MCI4 Meditation course, introduction: formless meditation

MCI4 Meditation course, introduction: formless meditation by Suvannavira

Looked at the body breath metta
Can call them active practices
Active means something we try to do
Concentrate on the body the breath
Develop metta

Now we will do receptive practices
We aren’t trying to do anything
We are trying to be receptive

To practice meditation
To continue practicing
To get real benefits from practice
We need to balance active and receptive practices

In the early days of the order people did active practices
Emphasis on getting concentrated
On breaking through / overcoming hindrances

Some started to get more dissatisfied
Started to experiment with receptive practices
Tried just sitting
Remember sleeping thinking dry concentration
Danger just sitting = drifting
(Sinking and drifting)

Meditation without form
Arrive at question
What are we trying to do in receptive practices?

We are still trying to do something
Only we don’t decide what
That’s why it is formless
It doesn’t have a form or structure
No stages
No object

Rather no specific object
Or everything is our object
We try to be as aware as possible
Aware of everything
Aware of anything that happens
Aware of thoughts sensations images
Aware of smells and sounds

Two ways we can do this practice
Try to be aware of everything all at once
Or just let our attention / awareness go where it wants.
Our awareness / attention is always changing its object of awareness

So if we start thinking, try to be as aware as possible of our thought
Start feeling, try to be as aware as possible
Of sounds, as aware as possible

Like watching internal tv
So we are being active
Just not doing anything
Or rather our doing is watching
Watching without control
Being receptive to everything that is happening

DO IT

What did we focus on?
Thoughts sensations images sounds

Try to bring this receptive quality into other practices
Into life
How to do that? Ask them what they think

We can just sit as well. When?
1/ before starting meditating, when we feel restless
2/ after meditation, called sitting on when we are already concentrated
3/ on retreat when already concentrated

TRY JUST SITTING NOW OR AT END OF CLASS - 2 minutes

One more thing. Doing nothing
Helps us develop receptivity too
Spend some time each day doing nothing
Not reading thinking watching your phone etc ….
10-20. Get a cup of tea. Comfortable chair. Do nothing.
Waste time
Don’t get too strict, don’t make doing nothing into something!

Bring receptive quality into all meditations
And everyday life
A good balance to always being directed by thoughts
Of always having something to do

End of course
Now four more
Four weeks on each of these practices
To go deeper into them
To respond to your experience as you start to practice them regularly

Meditation course, MC1/4, Introduction, mindfulness of the Body

Meditation course, MC1/4, Introduction, mindfulness of the Body, by Suvannavira

1/ Who am I

Don’t have to be Buddhist

Ethics meditation wisdom

Change in our depths, change in how we see the world

What meditation is not

Getting what we want: love wealth health success

chakras and mantras

My meditation is: time of no thinking

Developing awareness

General: understanding > higher state of consciousness > wisdom

but need specifics

awareness, understanding, higher states of consciousness, wisdom

Four practices: then four courses, one on each, five courses in everyday life, wisdom

Communication, objectifying

Not knowledge but direct experience, intuitive knowledge

6/ today’s meditation practice
7/ why do this practice?

8/ what are we trying to do, beyond the technique?

9/ What is good posture

10/ common misconceptions or dangers
11/ positive signs of progress
Basics learn then we have difficulties, excellent!

THE BODY

value of intention and practice, not spontaeous at the beginning, new habits

Tips:

Listen to your body

Look for enjoyment

Warm attitude

Be open to all parts of yourself

First arrow second arrow

12/ how to respond to difficulties?

Sleep, thinking, over concentrated

easiest, most pleasant part of the body, hardest, most enigmatic part

13/ discuss our experience, what can I do to help you express your experience?
16/ what is the question for reflection?

18/ what else can they do during the week?
Meditate every day

Same time, same place, commitment, beauty, not too long

Body in every day life

All the time, mindfulness breaks, relax, pleasure, energy (ie what happens when it works).

Mindful activity, walking ….

Next week, on basis of the body, the breath.

Meditation course, MCI2/4, Introduction, Mindfulness of Breathing

Meditation course, MCI2/4, Introduction, Mindfulness of Breathing by Suvannavira

0/ Intro, raise awareness

Higher state of consciousness

greater understanding > wisdom

Change yourself, / and personal relations, relations to the world

Meditation as microscope, a new world emerges

1/ overview of course
2/ review of last week and h/w
3/ todays practice
4/ it’s place in Buddhism

Buddha gaining Enlightenment

Simplest practices are the most advanced, very steep

5/ why focus on the breath?
Physical, emotional, spiritual dimensions
6/ not technique, not forced concentration, but awareness
7/ leads to dhyana
8/ real meaning of concentration
9/ resistance to meditation
Value of light awareness

Light awareness in meditation, light awareness in life

10/ hindrances and antidotes
11/ meaning of integration and commitment
12/ difference dhyana and vipassana

13/ misconceptions and dangers

Dryness = lack of emotional connection, absence of receptivity

(Sleep, thinking, forced concentration).
14/ signs of progress
15/ what is it beyond the technique
16/ importance of connection with our body

DO MEDITATION IN TWO PARTS

17/ discuss our experience, why is it important: objectify and greater awareness
18/ how to help them express it
19/ question for reflection
20/ practice during the week ahead
21/ what to do outside practices
22/ return to why we meditate
23/ end with a wish

Meditation course, MCI 3/4, introduction, Metta Bhavana

Meditation course, MCI 3/4, introduction, Metta Bhavana by Suvannavira

Overview
Review last week – the Breath, how did the week go, did we use the breath to change our state?
Today’s practice

Meaning of metta

warm attitude,

open attitude

friendly

intention to help

desire for happiness

with awareness

understanding

gratitude

forgiveness

Rejoicing in merits

unattached, wanting nothing in return

universal but not equal

Putting ourselves in the shoes of others

Kindness

See what is good and bad, person as a whole, dear to someone, bad as poisons to overcome

