A Trackless Path II
In this unstructured retreat, Ken guides experienced meditators through the subtleties of practice and awakening. Exploring themes such as energy transformation, mahamudra, and the clarity of direct experience, it provides practical tools and profound insights to deepen meditation and navigate the complexities of life with presence and equanimity.
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1. Setting the Course: Intention and Practice
Ken opens the second year of A Trackless Path by encouraging participants to clarify their intentions and bring focus to their meditation practices. Topics covered include the significance of personal practice choices, daily interviews to refine direction, and the importance of silence in deepening one’s experience.
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2. The Five-Step Mindfulness Practice as a Progression
Ken unpacks the dynamics of the five-step mindfulness practice, emphasizing its organic progression rather than a rigid sequence. “The steps evolve out of each other,” he notes, as he explores how awareness leads to calm and clarity. Topics covered include managing reactivity and navigating deeper layers of experience in practice.
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3. Embracing the Human Condition
Ken reflects on global changes in spiritual practice, noting a shift from transcending the human condition to embracing it. “How do I live this experience in a way where I am not struggling with what arises?” he asks. Topics covered include cultural adaptations of Buddhism, modern approaches to suffering, and cultivating direct awareness practices.
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4. Questioning Tradition: Finding Your Own Path in Practice
Ken encourages students to question the frameworks they’ve inherited and articulate their own spiritual questions. “Develop the skills to enter the unknown,” he says, pointing to the power of exploring deeply personal motivations. Topics covered include navigating moral frameworks, layers of ordination, and relating to reactive and non-reactive emotions in practice.
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5. Navigating Pain: Lessons from Posture, Hardness, and Softness
Ken offers practical guidance on dealing with pain in meditation, emphasizing the distinction between stretching and stressing. Drawing on vivid metaphors like the Tibetan leather bag, he explores the risks of hardening the body and mind. Topics covered include working with posture, understanding emotional hardness, and embracing resilience in practice.
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6. Breaking the Cycle: Tracking, Non-Conceptual Awareness, and Chatter
Ken discusses the pitfalls of tracking arising and fading phenomena in meditation, describing it as “staying in the observer mind.” He contrasts this with cultivating non-conceptual awareness through cutting the continuity of chatter. Topics covered include managing subconscious gossip, mantra practice, and entering a clear, open mind.
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7. Emotions as Practice: Working with Warmth, Joy, and Resistance
Ken guides participants in working with emotional energy in meditation, urging them to connect with appreciation and warmth. “Let my heart turn to practice; let practice become a path,” he quotes. Topics covered include the role of ritual, appreciation in practice, and encountering resistance with openness.
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8. The Power of Faith on the Spiritual Path
Ken delves into the relationship between longing, pain, and faith, describing longing as the force that drives transformation. “Becoming a refugee requires being willing to meet whatever one experiences,” he explains. Topics covered include the dynamics of refuge, faith, and the pain of desiring connection.
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9. Understanding Metaphors in Buddhist Teachings
Ken examines the use of metaphors like war and farming in Buddhist teachings, revealing their influence on how we relate to practice and life. “Every metaphor opens one way of thinking while closing another,” he reflects. Topics covered include evolving metaphors in modern practice and finding clarity beyond conceptual frameworks.
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10. Ganges Mahamudra: Devotion and the Unfolding of Natural Clarity
Ken reflects on the nuances of the Ganges Mahamudra, emphasizing the subtleties of devotion, personal experience, and the role of pointing-out instructions. “Mahamudra evolves in you,” he notes, stressing the importance of stable attention. Topics covered include key verses, translation insights, and practice guidance for cultivating clarity.
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11. Four Pitfalls in Mahamudra Practice
Ken addresses the misconceptions that arise when emptiness is treated as a concept rather than an experiential state. “Thoughts aren’t the problem; thinking is,” he reminds. Topics covered include the nature of emptiness, resting deeply in experience, and avoiding conceptual traps in practice.
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12. Energy Transformation Practices: Vitality, Stability and Risks
Ken discusses energy transformation techniques as tools to overcome mental turbulence and stabilize awareness. From foundational practices to advanced techniques, he highlights their capacity to clear obscurations and deepen meditation. Topics covered include inclusive attention, four immeasurables, and the risks of advanced energy practices.
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13. The Wisdom Experience of Ever-Present Good
Ken unpacks Jigme Lingpa’s teachings, emphasizing direct experience over conceptual understanding. “Awakening mind is free from discarding or attaining,” he shares, as he explores clarity, emotional drives, and the challenges of resting deeply. Topics covered include energy transformation, equanimity, and the role of emotion in practice.
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14. Sky-Gazing: A Powerful Path to Clarity and Energy
Ken guides participants in the practice of sky-gazing, emphasizing active engagement over passivity. “When you look at space, seeing stops,” he notes, exploring its transformative impact on thought and presence. Topics covered include stages of sky-gazing, the role of light and energy, and distinguishing clarity from dullness.
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15. Meeting Life Fully: Equanimity, Joy, and the Full Catastrophe
Ken explores what it means to meet life fully, drawing on examples of grief and equanimity. “Life is what we experience, not more, not less,” he shares, connecting profound emotions with practice. Topics covered include the role of grief in compassion, equanimity, and engaging with life’s complexities.
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16. Teaching as a Role: Creating Spaces for Learning
Ken examines teaching as a dynamic role, emphasizing the importance of creating environments where students discover their own wisdom. “Teaching isn’t about what you say—it’s about what they hear,” he notes. Topics covered include creating learning spaces, the role of trust, and fostering self-directed inquiry.
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17. Mind-Killing: Reclaiming Experience from Reactive Patterns
Ken uncovers how cultural, institutional, and internal mechanisms undermine our connection to experience, calling it “mind-killing.” “Spiritual practice is about knowing and acting on our own experience,” he emphasizes. Topics covered include reactive patterns, equanimity, and the balance between external and internal influences.