How to Meditate - Weekend Course with Jonathan Landaw (part 3)

0:06 So, I think we're ready to begin. If anyone is not here, please raise your hand. Report an error in the passage at 0:06 Highlight the passage at 0:06

0:15 So, we're going to start in a couple of minutes to focus on the breath awareness meditation which we introduced yesterday briefly and which you alluded to this morning. Report an error in the passage at 0:15 Highlight the passage at 0:15

0:31 But before we get into that, I wanted to mention that... At the end of this hour, just before we break for lunch, I'm going to make an announcement about the schedule because there were some questions that came up about it, and so we'll address that at that time. Report an error in the passage at 0:31 Highlight the passage at 0:31

0:53 Also, many people develop questions during a course like this, but not everybody is comfortable with asking the question out loud. loud to the group. So So if any questions like that come up any time during the course, just write them out on a piece of paper and leave it on my desk here, and I'll make every attempt to address them. Report an error in the passage at 0:53 Highlight the passage at 0:53

1:21 But actually I appreciate, even though I haven't left time for questions up to this point in the course, and because there will be limited time in the future, I'm very, very interested in what's going on. Report an error in the passage at 1:21 Highlight the passage at 1:21

1:38 and somehow addressing them is very helpful for me, very important for me. So I welcome them. And if you ask a question that I don't know the answer to, which is very likely, I'll just admit it. I don't have pride about those kinds of things. I have no problem admitting when I don't know an answer. Report an error in the passage at 1:38 Highlight the passage at 1:38

2:02 uh... Report an error in the passage at 2:02 Highlight the passage at 2:02

2:07 And then there's another thing that I'll mention just before we break for lunch, but we don't have to indicate that now. Report an error in the passage at 2:07 Highlight the passage at 2:07

2:45 So, as always, we start by finding a comfortable posture. The practices that we're going to do are going to last anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes. So the posture should be comfortable enough to allow to do anything in that length. But I want to mention, if in any of the meetings, any of the sessions that we have, any of the practices that we do, if you're starting to get uncomfortable and I'm not giving you a break, and if you think a break isn't going to come for quite a while, please feel free to give yourself a break. Report an error in the passage at 2:45 Highlight the passage at 2:45

3:27 So you can stand or stretch or do whatever you feel you need to do to refresh your posture. Report an error in the passage at 3:27 Highlight the passage at 3:27

3:38 But my only request is just to do it slowly and mindfully. Quick, jerk emotions have an adverse effect on whatever mental stability you may have cultivated during the session. And also, quick, jerk emotions might disturb your neighbor. But if you were to stand or stretch or bend and do it kind of mindfully and gently, I have no problem with that. Report an error in the passage at 3:38 Highlight the passage at 3:38

4:03 So if I'm not giving you the break that you need, Then take the break that you need. Okay? Please. As I said in the beginning, the most important part of the practice is to do it in a way that's comfortable for us. Report an error in the passage at 4:03 Highlight the passage at 4:03

· · · silence, 1 minute

4:55 So we find this comfortable and upright posture. Report an error in the passage at 4:55 Highlight the passage at 4:55

5:07 And then as suggested, it's always good to start with one or two or perhaps three cleansing breaths. So this is a very... Deep, mindful breathing, a long, slow inhalation, drawing a cleansing energy down deep into our being, where it dissolves any blockages it might find, and then a complete letting go with the exhalation, an opening and a relaxing, followed by another one or two such cleansing breaths. Report an error in the passage at 5:07 Highlight the passage at 5:07

5:59 And now, as we segue into the breath awareness aspect of the meditation, We try to relinquish conscious control over the breath, the kind of conscious control that we apply during the cleansing breathing, for example. Report an error in the passage at 5:59 Highlight the passage at 5:59

6:18 In other words, we just allow the breath to come and go of its own accord without any major attempt to change it or modify it in any way. Report an error in the passage at 6:18 Highlight the passage at 6:18

