Berlin Dharma
Wednesday Online Sitting
3 February
-"How is the heart...?"
-as dharma students, a good question to ask as we go through our days is: "how is the heart…."
-we check in, as we go through our experiences of daily life….
-we see when we are caught in painful mind states/emotions ... when the heart is blocked…..
-establish/maintain/put to good use....
-our meditation practice enables us to be able to check in with the heart during the course of the day....
-we establish mindfulness of the breath in meditation....
-we seek to maintain....mindfulness of the breath/body ... present moment awareness ... in the course of the day....
-maintaining ourselves in the present moment we put to good use our mindfulness by seeing discerning the quality of the mind & heart....
-awareness of mind states/emotions....
-when we are afflicted with a painful mind state/emotion, we bring awareness to the emotion.....
-this is a simple awareness ... putting the mind for a few seconds on the emotion as it manifests as a felt sense in the body....
-naming the emotion....
-being the observer....
-having a relationship to the emotion in which there is space....
-ABC....
-a good way to remember the practice of bringing awareness:
A-Awareness …
-being aware of the emotion...
B-Breath....
-after a few moments putting the mind on the breath.....
C-Compassion.....
-checking into the heart ... cultivating compassion for ourselves.....
-setting intention.....
-after bringing awareness (ABC) to an emotional state, we can set a skillful intention for moving forward....
-skillful intention is intention informed by the qualities of the heart....
-compassion....
-lovingkindness....
-setting intention.....
-setting intention includes two main components:
-fabrication ... articulating the intention using thinking.....
-felt sense .... connecting to a felt sense of compassion/lovingkindness....
-reading.....
-some good references for deepening in understanding of the Buddha's teachings....
-"Refuge" (Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
-"Meditations" (Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
-listening….
-teacher donations....
-ways you can make a donation to the teacher:
-PayPal .... directly by using the address: pdoobinin@gmail.com (preferred)....
-PayPal or credit card ... by using the button on the Support page.....
Thank you! Your generosity is very much appreciated!
