As a monk, I bring a strong commitment, along with the renunciate flavor, to the classic Buddhist teachings. I play with ideas, with humor and a current way of expressing the teachings, but I don't dilute them.
Sitting in a field of fifty to eighty people really starts my mind sparking. Since I don't prepare my talks ahead of time, I find myself listening to what I'm saying along with everyone else. This leaves a lot of room for the Dhamma to come up. Just having eighty people listening to me is enough to engage me, stimulate me, and create a nice flow of energy. The actual process of teaching evokes ideas that even I did not realize were being held somewhere in my mind.
Different teaching situations offer their own unique value. In retreat, you are able to build a cohesive and comprehensive body of the teachings. When people are not on retreat and come for one session, it opens a different window. They are more spontaneous and I'm given the chance to contact them in ways that are closer to their "daily-life mind." This brings up surprises and interesting opportunities for me to learn even more.
I'm continually struck by how important it is to establish a foundation of morality, commitment, and a sense of personal values for the Vipassana teachings to rest upon. Personal values have to be more than ideas. They have to actually work for us, to be genuinely felt in our lives. We can't bluff our way into insight. The investigative path is an intimate experience that empowers our individuality in a way that is not egocentric. Vipassana encourages transpersonal individuality rather than ego enhancement. It allow for a spacious authenticity to replace a defended personality.
Refuge is refuge in balance and harmony, what we have in common, rather than the individual. The precepts are a voluntary taking on of training rules for mindfulness.
Recollecting, stabilizing and spreading awareness over ethical sensitivity allows action in stillness and stillness in action. Thinking is just the breath of the brain, arising and passing. Pausing to find the still point.
Q1 OO:04 Does kamma in its wider implication presume the concept of rebirth? Q2 17:09 Doesn’t the need for goal orientedness in life work against practice? Q3 21:34 During meditation can I approach a personal issue that requires attention? Q4 26:17 Is it possible to be fully present with an open heart? Could you explain that please? Q5 29:35 Does slow mean mindful? Isn’t it intention that’s important? Q6 33:58 Could you talk more about annata and self please? Q7 20:14 Q8 Why does standing meditation seem more effective than sitting? Is there a time or situation where standing is recommended over other postures? Q9 43:58 How can I give back living more than I take living in Switzerland? Q10 45:22 In developing samadhi, is it possible to have periods where we have to refocus more on bodily sensations and drop the external? Q11 48:19 How can we reflect on God and Christ in dhamma practice? Q12 51:09 Restlessness is my most frequent hindrance. How do I deal with it? Q13 52:19 I contemplate death daily and often get a heavy heart about being separated from my two children. How can I come to peace with that? Q14 57:38 Could you do a brief summary of your top five wisdoms? Q15 1:03:52 If QiGong is so relaxing and low energy why do I sweat?
Practice means moving out and returning repeatedly, discovering the end of the world – our kammic predicament - that must be experienced internally, “in this very body”.
Recognizing the primary importance of the internal domain is essential for right view. Unlike other species we can cultivate love and wisdom, to benefit all creatures coming after us.
Meditation instructions are often interpreted as paying pointed attention. But wide attention allows energy and mind to decompress. Cultivating a cool awareness of the body is the key to this.
Q1 00:12 Can you say more about stream entry. What is it? Q2 19:26 Are open awareness and presence the same? Is citta who we essentially are? Q3 22:39 I find staying with the breath difficult and more conducive to sleepiness than to gratefulness. What can I do? Q4 26:59 I fight sloth and torpor that seems to be due to self inflicted isolation. Q5 31:10 Can you say more about QiGong? Why do you do this rather than yoga asanas? Q6 36:37 What is the optimal time of day to practice? Q7 38:04 A 74 year old relative is developing dementia and Altzheimers. What is happening to the mind here? Could a practice be developed in this case? Q8 46:01 How do we meet feelings of fear? Or unwanted sexual attention? Q9 47:46 How can I meet the pain caused by my father who died when I was nine? I’d like to forgive him. Q10 51:08 Can you speak more about relational field and the experience of being a human among human beings? Q11 1:04:10 What is the difference between sankara and latent tendencies?
