Awareness Itself | July 25/26, 2024 “Meditation Q & A With Wendy Nash” #23

In this twenty-third installment of the ongoing live series with Wendy Nash inquiring into meditation practice on and off the cushion we explore awareness itself, particularly in light of just having audited a retreat on it. Retreat Notes Disclaimers: Insights: Types of practices (that occurred to me): Questions: (Somewhat) Related: From https://integratingpresence.com/2022/06/12/podcast-jhanic-factors-and-formless-realms-contemplation-meditation: ‘It’s not aContinue reading “Awareness Itself | July 25/26, 2024 “Meditation Q & A With Wendy Nash” #23”

Dharma Questions: Miscellany — Part 7

The Heart 1 of Prajna 3 Paramita 4 Sutra 2 Bodhisattva 5 Avalokiteshvara 6, while deeply immersed 7 in prajna paramita, clearly perceived the empty nature 8 of the five skandhas 9, and transcended all suffering. Shariputra 10! Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. So it is with feeling, conception, volition, and consciousness. Shariputra! All dharmas 11 are empty in character; neitherContinue reading “Dharma Questions: Miscellany — Part 7”

Studying And Practicing With “The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power”: Summary, Findings, Observations And Comparisons (7 of 7)

This fifth in a seven part series on Studying And Practicing With “The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power” addresses perceptions of night, daytime and light. (In the first two portions of the podcast I speak without notes and then I reference notes included in the blog post in the other portion.)

Studying And Practicing With “The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power”: Perceptions Of Night, Daytime And Light (5 of 7)

This fifth in a seven part series on Studying And Practicing With “The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power” addresses perceptions of night, daytime and light. (In the first two portions of the podcast I speak without notes and then I reference notes included in the blog post in the other portion.)

Studying And Practicing With “The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power”: Unpacking Hindrances And Another Translation Reading (2 of 7)

This second of the seven part series on “The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power” digs into four types of paired hindrances:
1 sluggishness/laziness
2 overly active/restlessness
3 inward constriction/sloth and torpor
4 outwardly scattered/five strands of sensuality

Studying And Practicing With “The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta — An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power” (SN 51:20): Introduction; The Sutta’s Key Encapsulation Paragraph & A Translation Reading (1 of 7)

One reason this blog post and podcast series came about could likely be due to my meditation practice becoming stale and now provides an outlet for a somewhat more advanced level where details are dived into. If and when exploring this sutta on your own, it’s recommended to drop the intricate, sometimes tedious language I go into here to the fullest extent possible. It’s important to remember my intent here of placing plenty under a spiritual microscope to merely visit modes of deconstruction and analysis for study and (formal) practice possibilities, not as a general normalized mode of living. And while I go into minute details pertaining to this sutta please keep in mind it’s likely more helpful not to keep considering this sutta in isolation but within the broader context of the Buddha’s (other) teachings.