For this month’s regular open-audience, open-discussion “Ask Us Anything LIVE” — continuing discussions about meditation and related topics — Denny and I chat with meditation teacher Beth Upton most significantly about the Dependent Origination link Nāmarūpa, or Materiality and Mentality, which, according to Wikipedia, is “used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of aContinue reading “Materiality And Mentality | (7/27/2021 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Denny K Miu And Guest Beth Upton)”
Category Archives: meditation
An Integrating Presence Meditation: Breathing Nine Beneficial Energies Into Embodiment — June 29, 2021 At Fat Cat Longevity
In this (now recorded) mediation we worked with breath to embody the beneficial energies of:
• Smiling
• Our most relaxed experience
• Gratitude [and/or appreciation and thankfulness]
• Forgiveness
• Service
• Loving-kindness
• Compassion
• (Vicarious) joy [and/or gladness]
• Equanimity
• [Additional beneficial energies not mentioned:]
◦ various ideal blessings
◦ energies from (being around) your spiritual entourage
◦ goodness
◦ generosity
Form And Formless | (6/29/2021 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Denny K Miu)
For this month’s regular open-audience, open-discussion “Ask Us Anything LIVE” — continuing discussions about meditation and related topics — Denny draws from, and summarizes the teaching of Shifu Ji Ru to link together the Four Great Elements, Four “Mighty” Postures, Four Right Knowings, Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Three (or Four) Dharma Seals, and Three Gates of Liberation.
June 2021 Full Moon Dhamma Gathering: Truth
Due to a major interest in truth, I answered the call to read a Sutta at Beth Upton’s June 2021 full moon gathering. Each of these monthly online get-togethers explores a different topic and offers “a chance to deepen our connections with each other through group meditation and Dhamma discussion.”
Amongst other things, this blog post includes the text I read along with a passage from another text I considered reading; relevant quotes about truth; the main questions we explored and some we did not
An Integrating Presence Meditation: Classic Mindfulness Imagery — June 2, 2021 At Fat Cat Longevity
This semi-formal guided meditation practice include these classic mindfulness images and similes:
◦ a relaxed cowherd after the harvest
◦ surgeons probe gathering information before action
◦ ploughshare to prep the ground for wisdom
◦ elephant’s neck supporting the head of wisdom while turning the full body to look, not just the head, for full attention
◦ climbing a platform with detachment for an broader perspective and overview
◦ town gatekeeper knowing who to keep out and able to direct who comes in
◦ wheel spokes connecting the hub of the body to the outside of the wheel of our experiences while helping to steer
◦ hitching post to tame and keep animals from wandering off all the while the strong post remains unmoved
◦ balancing aspect like walking with bowl of oil atop the head
Towards Everyday Implementation Of The Universal Beautiful Mental Factors
Dhamma and meditation teacher Beth Upton — who’s other chats I’ve posted — recently held a three part event with Dharma Gates called “Truth, Suffering and Liberation”. I’ve edited out most everything except my responses to Beth’s questions and her responses to me so please watch the full video at the end of this post especially if requiring more context.
Beth read an excerpt of the Aggañña Sutta about the origin of human kind on planet earth then linked our suffering, caused by the defilements (dramatic depicted in the sutta) to the Buddha’s antidote: the The Universal Beautiful Mental Factors (sobhanasādhāraṇa). Beth then offered a short teaching followed by a guided meditation and discussion on her condensed and more practical version of these Mental Factors from the Abhidhamma which are:
• Faith
• Mindfulness
• Non-greed
• Non-hatred
• Morality
• Balance
• Tranquility
• Lightness
• Softness
• Flexibility
• Uprightness/Authenticity/Truthfulness
• Proficiency
This post includes my responses (in an edited video) to Beth’s group-guiding questions along with a few new written responses.
Types Of Samadhi (From Early Buddhist Texts)
“Monks, these are the four developments of concentration. Which four? There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to a pleasant abiding in the here & now. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the attainment of knowledge & vision. There is the development ofContinue reading “Types Of Samadhi (From Early Buddhist Texts)”
An Integrating Presence Meditation at Fat Cat Longevity Wednesday May 5, 2021
Join meditation 7:00-7:45pm Wednesday, May 5th at Fat Cat Longevity [https://facebook.com/freyflow] downstairs next to Peace Love Coffee at Mary’s House of Healing, on Main St in St Charles, MO. We plan to start with brief instructions along with a discussion before and after. Our semi-formal meditation possibilities include a combination of: compassion and loving-kindness (open) awareness 5 simple qigong breathingContinue reading “An Integrating Presence Meditation at Fat Cat Longevity Wednesday May 5, 2021”
Mindful Practice Of Body, Qi And Mind – 1st Annual Review | (4/27/2021 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Denny K Miu)
For this month’s regular open-audience, open-discussion “Ask Us Anything” — continuing discussions about meditation and related topics — Denny and I review the 63 consecutive weeks of online practice Denny continues to lead. The original (amended) show notes are as follows: (From Josh): (Depending on temperament and experience level, some may find this chat tedious,Continue reading “Mindful Practice Of Body, Qi And Mind – 1st Annual Review | (4/27/2021 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Denny K Miu)”
Dharma Questions: Miscellany — Part 2
This irregular “Dharma Questions” series deals with “dharma” meaning both the truth of the nature of reality and some Buddhist teachings. Amongst other things these questions can be:
• thought experiments
• borderline musings not meant to be answered
• from laziness of not contemplating or researching them yet
There’s more or less 17 questions. Here’s two:
Why do the Ānāpānasati instructions omit details on how to bring mindfulness to the fore and calm bodily formations?
What is the root condition (and causes) for (each of the) unwholesome roots of greed, ill-will and delusion (lobha, dosa, moha)?
Integrating Presence 