Mother’s love for only child

Very strong positive emotion

Benefits? Your thoughts. Surprising
-Self view, feel good about yourself
-No enemies, not in such a relation to others, not trying to harm, not being harmed
-Energy, not blocked, not trying to forget, make abstract, ignore
-Reality, not stories, identity, real communication, strong bond, stable relations

Resistances
Hindrances and antidotes
Dangers and misconceptions, nagas vs. ideas about ourselves

Stages of practice – explain them
The how
-Words, intention
-Pleasant physical sensations, energies, attraction
-Images, of kindness, love (mention sex?)
-Memories, inc gratitude, moving words, happy times
-In place of the other, imagination
No effort of will / connection to body / be creative

Developing intention

Develping by practice

What we give attention to we become
Repeat stages we do in more detail

DO PRACTICE in 2/3 parts (cover in two weeks?),

Discuss experience
Favorite stage?
Question for reflection
Practice during the week
Outside formal practice
Set up for next week

MCI4 Meditation course, introduction: formless meditation

MCI4 Meditation course, introduction: formless meditation by Suvannavira.

Looked at the body breath metta
Can call them active practices
Active means something we try to do
Concentrate on the body the breath
Develop metta

Now we will do receptive practices
We aren’t trying to do anything
We are trying to be receptive

To practice meditation
To continue practicing
To get real benefits from practice
We need to balance active and receptive practices

In the early days of the order people did active practices
Emphasis on getting concentrated
On breaking through / overcoming hindrances

Some started to get more dissatisfied
Started to experiment with receptive practices
Tried just sitting
Remember sleeping thinking dry concentration
Danger just sitting = drifting
(Sinking and drifting)

Meditation without form
Arrive at question
What are we trying to do in receptive practices?

We are still trying to do something
Only we don’t decide what
That’s why it is formless
It doesn’t have a form or structure
No stages
No object

Rather no specific object
Or everything is our object
We try to be as aware as possible
Aware of everything
Aware of anything that happens
Aware of thoughts sensations images
Aware of smells and sounds

Two ways we can do this practice
Try to be aware of everything all at once
Or just let our attention / awareness go where it wants.
Our awareness / attention is always changing its object of awareness

So if we start thinking, try to be as aware as possible of our thought
Start feeling, try to be as aware as possible
Of sounds, as aware as possible

Like watching internal tv
So we are being active
Just not doing anything
Or rather our doing is watching
Watching without control
Being receptive to everything that is happening

DO IT

What did we focus on?
Thoughts sensations images sounds

Try to bring this receptive quality into other practices
Into life
How to do that? Ask them what they think

We can just sit as well. When?
1/ before starting meditating, when we feel restless
2/ after meditation, called sitting on when we are already concentrated
3/ on retreat when already concentrated

TRY JUST SITTING NOW OR AT END OF CLASS - 2 minutes

One more thing. Doing nothing
Helps us develop receptivity too
Spend some time each day doing nothing
Not reading thinking watching your phone etc ….
10-20. Get a cup of tea. Comfortable chair. Do nothing.
Waste time
Don’t get too strict, don’t make doing nothing into something!

Bring receptive quality into all meditations
And everyday life
A good balance to always being directed by thoughts
Of always having something to do

End of course
Now four more
Four weeks on each of these practices
To go deeper into them
To respond to your experience as you start to practice them regularly

MCM ¼ - Meditation course, middle level – the body

MCM ¼ - Meditation course, middle level – the body

Entering the world of the body!
Mindfulness of body is foundation of all meditations. Why?

What it is not: Bells, mantras, chakras, yoga, getting what you want, my meditation is…,

In general meditation is:
Raising level of awareness
Higher state on consciousness (not Krishna consciousness)
Understanding > wisdom (and compassion).
Value of communication for developing our awareness

How do we raise our level of awareness?
Not a big abstract?
Give more attention to specific objects,
Open up to things we usually ignore.

Start with being more aware of the body
And leaving world of ideas.

Ideas are valuable.
Basis of human civilisation.
Sets us apart from the animals.
But by themselves they limit us.

We receive ideas about ourselves from:
Parents, school, friends, CMI from different countries.

Different theories, religions, therapies.

Ideas like what’s cool and not cool,
Good to be independent,
Good to love your family,
Strong people never cry etc ….

Q What are our ideas about ourselves?
Ideas can include plans and strategies.
Q Are they enough?

They are limited because don’t include all of us.
Start with awareness of body.
Sensations in hand different from idea of the hand.

What do we get from being more in touch with the body?

Pleasure
Energy
Stability
Confidence
Relaxation
Contentment
Положительные эмоции
Physical dexterity

But awareness also opens up other parts of our experience.
Simply sitting eyes closed and being aware,
opens us up to other aspects of our experience.

Bits gets hidden or ignored.
We often try to ignore responses that are painful,
Or we don’t know how to deal with.
Or try to forget them.
And we lose energy.
We’ll come back to this theme later.

Or maybe sexual attraction to a married woman.
Выход есть?

1/ get in contact with more parts of ourselves.
Useful mindfulness of the body to do this.

2/ get into relationship with these parts of ourselves.
Called integration in psychological sense.
Energy gets freed up.
We don’t really know what they are.
We fear them, like a wolf at the door.
Our unconscious mind.

3/ change our relationship to these parts of ourselves.
When they’ve come to light.
We have reclaimed their energy.
We’ve become whole.
We are able to concentrate.
We can act with energy and power.

So this is what we’re trying to do.
Trying by meditation practice in general
And by starting to give more attention to our body.

The purpose of this course is starting to practice in everyday life.
What can we do?
A/ practice the mindfulness of the body meditation each day.
B/ try to maintain awareness of the body throughout the day.
This is very difficult.
C/ have times when we focus on the body.
Not a coffee break but an awareness break.
D/ look to enjoy simple activities performed with awareness.
Feeling the sensations in the feet, With each step.

Try all these next week. We’ll start with a review of what you did, And what effects did you feel.