7:00 A change of perspective can be quite helpful. Report an error in the passage at 7:00 Highlight the passage at 7:00

7:07 I am breathing the air. Think, the air is breathing me. It's flowing in of its own accord, Report an error in the passage at 7:07 Highlight the passage at 7:07

7:21 flowing out of its own accord, and we are simply witnessing it, paying attention to it. Report an error in the passage at 7:21 Highlight the passage at 7:21

7:56 And we try to pay attention to the complete duration of each inhalation and the duration of each exhalation. Report an error in the passage at 7:56 Highlight the passage at 7:56

8:10 So as far as inhalation is concerned, we become aware, Of the moment when air begins to enter into the nostrils, Report an error in the passage at 8:10 Highlight the passage at 8:10

8:25 we can make a mental note to ourself, breath is going in. Or for short, we can just simply think in. And then we maintain this awareness that the breath is going in until the inhalation has come to an end. Report an error in the passage at 8:25 Highlight the passage at 8:25

8:56 This may only last a few seconds or even fractions of a second, but for however long it lasts, We're aware of what's happening. Breath is flowing in. Report an error in the passage at 8:56 Highlight the passage at 8:56

9:28 And then sometime, shortly afterwards, perhaps after a pause, perhaps no pause, the exhalation will begin. Breath will start flowing out. And we try to maintain consistent awareness of the exhalation from the moment the air begins to leave the nostrils until the exhalation comes to a stop. All the while simply noting, breath is flowing out. Report an error in the passage at 9:28 Highlight the passage at 9:28

10:17 And for the duration of this brief meditation session, this is the main instruction, staying with the present moment of the incoming and outgoing breath. Report an error in the passage at 10:17 Highlight the passage at 10:17

· · · silence, 1 minute

11:46 Remaining aware of what we're meant to be doing, focusing on the breathing, is a practice of mindfulness, remembering, bringing to mind. Report an error in the passage at 11:46 Highlight the passage at 11:46

12:02 So if we ever forget what we're doing, the practice of mindfulness reminds us we're meant to be paying attention to the present moment of the inhalation and exhalation. Report an error in the passage at 12:02 Highlight the passage at 12:02

12:16 And we pay attention to these processes with the main portion of our attention. Some teachers will say with 80 % of our attention, Report an error in the passage at 12:16 Highlight the passage at 12:16

12:34 but a certain corner of our mind, let's say 20 % of our mind. Is checking up on how we are doing. Report an error in the passage at 12:34 Highlight the passage at 12:34

12:48 Are we still paying attention to the breath? Or has our attention been hijacked by something else? Report an error in the passage at 12:48 Highlight the passage at 12:48

12:58 Because inevitably, sooner or later, something else will arise in the field of our attention that will take our attention away. So Report an error in the passage at 12:58 Highlight the passage at 12:58

13:25 instead of focusing on the breath, we may, for a moment, be paying attention to a sound or Report an error in the passage at 13:25 Highlight the passage at 13:25

13:42 a smell. That drifts into the kompa or Report an error in the passage at 13:42 Highlight the passage at 13:42

13:54 any other sensation. Or Report an error in the passage at 13:54 Highlight the passage at 13:54

14:12 we might get caught up in some memory. Something that happened to us either earlier today or even conceivably years ago. Report an error in the passage at 14:12 Highlight the passage at 14:12

14:26 And our mind goes to that. Report an error in the passage at 14:26 Highlight the passage at 14:26

14:50 Or it could be an anticipation of something that might happen to us in the future. For example, if we're hungry, we might start thinking about having lunch. Report an error in the passage at 14:50 Highlight the passage at 14:50

15:20 And then we might get caught up in criticism. Commenting on how our meditation is going, on what kind of meditator we are, on what kind of person we are. Report an error in the passage at 15:20 Highlight the passage at 15:20

