How to Meditate - Weekend Course with Jonathan Landaw (part 1)

0:18 Should do the testing, testing, one, two, three first. Can you hear in the back? Is it clear enough? Everyone? Report an error in the passage at 0:18 Highlight the passage at 0:18

0:33 So I'm very, very happy, very pleased and a bit surprised to see so many people here. Up until two days ago, there was only seven people signed up. Report an error in the passage at 0:33 Highlight the passage at 0:33

0:44 And we would have definitely had the course with seven people. But then suddenly the numbers more than doubled. So I was very, very, very pleased to see you all. Thank you. So much for coming. Report an error in the passage at 0:44 Highlight the passage at 0:44

0:58 For me, this is a little bit like being back in the saddle again. Because this class that I'm teaching, I'm actually substituting for the regular teacher, Venerable Drime, who had to go out of town this weekend. And she asked me if I would cover for her. And years ago, for a span of over ten years, I taught the Discovering Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 0:58 Highlight the passage at 0:58

1:26 series myself. And that's, for those of you who don't know, that's the entry-level series. There are several different levels of teachings that are given here, and Discovering Buddhism is basically the entry-level. And I did that for, as I said, for over ten years, and then withdrew from that for quite a period of time. Report an error in the passage at 1:26 Highlight the passage at 1:26

1:51 so for me being back here in In this site, on this chair, teaching this subject matter, is very welcoming to me. I enjoyed the Discovering Buddhism series very, very much, and so I'm very glad and very pleased that you've given me the chance to do it again. Now there is one significant difference between the way this... Report an error in the passage at 1:51 Highlight the passage at 1:51

2:25 This module of the Discovering Buddhism class is going to be taught now, and the way I used to teach it in those many years past. Because in those days, the Discovering Buddhism series didn't take place on a weekend. It took place over a period of usually six weeks, sometimes a little bit shorter, sometimes a little bit longer, but on average there were six weeks. Report an error in the passage at 2:25 Highlight the passage at 2:25

2:54 So we'd have one night a week for six consecutive weeks, and then counting holidays and vacation periods and so forth, it would take about two and a half years to go through the series, which is made up of 13 or 14 modules. So now we're teaching, this course is one of the modules, it's usually... It's taught as the second or the third of those 14 modules, and it's how to meditate. And so Report an error in the passage at 2:54 Highlight the passage at 2:54

3:34 what we used to have maybe six weeks to teach and to digest now is all taking place, as you can tell, from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. So consequently, a lot of things are... Report an error in the passage at 3:34 Highlight the passage at 3:34

3:56 Abbreviated or condensed or certain things are concentrated on and other things not. That's just the nature of having something only over a weekend. So you'll notice that when material gets handed out to you, a lot of that material had been put together. At least the introductory parts of it were put together based on the six-week. Report an error in the passage at 3:56 Highlight the passage at 3:56

4:26 And so, as you'll read, the way this course will evolve will not cover all of that, but will still be based on that same general outline. Report an error in the passage at 4:26 Highlight the passage at 4:26

4:42 Did that make sense to anybody? When I was listening to my own voice, it didn't really make sense to me. Report an error in the passage at 4:42 Highlight the passage at 4:42

4:55 Now, how many people here, I know one person will answer this positively, how many people here have attended... Any of the previous Discovering Buddhism modules in the past? Marty? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 4:55 Highlight the passage at 4:55

5:14 So about maybe four from the group. So for the rest of you, have you attended any other courses here at Land of Medicine Buddha? Report an error in the passage at 5:14 Highlight the passage at 5:14

5:27 So is it fair to say then for most of you this is an introduction? Yeah? Well that makes me very happy because that's the kind of... That's the kind of group I like to interact with. I always learn so much more that way. Report an error in the passage at 5:27 Highlight the passage at 5:27

5:52 One other related question. Have you been exposed, even if you haven't taken courses and so forth, have you been exposed to Buddhist teachings at all? Some. Now, I ask that question even though I am not... Report an error in the passage at 5:52 Highlight the passage at 5:52

6:17 Concentrating mainly in this course on teaching Buddhism itself. The course is how to meditate, and of course meditation is a practice that's done in many different traditions. And I'm sure there are many people who don't subscribe particularly to being Buddhist. Maybe they belong to another spiritual tradition. Report an error in the passage at 6:17 Highlight the passage at 6:17

6:43 Maybe they're not interested in any spiritual tradition, but the practice of meditation is something that interests them. That could be true of people here. So I don't want to teach the course in a narrowly Buddhist fashion, and so at different points I'll try to give an idea of how the practices that we're doing can be adopted, whether you have another spiritual tradition or not. Report an error in the passage at 6:43 Highlight the passage at 6:43

7:11 having said that, the techniques that were... It will mainly be used, derived very largely from the Buddhist tradition and among the different aspects of the Buddhist tradition, particularly the one that grew up in India for a millennia or more and then was transplanted into Tibet over a thousand years ago and then grew up in Tibet for that period of time until the loss of that country. Report an error in the passage at 7:11 Highlight the passage at 7:11

7:45 And then spread to, it was kind of a diaspora which took place. And that's how most of us met, when I say most of us, you know, students like myself, met this tradition with the Tibetan exiles who left Tibet from 1959 onwards and took refuge in places like India, Nepal and Bhutan. And so for myself, for example, my visit to India started in the very end of 1970. Report an error in the passage at 7:45 Highlight the passage at 7:45

8:28 And then I studied with various teachers there for quite a number of years in the 70s. And then later in different centers in England and America and in other places in Europe. So because there were so many Tibetan teachers, Tibetan lamas who made it out of Tibet at that period of time and who became established at different centers in the West, now it's possible to study Tibetan Buddhism without having to go to Tibet or without having to go to India or Nepal. Report an error in the passage at 8:28 Highlight the passage at 8:28

9:09 But back in the 70s... It was rare to find these teachings if one didn't go to Asia, which is what I did at that time. And a name that you'll hear mentioned a lot, because he was my main teacher, was Lama Yeshe. Report an error in the passage at 9:09 Highlight the passage at 9:09

9:31 His picture is over there on most of your right and also behind me on the wall. Report an error in the passage at 9:31 Highlight the passage at 9:31

9:44 He was one of the main teachers that I studied with for that period of time, one of four major teachers. Also, I was very fortunate being able to receive teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who is the head of this tradition now, and Geshing Awandarge. Many people here don't know him, but he was one of the main teachers in India and then later in New Zealand in the Tibetan tradition. Report an error in the passage at 9:44 Highlight the passage at 9:44

10:35 So very often, when there's a course on meditation, it often starts with a question of what is meditation or what comes to your mind when you hear the word meditation. And I've heard many, many different answers to that question. And if I were to throw that out to you, or if someone were to ask you, why are you going to Land of Medicine Buddha? Report an error in the passage at 10:35 Highlight the passage at 10:35

