep yearning and longing for such happiness and peace. Report an error in the passage at 50:40 Highlight the passage at 50:40

51:04 So generate the thought directed first towards loved ones. Those who are near and dear, and then to others, perhaps strangers, mere acquaintances, even those who we find irritating, Report an error in the passage at 51:04 Highlight the passage at 51:04

51:29 and with them share the thought, may you experience the happiness and well-being that you are, on the very deepest level of your being, hoping to find. Report an error in the passage at 51:29 Highlight the passage at 51:29

52:08 And then to conclude this aspect of the practice. Report an error in the passage at 52:08 Highlight the passage at 52:08

52:16 Return the attention to the breath as before. Observe it as it flows in and flows out. Each Report an error in the passage at 52:16 Highlight the passage at 52:16

52:29 time it flows in, brings Report an error in the passage at 52:29 Highlight the passage at 52:29

52:34 in that whiteness, that radiance from the source of genuine goodness and fills us completely as we cultivate the thought, may I be happy, may I experience true peace of mind, may I taste fulfillment, Report an error in the passage at 52:34 Highlight the passage at 52:34

53:01 may my life have meaning and purpose. Report an error in the passage at 53:01 Highlight the passage at 53:01

53:07 Each time we breathe out, generate the same wish for all other beings. May you experience genuine happiness, know true peace of mind. Report an error in the passage at 53:07 Highlight the passage at 53:07

53:31 Allow that white light from the source of genuine goodness to fill ourselves completely, bestowing the happiness that we long for. And as we breathe out, send that white light to others with the wish that they too experience such fulfillment. Report an error in the passage at 53:31 Highlight the passage at 53:31

53:54 Let's do that in silence for the next three or four minutes. Allow Report an error in the passage at 53:54 Highlight the passage at 53:54

· · · silence, 3 minutes

56:34 the boundaries that seem to separate ourselves from others to dissolve at Report an error in the passage at 56:34 Highlight the passage at 56:34

56:46 the yearning for our own happiness. Report an error in the passage at 56:46 Highlight the passage at 56:46

· · · silence, 1 minute

57:57 And now allow the mind to rest with no further investigation, simply in the experience of whatever peace or happiness or fundamental awareness that we've cultivated through this practice. Report an error in the passage at 57:57 Highlight the passage at 57:57

· · · silence, 1 minute

58:47 If you are in need of a break, we'll take our 10-minute break and come back at 11.50. And my suggestion is that twofold. Some people may not feel the need of a break. Some people may want to continue in whatever experience was just cultivated through that practice. Then, of course, you're welcome to stay here and continue. Report an error in the passage at 58:47 Highlight the passage at 58:47

59:15 Want to stand or stretch or get a drink? And please, this is the time for that. But I request that try to refrain for these next ten minutes or so from any conversation that isn't absolutely necessary. Report an error in the passage at 59:15 Highlight the passage at 59:15

59:36 If we get up from a meditation like this and immediately start speaking about every this and that that comes to our mind, Then whatever peace or tranquility or clarity you've cultivated during the meditation session becomes drowned in turbulence, mental turbulence. If there's something that's important to say to someone, then of course, do that by all means. If it's not necessary, then see if we can maintain during the break period whatever quality of peace and understanding and tranquility. Report an error in the passage at 59:36 Highlight the passage at 59:36

1:00:19 Then when we come and take our seat again, after another 10 minutes or so, we'll find it relatively easy to re-enter the state of meditative concentration and then to carry on in the practices that we're doing. Is that okay? So let's extend that to 11.55. And we'll ring the gong a few minutes before that. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:19 Highlight the passage at 1:00:19

1:00:50 So you know when to return. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:50 Highlight the passage at 1:00:50

· · · silence, 11 minutes

1:12:00 So we're ready to start again? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:00 Highlight the passage at 1:12:00

1:12:24 Okay. So the practices that we have been experimenting with so far is just one half of the tonglen, or sending and receiving practices. It's the half that's generally known as loving kindness. And the definition of loving-kindness is the wish for others, but also including ourselves, the wish for others to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:24 Highlight the passage at 1:12:24

1:12:58 And by happiness, we've already discussed that this one word encompasses a vast range of meanings, a sense of abiding well-being, peace of mind, fulfillment and the like. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:58 Highlight the passage at 1:12:58