15:44 Any and all of such thoughts, such sensations, such experiences, anything other than paying attention to the incoming and outgoing breath is, for the purposes of this practice, a distraction. Report an error in the passage at 15:44 Highlight the passage at 15:44

16:07 And we notice that the mind is distracted. With that corner of our attention, what is sometimes called introspection, the quality control officer in our mind, just checking up how things are going. Report an error in the passage at 16:07 Highlight the passage at 16:07

16:23 If we're still on the breath, well and good. But if the mind has drifted away or has been drawn away to something else, introspection lets us know that. Report an error in the passage at 16:23 Highlight the passage at 16:23

16:38 And then we use mindfulness to remind ourselves what we're meant to be focusing on, Which is nothing other than the present moment of the incoming and outgoing breath. Report an error in the passage at 16:38 Highlight the passage at 16:38

16:58 So as soon as we become aware that our mind is no longer on the object of meditation, without any sense of blame or self-recrimination, we let go of that extraneous object and Report an error in the passage at 16:58 Highlight the passage at 16:58

17:14 escort our attention back to the inhalation and exhalation. Observing breath is going in, breath is going out. Report an error in the passage at 17:14 Highlight the passage at 17:14

· · · silence, 1 minute

17:57 So at this point, we're going to do that practice for another five minutes. And during that time, instead of reminding you to bring your mind back to the present moment of the breath, whenever it's wandered, Report an error in the passage at 17:57 Highlight the passage at 17:57

18:12 instead of having to say that in words, which themselves will distract your attention, I'll simply ring the gong or the chime. Report an error in the passage at 18:12 Highlight the passage at 18:12

18:26 And let that be a wordless reminder that if you're no longer focusing on the present moment of the breath, You use that as a reminder to escort your attention back to the next inhalations and exhalations. Report an error in the passage at 18:26 Highlight the passage at 18:26

18:49 So let's begin. Report an error in the passage at 18:49 Highlight the passage at 18:49

· · · silence, 4 minutes

22:26 Pause for a minute or two before we continue. Report an error in the passage at 22:26 Highlight the passage at 22:26

· · · silence, 2 minutes

24:38 So now we'll resume the practice, but I'd like to add something to our repertoire. If you're having some difficulty staying with the breath, if the mind tends to wander, excessively. Report an error in the passage at 24:38 Highlight the passage at 24:38

25:02 There's one thing that you can do that can be quite helpful, and that is just to give your attention something else related to the breath to focus on. So then having both to observe the breath and to count the breath gives us a chance to anchor our attention more firmly. So you can practice that. Not everyone needs to do it. Not everyone finds it helpful. Report an error in the passage at 25:02 Highlight the passage at 25:02

25:30 We can use this next period to just experiment to see if counting the breath gives some more stability to your attention. So counting, in this case, is counting cycles of breath. So an in-breath and the following out-breath, that cycle is counted as one. Then the next in-breath and the following out-breath is two, up to a predetermined number. Report an error in the passage at 25:30 Highlight the passage at 25:30

25:56 And it's not a bad idea to choose... A relatively small number, like seven, for example. So you make the determination in the beginning, I'm going to observe as best as I can seven consecutive cycles of breath. So that's a motive that you start with at the beginning. And then you start the process. So some people like to start by just breathing out first, because if you breathe out, Then the next in-breath comes by itself. You don't have to draw the next in-breath in. As soon as the out-breath is finished, the next one happens by itself. Report an error in the passage at 25:56 Highlight the passage at 25:56

26:40 So you're not drawing it in consciously, it's just happening. So now you just try to remain in that state in which you just allow the breath to happen of its own accord. As if the air is breathing you, not as if you're breathing the air. So it flows in. And then flows out, and during that time you're observing, breath is going in, breath is going out, but you're also counting one. Then, with the next inhalation, the counting moves to two, breath is going in, breath is going out, and so forth, until you reach your predetermined number. Report an error in the passage at 26:40 Highlight the passage at 26:40