11:04 To be self-aware. Practice Report an error in the passage at 11:04 Highlight the passage at 11:04

11:36 self-aware. be self-aware. Report an error in the passage at 11:36 Highlight the passage at 11:36

11:38 To practice self-awareness. That's a very good answer. Report an error in the passage at 11:38 Highlight the passage at 11:38

11:45 Anything else? Yes. To be more present. To be more present. Report an error in the passage at 11:45 Highlight the passage at 11:45

11:53 But what about the practice? I mean, if you say to be more aware or to be self-aware or to be more present, how does meditation or what is the practice of meditation or what is the practice of meditation that brings about greater self-awareness or being more present? Report an error in the passage at 11:53 Highlight the passage at 11:53

12:17 For example, if we sit in a posture like the Buddhas behind me are sitting in, many people looking at that, they would say, well, they're sitting in meditation, right? Report an error in the passage at 12:17 Highlight the passage at 12:17

12:31 Right or not? What do you think? Report an error in the passage at 12:31 Highlight the passage at 12:31

12:41 That's exactly right. Meditation can take place in different postures. In fact, Buddha talked about sitting and standing and walking and lying down as postures in which meditation could take place. But if we think, would you agree that if you needed a symbol of what a meditation practice is, wouldn't it tend to look like the way the Buddhas are sitting? Report an error in the passage at 12:41 Highlight the passage at 12:41

13:12 I mean, if you disagree, please disagree. But does that sound right? Like if you needed a symbol of meditation, externally it would look like that. Report an error in the passage at 13:12 Highlight the passage at 13:12

13:26 And to differentiate that from other... Postures in which meditation could be done. That might be called formal meditation, a formal meditation practice. And a lot of people think that that posture itself is meditation, but as... Dinah. Dinah, thank you. By the way, I very much appreciate you wearing name tags. If I hear somebody's name, there's no possibility that I'm going to remember it. Report an error in the passage at 13:26 Highlight the passage at 13:26

13:57 But if I see it and read it... There's at least a 15 % chance I'll remember. I'm very happy that now I just have to be able to see them. Report an error in the passage at 13:57 Highlight the passage at 13:57

14:12 So since Report an error in the passage at 14:12 Highlight the passage at 14:12

14:18 meditation can be done in different postures, it's not the physical form that is the defining characteristic of the meditation practice, though it is a major posture for the more formal practice of meditation. That's definitely true. So then what is the practice of meditation if it's not just a physical posture? And if you say to become aware or to be more present, well, what practice in meditation allows one to become more present, to become more aware? Report an error in the passage at 14:18 Highlight the passage at 14:18

15:03 Emptying the mind. Oh, that's a good one. There's going to be big debates about that one, though. I know. Loaded word, empty. Mind, too, but why not? But there's something behind that, isn't there? I mean, the word empty in Buddhism can mean a lot of things, but I have a feeling the way you mean it is to stop the chatter, emptying the mind of that constant discursive thought. Report an error in the passage at 15:03 Highlight the passage at 15:03

15:35 Am I putting words in your mouth? Yeah, okay. Biting the mind, yeah, sure. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 15:35 Highlight the passage at 15:35

15:47 To be more still, that's certainly one aspect of it. Yes, please. Observing the mind. Observing the mind, ah. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 15:47 Highlight the passage at 15:47

15:57 This is all getting closer, and there's a reason why I'm drawing it out, because to understand what the purpose of what we're doing, it's quite important to understand that. To derive benefit from whatever practice that we do. And a lot of people, their first answer, I've heard this many, many times, is to stop thought or to empty the mind. Report an error in the passage at 15:57 Highlight the passage at 15:57

16:27 And there's a great reason for that, because we live in a day and an age, don't we, in which we receive so much garbage input all the time. Right? Constantly connected with different forms of media. And all that buzz is... And it's very hard to just be quiet and still and open when the echoes of all of that is reverberating through our mind. Report an error in the passage at 16:27 Highlight the passage at 16:27

16:55 Would you say that's a fair assessment? Yeah. I mean, from my limited observation over the last 40 years or so, it seems like the level of static that we pick up. Report an error in the passage at 16:55 Highlight the passage at 16:55

17:14 And that we incorporate unconsciously has grown enormously. And so if people say, well meditation is to quiet the mind or empty the mind, I think that's a very honest reaction to what most of us feel we need now. You know, some quiet, some open space, you know. Report an error in the passage at 17:14 Highlight the passage at 17:14

17:41 I remember... Years ago when I was in college and was taking a course in Greek literature and translation, and in one of the ancient plays, the playwright was satirizing people who were up in their head all the time and spinning out fantastic, unrealistic ideas about things. And the playwright called that Cloud Cuckoo Land. And it seems like... Report an error in the passage at 17:41 Highlight the passage at 17:41

18:12 We spend a lot of time in that cloud cuckoo land, you know, just rehashing things which, upon analysis, upon experience, turn out mostly to be meaningless, empty, having really no great value, no great connection with reality. And yet we tend to be filled with that, right? And so when we think, as we might, and as we validly can, that meditation is a way of quieting that. Report an error in the passage at 18:12 Highlight the passage at 18:12

18:42 Emptying that, that's very valid. That's a very valid concern. But just quieting the mind, just emptying it of discursive thought, of that kind of compulsive Report an error in the passage at 18:42 Highlight the passage at 18:42

19:02 conceptual thought, that chatter, that's only one very small, significant, very small aspect of... What it is that meditation is meant to do for us. So meditation is meant to, to some extent, quiet or still the mind, to increase our level of self-awareness, to bring us in the present moment. Report an error in the passage at 19:02 Highlight the passage at 19:02

19:37 But is there anything more than that? Is that the, would you say, the main purpose of the Report an error in the passage at 19:37 Highlight the passage at 19:37

19:51 practice of familiarizing? Sorry, couldn't pronounce that word. Familiarizing ourself with our own mind. Now that's really getting very much into the heart of what meditation is about. In fact, if we needed a synonym for meditation, we could use the word, whether it's a valid word or not, familiarization. Report an error in the passage at 19:51 Highlight the passage at 19:51

20:19 Familiarization. And not just familiarization with our own mind, though that is the... That is the royal road into practice. But Report an error in the passage at 20:19 Highlight the passage at 20:19

20:35 familiarization with those qualities of mind which are beneficial, are positive, are helpful. This is quite significant. Maybe before I continue, if someone talks, as I just did, of qualities of mind that are beneficial and helpful, What examples come up to you, come up in your experience? And I should say, when we use the word mind, it includes not just what we think, but also what we feel, our emotions and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 20:35 Highlight the passage at 20:35

21:19 So what are some of the positive qualities that go on in our mind, in our heart? Anything? Yeah. Compassion. That's right up at the top of the list. Compassion. We'll have a lot more to say about that as the course goes on. And then if you're interested in taking the Discovering Buddhism series, of which this is just one module, then there's quite a lot that comes out in that. Report an error in the passage at 21:19 Highlight the passage at 21:19