Next week we’ll look more at the ideas,
The world we are trying to leave.
1/ stories we tell ourselves.
2/ ideas we have about ourselves and others.
3/ where these ideas about ourselves place us in hierarchies.
4/ our identity. Who we believe ourselves to be.
5/ the strategies we use in life, the habits we cultivate.

Enough for now.

Interconnectedness P4/1

Interconnectedness P4/1, by Suvannavira

Recap: Principles, or universal laws
Precepts, negative or positive, which we can practice
Practices, specific to our personal situation

Q has what we have already learned affected our life? If not why not? If yes, how?

Now fourth theme
Looked at from three angles
1/ Principle of interconnectedness
2/ precept of generosity
3/ precept of not taking what is not freely given

1/ interconnectedness:

Buddhism teaches the principle of interconnectedness
All things are interconnected

In other words this is the teaching of anatha or no self
Danger of misunderstanding no self
We conclude ethics is not important
Or develop what sangharakshita called alienated awareness

Anatha or no self means
A/ no fixed permanent self
Buddha’s challenge: find something in your experience that you can point to
And say this is my self

B/ no separate self
We experience ourselves in here
And others as objects out there
This is a delusion teaches Buddhism
Insight can be described as overcoming the distinction between self and other

Indra, the King of the Gods in Hindu Mythology, possesses a number of treasures, one of which is a net made entirely of jewels. According to the Buddha in the Gandavyuha Sutra, “All the Jewels shine in each, and each of them shine in all.”

The universe is just like this. As such, one cannot fully understand any one part of the Dharma unless one understands the whole.

Additional material: Refuted idea of the self found in the Pali canon, Reincarnation and rebirth
Q what is our experience of being interconnected or lack of connection

2/ now the positive precept of generosity

A common misapprehension is to think of insight and egolessness in abstract, even metaphysical terms rather than as comprising concretely-lived attitudes and behaviour. But realizing the truth of egolessness simply means being truly and deeply unselfish. To contemplate the principle of egolessness as some special principle that is somehow separate from our actual behaviour will leave it as far away as ever. If we find it difficult to realize the ultimate emptiness of the self, the solution is to try to be a little less selfish. The understanding comes after the experience, not before. from Sangharakshita Complete Works - volume 15: 'Pali Canon Teachings and Translations' p. 339

With open handed generosity I purify my body
I don’t know which word is better, generosity or Dana?

If we are interconnected, when we give to others we also give to ourselves
We aren’t an isolated individual
Even an isolated family or country
Broadest expression of this spirit is given by the bodhisattva vow
To gain enlightenment for the sake of all living beings
For the bodhisattva
Practising the perfection of wisdom
Gives without any perception of:
Giver, gift or recipient

What do we mean by generosity
Not just Dana
Dana to the teachers of the dharma
Six dimensions of generosity
Each higher than the previous one

I/ material things, what we usually think of as Dana
Ii/ time and energy, this is a gift
Iii/ knowledge and culture
Iv/ fearlessness, we sometimes feel secure just being in someone’s company or thinking of them
V/ life and limb, we might have to risk our lives for someone else’s sake
Vi/ the gift of the dharma itself as highest form of Dana.
Giving others the means to find liberation.

Q what is our relation to generosity?
Which form of generosity do we find easiest to practice, which hardest?

3/ finally the negative precept
I undertake the training principle of not taking what is not freely given

This precept doesn’t just refer to theft
It also refers Taking up someone’s time when the don’t want to give it
Indeed any form of manipulation of one ego getting what it wants,
Against the wishes of another,
Goes against this precept

If we allow ourselves to be manipulated by someone else,
then we are encouraging someone else to not follow this precept.
How can we know if we are manipulating someone?
It is a fault people rarely own up to.

Sangharakshita said you can’t emotionally manipulate a spiritually mature person.

We can ask ourselves, are we giving the other person an entirely free choice?
If not then we are not following this precept.
It can be very subtle.
We can see practicing this precept as staying in the gap or intermediate point, the gap.
The fundamental principle of Buddhism, at least from the philosophical point of view,
is that everything arises in dependence on conditions.
For us what is most important is that craving arises in dependence on feelings.
Or greed, hatred and delusion arise in dependence on
pleasant feelings, painful feelings and neutral feelings respectively.
But there is an intermediate point, a gap, between feeling and craving.
We can stay in this gap,
we can stay with feeling,
and have a conscious choice about what to do.
Meditating and developing a meditative state of consciousness helps us stay in the intermediate point.
When we stay in the intermediate point, then we are not taking Anything that is not freely given.

Q When do we feel most strongly manipulated?
In the family, at work or somewhere else?
How can we free ourselves?

Q How can we manipulate others less, how can we be aware of manipulating others?

Q What is our experience of being given an entirely free choice?
What is our experience of giving someone else an entirely free choice?

During the week: How can we give more Dana, how can we manipulate less?
How can we recognise our interconnectedness more deeply?

Introduction to Buddhism, 22.01.25

Introduction to Buddhism, 22.01.25

Introduce Suvannavira, Triratna, happy to be here, Buddhism

Introduce yourselves, city, why here, why am I a Buddhist?

Introduction to Buddhism, try meditating, question for reflection and sharing.

What does it mean to be a Buddhist? Taking refuge or Going to Refuge to the Three Jewels.

What are they? Buddha Dharma and Sangha.

1/ Buddha, first to gain Enlightenment.

Under Bodhi Tree, at Bodhgaya, full moon night in month of May, over 2500 years ago.

Enlightenment: common word, specific meaning in Buddhism, beyond words to describe.

Realisation of reality, absolute reality, direct, face to face, all transforming.

Escaping from the round of birth and death, and rebirth.

The Perfection of wisdom and compassion, which are inseperable.

Pinnacle of the evolution of the Individual.

2/ Dharma, the teaching of the Buddha, which leads to Enlightenment.

People often ask why we need Buddhism, we have our own culture.

Dharma also that reality itself, which Buddha realised.

3/ Sangha, spiritual community on the path, practising the Buddha’s teaching.

Many traditions, so many Sanghas.

Importance of real communication, of being totally honest.