27:24 And when you reach that number, you can pause for a moment, and then do another round of seven or however many breaths you decided upon. If seven turns out to be too much, then you can use a smaller number next time. If it's not enough, you can use a slightly larger number next time. But it's nice to start with some medium number like seven just to begin the process and not to have to tweak it constantly. Report an error in the passage at 27:24 Highlight the passage at 27:24

27:57 Now at the end of those seven breaths, you notice, well, how did that go? Was I able to maintain my awareness for seven consecutive cycles of breath? Report an error in the passage at 27:57 Highlight the passage at 27:57

28:12 did I have to bring my mind back many times during that period did I only have to bring it back once was it like did I not have to bring it back at all did I stay with it for all seven Report an error in the passage at 28:12 Highlight the passage at 28:12

28:27 So, after a very brief, very simple brief review of how it went, then you make a determination to do another set of breadth observations. Report an error in the passage at 28:27 Highlight the passage at 28:27

28:48 And when you start again, then you start again at number one. It may happen that you lose track of what you're doing right in the middle of the breathing. Report an error in the passage at 28:48 Highlight the passage at 28:48

29:01 So you observe the first breath, cycle of breath, you observe the second, you observe the third, but before you reach the fourth, you're off in cloud cuckoo land. You're somewhere else. You're not at all on the breath. And in fact, you went so far away that you lost count. If something like that happens, just start over again on one. No blame, no self-recrimination. Report an error in the passage at 29:01 Highlight the passage at 29:01

29:27 We've had a wandering mind since time without beginning. Of course it's going to continue to wander. But now we're in the process of starting to tame it. Gently, not violently. So, we make the strong determination in the beginning to... Observe a certain number of breaths. My suggestion, of course, was seven, but you can vary that as you see fit. Report an error in the passage at 29:27 Highlight the passage at 29:27

29:57 And then use mindfulness to keep your attention on the present moment of the breath. That's with most of your attention. And then with the corner of your attention, just to check, is my attention still focused on the breath? Or it has gone to some extraneous object. And if it has gone to some extraneous object, then bring it back. And the adjective, the adverb for that is to bring it back firmly but gently. Report an error in the passage at 29:57 Highlight the passage at 29:57

30:34 Firmly means you bring the attention as directly back as you can. Because where the distraction comes from might be something tremendously interesting. Report an error in the passage at 30:34 Highlight the passage at 30:34

30:49 Got something happening in your domestic scene and you started to think about it and you came up with this idea of, oh, next time I meet that person I'm going to say such and such. And you can really build up a big story. And you say, oh, this meditation was good. It gave me a chance to think about what I'm going to do when I get back home. Report an error in the passage at 30:49 Highlight the passage at 30:49

31:07 But when mindfulness kicks in, you remember, oh, that's not, I can do that some other time. The purpose now is simply to focus on the incoming and outgoing breath. So bringing the attention back firmly means to bring it back without taking those detours, without exploring whatever the distraction was. Report an error in the passage at 31:07 Highlight the passage at 31:07

31:26 To take it back as directly as we're capable of. Sometimes that takes a while. Sometimes that's not easy. But as directly as possible, we bring the attention back firmly until we reach the incoming and outgoing breath again. But also gently. Gently means without any exterior judgment. Oh, how bad I did. Report an error in the passage at 31:26 Highlight the passage at 31:26

31:57 That was terrible. Something like that. You just accept that's the nature of the mind. That's what's happening. And so without blame or self-reprimination, you gently bring the attention back. And I like the image of the person in the theater who... Report an error in the passage at 31:57 Highlight the passage at 31:57

32:19 The usher who escorts you to your seat. He or she doesn't drag you to your seat. He says, this way. It just indicates the way to go. So that's what this introspection does. It indicates, you know, follow the attention back gently, carefully. Report an error in the passage at 32:19 Highlight the passage at 32:19