1:13:18 When we say, from this point of view, that we love someone, or that we're cultivating loving compassion for someone, or loving kindness for ourselves... Can I say loving compassion just now? Yeah, I meant to say loving kindness. Sorry. I don't always pay attention to the words that come out. This time I did catch myself, though. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:18 Highlight the passage at 1:13:18

1:13:45 That's a slight improvement. So... So when we say that we're cultivating loving-kindness for ourselves and for others, this means basically that we're tuning into the wish that ourselves and others experience this genuine happiness. The wish for ourselves and others to be happy, that is the definition of love from this point of view. And so that is half the practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:45 Highlight the passage at 1:13:45

1:14:17 It's the sending. That's part of the practice, the sending out wishes for happiness and well-being, both to ourselves and to others. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:17 Highlight the passage at 1:14:17

1:14:31 But there's another half of the practice, which is the receiving or taking in. And this half is called, is referred to by the name compassion, by the title compassion. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:31 Highlight the passage at 1:14:31

1:14:50 And in the Buddhist teachings, loving kindness and compassion can be thought of as two sides of the same coin, or two different aspects of the same fundamental attitude. The fundamental attitude, what is common to both love and compassion, is a sense of affection for others, a sense of holding others dear. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:50 Highlight the passage at 1:14:50

1:15:21 Now, there are beings in our life who we automatically feel this affection, this sense of them being dear, like someone who has nurtured us, someone who's been extraordinarily kind to us, usually typified by our parents, but could be others, or, for many people, just a young baby. It doesn't even have to be ours. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:21 Highlight the passage at 1:15:21

1:15:55 Passed by in the grocery store. But looking into that face, so smooth and cute and full of potential, very often for many of us, just some sense of finding that child, looking at that child as if it were a treasure and our heart feels warm, we feel affection. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:55 Highlight the passage at 1:15:55

1:16:19 So that sense of affection, of warmth, of dearness. It rises spontaneously for some beings, but with practice it can be generated to all beings. Not only those who are near and dear to us, not only those who are cute and cuddleable, but even those who are strangers to us, even those who are vague acquaintances, even those who annoy us, even those who attack us. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:19 Highlight the passage at 1:16:19

1:16:53 It's possible to cultivate This attitude of endearment to all of those beings. The suggestion is to start with what's already possible, that we already experience. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:53 Highlight the passage at 1:16:53

1:17:08 So when we're cultivating loving kindness, we don't start with our worst enemy, whether it's our own personal worst enemy or the enemy of our culture, our nation. So, for example, who was it? At one time it could have been. Osama bin Laden or Hitler or whoever, or the closing pitcher for the team that just defeated us in the World Series. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:08 Highlight the passage at 1:17:08

1:17:36 It could be any of these people. Don't start with that person, right? We're just setting ourselves up for failure. We start with someone who naturally, whose appearance naturally arouses this feeling of warmth and affection. And then once we tune into that, we can expand it step by step to include others. So remember, practicing Dharma is like practicing a musical instrument. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:36 Highlight the passage at 1:17:36

1:18:05 And no one who learns a musical instrument starts with the most difficult pieces. You start with exercises and then slowly build up. The same thing is true for Dharma practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:05 Highlight the passage at 1:18:05

1:18:20 So from that shared basis... Of affection, finding others dear, adorable, if you wish, and thinking about how much they desire and yearn for happiness, peace of mind, because we've tuned into our own desire for happiness and peace of mind, then it is possible to generate these thoughts, these feelings of loving kindness. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:20 Highlight the passage at 1:18:20

1:18:50 But as I indicated, that's only half the story because this. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:50 Highlight the passage at 1:18:50

1:18:56 Interfering with people's experience of happiness and well-being, the fulfillment of their deepest desire, is their experience of suffering, of pain, of disappointment, of heartache. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:56 Highlight the passage at 1:18:56

1:19:17 So in the practice of Tonglen, we combine loving-kindness, which wishes others to be happy, with compassion. Compassion here... It's the wish for others to be separated or released from whatever suffering or dissatisfaction or frustration or misery they happen to be experiencing. One of my teachers said, if we practice loving kindness without compassion, then it's a little bit like trying to teach Report an error in the passage at 1:19:17 Highlight the passage at 1:19:17