21:49 So, compassion. Anything else? Clarity? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 21:49 Highlight the passage at 21:49

22:00 Anything else? Report an error in the passage at 22:00 Highlight the passage at 22:00

22:04 Joy? Yes. Yes. Joy. There is another quality which is sometimes thought as the Other side of the coin from compassion. It's not the opposite to compassion, but it's very similar to it, but just from a slightly different standpoint. Marty, kindness. And sometimes for kindness, we'll say loving kindness or love. So if we just use a shorter term, if we say love, then love and compassion are actually two different aspects of a certain... Report an error in the passage at 22:04 Highlight the passage at 22:04

22:45 Same basic quality. Report an error in the passage at 22:45 Highlight the passage at 22:45

22:52 Does anyone feel confident to give a definition of what either love or compassion are from this point of view? What does it mean to love or to be compassionate? Report an error in the passage at 22:52 Highlight the passage at 22:52

23:08 Like, let's take compassion because that was the first one that was mentioned. Does compassion mean crying over the suffering of others? Report an error in the passage at 23:08 Highlight the passage at 23:08

23:21 Unconditional crying over the... No. Unconditional. Report an error in the passage at 23:21 Highlight the passage at 23:21

23:31 But unconditional what? You're using the word love and compassion in your answer to the definitions, so that's not going to work. You have to use some other language. Unconditional what? What is love and what is compassion? Report an error in the passage at 23:31 Highlight the passage at 23:31

23:51 Think of actually concrete, you know, samples from your own life. There's someone that you might say, Report an error in the passage at 23:51 Highlight the passage at 23:51

24:05 When I see this person, I feel great compassion for him or her. When I see this person, I feel great love, loving kindness for him or her. So what does that mean? What are you feeling when you're feeling this love, this kindness, this compassion? Report an error in the passage at 24:05 Highlight the passage at 24:05

24:23 see it as a way of compassion as ability to empathize, and love is the act of something. Love for an art. Yeah. Love for Report an error in the passage at 24:23 Highlight the passage at 24:23

24:41 It comes, it resonates through an action. Right. Report an error in the passage at 24:41 Highlight the passage at 24:41

24:49 Exactly. And I like the word you use. It's an action or behavior or an attitude of caring. Yes. Of caring. And that can have to do with empathy and so forth. But it's basically caring about the other person. And when you care about someone, and, you know, parents generally feel that way towards their children, for example. Report an error in the passage at 24:49 Highlight the passage at 24:49

25:15 Many people feel that towards their pets. When you care for them, how does it manifest? What comes up in your mind, in your heart, when you're experiencing this love or compassion for a pet, for a child, for a friend, for whomever it is? Report an error in the passage at 25:15 Highlight the passage at 25:15

25:36 What are you wishing? Yes, please, Victoria. You wish the best for them. You wish the best for them. Exactly. So. Another way of talking about the best is you wish them to be happy, right? Happy, peaceful, have a sense of well-being. All of these things, that's what you wish for them. Report an error in the passage at 25:36 Highlight the passage at 25:36

26:06 There are many different synonyms for that, but one of the easiest abbreviations is just loving kindness would be the wish for someone to be happy, peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 26:06 Highlight the passage at 26:06

26:21 It's that attitude that when you see or think about that person, automatically from the depth of your heart comes this wish, how wonderful it would be if this person were happy. Or if they were already kind of happy, how wonderful it would be if they were even more happy. When you see someone who's suffering, you can definitely, no question about it, develop love and wish for them to be happy. Report an error in the passage at 26:21 Highlight the passage at 26:21

26:48 But when somebody is suffering, the wish for them to be happy, At that moment becomes secondary. There's a prior wish which comes up because that person is suffering. So what form does the wish take then? Free from suffering. Exactly, that they're free from suffering. It's kind of like, well the analogy that comes up in my mind is let's say there is a segment of the population which is underfed. Report an error in the passage at 26:48 Highlight the passage at 26:48

27:27 So until you help remove their hunger, there's no way that you can, for example, teach them anything. You know, it doesn't do any good to have a great educational program if the students coming to your class have these constant hunger pains, right? Report an error in the passage at 27:27 Highlight the passage at 27:27

27:46 So the wish, you still care for them, it still goes back to caring. You still wish to benefit them, but you recognize that at the moment, it's very difficult for you to benefit. them until the suffering they're experiencing is lessened. So you can see, even though they're two different words, they come from the same basic... Report an error in the passage at 27:46 Highlight the passage at 27:46

28:29 Caring mode. So, love and compassion. Report an error in the passage at 28:29 Highlight the passage at 28:29

28:38 Is there anyone here who's never felt love or compassion? Never felt the wish for someone to be happy or the wish for somebody to be free from suffering? Is there anyone who's never felt that? Okay, I take this deafening silence to mean everybody's felt it. To whom do you feel this? Everyone? Report an error in the passage at 28:38 Highlight the passage at 28:38

29:20 attention to only a specific number of people. Okay, so there's some limitations that you feel, right? Yes, realistically. Mm-hmm. And you're talking about the limitation from the point of view of your own, you know, kind of personal attitude of energy levels and resources and things like that. What about from the point of view of who those other people are? Report an error in the passage at 29:20 Highlight the passage at 29:20

29:44 For example, do you feel equal love and equal compassion to someone who is very close to you, a member of your family, a child? Report an error in the passage at 29:44 Highlight the passage at 29:44

29:55 Equal compassion to someone like that? That you would feel to someone who annoys you greatly? You know, someone who's disappointed you? Someone who might even consider your enemy? Do you have equal love? Do you wish for... All those beings to be happy, you know? Or just is it limited to those who are near and dear? So here it's not the limitation from your own resources, but from the way you're viewing others. Report an error in the passage at 29:55 Highlight the passage at 29:55

30:26 Does that distinction hold true from your experience? Report an error in the passage at 30:26 Highlight the passage at 30:26

30:33 Can you envision the ability to expand the scope of your love and compassion greater than what it is now? Is that possible? Report an error in the passage at 30:33 Highlight the passage at 30:33

30:48 How would you go about expanding? So here we've identified love and compassion as some of the qualities that we would wish to enhance through the practice, through spiritual practice or the practice of meditation. So the question is, is it possible to expand it? And it sounds like you feel that it's possible at least to a certain extent to do it. Report an error in the passage at 30:48 Highlight the passage at 30:48

31:19 Okay. Yes, Marty. Equanimity. Expand on that. Just that treating all people. Report an error in the passage at 31:19 Highlight the passage at 31:19

31:45 Equanimity is a loaded word because sometimes when people hear it, they think it means indifference. But I know you're not using it to mean indifference. Equanimity here is a simple recognition that all beings, whether they're your friends, loved ones, annoying neighbors, enemies, all people, like oneself, Only wish to be happy and no one wishes to suffer. If you can view all beings as that, then it's possible to generate some measure of love and compassion for all beings. Report an error in the passage at 31:45 Highlight the passage at 31:45