32:49 And we'll have a chance to ask questions about this process a bit later. So, we're going to start again. The next observation of the breath. So again, if the posture needs a certain refreshing, then we make sure that our posture is comfortable and yet upright at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 32:49 Highlight the passage at 32:49

33:27 It might not be necessary to take a cleansing breath at this point, but it's possible. It's possible. Some energy has built up that maybe causes a distraction. In that case, a long, slow inhalation of clarifying energy, which goes into every cell of the body and illuminates every corner of the mind and begins to loosen and dissolve any interferences, which are then gently expelled with the exhalation. Report an error in the passage at 33:27 Highlight the passage at 33:27

34:07 And once this has been accomplished, then relinquish all conscious control over the breath, let Report an error in the passage at 34:07 Highlight the passage at 34:07

34:20 it come. Now we Report an error in the passage at 34:20 Highlight the passage at 34:20

· · · silence, 5 minutes

39:31 can conclude by relaxing our attention on the breath Report an error in the passage at 39:31 Highlight the passage at 39:31

39:39 and remain in whatever state of awareness that has been cultivated by this practice. Report an error in the passage at 39:39 Highlight the passage at 39:39

39:52 Simply being open to whatever happens. Choicelessly seeing things arise, abide and depart. Report an error in the passage at 39:52 Highlight the passage at 39:52

· · · silence, 1 minute

41:04 Okay, so as I mentioned, I was going to use the time at the end of this morning's session to bring up a few issues. And when we come back at 2.30, when we come back at 2.30, We can use the beginning time that we're together to bring up any questions or concerns you might have about the practice so far. Report an error in the passage at 41:04 Highlight the passage at 41:04

41:38 And also just to remind you that if there's any questions about anything that comes up since you've been here that you'd like to ask and you feel that you either don't want to or won't have a chance to ask it in class, then you're more than welcome to write it down and just Just put it on my desk. And by extension, I'll give you my email address before the course is over. And when you get back home, if any questions come up about this or anything else, I'm always welcome and always delighted to hear from you. Report an error in the passage at 41:38 Highlight the passage at 41:38

42:16 So that email address is yours to use as you desire. okay? Um... Report an error in the passage at 42:16 Highlight the passage at 42:16

42:29 schedule for this... Class was an evolving process. And one of the things that evolved was that a session was added tonight to Saturday night. Report an error in the passage at 42:29 Highlight the passage at 42:29

42:45 So instead of finishing at dinner time, we added a session that goes from 7 to 8.30, the same stretch of time that we did yesterday. Now, for some people here, that may be inconvenient. Like I know that there are some people who don't like driving on the road. If they're a commuter, they don't like driving on the road when it's that dark. Report an error in the passage at 42:45 Highlight the passage at 42:45

43:12 So for that reason or any other reason that you have that takes you away from that last session, feel free to do that. I'm not suggesting you do skip the session, but it's okay if you do. So don't worry that you're... You know, you're not taking the course correctly. Okay? So use your own judgment to be, you know, comfortable and safe. Report an error in the passage at 43:12 Highlight the passage at 43:12

43:43 Was there anything else I had to add about that? Yeah. So, even Report an error in the passage at 43:43 Highlight the passage at 43:43

43:57 though this is a course taught at a Buddhist center, I mentioned that I wasn't teaching it specifically in a Buddhist way. It doesn't require... Faith in Buddha, for example. But there is something available here that people might want to take advantage of. Our teacher, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, commissioned an extraordinarily beautiful and evocative Buddha statue, which eventually will sit in the main chamber of the stupa, the monument that physically has been built already, but still remains to be decorated. Report an error in the passage at 43:57 Highlight the passage at 43:57

44:38 If you've not seen it, it's just up the hill. And that statue arrived not long ago and is sitting over there on my left. Report an error in the passage at 44:38 Highlight the passage at 44:38