Just as jewels are most valuable in material world,

Buddha Dharma and Sangha are most valuable in spiritual world.

To be a Buddhist we Go for Refuge to these Three Jewels, expressed by practising Dharma.

How to practice the Dharma?

One of many teachings is the threefold path of ethics, meditation and wisdom.

1/ Start at the end, wisdom, the development of wisdom.

Buddhism offers us practices for the development of wisdom.

For us this starts with questioning what we really believe.

What really makes us happy, will death be the end or is there a heaven, and many more.

2/ Meditation means being ready to improve our state of mind.

Meditation practices teach us to relate differently to our own mind,

and they invite us to experience higher states of consciousness,

which are by nature more aware states of consciousness.

3/ Buddhist teaching on ethics, where ethics is not the same as our morality,

invites us to relate differently to other people and the world, and ourselves in everyday life,

whether we act with our body, our speech or what we do with our mind.

Practising ethics supports our practice of meditation.

Practising meditation supports our practice of wisdom, of seeing what is true and false,

and living by what is true frees us from suffering.

So the threefold path of ethics, meditation and wisdom.

Now we will try meditating.

Leave the world of ideas for a direct experience of the body, access to deeper energies and emotions.

Watching the body, not doing something, trying really hard to concentrate or falling asleep.

Question for reflection and sharing.

Have you every believed in something, then stopped believing in it?

Principles of Buddhism: Third principle, P3/3 - Contentment

Principles of Buddhism: Third principle, P3/3 - Contentment,
by Suvannavira.

Our third principle is “Contentment”.
Principles are universal laws.
They are the way things really are,
The dharma.
We can try to live according to these principles

We have looked at the principles of:
Awareness and truthfulness,
Now looking at contentment.

We also have precepts.
General things we try to do.
And not to do.
To live by these principles.

We also have practices
Specific thing we try to do
With our character and circumstances
Goal of classes is to come up with practices

1/ The negative precept is
I undertake to refrain from sexual misconduct.
2/ The positive precept / version is
With Stillness, simplicity and contentment
I purify my body
It is as called a promise in Russian.

Last time we looked at the noble striving.
Search for the unborn, the deathless,
Also called enlightenment.
We asked what meaning the Nobel striving had for us.
What are the practical consequences for our lives?

This week we’re going to look at what we can do if we don’t feel ready for such a big step.
What practices can we do?

A/ guarding the doors of the senses.
This teaching comes from the Pali Canon.
It means reducing stimulation.
The more we give our attention to something,
The stronger it becomes in our mind.
The less we give our attention,
The weaker it becomes.
So guarding the doors of the senses.

B/ staying in the intermediate point.
Buddhism / the dharma tells us,
That romantic love and sexual attraction are the strongest cravings.
We often feel the strongest craving in the sexual sphere.
That’s why love can easily flip into hatred.
And we have crimes of passion.

The dharma also tells us that
Craving arises in dependence on feeling.
If we feel pleasant feeling the craving follows.
But there is an intermediate point
Between feeling and craving.
Where we can be aware of our feelings,
But without experiencing craving.
We experience our feelings but we don’t act on them.
At least we have the choice to act in them or not.
We stop being a slave to our passions.
We can reflect on the consequences of our actions,
Before acting, before doing something.

Another way of staying in the intermediate point is by feeling bored.
If you feel bored don’t start doing something,
Don’t try to escape the feeling.
Just experience the boredom,
And see what happens.
Stay with the unpleasant feeling.
Stay in the gap between feeling and craving.

We can bring this approach also to feeling pain,
As we saw with the principle of awareness.

Q how have you found reducing stimulation and feeling bored? Has it led to a richer inner life?

We can practice the positive precept,
The promise,

With stillness simplicity and contentment,
I purify my body,
By refining our states of mind.

How do we refine our states of mind?
Some things are quite practical.

1/ we can spend time in nature.
Going to the dacha.
Change our environment.

2/ being alone and doing nothing.

3/ enjoying art, meaning fine art.
The arts in the broad sense of the word.
What does a great artist communicate by his art?
In essence he communicates his higher state of consciousness.
He communicates his greater awareness.
We can be positively affected by this,
By being in contact with his art.

4/ friendship and communication.
Spiritual friendship is characterised by communication.
Open and totally truthful communication,
Often about our inner world.
Real communication can have a deep and positive effect on our state of mind.
It can liberate deeper energies.

So all these approaches can lead to us experiencing greater contentment.
Both negative and positive approaches.
As well as them leading to greater stillness and simplicity.

Q what helps you most in experiencing contentment?

Next time we’ll take a step further and look at what it means to be an anagarika.
An anagarika means someone living without a home.
Why is that part of Buddhist teaching.
Well find out next time.

Principles of Buddhism: first principle P1/2 - Awareness

Principles of Buddhism: first principle P1/2 - Awareness

We can also look at precepts for developing awareness in terms of energy.
We avoid anything which dulls or diminishes our energy.
We try to do more of anything that stimulates or intensifies our energy.

To begin with let’s note.
Some say drinking alcohol stimulates energy.
In the short term maybe it does.
But the energy doesn’t last.
After the effects of the alcohol have worn off,
We can have a big hangover.

When we are truest energetic,
Our energy stimulates more energy again.
We feel very present,
Very concentrated,
Decades later we can remember what we did in a concentrated state,
With all the details,
As if it was yesterday.

Being truly concentrated,
Not just concentration by an effort of will,
All our energies are concentrated,
They flow together.

When all the parts of purse are conscious.
Conscious of everything we call good and call bad.
Nothing is left hidden or unconscious.
When we know who we really are.
Then all our inner conflicts,
Which drain and reduce our energy,
Are overcome and resolved.
We are able to act with the whole if ourselves.
We can act with commitment.

We develop our ability to act with commitment then,
Firstly by developing our awareness,
Especially our awareness of ourselves.
Integrating all the different parts of ourselves.