32:22 But generally speaking, we don't do that, do we? Report an error in the passage at 32:22 Highlight the passage at 32:22

32:35 there examples in the world that you've either met or heard about beings who have a very significantly larger scope love and compassion as part of their... Basic nature. It's part of who they are. Report an error in the passage at 32:35 Highlight the passage at 32:35

32:56 Anyone who sticks out in your experience, it doesn't have to be any great world leader. It could be a relative you have, a friend or a neighbor, who has a larger scope for this quality, this loving, compassionate quality of the mind, of the heart. Have you ever met or seen or read about anyone like that? Could you say that again? Report an error in the passage at 32:56 Highlight the passage at 32:56

33:25 A specific one in mind? Report an error in the passage at 33:25 Highlight the passage at 33:25

33:32 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 33:32 Highlight the passage at 33:32

33:40 It's quite impressive when you see that. Of course, it's also very disappointing when you see the opposite. I had a lot of friends when I was living in England who attended, and this is not a criticism of any one tradition, but they happened to go to Catholic schools in which the nuns were the worst people for beating the students. Report an error in the passage at 33:40 Highlight the passage at 33:40

34:03 That was And I've seen, if you ever saw this movie with, I'm blanking on her name, the movie is Philomena. Judy Dench? Judy Dench, yeah. And it's a true story about someone who grew up in that kind of atmosphere. And with one exception, all the nuns at that school were horrible, really horrible people. But there was that one exception who was like what you said. Report an error in the passage at 34:03 Highlight the passage at 34:03

34:40 And as I said, that's certainly not limited to any one spiritual tradition, all the scandals that are coming out from every tradition, whether it's Hindu or Buddhist or Christian or Protestant or Jewish. Report an error in the passage at 34:40 Highlight the passage at 34:40

34:54 Don't leave out the Catholics. I didn't want to because I started with the Catholics. Report an error in the passage at 34:54 Highlight the passage at 34:54

35:03 So the fact is that... you know, is... Catholics. Report an error in the passage at 35:03 Highlight the passage at 35:03

35:05 The faith that you follow, at least in your mouth, doesn't guarantee that you're going to be any more or less compassionate than anyone else. But if the teachings that were at the foundation of that tradition are valid, then what they almost inevitably have as a common denomination is this sense that the cultivation of these qualities... Report an error in the passage at 35:05 Highlight the passage at 35:05

35:36 Such as loving kindness and compassion are central to what it means to be an evolved human being. Report an error in the passage at 35:36 Highlight the passage at 35:36

35:49 Anyone you met in your life or saw who could be that example of a particularly compassionate nun in a school that you went to or in a church that you attended? Anyone else? Report an error in the passage at 35:49 Highlight the passage at 35:49

36:07 Yeah. Nelson Mandela from especially what everything that he evolved into after all of those years. In prison, seemed to be a very spiritually evolved person, and according to his testimony, for all the deprivations that he experienced, by the end, he didn't feel hatred for his jailers. Report an error in the passage at 36:07 Highlight the passage at 36:07

36:35 I'm thinking of the opposite. There's a dear friend of mine who was a fellow student with me when we lived in India and were studying. ha, ha, ha. Report an error in the passage at 36:35 Highlight the passage at 36:35

36:45 And she was a very good student. She became a great translator and teacher herself. But in the early days, I remember a story she used to tell about herself. She said, here I am studying loving kindness and compassion and equanimity. But the other day, I saw that my Indian neighbor was using my clothesline without asking me. Report an error in the passage at 36:45 Highlight the passage at 36:45

37:13 And I developed such anger towards that person. How could she use my clothesline? So it doesn't matter what tradition you're studying in. You know, a lot of times our mind, our heart, is still quite tough. It can take a while to soften it up. So our potential for experiencing greater and deeper experiences of loving kindness, compassion and the other good qualities that we can mention. Report an error in the passage at 37:13 Highlight the passage at 37:13

37:46 it makes it difficult. Report an error in the passage at 37:46 Highlight the passage at 37:46

· · · silence, 1 minute

38:25 It's very good Report an error in the passage at 38:25 Highlight the passage at 38:25

38:37 to be able to analyze our mind and our habits like that. I mean, someone else earlier asked what was meditation, and one answer that was given, which was a very good answer, was to examine one's own mind. Report an error in the passage at 38:37 Highlight the passage at 38:37

38:55 To be able to see things like that, where is it that our mind is grasping onto? Report an error in the passage at 38:55 Highlight the passage at 38:55

39:06 Like, what am I identifying with so strongly that if someone were to insult that or attack it, even in a mild way, I'd get really upset and, you know, I'd feel frozen or I'd feel rage or feel any of these other attitudes, which are the exact opposite of positive qualities of the mind. They're the negative qualities of the mind. It's very different to feel this open, radiant love and compassion than to feel rage, jealousy, anger, like that. Report an error in the passage at 39:06 Highlight the passage at 39:06

39:46 Their experiences are very, very different. They're so different that they could hook you up to a machine, and when you're experiencing those ones that I'm calling the negative ones, The bad qualities, the destructive qualities, the needle starts jumping, right? It's physically destructive to feel that level of delusion, anger, rage, jealousy, selfishness and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 39:46 Highlight the passage at 39:46

40:17 Whereas if we can cultivate greater and wider and deeper experiences of the positive qualities like love and compassion, it shows up... Even in the body itself. And of course, there's more and more research that says that some of the deep causes of the epidemic diseases that we experience are not due to necessarily germs and outer conditions, but by this negative quality, this destructive quality of the mind itself. Report an error in the passage at 40:17 Highlight the passage at 40:17

40:56 So there's a great reason, a great benefit to be able to, as in the words of the old song, accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. If we can identify which mental and emotional qualities, which when they arise, are destructive, we can recognize that, we can analyze the nature of our own mind, and then apply effective techniques for lessening those. Report an error in the passage at 40:56 Highlight the passage at 40:56

41:26 And on the other hand, if we can identify which are the positive qualities and apply effective techniques for enhancing those, then it enhances the whole nature of our being. Report an error in the passage at 41:26 Highlight the passage at 41:26

41:38 It isn't just being peaceful. It isn't just being calm. It isn't just having less discursive thought. It's being healthier. Healthier on all... Report an error in the passage at 41:38 Highlight the passage at 41:38

41:56 And so, this gets us back to right where we started. Meditation, then, familiarization, is familiarizing oneself with these positive qualities of mind. Report an error in the passage at 41:56 Highlight the passage at 41:56

42:19 And by extension, recognizing the negative qualities and applying the antidotes to it, which is basically a subcategory of the first. Report an error in the passage at 42:19 Highlight the passage at 42:19

42:32 Now, a lot of people feel, Report an error in the passage at 42:32 Highlight the passage at 42:32