44:52 And from a distance, it looks nice. It's just another Buddhist statue. But some of you might enjoy just standing quietly in front of it and just looking. Looking into that face, there's something about that particular face that has the power to draw one in so that you're no longer looking at something outside yourself, but it's almost as if you're seeing your true self. Report an error in the passage at 44:52 Highlight the passage at 44:52

45:26 But whether that's your experience or not, it's completely individual. But it's such a treasure, it's such a special thing, and many people come into this gompa and leave again without ever really taking a good look up close at the face. And that would be a shame. It would be nice at least to spend a few moments in front of it and just drink it in. There's no obligation, but you might find that beneficial. Report an error in the passage at 45:26 Highlight the passage at 45:26

46:00 And then the last thing I wanted to mention is that, This practice that we've been doing, the breath awareness practice, and we're going to move on from that to other practices, but we'll never leave it completely behind because it's a very excellent way of anchoring the mind in the present moment. Report an error in the passage at 46:00 Highlight the passage at 46:00

46:24 There's a way of doing that practice that instead of taking, let's say, 5 or 10 or 15 minutes in a formal meditation, It can be done during the day in a matter of seconds here and there. It's a practice called seasoning the day. You do a very abbreviated version of this practice even while you're out and about. Report an error in the passage at 46:24 Highlight the passage at 46:24

46:49 And many people, when they do it like that for a while, report that they have as much or more benefit from the seasoning the day version of the practice Even though it only takes a few seconds here and there than they do from a formal sitting practice. So I just want to share it with you and then you can try it out and see if you like it or not. Report an error in the passage at 46:49 Highlight the passage at 46:49

47:18 This seasoning of the day practice can be done any time that there's nothing else that you have to do. So if you're in the middle of a conversation, that's something else you have to do. If you're driving a car, that's something else you have to do. But what if you're just standing on line, waiting for lunch, and all you have to do is just be aware when the person in front of you is taking a step forward so that you can take a step forward. Report an error in the passage at 47:18 Highlight the passage at 47:18

47:49 That's a very minimal requirement, isn't it? Or let's say you're stopped at a red light, and all you have to do is... Wait for the light to change and just be aware of whether a pedestrian happens to be walking in front of your car or not. A very minimal requirement. There's nothing else you have to do. Many people in situations like that either start up a conversation or turn on the radio or something like that. Report an error in the passage at 47:49 Highlight the passage at 47:49

48:16 But you can use those few moments to tune into the present. And how do you do that? You could do it with the breath. You know, as you're standing there. Report an error in the passage at 48:16 Highlight the passage at 48:16

48:30 Online, waiting for lunch or at the bank or wherever you might be, or while you're sitting in the car waiting for the light to change or wherever you may be. At that moment you could just expel a breath, just let go, let the next breath come and go of its own accord, maybe do that twice. The whole thing lasts less than ten seconds, sometimes less than five seconds. Report an error in the passage at 48:30 Highlight the passage at 48:30

48:58 But during that period of time, you've given yourself a mini-vacation of whatever you've been involved in. You haven't become oblivious to it. You've just taken a step back from it into the present moment of the breath. You're experiencing the quality of your body, of your breathing, of your environment in those few moments. Report an error in the passage at 48:58 Highlight the passage at 48:58

49:29 But you don't have to use the breath to get back in the present moment. Anything that's related to the body brings you in the present moment. You know, we know our thoughts can go into the future or in the past endlessly, but the body is a present tense phenomena, meaning the sensations you're experiencing in the body, you're only experiencing now, right? Report an error in the passage at 49:29 Highlight the passage at 49:29

49:55 You're not experiencing now sensations that you had a few minutes ago. You're not experiencing now sensations you'll have a few minutes from now. You're only experiencing the sensations that are happening right now. Report an error in the passage at 49:55 Highlight the passage at 49:55