Part of this process of integration is
Turning towards what we think of as bad
And turning towards painful feelings,
Even physical pain.
Turning towards things we usually try to:
- Ignore,
- Make an abstraction of,
- Escape,
- Destroy by an effort of will.

But instead we are invited to open up to them,
With warmth and awareness,
With understanding,
Trying to find out why they are there.

If we can be supremely open to ourselves,
We will be supremely open to others.
Our attitude to others reflects our attitude to ourselves.
If we give ourselves the gift of allowing us to be who we really are,
We won’t be able to not want others to experience being who they really are too.

And this is the true goal of developing our awareness.

Principles of Buddhism: First principle P1/1 - Awareness

Principles of Buddhism: First principle P1/1 - Awareness

What does the spiritual life consist of?
What do we have to do to lead the spiritual life?
What’s the essence of what we have to do?

The essence of the spiritual life is awareness.
The essence is developing awareness.
The message of the Buddha is we can develop awareness.
We can develop awareness beyond the scope of anything we can conceive of now.
In doing so we totally transform ourselves.
We become someone, who we can’t conceive of now.

So developing awareness is very important.
It is very beneficial.
Learning how to develop awareness is very important and beneficial.

We can develop awareness of:
1/ the world, objects and the so called material world.
2/ ourselves, our inner life.
3/ other people, including their inner lives.
4/ reality, what’s true and what is false.

We have precepts and practices for the development of awareness.

The precepts:

A/ the negative version of the precept,
That which we try to stop doing,
Or reduce doing.
I undertake the training principle of not clouding the mind.

The most common application of this precept is not drinking alcohol.
The morning After drinking a lot, you might not even be able to remember what you did.
But this precept also applies to anything that leads us to lose awareness.
This means losing our awareness of our body, feelings or thoughts.

B/ the positive form of this precept,
The vow,
What we are trying to start doing in it’s place,
Or increase doing.
With mindfulness clear and radiant I purify my mind.

There are our course meditation practices for developing our awareness.
Mindfulness of the body.
Mindfulness of breathing.
Just sitting and doing nothing.
Walking meditation.
Even the metta bhavana (development of loving kindness)
Can be seen as developing awareness of other people.

But even if we meditate every day,
We are not going to make much progress,
Unless we try to develop our awareness all the time, ongoingly.

We can try to be constantly aware of our body,
This is very difficult,
Constantly aware of our feelings,
Constantly aware of our thoughts.

We can try to be more aware of our character type.
We can reflect on the effects big events in our lives have had.
What if I never got married and had children for example.
We can reflect on the effects of our words and actions on other people.

So in all these ways we can develop our awareness,
We can learn to develop our awareness,
By practising the precepts.

In part two we will look at other ways of developing awareness,
Or rather looking at developing awareness from other points of view.

Five principles P0 - introduction

Five principles P0 - introduction

We are looking at five principles in Buddhism.
But firstly what is a PRINCIPLE?
According to an online dictionary:

1/ a fundamental truth or proposition,
Serving as the foundation for a system of:
Beliefs,
Behaviour,
Chain of reasoning.

2/ a general scientific theorem or law,
With numerous special applications
Across a wide field.

Here we are not looking at scientific principles,
Rather Buddhist principles.

These principles express:
A/ at the highest level,
the way things really are,
They express reality,
That the Buddha first in our world saw,
Sitting under the Bodhi tree
When he gained enlightenment.

B/ at the middle level,
The true nature of our mind,
Which we can gain access to,
Which we can experience in meditation.

C/ at the lowest level,
Which actions are skilful,
Which actions are wise,
Which lead to greater harmony in ourselves and in the world,
Which are of benefit for ourselves and others,
which lead to happiness for ourselves and others,
And which actions do not.

So it’s very important to know these principles.
But knowing them is not enough.
We have to put them into practice.
We have to make the conscious decision to put them into practice,
To live by them.

To do this every principle has a PRECEPT.
In fact they all have two versions of each precept:
1/ a negative version.
That which we are trying to stop or reduce doing.
2/ a positive version.
That which we are trying to do or develop in its place.

It is worth saying precepts are not commandments.
Precepts are not something we have to do.
No one has ordered us to follow them.
Following the precepts is something we can chose to do,
As a means to move closer to reality,
As a means to meditate more deeply,
As well as a means to get the benefits of skilful action, of wise action.

The precepts relate to body, speech and mind.
In western thought the person is divided into body and mind.
Maybe the person is divided into body, mind and soul.
In Buddhism the person is divided into body, speech and mind.
So the precepts relate to the person as a whole.
Nothing is left out.
There are precepts for the body, for speech, for the mind.

We can think of following the precepts as a skill we develop over time.
We don’t have to do everything at once.
We don’t know now what we’ll be capable of in the future,
As a consequence of our current practice.

Finally we have PRACTICES,
We have specific practices.
Precepts are not principles,
But they are still general.
Practices are specific.
What we in our situation choose to do in the conditions we are in.

So we have the principle of raising our level of awareness.
We have the negative precept of not taking substances,
Which cloud the mind.
We have the practice of not drinking alcohol.

The goal of this course is to find practices,
So we can follow the precepts.
And live by the principles,
To help us move closer to reality,
And experience all the benefits that that brings.

