Seattle Insight Meditation Society

Class 2 in a series of 5 classes with Steve Armstrong, assisted by Vance Pryor. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/695/Default.aspx

Another attribute of the heart is its inclusiveness. The heart does not deny access to anyone or anything and is open to the full catastrophe of living. The mind, on the other hand, judges and defends most of what it sees, and thereby selectively chooses what it will allow in. As the mind loosens its grip and the heart emerges, it sometimes feels as if we are awakening out of a dark cave, and this can accompany a fear of being too exposed. But if the heart steadies its composure and does not concede its bearing, the feeling of vulnerability soon evolves into joy. The secrets to continuing to open are nonresistance to experience and remembering that all experiences can be held. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/694/Default.aspx

A series of five classes with Steve Armstrong, assisted by Vance Pryor. Topics include: Mindfulness: What? ...Why? ...How? Challenges in Life: The Work of Practice. Got Attitude! Skillful or Unskillful? Calm your mind, manage your stress and develop emotional intelligence. Positive psychology and neuroscience confirm the benefits of mindfulness. A Lifestyle of Awareness. Steve Armstrong is assisted by Vance Pryor, Psy. D. Vance began mindfulness and insight meditation in 1998 at age 16. He spent time as a monk with Sayadaw U Tejaniya and continues to make regular practice trips to Myanmar. He is currently being trained as a teacher by Steve Armstrong and Kamala Masters. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/693/Default.aspx

It is difficult to speak about the Intuitive Heart because it is an intrinsic part of ourselves that cannot be known prior to its arrival. In other words it is not conjured up by thought or derived from emotions, rather it is a knowing coming from the whole of the situation. To think about it is to distort it. In Buddhism we speak about Clear Comprehension which is this “whole knowing.” Usually we see only where our attention is directed, but when we are sufficiently quiet, there is a sensing that is more complete and full than the sensing of any particular sense organ. Often the intuitive is a sensing beyond the data, a kind of knowing whose origin will always be a mystery because it does not rest on mental processing. We can approximate its location by saying that this intuitive sensing lives within presence. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/683/Default.aspx

How do we apply the heart to practice? There are two prerequisites for the balancing of Insight Meditation. The first is that we have to be able to observe and see so we can understand what the mind is doing. In the beginning the struggles of practice often have to do with steadying the attention sufficiently to be able to see without the interference of thoughts. This takes time and effort. But the second prerequisite is just as important but more easily overlooked, and that is that our attention has to contain a quality of heart within it. I call this combination of observation plus heart, caring attention. To know that all facts are friendly, which is one of the fruits of insight, is to not only focus upon the fact but to truly let it in and allow the fact to affect us. Our heart allows all facts to enter. We will then meet the fact at the sense door with relaxation and ease, and our judgmental opinions will stand aside, and we will let it pass, trusting in the inclusiveness of the heart. Watch this YouTube video for inspiration on accessing the tenderness of the heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPSAgs-exfQ This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/682/Default.aspx

Mentally we set boundaries because we are afraid, while the heart through nonresistance is attempting to dismantle those boundaries and show us life is safe. This creates an apparent conflict in spiritual practice between opening to reality as it is presented and feeling safe within that situation. When this contradiction arises be patient and ask what we are protecting ourselves from. If it is emotional or physical harm then leaving the situation is wise action, but does escaping mean that we create the boundary of separation in its wake? If so then whenever we decide to part ways, we will live within the turmoil of the division we just created. Can we take effective action without forcing a boundary upon a situation? It takes clear discernment, an attribute of awareness, to understand what we are doing and why, and discernment will move us to safety without forming tension filled boundaries. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/681/Default.aspx

Embarking on the path of Dharma practice gives us access to a different way of living. Come learn about what can develop from sincere and dedicated engagement in this powerful discipline. We will examine where we usually seek refuge and safety, and what might be reliable and realistic havens for this in the world. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/680/Default.aspx

This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/672/Default.aspx

This talk explores the Zen story of Chiyono, a woman from 13th century Japan who is a servant in a monastery. On a full moon night she goes out to draw water from the well, and when the bottom of her bucket gives way she has an awakening experience, or a shift in view. This is a story of a path of practice, and we can use it as a mirror that might reflect vital questions in our own lives. When we approach her story and our own questions with a spirit of openness, curiosity and not-knowing instead of remaining with the known or trying to solve, the questions themselves can transform us. The story "Chiyono's No Water, No Moon" is from the book The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women, edited by Florence Caplow and Susan Moon. This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/670/Default.aspx

Faith (1 of 5)

Faith (2 of 5)

Faith (3 of 5)

Faith (4 of 5)

Faith (5 of 5)

This talk is also presented in video here: http://seattleinsight.org/Talks/BrowseTalks/DharmaTalk/tabid/90/TalkID/671/Default.aspx