Transform Your Mind & Change Your Life Retreat - 7-Point Mind Training from Atisha (part 48)

0:20 Well, I'd like to go back to basics, basics a little bit. I was an utterly inadequate answer to Chris. Is Chris here? Chris Popp, still here? Well, Report an error in the passage at 0:20 Highlight the passage at 0:20

0:35 he's quite, he's like the cat, the Cheshire cat. He's gone, but his smile remains. Report an error in the passage at 0:35 Highlight the passage at 0:35

0:45 He's gone, but his question remains. And that is, so I hope he can listen to this later if he can, because it might be helpful. But the whole issue of, you know, can we, in this lifestyle, without becoming yogis, without slipping off to the desert for months on end. But can we, given our current ways of life, which we've accepted, that is we've embraced, it's voluntary, there are no slaves here as far as I know, within this kind of lifestyle that we've adopted, that hopefully we find meaningful, are we hopeless in the sense of our minds actually calming down and being calm, being able, sustainable calm? Report an error in the passage at 0:45 Highlight the passage at 0:45

1:20 Is that possible? And it's completely clear to me. That stress, which is not the same as mental agitation, but stress is not directly correlated with how much work we do. That's very clear to me. Some people are extremely active and not stressed. And people are totally stressed out and they're watching soul marbles all day. So there's no correlation at all. And so it's all in the manner of how are you busy. Report an error in the passage at 1:20 Highlight the passage at 1:20

1:50 And of course there are stressful jobs, there's no question about that. But not everybody who has a stressful job is stressed. And not everybody has a stress-free job, is stress-free. So although the objective, of course, is important, it does have an influence, the primary is always the light. The primary influence on whether you're stressed out or not, as a general routine, or modus operandi, is primarily up to you. Report an error in the passage at 1:50 Highlight the passage at 1:50

2:17 It's not in the hands of objective circumstances. And if that's true, that's down there in that level of relaxation, within relaxation, stability and clarity. If that's true for relaxation, then I think it necessarily follows that the degree of just sheer turbulence, the mind wandering, the agitation of the mind, that this is not directly correlated with living in modernity or living in active way of life, solely engaged way of life. Report an error in the passage at 2:17 Highlight the passage at 2:17

2:43 It's certainly normal. I mean, scientific studies have shown that 80 % of the time, normal people with no particular training are thinking about something other than the task at hand. The mind is just wandering all over the place to the future and past, neither of which really exists, at least relative to the present. And so what can be done? Report an error in the passage at 2:43 Highlight the passage at 2:43

3:05 And I think we shouldn't throw in the towel. It's not hopeless. But also if we think, well, just give me a better technique. You know, I'm really busy. I have many, many things to do. And so I can do 20 minutes in the morning, maybe 20 in the evening. That's it. Make it good. Give me a really, really good technique. And I don't think there is such a good technique that out of 20 minutes out of 16 hours is going to somehow radically change either those 20 minutes or the 16 hours. Report an error in the passage at 3:05 Highlight the passage at 3:05

3:39 That it has to be more like basketball. And what I'm thinking of is a full court press. You don't just hang around the basket and then try to throw a ball in, but you have to be totally present on the whole court, right? I don't use sports analogies much, but that one always has to be present. It has to be an ongoing flow. And this is generally for breaking habits. If you want to break habits, you don't be a practicing alcoholic in the morning, but be a total teetotaler in the afternoon. Report an error in the passage at 3:39 Highlight the passage at 3:39

4:08 It doesn't work that way. And I think really when all is said and done, the agitation, the obsessive, compulsive, delusional disorder, what I call it. The ongoing flow of involuntary thoughts. It is when all is said and done, simply a habit. It's something we've gotten accustomed to. It's become normal. Report an error in the passage at 4:08 Highlight the passage at 4:08

4:25 But that doesn't mean it's healthy. Like some people are very accustomed to smoking. It's very normal for them. Their whole society is where smoking is very normal. But that doesn't mean it's any less detrimental to the health. So what can be done? And that is one thing I would come back to in terms of just learning how to create a new habit. And I think I've mentioned this, creating a new baseline. Report an error in the passage at 4:25 Highlight the passage at 4:25

4:46 The default mode. And that is, there are times we need to be active, we need to be very focused, we need to be creative, we need to be analytical, we need to be remembering and imagining. That's all fine. Nothing wrong with that. But again, using this conceptual faculty, like silverware, right? You pick it up and then you put it down and we keep on, you know, walking around with silverware in our hands. Report an error in the passage at 4:46 Highlight the passage at 4:46