Investigating the perceptual situation

Investigating the perceptual situation, 25.11.24
Talk by Prakasha, notes taken by Suvannavira

On the basis of first two talks
integration, horizontal and vertical
descent and accent
concerned with shamata, absorption and integration
shamata is the basis for vipashana
vipashana means insight and clear seeing ie today’s subject
approach – investigating perceptual situation
other methods like six element practice, contemplating six elements
this method is different because not based on series of reflections
no reflections in fact, fundamental difference
not using rational mind
trying to drop concepts, conceptuality, compulsion
enter directly into experience of six senses
paying attention to the content of the six senses
simple and direct
look at this naturally when looking at a flower
we pay attention; look, see and notice
It’s as simple as that

Brief outline here of this approach
Application of the principle of the middle way
Discovered the tri visuddha mandala
Mandala (threefold) of perfect purity
We need basis of shamata, basis of absorption and concentration
so we proceed on a integrated basis

1/ contemplation of the three lakshanas
marks of existence; impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, selflessness / insubstantiality
approach; bring awareness and attention to the content of our experience
- Bodily sensations, sensing into how our bodily sense experience
- Sensing into to our feelings, pleasant or unpleasant
- Sensing into our emotional field, which ones are present and available
- Object of six senses, what we see, hear, smell, taste …
Paying attention to what we experience in this basic and fundamental way
Four contents of awareness, taught in Satipatthana sutta
What the Buddha taught,
entering into those explorations and investigations
This is basis for achieving shamata or tranquility, paying attention
On this basis we can develop Vipashyana, insight, clear seeing
On that basis we look and see
We listen and hear
That is the quality of Vipashayana
So we need to distinguish the object from our concepts around it
Direct experience and how we conceptualise that experience
they are different
We can be aware of any conceptualisation that takes place
But we are trying to drop that conceptualisation
Trying to resolve the compulsions that drive it
So we can be present with our direct experience
Dropping of conceptualisation is needed for Insight to arise
Drop the veils that are there
Conceptualisation veils what is direct and immediate
We are paying attention to our sense object and dropping our assumptions
Call it a chair or table
Have names and labels
What actually are they?
Notice their shape or form
So we enter into the direct sensory content
Start to notice things as if for the first time
Seeing clearly
Like becoming a child again, I never saw that before
Look as if we have never seen it before, innocence
We are not reflecting on the three lakshanas
Not reflecting on impermanence, not entering into the idea of transitoriness
We try to notice change
The change in our experience
The flow of sensations, of feelings and emotions
Not conceptualising the change, we’re noticing the change
We are being with the change, we ourselves are the change.
Noticing the hedonic tone of how it feels
How does our experience feel, is it pleasant, unpleasant or neutral
Every feeling wants to be felt, known, let our feelings tell us
It would like to tell you so listen
All the time we are selfing, conceptualising, interpreting our experience
we can’t just stop that
More aware of how we interpret our experience, of the selfing taking place
We evaluate our experience, I had a good meditation
How is it when we pay direct attention to what is happening
So notice how we construct and interpret our self view
A habitual ongoing story
This is me, my experience, who I am, tired stories sometimes
Maintains our identity, let’s loosen it up
Contemplation is paying attention to how things directly are
Attempting to drop concepts and emotional attachments
IE Jneya and klesha varana
Jneya is bias, concept, klesha is the compulsion, selfing,
At least recognise they are there, the extent the inform our experience
When the veils part, we can enter more fully directly, intimately into our direct experience
So the sense content reveals its true nature
We can see how it is without our conceptual overlay
We can recognise the inherent transitoriness of our experience
We are change, Change is there all the time
We can recognise the feeling content, feeling is there all the time
Content of our experience is insubstantial, it is fleeting, we can’t hold onto it
So that is the insubstantiality
Without the veils, everything reveals itself just as it is
It always has been just as it is
Everything is just as it is all the time, nothing new needs to happen
We are constantly overlaying that, which needs to drop away
This approach introduces us to three gateways of liberation, Vimoksha mukkhas
Vimokkha is liberation, mukkha is an entrance / doorway
Contemplate impermanence and insight arises > signless samadhi

Sangha Day Festival: four

Sangha Day Festival: four

Welcome back to our sangha day
Theme how do we make deep changes
By practice of sangha

Deep changes mean a turning about in the deepest seat of consciousness
A moment when the most profound change takes place
An unalterable change in the direct of life
A new destiny
Free of the sufferings of everyday life
Of impermanence even

The dharma calls this profound change
entering the stream to enlightenment
Stream entry for short
It a profound insight
Or penetrate our first into the true nature of things
We understand the state of a Buddha from the inside

It happens when we break three fetters
Fetters that bind us to samsara
To ordinary worldly life
To our usual destiny

How do we break the fetters
Very important question
We usually think about breaking the fetters by practising the dharma
Sangharakshita’s great contribution to Buddhism
Is teaching we can break the fetters by practising sangha.
By spiritual friendship
By communication

Already looked at first fetter

Now second fetter
Silabbata paramasha
Dependence on rites and rituals,
And as ends in themselves
Maybe dependence on ethical observances and rituals

Firstly important to say
Ethics is important
Rituals, puja and refuges and precepts are important
But they become a fetter if the become an end in themselves

What does this mean?
How do they become ends in themselves?
When no attention give to the state of mind we do them in
Maybe we chant mantras mechanically
We expect them to work automatically
Maybe we are proud of ourselves because of our practice
For example for meditating a lot
Or living like a monk
Maybe we wear a social mask
Difference between how we present ourselves
And how we really are
Maybe we have a guilty secret
In any case There is a split between
our appearance and our internal world

Our spiritual life exists only on the surface
Only on the outside

On the psychological level sangharakshita calls this fetter the fetter of superficiality

Why does he do this?
He saw the deeper meaning of the fetter
The principle
The universal law
And he could translate it
And understand this fetter means superficiality
Superficial practice or anything else

Good question for us
Why are we doing this practice
How will it help our spiritual development
What does it really mean

Why do we act superficiality?
Stop and think

Because we’re divided
How are we divided?

Between our surface and our depths
Between outer and inner
Often divided between reason and emotion
Divided between what others expect of us and what we really want
Maybe we don’t know what we really want
One part takes a step forward
Another part takes a step back
Always feel a sense of weakness
Never feel a sense of strength, wholeness

When we know how we are divided
We will also know how to break this fetter

So how do we break this fetter?
Sangharakshita says by commitment
Commitment is a hard word to translate
Not обязательство
Something we must do
For the sake of someone else

Dictionary: state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity.
Our cause or activity is spiritual development.
So in this context what happens when we’re committed to
Spiritual friendship,
to communication?