42:36 If one were to ask them, they'll recognize that there are certain people in the world who are more naturally compassionate or more naturally loving than they are. But very often the reaction is, well, they're just that way. I'm just not that compassionate a person. That person may be, but that's not me. And that may be a true statement for that present moment. Report an error in the passage at 42:36 Highlight the passage at 42:36

43:07 But it's not a prescription. It's not a definition. In other words, those qualities of the mind are infinitely improvable. Report an error in the passage at 43:07 Highlight the passage at 43:07

43:23 And by contrast, if the mind is treated in a very bad, destructive manner, there's also infinitely... what would be opposite of improvable? I can't think of the word. Degenerate. Can degenerate. Report an error in the passage at 43:23 Highlight the passage at 43:23

43:47 And so all of this relates to a certain basic quality of our mental being, our mind. There's an analogy which I like a lot. It's pointing out a similarity between the mind and mental experiences and a... A clear pane of glass. That doesn't mean that there is a clear pane of glass inside our head. But there's an analogy here. Report an error in the passage at 43:47 Highlight the passage at 43:47

44:25 If I have a clear pane of glass and you put it over a piece of cloth or a piece of paper like this, if you put it over this, which I'm going to call orange, but I often can't identify colors that well. If you put it over this, the pane of glass takes on The appearance of that color. Then if you remove it and place it over something that's green, then the glass takes on the appearance of green. Report an error in the passage at 44:25 Highlight the passage at 44:25

44:59 The glass in and of itself is neither orange nor green, but it's constructed in a manner that it takes upon itself the image or the reflection of whatever it is resting on. Report an error in the passage at 44:59 Highlight the passage at 44:59

45:14 That is a very, very effective analogy for the mind. The mind is clear. It doesn't have colors or shapes of its own, but it has the ability to take on the aspect or the image of whatever it's focused on. Report an error in the passage at 45:14 Highlight the passage at 45:14

45:36 And we can see that at work. Again, a personal experience. When I grew up in my family, nobody swore, at least certainly not in front of the parents. Never heard swear words. Then I went away to college, an all-male college up in New England, in which every other word was a swear word. Report an error in the passage at 45:36 Highlight the passage at 45:36

46:03 And when I got back, like for Thanksgiving vacation, it was very embarrassing because I'd be sitting there at this Thanksgiving dinner and every once in a while this forbidden word would pop out of my mind. Report an error in the passage at 46:03 Highlight the passage at 46:03

46:17 For the previous 16 years of my life, that never happened once. But just a couple of months at that college, and that habit, I took on that habit so strongly, so unconsciously that things just came out. Report an error in the passage at 46:17 Highlight the passage at 46:17

46:34 So this is just a mild example of how familiarization, in this case by being in a certain environment where a lot of other people are behaving a certain way, causes us... Unconsciously to take on those qualities, like the pane of glass unconsciously takes on the color of whatever it's resting on. Report an error in the passage at 46:34 Highlight the passage at 46:34

46:59 Do you have experiences like that in your own life? I don't mean necessarily in terms of going to college, but in terms of taking on qualities which could be positive or could be negative based on your environment. You know, the... The people you hang out with, the kind of things you watch, the kinds of things you listen, the kind of activities your friends and associates take on. Report an error in the passage at 46:59 Highlight the passage at 46:59

47:24 Is there anything in your experience which is somehow similar to that? Anything you can think of? Report an error in the passage at 47:24 Highlight the passage at 47:24

47:37 Yes, please. I've noticed that if I'm around for judgmental, I become more judgmental. That's a good example. That's a very good example. Report an error in the passage at 47:37 Highlight the passage at 47:37

47:51 Society right now Report an error in the passage at 47:51 Highlight the passage at 47:51

47:57 gravitated to their own group. Report an error in the passage at 47:57 Highlight the passage at 47:57

48:04 We gravitate to the people we are. to behave like and ostracize Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 48:04 Highlight the passage at 48:04

48:14 that kind of group dynamic. I think for me what's more distressing than just that and gravitating towards political people who share your political opinions, to me what's more... Report an error in the passage at 48:14 Highlight the passage at 48:14

48:34 Worrying and more destructive even than that, it's something that goes along with it, is that the quality of the discourse becomes pervasive. Report an error in the passage at 48:34 Highlight the passage at 48:34

48:44 So the way people discuss anything, the way they discuss politics, the way they discuss sports, the way they discuss ideas and so forth, is filled with that same kind of antagonism, vituperation, swearing quality, which comes out. You know, when two opposing groups meet. For example, I think one of the most distressing things about modern day life are the comment sections on the internet. Report an error in the passage at 48:44 Highlight the passage at 48:44

49:15 You know, it could be any topic, any topic at all. I challenge you to come up with a topic that this wouldn't happen to. The first few comments under it, a person are responding to something that was on the site. And they're responding to it in a kind of a thoughtful way. Oh, I agree with this, or yes, I see examples of that. And the discourse is kind of polite for maybe one or two comments. Report an error in the passage at 49:15 Highlight the passage at 49:15

49:44 Then as you go down, what happens? You moron! How could you think like that? You must be a jerk, you know? Is that right or not? Report an error in the passage at 49:44 Highlight the passage at 49:44

49:54 I mean, am I exaggerating or not? Have you seen that? Yeah, yeah. To me, that's... What? proud of doing that. They're trolls. Yeah, yeah. And that's the word for it, right? Yeah. Even if they don't even believe it, they have to write the bad And so, doesn't that just leak over into any kind of discourse? Report an error in the passage at 49:54 Highlight the passage at 49:54

50:22 You know, I wasn't around broadcast television when The Sopranos were originally on, but I've made up for it, you know, with DVDs and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 50:22 Highlight the passage at 50:22

50:34 I think it's an extraordinary series. But it's just amazing that kind of discourse that goes on, which I can relate to because I'm from New Jersey too, you know. And it's like when that discourse becomes so rough, and it's not just the swear words, it's just the roughness of it, the aggressiveness of it, then it's building up a habit, a subconscious... Report an error in the passage at 50:34 Highlight the passage at 50:34

51:02 Habit of looking at things in combative, conflicted terms. So those are habits which we can undo only with a lot of work over a period of time, but it's the work of familiarization. We defamiliarize ourselves with those aggressive types of discourse and familiarize ourselves with the more reasonable types of discourse. Report an error in the passage at 51:02 Highlight the passage at 51:02

51:33 And it comes down, eventually, I think, to familiarizing ourselves with the positive qualities of mind, such as loving kindness and compassion, and seeing the faults, the actual disadvantages of their opposite, whether it's hatred or jealousy or anything having to do with this rampant selfishness. Report an error in the passage at 51:33 Highlight the passage at 51:33

52:07 Okay, Report an error in the passage at 52:07 Highlight the passage at 52:07

52:13 so this was meant to be an introduction to meditation. But it is an introduction in terms of what the purpose, what the meaning of meditation is, not so much the actual practice. Report an error in the passage at 52:13 Highlight the passage at 52:13