1:20:06 someone the Dharma. While their attention is totally focused on how hungry they are, you know, maybe starving. So until that pain, that suffering of hunger, of starvation is removed, the person is not in a position to receive the benefit of our loving kindness, no matter how much we send out. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:06 Highlight the passage at 1:20:06

1:20:34 First, that strong, that deep level of suffering. It has to be assuaged, it has to be removed to some extent. Because without that, it's impossible for them to receive the love, the kindness that we're wishing for them. So the practice of loving-kindness is then coordinated with the practice of compassion, the wish for others to be released from their self. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:34 Highlight the passage at 1:20:34

1:21:11 So in the practice of the Tom Len, We're sending out loving-kindness initially to ourselves and then to others. That's the sending part of the practice. And the taking part of the practice is removing the suffering and the causes of suffering that others are experiencing. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:11 Highlight the passage at 1:21:11

1:21:41 Now, in the last session today, we're going to talk about this sending and receiving on quite a profound level. But here, for this session, we're going to work our way into it in a more gradual, what I find is a more accessible manner. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:41 Highlight the passage at 1:21:41

1:22:05 So there is a Report an error in the passage at 1:22:05 Highlight the passage at 1:22:05

1:22:14 fundamental understanding upon which this practice of sending and receiving is based. And that is the Mahāyāna teaching, the great vehicle teaching that Even though we may be experiencing the various delusions of misapprehension of reality, Report an error in the passage at 1:22:14 Highlight the passage at 1:22:14

1:22:41 desirous attachment, fearful and angry propulsion, jealousy, and all of the other afflictions and delusions, even though they may be arising, and even though they may be motivating us to engage in actions which are harmful, not only to others, but to ourselves. Despite that, there is, at the deepest level of our conscious being, the deepest level of awareness, a fundamental purity. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:41 Highlight the passage at 1:22:41

1:23:15 And that is sometimes likened to the sun, which is always radiant, is always shining. But there are circumstances in which the light of the sun doesn't reach us because the sun is overcast. The clouds haven't destroyed the Sun, hasn't made the Sun non-existent, but it prevents the warmth, the light of the Sun reaching us. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:15 Highlight the passage at 1:23:15

1:23:48 In a similar manner, this fundamental purity, sometimes known as the Buddha nature or Buddha potential and known in many different mystic traditions by different names, Report an error in the passage at 1:23:48 Highlight the passage at 1:23:48

1:24:04 can be covered over, shrouded by the various Mental and emotional afflictions, such as jealousy, hatred, and so forth, deriving from a misunderstanding of the nature of reality, and further obscured by the harmful karmic actions based or motivated by those delusions. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:04 Highlight the passage at 1:24:04

1:24:31 So all of those coverings are just that. They're just coverings, meaning they're not fundamental. The deepest nature of our consciousness, though they have the power to obscure it, but because they're not fundamental to the nature of the mind, they are removable. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:31 Highlight the passage at 1:24:31

1:25:01 This is quite different, to use an analogy, quite different to, let's say, the black color of coal. No matter how much you wash and cleanse a piece of coal, you're not going to remove the blackness. Because the blackness is... Inherent within that lump of coal. It's part of its nature, we could say. At least on a, you know, we're speaking in a very general sense here. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:01 Highlight the passage at 1:25:01

1:25:31 But compare that to a crystal vessel. Imagine that there's a vase. There probably is one right here somewhere. I haven't looked around for a while. But there probably is in the center like this. There's probably a crystal vessel, a vase, somewhere. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:31 Highlight the passage at 1:25:31

1:25:49 And maybe it's been sitting on a shelf for a while and forgotten, and so a layer of dust maybe has collected over it. And so when we look at it, it doesn't look shiny. But none of that dust or any grime or any dirt which may have accumulated on it, none of that has gone into the press, into the very makeup of the crystal vessel at all. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:49 Highlight the passage at 1:25:49

1:26:15 It's just covered it. And because it simply covered it, because it's not one with the crystal itself, it's removable. So when we talk about cleaning or polishing a crystal vessel, we're not making what's dirty clean because the crystal vessel itself was always clear. It was always pure. But its clarity or its purity was obscured. So our cleansing of it is just removing that outer layer. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:15 Highlight the passage at 1:26:15