We have such a great opportunity
Triratna is an international community
So all sorts of different people
Some we feel close and others who are totally different
Some who support mr trump
Others Madame Harris
Some agree with reverend paisley
Others agree with Gerry adams
Some see a international conflict from one point of view
Some see it from the other point of view

Commitment in the sangha means
1/ discussing not arguing
2/ not stopping trying to communicate
We can say communication is the essence of sangha
No communication means no sangha
If we stop trying to communicate we leave the sangha

So how do we do this?
How do we manage to commit ourselves to communication?

We need to be whole to commit ourselves
We need to be integrated
Vessantara = a universe within
How can we become a universe within
We do so by being in communication with the universe without
How do we do that?

Parable of the blind men and the elephant
From the Pali canon
Probably taught by Buddha himself

Some blind men were asked to describe an elephant
They were all led to part of an elephant
And the king asked them to say
What is an elephant?

Some were by his head
His ears
His trunk
His legs
His stomach
His bottom
His tail
All touched the elephant somewhere and described the elephant differently
And human nature being such
Then they began fighting with their fists

What do we need to do to discuss not argue?
To stop being blind
To communicate in the sangha?

We need to go to another part of the elephant
A second part of the elephant
Touch another part of the elephant
To be prepared to feel things from another point of view
We need to touch every part of the elephant
And to feel the elephant from all the points of view

We will expand our point of view
See the multi dimensional reality of elephant

In this way
Become whole
Become integrated
Become a universe within
Because we are in communication with the universe without
All of it
Become capable to commit ourselves fully

Stop being superficial
Stop being weak, spiritually weak
Stop being split, stop being divided
Surface and depths
Inner and outer
Between reason and emotion
Between what we think others want from us and who we really are

Our actions
Whether ethical observances
Or rituals or anything else
Will become one with the state of mind we do them in
We’ll be whole
We’ll be strong
And we will break the fetter and fetters
Holding us back from what is most valuable in life

Sangha Day Festival: three

Sangha Day Festival: three

Welcome back to our sangha day
Theme how do we make deep changes
By practice of sangha
Spiritual community
Spiritual friendship
Communication

Deep changes mean a turning about in the deepest seat of consciousness
An unalterable change in the direct of life
A new destiny

The dharma calls this entering the stream to enlightenment
Stream entry for short
It happens when we gain insight
Or penetrate our first into the true nature of things
Our first penetration to the state of a Buddha

It happens when we break three fetters
Fetters that bind us to samsara
To ordinary worldly life

We usually think about breaking the fetters by practising the dharma
Sangharakshita’s great contribution to Buddhism
Is teaching we can break the fetters by practising sangha.
By spiritual friendship
By communication

Already looked at first fetter

Now second fetter
Silavrata paramartha
Dependence on rites and rituals as ends in themselves
Maybe dependence on ethical observances and rituals

Ethics is important
Rituals, puja and refuges and precepts are important
But they become a fetter if the become an end in themselves

How do they become ends in themselves?
When no attention give to the state of mind we do them in
Maybe we chant mantras mechanically
Maybe we are proud of ourselves living like a monk
Maybe we wear a social mask
There is a split between our appearance and our internal world

Our spiritual life exists only on the surface
Only on the outside

On the psychological level sangharakshita calls this fetter the fetter of superficiality

Why do we act superficiality?
Because we’re divided
Between our surface and our depths
Between outer and inner
Often divided between reason and emotion
Divided between what others expect of us and what we really want
Maybe we don’t know what we really want
One part takes a step forward
Another part takes a step back
Always feel a sense of weakness
Never feel a sense of strength

So how do we break this fetter?
Sangharakshita says by commitment
Commitment is a hard word to translate
Not обязательство

Dictionary: state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity.
Our cause or activity is spiritual development.
So in this context what happens when we’re committed to
Spiritual friendship,
to communication?

First to point out Triratna is an international community
So all sorts of different people
Some we feel close and others who are totally different
Some who support mr trump
Others Madame Harris
Some agree with reverend paisley
Others agree with Gerry adams
Some see a war from one side’s point of view
Some see it from the other side’s point of view

Commitment in the sangha means
1/ discussing not arguing
2/ not falling out, not stopping trying to communicate
We can say communication is the essence of sangha
No communication means no sangha

We need to be whole to commit ourselves
We need to be integrated
Vessantara = a universe within
How can we become a Vessantara?
What does it mean to be whole?

It means being bigger than our limited self
Than our ego
Our limited self feels really close to some people
Doesn’t feel close to others

How do we discuss not argue?
How do we avoid falling out
Parable of the blind men and the elephant
From the Pali canon
Probably taught by Buddha himself

Some blind men were asked to describe an elephant
Some were by his head
His ears, His trunk, His legs, His stomach, His bottom, His tail
All touched the elephant somewhere and described the elephant differently
Then they began fighting with their fists

What do we need to do to discuss not argue?
We need to go to another part of the elephant
A second part of the elephant
Touch another part of the elephant
To be prepared to feel things from another point of view
We need to touch every part of the elephant
And to feel the elephant from all the points of view

We will expand our point of view
Become whole
Become integrated
Become a universe within
Become capable to commit ourselves fully

Stop being superficial
Stop being weak, spiritually weak
Stop being split
Surface and depths
Inner and outer
Between reason and emotion
Between what we think others want from us and who we really are
Our actions
Whether ethical observances
Or rituals or anything else
Will become one with the state of mind we do them in
And we will break the fetter and fetters
Holding us back from making the deepest and most meaningful changes in life
Holding us back from having the most meaningful life

Sangha Day Festival: one

Sangha Day Festival: one

What is our theme today?
Becoming more aware is the growing point of the spiritual life.
When we become more aware we enter a higher state of consciousness.
Dharma has a lot to say about higher states of consciousness.

We enter higher states of consciousness when we enter dhyana.
Dhyana - states of meditative concentration.

I’ll give a quick summary to give an overview to the spiritual path.

There are four dhyanas of the world of form.
I’ll say four images that express these dhyanas.
1/ Soap powder perfectly mixed with water.
2/ a lake with an underground spring.
3/ A lotus flower submerged in a lake.
4/ a freshly bathed man covered head to toe in a white sheet.
Each higher dhyana corresponds to a higher state of consciousness.
Although don’t take them too literally.
They are not like separate steps on a staircase.

