Chapter 2 of “Five Elements Five Dakinis”
Tibetan deity practice: enacting a drama Ken: This morning we’re going to put most of our attention on earth dakini. Before we go there I want to talk a bit more on how we do these meditations. In the Tibetan tradition one of the principles techniques for practice is yidam or deity practice in which […]
Chapter 2 of “Mahayana Mind Training”
The roots of Mahayana mind training Ken: Good morning. So today we start into the instruction for Mahayana Mind Training. And this morning I want to cover three topics: where this teaching comes from; why do we do it; and then the first of the seven points, which is groundwork. This may not be a […]
Chapter 2 of “Pointing Out Instructions”
A review of the retreat booklet Ken: Okay. On page 5 [PDF], the Intention on Waking, which actually pairs with the Intention on Sleeping, on page 55, are ways to frame your day. One could use any variety of intentions, but here these are both formulated in terms of bodhicitta or awakening mind. That’s a […]
Chapter 2 of “The Warrior’s Solution”
Attention, intention, and presence Ken: This morning— Joe: Good morning. Ken: No. This morning. [Laughter] Good morning, Joe. We’ll get into this chorus and response thing in a minute. This morning we want to cover three topics. A bit more about intention and the practice of intending. The first set of meditations, to work with […]
Chapter 3 of “Chö: Cutting Through the Thickets of Thinking”
A review of the ritual Ken: Let me review here. Doing the ritual and we’re going to be building this up in stages. And some of it we’ll do in English, and some of it I’ll do in Tibetan but I’ll make sure that you are aware of what you are meant to be doing […]
Chapter 2 of “Death: Friend or Foe?”
Everything changes, nothing stays the same Ken: The theme that we’re working with right now is Everything changes, nothing stays the same. And one of the more famous poems in English on this theme is by Percy Bysshe Shelley called Ozymandias. A sonnet that he wrote: I met a traveller from an antique landWho said: […]
Chapter 2 of “Living Awake: Surviving Stressful Times”
A review Ken: We have covered a few important ideas, and I’d like to just review some of them. This question, “How do I experience this, and be at peace at the same time?” It’s one of those relatively simple formulations which allows you to go as deep as you wish into your own experience. […]
Chapter 2 of “Living Awake: Who Am I?”
An introductory story Ken: We’re going to do a series of meditations, more or less guided meditations. Just to get us oriented, Mullah Nasrudin had been given a check and he went to the bank to cash it. The teller said, “I’m sorry but we’ll need some ID.” And Mullah Nasrudin said, “What do you […]
Chapter 2 of “Buddhahood Without Meditation”
Student experiences with doing nothing Ken: What’s it like doing nothing? Donna? Donna: Boring. Every time I would get to the point of starting to feel nothingness or something, something would happen. Either I would go into this angst, panic or fear place and as I pop back out, I start doing the instructions more. […]
Chapter 2 of “There Is No Enemy”
The tale of the talking dog Ken: Did I tell you about the talking dog? Student: Not in a long time. Ken: Pardon? Student: Not in a long time. Ken: Oh, well there was a guy driving around the backwoods of Tennessee and as he was driving around he went through a small town and […]
Chapter 2 of “Stalking Death”
The various forms of duality Ken: All that appears and exists, All of samsara and nirvana, Has one ground, two paths, and two results. Everything is the expression of awareness and ignorance. The Tantra that Teaches the Great Perfection as Samantabhadra’s Unobstructed Awakened Mind, Gongpa Zangthal Gyi Gyü There is false duality, and there is […]
Chapter 2 of “Meditating on the Four Immeasurables”
Loving-kindness Ken: At the level of emotion, loving-kindness is simply the wish that others be happy. In keeping with the way that we’re approaching this, we engender that wish for ourselves. The meditation process is exactly what we’ve done with equanimity, except you’re going to work with these four lines. I suggest you do the […]
Chapter 2 of “Eightfold Path”
“Right” is a poor translation Ken: Okay, this is the second talk on the eightfold path. What is it May 24th, right? 2010 at Insight L.A. Okay. Last week I started talking about the eightfold path and a couple of points I think bear repeating. The first is that when we talk about the eightfold […]
Chapter 2 of “Releasing Emotional Reactions”
The quality of knowing Ken: This morning I want to do two things. First is to define a context a bit more extensively for our practice. And second is to go through the particular technique that we’ll be working with today, which is based on the Full Awareness of Breathing. Now, when we approach practice, […]
Chapter 2 of “A Trackless Path II”
Five-step mindfulness practice Student: I had a question about the five-step mindfulness practice. Ken: Yes. Student: I’ll have a strong reaction to something and decide that I’m gonna work with it using that. And as I start, suddenly it’s like nothing. It’s like, okay, that must not have been a problem. I was just, you […]