5:07 With the mind just keep on going, going, going, as if we just didn't find the off switch. And knowing that there are many, many occasions, at least 10 seconds here or a minute there, where there's nothing we need to think about. So just like people, we find it quite draining to be with compulsive talkers. Report an error in the passage at 5:07 Highlight the passage at 5:07

5:26 I haven't met too many really, but I remember one. It was a guy sitting in a passenger seat. I was driving. And I felt like I was clairvoyant. I'm not, but I felt like I was clairvoyant. It seemed like whatever came to his mind came right out of his mouth. Report an error in the passage at 5:26 Highlight the passage at 5:26

5:41 And it was just an ongoing stream of just, and this reminds me of that, and this reminds me of that, and what do you think about this, I think about this, what do you think about this, this reminds me of that. And it was just an ongoing kind of free flow, free association. And after a while I just wished he'd be quiet. I thought it would be, you know, maybe that's the way he gets rid of stress, is just having everything, you know, like that. Report an error in the passage at 5:41 Highlight the passage at 5:41

6:08 But that is kind of unusual. Most people show more restraint. That they just have the babbling of the mind, but not the babbling of the mouth. But one is simply a symptom of the other. And so you suppress the symptom, but you still have the babbling of the mind. So it's not so healthy. And you have to be there. Somebody's listening. Report an error in the passage at 6:08 Highlight the passage at 6:08

6:29 You're the one. And so you're calling out to the neighbors, would you please shut up? And all you hear is an echo. So what can be done? Well, the practice that I'd like to return to this morning is really simple. It's baseline. It's very good, especially in the supine position. But if you're comfortable, sitting position is fine. But that is again coming back step by step to that settling body, speech and mind to the stillness. Report an error in the passage at 6:29 Highlight the passage at 6:29

6:53 And from that stillness, then attending to just the ebb and flow of the breath. Again, in the mood, the ambience of like washing waves on a nice, lovely day like this. Watching waves just gently splash in the showroom and the wave going out. And not many people would find that agitating, you know, just to watch the waves on a nice sunny afternoon. Report an error in the passage at 6:53 Highlight the passage at 6:53

7:15 You know, it's not agitating. But many people, at least for a while, don't find it boring either. You know, it's soothing, it's relaxing. And the rhythm of it is very nice, you know, just watching. That's why people do it. And so coming back to that, and then that whole deal of just releasing, releasing, releasing, in that particular practice. Report an error in the passage at 7:15 Highlight the passage at 7:15

7:34 Just having that sense of just that releasing and really learning how to breathe. We can skip over the issue or marginalize and think, I've got that. The breathing flowing in its natural rhythm. Report an error in the passage at 7:34 Highlight the passage at 7:34

7:46 But it's really quite a skill. I received an email this morning from a couple. They're a couple. I think I'm quite sure they're married. And they're both very dedicated to Dharma. They're going into a long-term retreat. I've never even met them. But we do have the connection. So I agreed to guide them as they're going. And both of them... Report an error in the passage at 7:46 Highlight the passage at 7:46

8:04 The man in particular, they've been in retreat now, very serious retreat, full-time. And he was describing weeks into the retreat, full-time practice, how he's just watching this strange sensation come up in the body and the breathing becoming quite really strong and then calming down again and weird stuff coming in the body and sometimes twitches and jerks and so forth and then the breathing going erratic again. Report an error in the passage at 8:04 Highlight the passage at 8:04

8:30 And he says, you know, this is all fine. And when the session's over, I feel so much better. And over, I'm feeling more and more relaxed and more and more calm. But this is what's happening here. And I said, good. And then, of course, stuff coming up psychologically as well. And when I read his account, I said, well, good. I just have nothing to say except for this is what it's like to see your body and mind settled in their natural state. Report an error in the passage at 8:30 Highlight the passage at 8:30

8:54 That it's not just going into some nice smooth rhythm and then just blissing out. That'll happen one day. But until then, the body-mind system is working out its kinks. And it does it by way of the breathing, but it does by this kind of discharging of energy, and then suddenly you're jerking here and there. And I think he checked, and there's nothing wrong medically. Report an error in the passage at 8:54 Highlight the passage at 8:54