1:26:47 An obstructing layer and letting its natural purity emerge, helping it to be revealed. Well, these practices here, all the Mahāyāna practices, based on the Buddha potential, the clear light nature of the mind, are very, very similar. The practices are not making what's fundamentally dirty pure. It's making what's fundamentally pure unobscured. One of my early colleagues in studying the Dharma referred to the practice of Dharma as basically a subtractive method. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:47 Highlight the passage at 1:26:47

1:27:34 We're not so much creating something new as subtracting or taking away what's inauthentic and allowing the basic purity to reveal itself. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:34 Highlight the passage at 1:27:34

1:27:45 So when we do this practice, sending and receiving practice, and here especially focusing on the compassion aspect of removing the suffering, the causes of suffering, taking that away from others, that's to allow the basic purity to reveal itself. And because those coverings, the delusions, the negative karma and the like, don't exist on the fundamental level, level of beings' minds. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:45 Highlight the passage at 1:27:45

1:28:22 Therefore, like the dust accumulating on a crystal vessel, it is removable. This is a helpful thing to keep in mind, especially those of us who practice a purification technique such as Vajrasattva. Some of you are already familiar with that. It's good to keep in mind that what we're doing is revealing a purity that always existed, that was always there, by removing the obscuring layers. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:22 Highlight the passage at 1:28:22

1:28:50 Rather than identifying ourselves as something basically bad, something rotten, something that needs purification because there's something wrong deep inside, to recognize there's something right deep inside. That's where that longing and yearning that I referred to earlier basically comes from. And our practice is just revealing that, getting in touch with it. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:50 Highlight the passage at 1:28:50

1:29:14 Does that make sense? Report an error in the passage at 1:29:14 Highlight the passage at 1:29:14

1:29:23 So without any more explanation, let's... Do that level of Tonglen, sending and receiving practice based on the loving kindness and compassion as described so far. So I will describe the various stages of this meditation and then as much as possible try to cultivate it in your own mind. Now I know some people dislike Report an error in the passage at 1:29:23 Highlight the passage at 1:29:23

1:29:55 Led meditations because they think, why doesn't he just shut up so I can meditate? But that's the only way that this information can be imparted. And once we hear it and become familiar with it, then we become our own meditation leader. We don't have to rely on the words spoken by someone else, especially not someone who comes from New Jersey. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:55 Highlight the passage at 1:29:55

1:30:23 So again, check. Check your posture to see that it is as comfortable and as fresh as you can, Report an error in the passage at 1:30:23 Highlight the passage at 1:30:23

1:30:40 swaying back and forth or side to side, twisting, shoulder shrugs, whatever is helpful to rejuvenate the physical envelope in which we're going to do this meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:40 Highlight the passage at 1:30:40

1:31:00 And then take a series of two or three cleansing breaths, a long, slow, deep inhalation. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:00 Highlight the passage at 1:31:00

1:31:12 And then an exhalation with which we let go of any tension, any interference, any sleepiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:12 Highlight the passage at 1:31:12

1:31:23 Repeat it one or two more times. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:23 Highlight the passage at 1:31:23

1:31:36 And then at the conclusion simply rest in a state of inner stillness, in the space of pure awareness itself. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:36 Highlight the passage at 1:31:36

1:31:58 Then let us reacquaint ourselves with the inner and outer goodness that we cultivated in the previous... Loving kindness meditation. Bring to mind the happiness and the goodness that you yourself would like to experience and that you wish that all other beings could experience. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:58 Highlight the passage at 1:31:58

1:32:32 So it might be helpful to just remember the attitudes that allowed you to cultivate that sense of loving kindness for yourself and others that we did previously and regenerate them in the mind at this point. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:32 Highlight the passage at 1:32:32

1:33:06 And now imagine this. Fundamental goodness, this source of true happiness as a sphere of radiant white light right in the center of your chest, in the very heart of your being. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:06 Highlight the passage at 1:33:06

1:33:27 Imagine this sphere of light as approximately the size of a small pearl or whatever size you find comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:27 Highlight the passage at 1:33:27

1:33:42 Transparent, radiant and contains not one atom of concrete matter. It is pure light, pure radiance. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:42 Highlight the passage at 1:33:42