The the arupa dhyana, of the formless world.
1/ sphere of infinite space.
2/ sphere of infinite consciousness.
3/ no-thing-ness.
4/ neither perception nor none perception.

After this comes insight or penetration
We change from the mundane path to the transcendental path
We see things as they really are
It has a massive effect on us
A turning about in the deepest seat of consciousness.
We enter the stream leading to enlightenment
We enter the tigers cave
After we enter we never come out.
Once we enter the stream we can’t fall back
We become destined to enlightenment

Here there are stages as well
The stages correspond to states of consciousness
Where the intensity of insight or penetration gets progressively stronger
1/ the stream entrant gains enlightenment within seven lifetimes
2/ the once returner gains enlightenment in this life or the next
3/ the non returner gains enlightenment in this life or in a heavenly state after death.
The heavenly state corresponds to states of dhyana.
4/ the Arahant has gained enlightenment here and now.
Later in Buddhist history the term arahant had a corrupted meaning.
A person who gained enlightenment for himself alone
So an arahant was not a bodhisattva
Here we use arahant in its uncorrupted meaning.

We have mapped out states of consciousness from the first dhyana till the arahant.

The pivotal point of the spiritual life is stream entry.
How do we become a stream entrant?
We do so by breaking the three fetters.
How do we break the three fetters?

We usually look at this question through the lens of practising the dharma.
Today we will look through the lens of practising sangha, the spiritual community.

Dharma and sangha on the same level
On the kesa show three jewels
Greatest contribution to Buddhism
Talking about the value of sangha
Of spiritual community
Of spiritual friendship
Of communication

So our theme for our festival of the sangha
How can we practice sangha to gain insight
So as to enter the stream
So as to make the greatest possible positive change

How to do a retreat at home over the New Year’s holidays?

How to do a retreat at home over the New Year’s holidays?

Firstly, what is a retreat?

It’s a time dedicated to existing more than doing.

The New Year’s holidays are an ideal time to do a retreat at home.

But it is easy to fill up all our free time.

How to keep our time free?

Switch off your phone, it can feel like a great relief.

For necessary communication, switch it on a few times a day, morning and evening.

Let friends and family know what you are doing.

Better to arrange meetings for tomorrow not today,

so you know you have the day for the retreat.

Some meetings can be put off till after the holidays.

Alcohol – best avoid it altogether, to feel brighter and clearer.

Sex – try having some time without any sexual stimulation, see what it feels like.

So now we have kept our time free, what shall we do.

Meditate each day, mornings and evenings.

Let experiencing your inner world be your activity.

Have time to do nothing.

Avoid stimulation, give time for simple pleasures.

Spend time simply looking at something.

Take time to do one thing at a time, just drink a cup of tea.

Watch what is happening around you, how the leaves on the plants are?

Have time to reflect, about the past year and the year ahead.

Sometimes being with painful memories in times of peace and warmth can be healing.

Whatever we give our attention to leaves an impression on us, it creates our karma, choose it wisely.

If you have fond these reflections useful,

why not pass them on to friends and family with a repost,

so they can benefit from them too?

More reflections here: https://suvannavira.blogspot.com

Notes on the 12 links

12 links

Salute the shine, time dedicated to spiritual progress, not worldly interests

Homage to the three jewels with body speach and mind

Mindfulness of the body, foundation of practice and development of awareness

Report back, expressing our experience to become more aware of it

Mindfulness of feelings, shorter,

report back, three parts of the body, pleasant or painful, one word to describe each

3 qualities; interest/ curiosity, closeness/warmth, freedom/spontanaeity

to overcome distraction, abstraction and control

12 links

Unite / integrate knowledge and personal experience

To become whole, unify our will and energy

See how conditioned co-production works in our lives

Looking at feeling, craving , attachment in our lives, one concrete example

Maybe easier to start at the end

What attachment are we considering?

What is the craving behind it, powering it?

What is the feeling we crave for?

Importance of expressing personal experience, listening to others, and learning from them

Full awareness > transformation, how to transform myself > full awareness

Themes

Material things and satisfaction

Views, which ones are we attached to

Ethics and practices

Ourselves, душа

Refuges and precepts to close, now we have the teaching dedication to practice it

to transform ourselves and our lives on all levels and in all dimensions

Notes on teaching the Metta Bhavana meditation

Notes on teaching the Metta Bhavana meditation

About me; meditation 1990, OM in Triratna 1994, teaching 2002

Practice of meditation; like a musical instrument, states of mind and qualities, enlightenment

-- Capable of new experience we can’t now imagine, we often limit ourselves, need faith, intention

-- And need to be rooted in current experience, discover who we really are,

Hidden by; controlling our emotions, avoiding pain, ideas about ourselves, external activity

Working on yourself; means how we change;

Developing an emotionally and positive concentrated state of mind not by wilful suppression of unpleasant emotions and escaping unpleasant feelings but by:

-- Choosing to focus on the positive not the negative

Developing our awareness to be able to make those kinds of choices.

Not on autopilot.

Means we can take responsibility for our mental and emotional states.

Not blame others for what we feel.

-- Leads to states of openness, receptivity, love and compassion

Which allow positive, creative communication and improved relations

In conflicts capable of keeping positive states, aware and concentrated

Thinking quickly to make good decisions

Why continue coming?

How to practice in everyday life, how our everyday lives support our meditation

Единомышленники, spiritual friendship, support

Hindrances arise over time, after a few months and 10 years ….

Spiritual development is a long path, many stages, different needs later

Highest development of meditation is E, path to E is called the Dharma, essence of Buddhism

Triratna; international Buddhist community practising together

While meditating;

What happens to the experience of your body, your feelings, emotions, thoughts while meditating

What are the effects, changes

We can share experiences afterwards

Tip, don’t spend the while meditation thinking about it

Emphasis, exploring experience and discovering change