50:10 So you can use any entrance of your body, any entrance of your physical sensations to bring you in the present moment. So one example, I'll use the waiting in line and sitting in the car examples, but there's as many examples as... Activities that can take place. But I'll just mention two. You're standing in line. You're not engaged in a conversation. Report an error in the passage at 50:10 Highlight the passage at 50:10

50:38 You're just waiting for the person in front of you to step forward. And you're holding on to the tray. There are physical sensations of touch where your fingers are gripping the tray. You can feel them. You can just tune into them. That's the present moment. Report an error in the passage at 50:38 Highlight the passage at 50:38

51:04 And just a second or two of that can ground you from wherever your mind may have taken you into the present moment and you can actually appreciate the atmosphere of the present moment. Maybe it's easier to appreciate that atmosphere if you're walking in the woods, right? But even in the present moment in the dining room, there's something there, some quality there that you can tune into. Report an error in the passage at 51:04 Highlight the passage at 51:04

51:33 Or if you're sitting in the car, you're gripping on the steering wheel. Again, the physical sensation of gripping the steering wheel can ground you in the present moment. And these are just two of the possible physical sensations that you can tune into. You can feel the weight of your body in your shoes. Report an error in the passage at 51:33 Highlight the passage at 51:33

51:53 You can feel the contact between your back and your backside on the chair. You can tune in to the sounds that are arising, those sensations or the smells or the tastes. Any of these things coming through the medium of your body ground you in the present moment. Report an error in the passage at 51:53 Highlight the passage at 51:53

52:16 So, when to do this practice? Anytime you feel like it. The practice, as I say, each one can last just fractions of a second. Or maybe a few seconds. And yet the more we practice this, the more we discover that place that we can be that is real, that is now. Report an error in the passage at 52:16 Highlight the passage at 52:16

52:45 And then when we have a chance to actually sit and do a more formal practice, you know, get into a posture which is conducive to paying attention, you know, such as what we're trying here. And we have a chance to sit quietly and observe our breath, then we can do that. But at other times, because that only occupies a very small fraction of our day, even when we do practice every day, it's still only a small fraction of the day. Report an error in the passage at 52:45 Highlight the passage at 52:45

53:14 But we're out and about all the time. So the seasoning of the day practice is always available to us. And we can make use of it. Okay? Report an error in the passage at 53:14 Highlight the passage at 53:14

53:28 We just have three or four minutes left, and I want to give more time than that to questions you might have about what's going on here, and we'll do that when we come back in the afternoon. But to conclude this session, is there any question, anything you'd like to bring up now? Yes, please. Report an error in the passage at 53:28 Highlight the passage at 53:28

54:14 The general advice that's given in that situation is that when you... When you are able to penetrate into an experience, whether it's a pleasurable experience or a painful experience, you discover it's not as solid as it first appeared, that the pain is intermittent. It arises, abides, dissolves, arise, abides, dissolves, like that. It has a fluid quality to it. Report an error in the passage at 54:14 Highlight the passage at 54:14

54:49 So instead of viewing the pain as some unalterable, inescapable, solid thing, and wishing to suppress it or run away from it or deny it, you penetrate into it. When you penetrate into it, things start to loosen up and dissolve, and you find the empty spaces even within the pain. This is not easy, but it's definitely possible. Report an error in the passage at 54:49 Highlight the passage at 54:49

55:19 It's definitely possible. And if these things kind of interest you, one of the writers who I've not met in person, but I consider her one of my main teachers, is Pema Chudrin, who has a center up in Nova Scotia and has a big presence on YouTube and many, many books out. And among her books, one of the titles is something like, The places that scare you or something like that. And whether she has a lot of titles out. And she's very, very good in describing how to deal with situations which are exactly the kind of situations which mostly we deal with by trying to avoid them. Report an error in the passage at 55:19 Highlight the passage at 55:19