52:32 It just indicates that there are practices that we can do to increase the strength of what's positive about our mind, about our heart, and decrease the strength of what's conflicted, what's negative, what's destructive. Report an error in the passage at 52:32 Highlight the passage at 52:32

52:52 But what are those practices? Well, there are many, many different meditative practices. Just even in only the Buddhist tradition alone, there's hundreds if not thousands of different meditation practices. But if we take a general look at them, they fall into pretty much two categories. Report an error in the passage at 52:52 Highlight the passage at 52:52

53:21 the... In one quality, in one category of meditation practices, what we're doing is trying to increase Report an error in the passage at 53:21 Highlight the passage at 53:21

53:38 the mind's ability to pay attention, to pay clear attention. Report an error in the passage at 53:38 Highlight the passage at 53:38

53:49 And in the second category, on the basis of increasing clear attention, then to actually begin the process of transforming the mind. In other words, increasing the positive qualities. And decreasing the negative qualities. So obviously those two are interrelated. But the first one, to be able to increase the strength of the mind's, pardon me, to increase our ability to just simply pay attention. Report an error in the passage at 53:49 Highlight the passage at 53:49

54:23 And I think when I asked about meditation earlier on, I think one of the first answers that was given was, what is meditation is to be more aware, to be able to pay attention. So this definitely applies to this quality of meditation practice. And so typically, especially in the Tibetan tradition, the first meditations that are taught are meditations to begin to gain a certain control over the mind. Report an error in the passage at 54:23 Highlight the passage at 54:23

54:52 Here we're not talking about increasing loving-kindness or increasing compassion. We're just increasing the ability to be able to speak. To exercise what a friend of mine called, in his teachings, called voluntary sustained attention. And I like that phrase very much. Some of you may have heard of Alan Wallace. He was a translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama for a long period of time. Report an error in the passage at 54:52 Highlight the passage at 54:52

55:28 When I was first a student in India, he was a colleague of mine, another student, but he became a great teacher. Which he continues to be. And translator and editor. And when I was taking a course from him, that's what he called it. Voluntary sustained attention. And it probably wasn't his invention. He probably got it from one of his teachers. But it was through him that I heard this. So, voluntary sustained attention. Report an error in the passage at 55:28 Highlight the passage at 55:28

56:00 Because our mind, especially nowadays it seems, is so easily scattered. And if we can't pay attention to anything for longer than just a couple of nanoseconds, how can we gain insight into it? Report an error in the passage at 56:00 Highlight the passage at 56:00

56:23 But if we had greater and greater ability to focus our attention over a sustained period of time in a clear fashion, then there's no limit to the good qualities that we can develop. Report an error in the passage at 56:23 Highlight the passage at 56:23

56:51 And as was pointed out, in this day and age, there's so much. Static, that it's more and more difficult to cultivate that voluntary sustained attention. Now, there are certain professions which demand sustained attention, aren't there? I'm thinking particularly of air traffic controllers. It's really important that they pay attention to that monitor, because if they don't, people lose their lives. Report an error in the passage at 56:51 Highlight the passage at 56:51

57:33 And I can't tell from my own, I have no experience in it, so I'm relying on what I've heard and what I've read. Among air traffic controllers is a very, very high rate of alcoholism, divorce, suicide, things like that. Report an error in the passage at 57:33 Highlight the passage at 57:33

57:51 If that's not true, it's not my fault, I'm just quoting things that I've read. But I can see how it's likely true. Why? Because there's so much pressure, there's so much stress. They have to pay attention. It's almost as if it's involuntary sustained attention. You know, it's attention under a threat, under stress. Report an error in the passage at 57:51 Highlight the passage at 57:51

58:16 And that's a very heavy thing to have to deal with. So, in meditation, we're not trying to develop stressful attention. We're trying to keep the mind open and clear and comfortable and yet still be able to focus. Report an error in the passage at 58:16 Highlight the passage at 58:16

58:40 I know for myself and members of my own family, we have what a relative of ours called the Landau frown. Landau is my last name. And the Landau frown, my fathers had it, my brothers have it, I have it, is that when we concentrate on something, our brow gets furrowed like that. And a lot of times people looking at me or my family, they think, oh, you must be so angry. No, I'm not angry, I'm just paying attention. Report an error in the passage at 58:40 Highlight the passage at 58:40

59:09 But clearly, it's not a comfortable, relaxed intention, is it? It's tense. It shows up in the furrowed brow. Does that make sense? Can you relate to something like that? But imagine if one could pay even greater attention in a relaxed manner, in an open, gentle, relaxed manner. That would be so much more productive. Report an error in the passage at 59:09 Highlight the passage at 59:09

59:35 And it would avoid all of the negative byproducts of the stressful type of attention. So, the first meditation that we'll do is going to introduce a practice which some of you may be already aware of under other guises. It's called a breath awareness meditation. Now, I see that... Report an error in the passage at 59:35 Highlight the passage at 59:35

1:00:06 We only have 15 minutes left, and I haven't given you a break yet, so you've been sitting here for an hour and a quarter. So I'm going to make a suggestion. We give ourselves a mini break, let's say three minutes, okay, to stand and stretch, and maybe during that period of time, keep any conversation down to only what's absolutely necessary. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:06 Highlight the passage at 1:00:06

1:00:30 If there's nothing necessary to say, then stay quiet. If you have to say something, say it quietly, so that whatever calmness or clarity has been cultivated so far is not interfered with. And so when we come back, we'll be able to continue. So in three minutes, I'll ring one of these gongs, and then we'll continue. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:30 Highlight the passage at 1:00:30

1:00:55 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:55 Highlight the passage at 1:00:55

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:01:48 Patrick, I think the way this is done, it's okay for them to have it. So we can pass out the packets, and then I'll give them instructions on how to use it. There's schedules in there as well. And the schedules. Do you have a schedule as well? I do, because you gave me my own package. I think it has the schedule. You know what's strange? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:48 Highlight the passage at 1:01:48

1:02:18 The page numbers that I put onto the pages didn't come out. They all started with one. I mean, it's all right. It's not a big problem, but I had... Number the pages consecutively on the original. But the next packet starts with one again. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:18 Highlight the passage at 1:02:18

1:02:42 I think it might have something to do with compatibility between the computer word processing thing I was using. But that's all right. That's not a big problem. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:42 Highlight the passage at 1:02:42

1:03:00 So this is just for them to have at the moment. Oh, yes. Go all the time. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:00 Highlight the passage at 1:03:00

1:03:03 It's not for them to read, but I'll give them instructions afterwards. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:03 Highlight the passage at 1:03:03

· · · silence, 4 minutes

1:07:10 So this will be a very short session, maybe about seven, eight minutes long. And for this, we'll sit in a posture which has two qualities, two main qualities to it. The first and most important quality is that it's comfortable. You know, it's a posture that you can sit in for 10, 15 minutes or... Even less now, without feeling undue discomfort. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:10 Highlight the passage at 1:07:10