9:14 So there was no concern in that regard. But even though there he has been for weeks, he and his wife, really full-time practice, he's still learning how to breathe. And still learning, ah, I really need to let this go. I shouldn't go into manual override. I shouldn't breathe this way or that way. But let the body work it out. Report an error in the passage at 9:14 Highlight the passage at 9:14

9:31 And the prāṇa and the respiration are so profoundly interrelated that the whole prāṇa system is truly balancing itself out, unblocking itself just by the respiration itself. We're going through all these permutations. Sometimes really, you know, there's all kinds of things, different, different, different. And so going back to that, so we have two phases here. Report an error in the passage at 9:31 Highlight the passage at 9:31

9:53 And the supine position is so good because there's just no constraint, no inhibition or pressure or impairment of the natural flow of the breathing. But if you're sitting upright and comfortably, then that's still perfectly good too. But doing that with kind of that deepening, deepening sense of ease, and in the midst of the motions of the breath and thoughts coming up and releasing and releasing, releasing, releasing, then out of that you will develop. Report an error in the passage at 9:53 Highlight the passage at 9:53

10:21 You will develop a deeper sense of ease and gradually there will be a calming, a calming of the mind itself. I mean, it will get quieter just by that gentle, gentle pressure, so to speak, gentle pressure of just releasing, releasing, releasing, whatever comes up, especially with every out-breath. Report an error in the passage at 10:21 Highlight the passage at 10:21

10:40 But then, of course, that session has to come to an end. And your daily active life with all of its demands on your time and so forth, that's coming soon. So maybe imagine this is your morning session, right? I would not stay there. I would allocate at least some percentage of, if you have one session, maybe the last third, if things are going pretty well. Report an error in the passage at 10:40 Highlight the passage at 10:40

11:01 And in the last third, then you're kind of already gearing up for coming out. And that is to return to that stillness, which is really rooted in ease, not by tightness, like grasping onto a telephone pole and being still, but just being still by releasing all grasping. Coming back there. And then turning the awareness away from the body, the sensations of the breath, and turning it to whatever is arising in the mind. And seeing for yourself, really cultivating this ability. Report an error in the passage at 11:01 Highlight the passage at 11:01

11:32 It's enormously useful in modern psychology as well as the deep traditions of Buddhism and so on. And that is the ability to sustain that stillness even while thoughts are coming and going. Thoughts, memories, images and so forth. And not have that cognitive fusion. Being carried away by everything comes up. So seeing desires come up, not the cognitive fusion. The emotions, memories, thoughts and so forth. And doing that for at least five minutes. Report an error in the passage at 11:32 Highlight the passage at 11:32

11:59 So that's your segue. Now, if you can do some practice like loving kindness practice. So this is going to prepare you for, let's say, the inanimate world. That is just situations and activities and buildings and stuff. It'll prepare you well for that. Just for the... The environment itself, but of course the environment is populated by sentient beings. So this is good. It will, as you turn that attention, that stillness, that clarity to others, you're bound to be more attentive, which means then you're laying the foundation for empathy as you're attending closely. Report an error in the passage at 11:59 Highlight the passage at 11:59

12:36 But if you have this in the morning session, if you have a bit more time, then again it could be five minutes. But just practicing Dong Len, or practicing love and kindness, especially here's a nice... Report an error in the passage at 12:36 Highlight the passage at 12:36

12:49 And that is, on many occasions, we know that we'll be meeting certain people. Number one, if you're living in a family, that's pretty much a given. But we often know, I do, I know today I'm likely to meet this person. I'm going to have an appointment. Or I have a conference call, a Skype call, something, something. And so when you know that there'll be some individuals that you're going to be engaging with over the course of the day, while you're still there in the quiet and you really calm the mind, Then directing your attention to them and practicing love and kindness. In anticipation. And again, we're talking about two minutes here, three minutes there. Report an error in the passage at 12:49 Highlight the passage at 12:49

13:29 But you're sowing those seeds. I've done this, and I know what happens. You sow those seeds for just a short time in the morning. And then, four hours later, you're meeting that person right on time. And lo and behold, when you see that person, what's the first thing come to mind? I was thinking of you this morning. Report an error in the passage at 13:29 Highlight the passage at 13:29

13:47 That was the seed you saw, not competitiveness or attachment or aversion or boredom, but here's a sentient being to a sentient being. And the first thought comes in, oh yes, good to see you again. You don't know, but I saw you four hours ago. And attending in a very benevolent way, very attentive way. So to sum up then, in the practice of the stillness of your awareness and attending to the ebb and flow of the sensations of the breath throughout the body, very good for relaxation. Report an error in the passage at 13:47 Highlight the passage at 13:47