56:05 How we can look into them and discover the fluidity, the openness of it. She's very excellent with that. Pema Chodron. Report an error in the passage at 56:05 Highlight the passage at 56:05

56:19 Is that a little helpful? Yeah. Anything else before we part? Report an error in the passage at 56:19 Highlight the passage at 56:19

56:32 Okay, so I had indicated that any action that we do can be thought of as having a beginning, middle and an end. The beginning of the kind of things we've been doing here, the beginning is to set as clear a motivation. Report an error in the passage at 56:32 Highlight the passage at 56:32

56:51 This is the main determining factor as to whether that action is really going to be beneficial in terms of the evolution of our life or not. So that's the first part, the motivation. The second part is the whole remainder of the action up until the end. In other words, the main part of the practice. And there, for that, the main requirement is just paying attention. Report an error in the passage at 56:51 Highlight the passage at 56:51

57:20 Remember what we're supposed to do and trying to focus the mind on it. So if it's watching the breath, then we remind that's what we're doing. We remind ourselves that's what we're doing. If it's filling out taxes, then that's what we're doing. We're not turning on the TV or listening to the radio. We're filling out the taxes. Report an error in the passage at 57:20 Highlight the passage at 57:20

57:41 So the main part of the practice is done with that kind of concentration. And then when the action is over, Any action we engage in, physical, verbal, mental, produces an energy, generates an energy that wasn't there before we started. Report an error in the passage at 57:41 Highlight the passage at 57:41

58:01 And that energy, especially if it's something positive, if it's something that we've learned something or we've gained some kind of ability or we've got a somewhat more profound view of the nature of our mind or anything like that. Report an error in the passage at 58:01 Highlight the passage at 58:01

58:21 If we gained anything from it, if anything positive happened, then that's positive energy. At the end, we then dedicate. We think, by the virtue of this positive energy, no matter how big it was or how little it was, dedicate it. And dedicate it basically to the same purposes of the dedication of the motivation in the beginning. Report an error in the passage at 58:21 Highlight the passage at 58:21

58:51 So if the motivation in the beginning was to gain a clearer understanding of the mind so you could be calmer and clearer and then have a happier and healthier life and be able to give more help to others, then at the end you might, for example, think any virtuous merit, energy that was created by the practices just concluded, may it relieve the suffering of others. Report an error in the passage at 58:51 Highlight the passage at 58:51

59:20 May it increase the strength of my loving kindness and compassion. May I be of more help to others. Something like that. So you generate the motivation in the beginning. You do the action as concentrated as you can during the middle. And at the end, you dedicate whatever positive energy may have been generated for the purposes that you established in the beginning. Report an error in the passage at 59:20 Highlight the passage at 59:20

59:44 Okay? And this way of looking at things. The beginning, middle and end way of looking at it is immensely profound. I've never received any teachings from my Tibetan masters in which they don't remind us of how important it is to be mindful of those three aspects of any action. The motivation, the action itself and the dedication at the end. Report an error in the passage at 59:44 Highlight the passage at 59:44

1:00:18 This is the real training of the mind. This brings about lasting benefit. Because we can have a meditation session in which we get really high during it, right? And then the meditation session gets over, and we go out and about, and then we come down from that high. And not much has changed. But we could have a meditation that doesn't get us very high, but it gains some level of... Report an error in the passage at 1:00:18 Highlight the passage at 1:00:18

1:00:48 And then when we dedicate it, as one of my teachers says, it's like putting it in a safe deposit box. It's never going to degenerate. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:48 Highlight the passage at 1:00:48

1:00:59 It'll be with us on our travels all the way to enlightenment, to awareness, to whatever we conceive of our destination to be. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:59 Highlight the passage at 1:00:59

1:01:14 So, that's a good thing to keep in mind. And then, enjoy lunch. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:14 Highlight the passage at 1:01:14

1:01:28 that's why I something. That's why we should go. Where's my notes? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:28 Highlight the passage at 1:01:28