1:07:47 But the second quality is that it should be an alert posture. So we should try to avoid slumping or slouching, at least to whatever extent our physical body allows. I know myself with the aging process, I can't sit quite as erect as I used to be able to sit. But within the limits of what our body allows, the posture should be Upright, but comfortably upright. And there's more that we can say about the posture, but for now that's quite enough. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:47 Highlight the passage at 1:07:47

1:08:31 Then we make a determination to remain as still as possible to avoid any unnecessary motion. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:31 Highlight the passage at 1:08:31

1:08:45 The idea being that the stiller the body is, the easier it is to have a still, clear, quiet mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:45 Highlight the passage at 1:08:45

1:09:15 And before we get into the... main aspect of the practice itself, should ask ourselves, well, why it that I want a clear Report an error in the passage at 1:09:15 Highlight the passage at 1:09:15

1:09:28 And if Report an error in the passage at 1:09:28 Highlight the passage at 1:09:28

1:09:44 that Report an error in the passage at 1:09:44 Highlight the passage at 1:09:44

1:10:07 is true, then let's expand our motivation, because we know that What is it that I'm hoping to find? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:07 Highlight the passage at 1:10:07

1:09:59 happiness for myself and for others. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:59 Highlight the passage at 1:09:59

1:10:14 If we are happier and healthier, we're able to be of more benefit to others, others who, just like myself, want nothing other than to have happiness and peace of mind and well-being and to be able to overcome problems. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:14 Highlight the passage at 1:10:14

1:10:35 So let our motivation be expansive, that we're doing this practice to enhance our being in the world, to Report an error in the passage at 1:10:35 Highlight the passage at 1:10:35

1:10:54 withdraw the field of our awareness to within our body. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:54 Highlight the passage at 1:10:54

1:11:01 We experience the body from the inside. What Report an error in the passage at 1:11:01 Highlight the passage at 1:11:01

1:11:15 does it feel like to have this body? How do we experience it? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:15 Highlight the passage at 1:11:15

1:11:30 And one thing we notice is that even though we've made a determination to be as quiet and still as possible, that our body is in constant motion. I'm Report an error in the passage at 1:11:30 Highlight the passage at 1:11:30

1:11:54 referring to the rhythmic movement of the breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:54 Highlight the passage at 1:11:54

1:12:07 It's rhythmic movement which has been going on from our earliest moments of existence. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:07 Highlight the passage at 1:12:07

1:12:24 Air is flowing into us. And flowing out. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:24 Highlight the passage at 1:12:24

1:12:32 And though each breath has its own character and is different from the others, the Report an error in the passage at 1:12:32 Highlight the passage at 1:12:32

1:12:41 pattern is set. Inhalation followed by exhalation. And as long as we're alive, this pattern maintains itself. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:41 Highlight the passage at 1:12:41

1:13:06 So let's tune into this rhythmic movement. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:06 Highlight the passage at 1:13:06

1:13:13 Let it be the focal object of our attention. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:13 Highlight the passage at 1:13:13

1:13:28 So during each inhalation, simply be aware. Breath is flowing in. And Report an error in the passage at 1:13:28 Highlight the passage at 1:13:28

1:13:42 in a similar fashion for each exhalation, from its beginning to its end, simply be aware. Breath is flowing out. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:42 Highlight the passage at 1:13:42

1:14:02 You can also abbreviate this observation simply thinking in during each inhalation and out during each exhalation. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:02 Highlight the passage at 1:14:02

1:14:37 Try to be relaxed during this observation. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:37 Highlight the passage at 1:14:37

1:14:54 Allow our expression to be soft. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:54 Highlight the passage at 1:14:54

1:15:04 Any constriction around our eyes, for example, see if we can relax. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:04 Highlight the passage at 1:15:04

1:15:16 But at the same time, keep up vigilance. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:16 Highlight the passage at 1:15:16

1:15:25 Be aware of each in-breath from its beginning to its end, and Report an error in the passage at 1:15:25 Highlight the passage at 1:15:25

1:15:34 each out-breath from its beginning to its end. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:34 Highlight the passage at 1:15:34

1:15:50 And what we discover, sooner or later, is that our attention drifts away. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:50 Highlight the passage at 1:15:50

1:16:06 It's as if our attention gets hijacked by something more interesting than the breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:06 Highlight the passage at 1:16:06

1:16:13 It could be another physical sensation. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:13 Highlight the passage at 1:16:13

1:16:19 It can be a sound. It could be a memory of something that happened before or an anticipation of something that's happening, something that might happen in the future. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:19 Highlight the passage at 1:16:19

1:16:40 It can be a judgment, a critique of what we're doing. It can be a million and one things. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:40 Highlight the passage at 1:16:40

1:16:54 And our task is simply to notice that when our attention is hijacked to some other object, an object other than the incoming and outgoing breath, Report an error in the passage at 1:16:54 Highlight the passage at 1:16:54

1:17:11 To just relax, let go of that extraneous object, and gently escort the attention back and continue observing the incoming and outgoing breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:11 Highlight the passage at 1:17:11

1:17:51 So, for this evening, that ends this instruction. But we will be building upon this basis in the subsequent meditation periods. And even when we meditate on something other than the breath awareness, We'll always precede it by cultivating the sustained attention using the breath. Because the more we cultivate sustained attention using the breath, the more that same attention is available for us when we engage in meditation such as expanding the quality and the scope of our loving kindness and compassion. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:51 Highlight the passage at 1:17:51

1:18:37 Now, I think everyone has probably by now received... A packet. Oops. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:37 Highlight the passage at 1:18:37

1:18:58 You all have a packet? Yeah. And in it, there was a bit of a computer problem I ran into, so the numbers of pages were supposed to be consecutive, but it didn't turn out that way. So there's nine pages that you have in the packet, but instead of being numbered one to nine, each packet has its own. Each packet starts with one. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:58 Highlight the passage at 1:18:58

1:19:26 So you'll see you have three packets held together with paperclips. One, the title is How to Meditate. Do you see that one? Yeah? Report an error in the passage at 1:19:26 Highlight the passage at 1:19:26

1:19:37 Yes or no? Yes. And the other one is Learning the Basic Skills of Focusing the Mind. Do you see that one? And what's the last one? Quotation and Comments. Okay. Now, this is for you to keep. And you can use any time that you have available that you'd like to, to read it. It's not mandatory that you read it, because this material is going to form the basis or the content of a lot of what we're going to do here. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:37 Highlight the passage at 1:19:37

1:20:09 But I thought it might be helpful for you to have it in periods of time to study and refer back to it. So use this material as you see fit, but especially to begin with. The packet that's called Learning the Basic Skills of Focusing the Mind, that one, is made up of three pages. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:09 Highlight the passage at 1:20:09