1:34:08 Using your imagination, play with this light. Allow it to flow out from that sphere in one's heart until it fills our entire body, permeating our mind with goodness. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:08 Highlight the passage at 1:34:08

1:34:44 Now without completely forgetting that experience of fundamental goodness, radiance, loving kindness for ourselves to begin with, bring to mind Whatever sources of anxiety or worry or difficulties, internal or environmental, that we might be experiencing. Maybe Report an error in the passage at 1:34:44 Highlight the passage at 1:34:44

1:35:18 we're feeling a bit under the weather, Report an error in the passage at 1:35:18 Highlight the passage at 1:35:18

1:35:26 or maybe we feel oppressed by some situation we find ourselves in, Report an error in the passage at 1:35:26 Highlight the passage at 1:35:26

1:35:36 or maybe we notice the presence of some disturbing emotion, such as jealousy, for example, interfering with our deep wishes. wishes genuine happiness and well-being. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:36 Highlight the passage at 1:35:36

1:35:55 try to tune into it and just simply recognize. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:55 Highlight the passage at 1:35:55

1:36:08 these mental tendons, see you. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:08 Highlight the passage at 1:36:08

1:36:12 these painful, harmful experiences. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:12 Highlight the passage at 1:36:12

1:36:17 imagine them as a shroud. cloud of dark light. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:17 Highlight the passage at 1:36:17

1:36:25 veils and obscures light of our own inner goodness. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:25 Highlight the passage at 1:36:25

1:36:35 So bring Report an error in the passage at 1:36:35 Highlight the passage at 1:36:35

1:36:42 to mind... All these difficulties, Report an error in the passage at 1:36:42 Highlight the passage at 1:36:42

1:36:49 all this apprentice Report an error in the passage at 1:36:49 Highlight the passage at 1:36:49

1:36:53 sadness, Report an error in the passage at 1:36:53 Highlight the passage at 1:36:53

1:37:03 this requires some bravery on our part. To look into our experience, not through rose-colored glasses, but coming to terms with what we're actually experiencing. We Report an error in the passage at 1:37:03 Highlight the passage at 1:37:03

1:37:23 tune in to the suffering and the causes of suffering present in our experience. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:23 Highlight the passage at 1:37:23

1:37:32 Direct compassion for oneself. Thinking. May I be free from all of this suffering and dissatisfaction, all this pain, disease, all this confusion. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:32 Highlight the passage at 1:37:32

1:37:51 And may I be free of the causes of all such suffering and dissatisfaction. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:51 Highlight the passage at 1:37:51

1:38:03 Tune in to that heartfelt wish to be free from all such negativity. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:03 Highlight the passage at 1:38:03

1:38:31 Recognize that all of this suffering and dissatisfaction and the causes... of such suffering to satisfaction. Identify it as an obscuring shroud of darkness enveloping fundamental purity, the radiance in our heart. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:31 Highlight the passage at 1:38:31

1:39:04 And now turn our attention to the incoming and outgoing breath as we did before. But now, each time we breathe in, imagine that we're drawing into the light. That radiates from that sphere in the center of our being all that suffering and dissatisfaction, all that pain and the causes of all that pain. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:04 Highlight the passage at 1:39:04

1:39:37 We're drawing it in to that radiant sphere of light in our heart. And as it approaches that radiance issuing forth from the center of our being, the center of our heart, all that darkness. All that pain and dissatisfaction is extinguished, overwhelmed by the strength, that light of loving kindness issuing forth from the center of our being. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:37 Highlight the passage at 1:39:37

1:40:25 Draw that obscuring shroud in stages closer Report an error in the passage at 1:40:25 Highlight the passage at 1:40:25

1:40:35 to that source of radiance, the essence of loving kindness in our heart. And as we draw that darkness closer and closer, deeper, Report an error in the passage at 1:40:35 Highlight the passage at 1:40:35

1:40:50 the center of our heart completely overwhelmed and extinguished that light of fundamental goodness. So we Report an error in the passage at 1:40:50 Highlight the passage at 1:40:50

1:41:22 take upon ourselves our own suffering with the thought of compassion. May I be released from all suffering and the causes of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:22 Highlight the passage at 1:41:22

1:41:38 And then, with the wish that may I find genuine happiness and the causes of such happiness, imagine that the Light in the center of your heart bursts forth, radiating outwards as you breathe outwards, permeating our entire body and mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:38 Highlight the passage at 1:41:38

