Unfettered Mind
Summary: Translator/teacher Ken McLeod provides spiritual practitioners with the essence of Buddhist practice. Ken is noted for his ability to present profound teachings and practices in clear straightforward language free from the myths and cultural overlays that make many Eastern teachings difficult to understand. These podcasts are a sampling of the 300+ recordings, some with transcripts, freely available at UnfetteredMind.org under Teachings. Our website also has dozens of original articles and translations of Buddhist texts.
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- Artist: Ken McLeod
- Copyright: Copyright 2017 by Ken McLeod
Podcasts:
Relationships: what makes them work; participant's questions.
Middle way as holding both extremes in attention at the same time or “How can I experience this and be at peace at the same time?”; discussion of “Vajra Song Recognizing Mind as Guru;” spiritual path as individual exploration; learning from mistakes; letting go of inner holding; look at life as the field of practice; notice space in which experience arises.
Emptiness and compassion as the two components of awakening mind; the impediment of despair; discussion of Longchempa’s advice: “Practice these two together (goodness and pristine awareness);” the notion of progress in society and spiritual life; instructions for the dispersion practice, a practice for balancing energy.
Point of practice; paramitas; being without reference; discussion of protector principle and the relationship of protector principle to protector rituals; transmission rituals; longing can easily degenerate into greed; further discussion of “The Wisdom Experience of Ever-present Good.”
Learning to sit in the mess; discussion of the mind-training principle: “Rely on the principal witness;” avoiding institutional mindsets; path as a process of growth; importance of sangha; more discussion of “The Wisdom Experience of Ever-present Good.”
Summary of earlier discussions; review of The Four Steps to Standing Up; serving the direction of the present; anger signals "an enemy out there" ; compassion: method and result; a discussion of practices, compassion and living fully in the world.
The “five whys” of "why am I here?" as a way to explore more deeply, moving from conceptual to emotional level; discussion of Kalu Rinpoche’s “Essence of the Dharma;” refuge as setting a direction; awakening mind; four great vows from the Zen tradition; mantras: “what protects the mind”; preparatory practices (ngondro); finding your own path.
Morality as a description of the behaviour of an awakened person; commitments and guidelines; learning versus doing; Four Steps to Standing Up.
Speaking from direct experience as a practice of power; the importance of developing power is often ignored both in our society and in traditional Buddhist practice; shamatha is main practice for developing power; explanation of prayer “The Wisdom Experience of Ever-present Good;” investigate why you are here; look at mind, heart, body, intellect, emotions and intuitions, and open to all the answers that arise.
Outlook, practice, behavior as a framework for navigating our lives; application of this framework to the retreat theme; seeing an "enemy" as an experience and not as a fact.
Advice regarding thoughts of life after retreat; importance of the four reminders: precious human existence, death and impermanence, karma and samsara; why traditionally loving-kindness practice is not to be directed at a child; primary practice; what is Mahamudra?; refreshing the mind through resting.; devotion as a means of transforming energy; explanation of the guru yoga prayer, “The Magic of Faith: A Teacher Practice with Niguma.”
Story of drinking tea from "Tales of the Dervishes"; coming to terms with our own experience of life; navigating our lives better; transcending life vs living life fully and without regret; discussion of retreat prayers and their relationship to our overall spiritual practice; instruction in meditation based on four foundations of mindfulness.
Letting go of idealism; danger to spiritual life from institutional mindsets; counteracting with compassion; walking meditation instruction; being no one in a position of leadership; creating conditions that allow others to do what’s needed; discussion of ten methods of mind-killing and how they corrupt practice.
Reactivity due to collapsed attention; opening to all experience including opposition; reasons for collapsed attention: for survival, getting our emotional needs met, and our identity; mindkilling is deliberately provoking someone's reactive patterns so they will do something against their interests; various forms of mindkilling.
Understanding the rhythm of practice; with attention, peace and openness eventually arise; “Look in the resting, rest in the looking.”; summary of Ken’s approach in four principles: everything is evolving, evolution isn’t toward anything, actions have consequences, and we can’t know all of the consequences; approach life without expectation, recognize both mystery and significance in what occurs, and see what happens as part of a process.