1:20:36 On page one, there's an introduction. On page two, there's the actual meditation practice. And this is a more detailed description of the breath awareness practice that we just tasted. but this is a... More detailed instruction on it. And then on page 3, there's possible effects of the practice. And at the bottom, a particular breathing practice called the nine-round breathing, which is described. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:36 Highlight the passage at 1:20:36

1:21:21 So if you have the time and the energy before tomorrow morning's class, you might want to look at this. Especially the first two pages, the introduction and the actual meditation practice. If you can read through that, that can be helpful. If you're too tired, if it's important for you to sleep or rest or whatever, then don't worry about it. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:21 Highlight the passage at 1:21:21

1:21:50 But this is designed to be backup material so that you can go over it outside of class and reinforce. Whatever happens here. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:50 Highlight the passage at 1:21:50

1:22:09 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:09 Highlight the passage at 1:22:09

1:22:18 And of course, you're free to read the other two packets as well. But of the three, it's learning the basic skills of focusing the mind, which is the one that's initially most significant for what we're doing here, starting tomorrow. All right. Any questions before we break? Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:18 Highlight the passage at 1:22:18

1:22:51 more specific about Report an error in the passage at 1:22:51 Highlight the passage at 1:22:51

1:22:56 Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:22:56 Highlight the passage at 1:22:56

1:22:59 pay attention to a chosen object. There is a type of attention which is called choiceless attention. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:59 Highlight the passage at 1:22:59

1:23:11 That's a bit different. It's also something that can be cultivated. But here, I would say sustained voluntary attention. It means to be able to focus the mind on something specific. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:11 Highlight the passage at 1:23:11

1:23:32 We can develop a state in which we don't need any one object. We can just be kind of like pan-awareness. You know, like when you're walking through the woods, at a certain point, especially when you kind of give up all thoughts of self, you know, and that sort of disappears for a while, it sometimes happens you have this kind of pan-awareness experience. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:32 Highlight the passage at 1:23:32

1:24:01 You know, you're smelling the odors, you're seeing the sights, you're listening to the bird sounds, and it's not as if you're kind of focusing in on any one of them, but your mind is just taking it all in. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:01 Highlight the passage at 1:24:01

1:24:21 That's almost like an out-of-body experience. But here, in order to reach that or any other ability to use the mind, we have to be able to use its focusing quality. And so we're... Using the breath as the object to develop that quality. But that's not the only object we can use. The Buddha himself gave a list of quite a number of different objects on which we can develop this sustained attention. But there's a reason why the breath is very highly recommended. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:21 Highlight the passage at 1:24:21

1:24:59 There's several reasons, but I think the main reason is that as long as we're alive, we're breathing. A lot of the other objects that we can develop this attention in, we have to have some special prop. Like one thing is to visualize the face of an enlightened being. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:59 Highlight the passage at 1:24:59

1:25:20 But that means we have to have a picture or a statue or have to have it memorized to be able to bring it up. Whereas the breath, we're always breathing. It's always there. It's always ready to be the object of our attention. But it's not the only object. It's just highly recommended. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:20 Highlight the passage at 1:25:20

1:25:45 Any other question? Report an error in the passage at 1:25:45 Highlight the passage at 1:25:45

1:26:00 I did have another piece of homework for you tomorrow, but it's something for you to do within yourself. And that is, I made a few throwaway remarks earlier about how typically we feel, Report an error in the passage at 1:26:00 Highlight the passage at 1:26:00

1:26:21 let's say, spontaneous love and compassion for certain people, or our pets, for example. Those that are near and dear to us. But that there's other beings, human, animal, whatever, that we don't spontaneously feel that same kind of warmth or caring for. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:21 Highlight the passage at 1:26:21

1:26:47 The homework is just to explore that in your own experience. It's not enough just to make a kind of a general statement like that. The question is, does that describe what's happening in my life or not? Report an error in the passage at 1:26:47 Highlight the passage at 1:26:47

1:27:05 And if so, why is my mind drawn towards certain people or certain beings with this attitude of caring, loving, compassionate, and not so much towards others? Is there a reason for it? Is it random? Try to explore that. These kinds of questions are extremely important for us to try to get a handle on. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:05 Highlight the passage at 1:27:05

1:27:32 Because as my own teacher, Lama Yeshe, never tired of saying, said, The subject matter of, well he would say Buddhism because that's what he was teaching, but we could say more broadly, the subject matter of meditation, the actual subject matter, is you. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:32 Highlight the passage at 1:27:32

1:27:54 It's what's going on in you and me, in all of us. It's not some kind of abstract notion of the nature of the mind or the nature of reality. It's what's happening in our experience now. So when something comes up, it's not important to agree with it. It's not important to disagree with it. What's important is to take that as a test and to take that and see, is it true? Report an error in the passage at 1:27:54 Highlight the passage at 1:27:54

1:28:23 Does it function in my experience? And if it does, how does it function? Report an error in the passage at 1:28:23 Highlight the passage at 1:28:23

1:28:32 When Buddha himself was teaching, and apparently a being of great personal character and charisma and... He warned people not to accept anything he said as true simply because they heard it from him. If you were around today, he said, don't accept anything John Landau says is true because he comes from New Jersey. What does he know? So the important thing is not to accept any of this as true. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:32 Highlight the passage at 1:28:32

1:29:07 What's important is to consider it and consider it not in some general exterior exterior abstract way, But does it describe my experience of living in this body with this mind and heart? If upon analysis it's irrelevant to our experience, well, we can leave it aside. This can be the first and last course you ever take. But if we apply it to an analysis, a recent analysis of what's going on within us, There's a lot of things that we can discover. So it's not important that you agree or disagree. It's only important that you take what is said as something to explore. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:07 Highlight the passage at 1:29:07

1:29:59 And the way we explore it is not by looking outside as much as it is looking inside. What's my experience? Why is it that someday a close friend of mine appears as the object of my love, and then the very next day when I see that person, Something happens and the love I feel has diminished. Maybe I actually dislike that person. How did that happen? Report an error in the passage at 1:29:59 Highlight the passage at 1:29:59

1:30:29 What are the causes for it? What increases, what decreases these qualities? What's the reason? Not an exterior abstract reason, but what's the reason in my experience? Report an error in the passage at 1:30:29 Highlight the passage at 1:30:29

1:30:43 Now if we apply that, then there's lots of things that we can discover. Because what we're eventually discovering is ourself, the way our own mind functions. And that's the road. That is the path. Okay? So, sweet dreams. I'll see you tomorrow. Our first session is after breakfast. And it is very helpful if we can all make an effort to be here on time. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:43 Highlight the passage at 1:30:43

1:31:19 And that includes me. I'll make that effort. And otherwise, have sweet dreams and enjoy your breakfast. Good night. There is Report an error in the passage at 1:31:19 Highlight the passage at 1:31:19

1:31:34 a schedule there. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:34 Highlight the passage at 1:31:34

1:31:41 Yes. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:41 Highlight the passage at 1:31:41