1:42:06 Imagine that we find the happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction that we seek through this expanding light. Allow ourselves to imagine this happiness, to see it, to feel it completely throughout our entire being. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:06 Highlight the passage at 1:42:06

1:42:30 So using ourselves as both the subject and object of this initial practice, focus on the entire cycle of our breath. Each time we breathe in, we're drawing forth all our experiences of harm, confusion, of pain, and we're drawing it in towards the radiance in the center of our heart where it becomes completely overwhelmed and disappears. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:30 Highlight the passage at 1:42:30

1:43:08 We do that with each in-breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:08 Highlight the passage at 1:43:08

1:43:13 Each out-breath we send forth the wishes, may I be happy, may I be whole, may I be complete, may I experience not only happiness, but may I cultivate true causes of such happiness. We breathe out, we focus on allowing that pearl of light in the center of our heart to go stronger and more radiant, fulfilling. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:13 Highlight the passage at 1:43:13

1:43:50 Every cell of our body and illuminating every corner of our mind. So with each in-breath we take upon ourselves the suffering which is extinguished in the light of our inner goodness. Each out-breath we expand and send forth that light to fill ourselves, body and mind, completely. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:50 Highlight the passage at 1:43:50

1:44:19 Let's do that for a moment or two. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:19 Highlight the passage at 1:44:19

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:44:56 Practice over a period of time. The shrouding envelope of suffering gets thinner and thinner, the inner radiance of goodness. We Report an error in the passage at 1:44:56 Highlight the passage at 1:44:56

1:45:18 are now in a position to help remove the suffering of others. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:18 Highlight the passage at 1:45:18

1:45:25 So invite in front of yourself someone that you already feel close to, affectionate towards, loving, a dear one, a friend. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:25 Highlight the passage at 1:45:25

1:45:44 But someone who at the moment is experiencing some form of mental... physical, emotional affliction. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:44 Highlight the passage at 1:45:44

1:46:13 there is some disease that is attacking their body or mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:13 Highlight the passage at 1:46:13

1:46:19 there's some other form of oppression that they're experiencing. Imagine Report an error in the passage at 1:46:19 Highlight the passage at 1:46:19

1:46:27 any or all of this suffering and dissatisfaction as a shroud of dark light, encompassing and obscuring the basic purity at the center of their being. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:27 Highlight the passage at 1:46:27

1:46:51 How wonderful it would be if this dear friend could be released from all of his or her suffering and the cause of that suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:51 Highlight the passage at 1:46:51

1:47:14 Strong conviction and courage as Report an error in the passage at 1:47:14 Highlight the passage at 1:47:14

1:47:23 we breathe in. Draw away from that dear friend more and more layers of that obscuring darkness. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:23 Highlight the passage at 1:47:23

1:47:35 Draw it in towards the radiance that exists in the center of our own heart. And as it approaches, It is completely overwhelmed and extinguished in the light of our own inner radiance. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:35 Highlight the passage at 1:47:35

1:47:54 And as we breathe out, we send to our dear friend anything and everything that would help bestow on him or her the happiness and well-being that our dear friend desires. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:54 Highlight the passage at 1:47:54

1:48:13 So for a moment or two, mount this practice on the breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:48:13 Highlight the passage at 1:48:13

1:48:29 We move deeper and deeper layers of this shroud of unhappiness, Report an error in the passage at 1:48:29 Highlight the passage at 1:48:29

1:48:40 extinguished in the light of our inner goodness. With Report an error in the passage at 1:48:40 Highlight the passage at 1:48:40

1:48:47 each out-breath, we send to our dear friend all happiness and the causes of happiness. Let's do that for a moment or two and Report an error in the passage at 1:48:47 Highlight the passage at 1:48:47

1:49:26 let our imagination play. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:26 Highlight the passage at 1:49:26

1:49:34 Imagine all of that suffering disappearing. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:34 Highlight the passage at 1:49:34

1:49:44 Imagine that dear friend receiving and experiencing happiness. As Report an error in the passage at 1:49:44 Highlight the passage at 1:49:44

1:50:03 in that beautiful song, Here Comes the Sun, imagine the smiles returning to their faces and Report an error in the passage at 1:50:03 Highlight the passage at 1:50:03