14:18 Stability. And then if you segue from that into resting once again in that stillness and observing the movements of the mind and seeing that you don't have to be carried away by each one. You can observe it. This is very good for clarity. Really, really good for clarity. That you recognize with clarity thoughts, memories, images, desires, emotions and so forth. Report an error in the passage at 14:18 Highlight the passage at 14:18

14:42 You recognize them and in recognizing them this means you're not already caught up and fused with them. Because if a desire comes up, and as soon as it comes up, I'm fused with it. What am I aware of? The object of the desire and the fact that I want it. I'm not aware of desiring. I'm aware of, I want that. I want that. Whereas a desire comes up, it may be a perfectly good desire. Report an error in the passage at 14:42 Highlight the passage at 14:42

15:07 But at least you introduce yourself before you go for a ride. And it's voluntary. It's voluntary. Here's a desire coming up. Yes, nothing wrong with that desire. I'll now attend to the object of the desire. Sure. I'm going to get some breakfast. Nothing wrong with that. So in that sequence, more for the shamatha, there's a sequence. Report an error in the passage at 15:07 Highlight the passage at 15:07

15:28 And then for the moving one, the direction of ultimate body, then some time. Love and kindness, compassion, donglen in the morning. But then, all of that could take 20 minutes or so. I've been seeing it towards having a little conversation. I wanted to let all the spirits in, by the way. They're in the back row. What do we call it? In the nosebleed section. Report an error in the passage at 15:28 Highlight the passage at 15:28

15:59 So welcome all you ghosts. But if it's skill, if it's 20 minutes, maybe it's a half an hour, and now you're going to be facing 8 or 9 hours of everything else, then, you know, it's going to taper off. The water is going to seep into the sands of the day, and you'll just be carried away by one thing after another after another, and then try to mop up the damage at the end of the day. Report an error in the passage at 15:59 Highlight the passage at 15:59

16:23 With another 20 minute session. But then what about the main event, your day? And this is where one simply cannot overemphasize the value of coming back again and again and again and again as many times as you can. But without necessarily taking any time out. That is taking time away from your partner, your children, your job and so forth and so on. Report an error in the passage at 16:23 Highlight the passage at 16:23

16:47 These are all hopefully very meaningful relationships. But in those intervals, you know, 15 seconds here and a minute there, Where nobody even notices that you're not working, you're not thinking, you're not answering email. Nobody notices and nobody cares. But there's plenty of occasion, many, many times a day. Like walking from here when we take the break, walking from here to someplace else. That's a break. Report an error in the passage at 16:47 Highlight the passage at 16:47

17:11 Going to the bathroom, that's a break. Nobody's watching, hopefully. And you don't have anything to do because just go to the bathroom so it's not exactly a full intellectual endeavor. Report an error in the passage at 17:11 Highlight the passage at 17:11

17:23 So the body, do your thing, I'm busy, and then you just do your practice. Why not? What else is there to do? Except fall into the routine rut of ruminating, because going to the bathroom is not so interesting. So the mind says, I got something better than that, and it just goes on a trip. And that's the rut, that's the routine, that's the default mode. So what I'm really giving out here is a very simple point. Report an error in the passage at 17:23 Highlight the passage at 17:23

17:47 Change your default mode, your baseline, and have it come back cognitively. To a stillness, a sense of ease, stillness and clarity. And just keep on coming back to that again and again and again, that that's your default mode. As soon as you need to be active and attend to this and attend to that, do it wholeheartedly, wholemindedly, attend to it wholeheartedly, everything open. Report an error in the passage at 17:47 Highlight the passage at 17:47

18:09 And as soon as it's over, go to default mode and recognize that task is finished and now I can pause and establish a new baseline and keep on coming back to that. So cognitively, in terms of attention, and then, let's say, affectively, or in terms of the heart, come right back to the baseline of, hey, we're here to find well-being. Report an error in the passage at 18:09 Highlight the passage at 18:09

18:32 That's why you're going to work, why you have relationships, why you have kids, why you don't have kids, all of that is for the sake of finding well-being. So just keep coming back to that. It's self-directed loving-kindness. And then, when your cup runs over, then it's loving-kindness flowing out in all directions. So, let's do that, shall we? Report an error in the passage at 18:32 Highlight the passage at 18:32

18:52 It's a beautiful day. Report an error in the passage at 18:52 Highlight the passage at 18:52