1:50:27 then slowly expand the scope of this practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:27 Highlight the passage at 1:50:27

1:50:37 Invite others in front of us, friends, acquaintances, even if possible those people who irritate us and with each in-breath we move layer upon layer of their obscuring suffering. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:37 Highlight the passage at 1:50:37

1:50:57 And with each outbreath, send to them everything they need to experience genuine happiness and well-being and the deep causes of such happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:57 Highlight the passage at 1:50:57

1:51:14 And imagine the smile returning to their faces as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:14 Highlight the passage at 1:51:14

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:52:15 Now as we bring this practice to an end, with the understanding that we practice on our own and modify the practice to suit our time and our inclination, we should address a doubt that might arise in our mind. His doubt could be stated as follows. I've done this practice. I've imagined taking on the suffering of the others, removing it and replacing it with the happiness that all beings desire. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:15 Highlight the passage at 1:52:15

1:52:54 But that's the problem. I've just imagined it. It's not real. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:54 Highlight the passage at 1:52:54

1:53:09 It's a nice mental exercise. But it hasn't affected anyone. So what is its value? If ever a doubt like that... comes into the mind it's very easy for it to arise even without my reminding of it then bear this in mind There isn't anything that has ever been accomplished of value on this planet that wasn't imagined first. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:09 Highlight the passage at 1:53:09

1:53:44 Someone had to think about it. Someone had to generate a mental image of it. Someone had to plan it. In his or her mind. And on the basis of that, then the invention or the innovation or whatever it was, the work of art, then came into being. Report an error in the passage at 1:53:44 Highlight the passage at 1:53:44

1:54:09 So imagination isn't just something vain, where there's reality on one hand and the imagination is just an overlay on it, having no connection with it. It's absolutely fundamental to all transformation. To all development, to cultivation of every positive quality. So what we're doing here in this practice is we're not expecting that at the end of a five minute meditation or half hour meditation or a month meditation or a year meditation that suddenly we're going to remove the suffering of all beings and place them all in unalterable happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:09 Highlight the passage at 1:54:09

1:54:50 We're not expecting that. But what we can do is open our heart. Report an error in the passage at 1:54:50 Highlight the passage at 1:54:50

1:55:02 Begin the process of dissolving the false boundaries that appear to separate ourselves from others. To identify deeply with others and open that wellspring of creativity and goodness that exists within ourselves so that we can actually work in very practical ways for the benefit of other beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:02 Highlight the passage at 1:55:02

1:55:37 And if we think in that way... Then the meditation practice doesn't become something irrelevant, doesn't stay just a mere mind game, but becomes an actual training, an actual preparation for being able to serve others truly. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:37 Highlight the passage at 1:55:37

1:55:56 So try to remember that if that doubt comes up, because it can. Report an error in the passage at 1:55:56 Highlight the passage at 1:55:56

1:56:04 So, we'll take our break for lunch now. If I forget to mention later, several... The names of several people were mentioned earlier, of people who were coming to teach, Report an error in the passage at 1:56:04 Highlight the passage at 1:56:04

1:56:21 and among them were two, actually three, old friends of mine, including the former director of Se Chin Ling, Venerable Carol Carodi, an excellent person, an excellent teacher, and two other very old friends of mine who I first met in the 1970s, Venerable Thupten Chodron, Report an error in the passage at 1:56:21 Highlight the passage at 1:56:21

1:56:45 She runs an abbey up in the state of Washington and has become an extraordinary teacher and author in her own right. And then Thuktenpende, Jim Dougherty, who also has many, many years as a practicing monk, but now he's a layman, and is very, very deeply immersed and has been for many years in the teachings of Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 1:56:45 Highlight the passage at 1:56:45

1:57:12 And both of them have an extraordinary ability. of taking the most abstract teachings of the Dharma and presenting it in ways that are eminently practical. So if any of you have the time or the availability to attend any of the teachings by these three wonderful people, Venerable Karol Karodi, Venerable Thutton Chodron, Thutton Pende, I very, very seriously recommend it. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:12 Highlight the passage at 1:57:12

1:57:44 And that'll keep you out of trouble. Because you won't have time left for anything else. I think maybe there's an announcement. Report an error in the passage at 1:57:44 Highlight the passage at 1:57:44