January 31 – May all become compassionate and wise
Dear Friends, Thank you for being part of this month of exploration. I wish to extend my gratitude to the following. If you have appreciated this month of offerings, I encourage you to support the teachers. Jill Shepherd and DaRa Williams, for sharing their hearts of wisdom and making the talks from this retreat available. More talks by Jill on Dharma Seed Jill’s website To offer a donation to Jill More talks by DaRa on Dharma Seed Go-Fund-Me for DaRa that was started last year, after her husband had a stroke Dharma Seed for hosting the talks Donate to Dharma Seed Jeanne Corrigal for her mentorship and encouragement To offer a donation to Jeanne While many people have contributed towards this month’s emails, any errors are strictly my own. For whatever harm I may have done, in thought, word, or deed, by way of greed, hatred and delusion, intentionally or…
January 30 – Finding the Heart of Wisdom
Dear Friends, Here we are, near the end of the month, and we have covered all the recordings from the retreat with Jill and DaRa. Some highlights from the last couple of weeks: The practice of appreciative joy (mudita), and that gratitude (wow thanks) is a supportive ally in cultivating this joy in the joy of others, as is training ourselves to notice little delights that are around us, to help overcome the negativity bias. Working with thoughts, emotions, moods, and mind states – I appreciated Jill’s three questions in exploring these more subtle and sticky areas of experience: What’s happening in the body? What’s happening in the heart mind? How am I relating to the experience? The practice of equanimity, which Jill described as a “hinge” between the wings of wisdom and compassion. The wisdom side of equanimity helps us relate more skillfully to the fact that things are…
January 29 – May we abide in well-being
Dear Friends, The last track in the retreat recordings, Reflection on Universal Well-Being Chant, is a traditional Buddhist chant, translated to English. Historically, teachings across many traditions were transmitted orally, and being able to chant the teachings in unison was a way to help the practitioners learn and memorize the teaching. You might have chants, hymns, or songs in your own personal traditions that you can bring to mind. Even if it’s just the lyrics to “Happy Birthday”, a beloved lullaby, or a gum commercial jingle… Here are the words for this chant that Jill shared in the recording: May I abide in well-being,In freedom from affliction,In freedom from hostility,In freedom from ill-will,In freedom from anxiety,And may I maintain well-being in myself. May everyone abide in well-being,In freedom from hostility,In freedom from ill-will,In freedom from anxiety,And may they maintain well-being in themselves. May all beings be released from all suffering,And…
January 28 – Poetry of Awakening
Dear Friends, In the penultimate track from this retreat, The Awakening Poem, DaRa reads a reflection which is sometimes attributed to by Sonny Carroll, although the wording on various websites isn’t always consistent. You can read a version fairly close to DaRa’s recitation here:https://www.michaelppowers.com/wisdom/awakening2.html The poem didn’t really resonate with me, though there are some useful life lessons there. Mark Coleman talks about the difficulties of expressing one’s understanding of esoteric experiences in language, and that there is a benefit in attempting to share one’s experience. In this talk, he suggests poetry is one way we can convey our understanding in a way that the heart can grok even if the rational mind can’t. You can listen to his talk (including lots of poems) here, Poetry of Awakening – Monday Night Dharma Talk from September 27, 2021:https://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/67543/ For a practice today, check out Mark’s website for a variety of meditations…
January 26 – Doubt vs questioning
Dear Friends, In Questions and Answers, Jill and DaRa respond to some of the questions that participants had written. Today and tomorrow, I’ll pick out a couple of their responses that have resonated with some of my own questions about the practice. One question was about the hindrance of doubt: Confusion is at times, natural. For example, not knowing how to make a big life change or decision that may include doubt: whether to move, when, which city is best, and so on. So what is the negative aspect of hindrance, and how do I recognize good versus bad doubt, natural versus unhelpful confusion. Jill points out that investigation is an approved part of practice. We want to be able to try practices in the context of our own lives and discover what leads to more ease, happiness, peace. Sharon Salzberg tells how of Munindra, one of her teachers, told…
January 25 – Exploring equanimity
Dear Friends, In Equanimity Practice, Jill invites the retreat participants into another relational practice related to equanimity. First she brings in an interesting question, as this was the penultimate day of the retreat – inviting the participants to notice how they are responding to the ending of the retreat as that can highlight the habitual tendency we might have for any type of ending. The three scenarios she outlines are: To skip over the ending and jump on to whatever the next thing is that we think will make us happy.Viscerally, there may be a feeling of leaning forward.There may be a sense of impatience. To resist endings – to put them off as long as possible.There may be a feeling of pulling back.There may be some procrastinating or anxiety. To be in denial about endings – to not really take it in.“And then suddenly we’re back at home, or…
January 24 – The heart of equanimity
Dear Friends, In Morning Instructions – Working with Equanimity, Jill sets the stage for practicing with equanimity as a heart quality. One of the ways to cultivate equanimity in practice is with the use of phrases. Jill summarizes some from various teachers that relate to cultivating equanimity with the truth of impermanence:Jack Kornfield: May I learn to see the arising and passing of all things with equanimity and balance.Sharon Salzberg: May I be undisturbed by the comings and goings of events.Kamala Masters: May I accept and open to how it is right now because this is how it is right now. When cultivating equanimity as a heart practice in our relationships, Jill suggests another set of phrases:I care about you, but I cannot live your life for you. Your happiness or unhappiness depends upon your actions, not upon my wishes for you. When I first heard phrases like this, I…
January 23 – Allow yourself to be, to rest
Dear Friends, In the track titled Poem, DaRa reads “She Let Go” by Safire Rose. This poem expresses another way we can bring equanimity to our experience. The theme of the New Year’s retreat I did with Susie Harrington at the beginning of the month was about the stories we tell ourselves – the views we cling to, especially the stories of I, me, and mine. For me, this is related to Jill’s teaching about the wisdom aspect of equanimity, and seeing into the not personal aspect of our experience. Susie read this poem in that retreat too, and she reminded us that we have all had those moments where we let go of clinging. The moments we forgive somebody. The moments we give up needing to be right. The freedom we experience there, can open us up to responding from a place of compassion and wisdom. In meditation, one…
January 22 – A Bigger Container
Dear Friends, My Facebook feed on Friday had the following news: beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95. We invite our global spiritual family to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful breathing, as we together hold Thay in our hearts in peace and loving gratitude for all he has offered the world. https://www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh/posts/481140276714206 Thich Nhat Hanh was a global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist. He embodied the quality of equanimity: he lived a life of responsiveness. (Even just reading his biography can give you a sense of this.) Although I never had the good fortune to meet him, I have benefited from listening to his talks, reading his writing, practicing with teachers and others who trained with him, and staying grounded with…
January 21 – Keep calmly knowing change
Dear Friends, In Equanimity, Upekkha, Jill illuminates the qualities of equanimity, and the way wisdom is supported by equanimity. It’s another rich talk, so I’ll parse out some of the qualities today, and the wisdom aspects tomorrow. Then we’ll have another couple of days looking at the heart quality of equanimity. I could use a little extra shot of balance, so I’m looking forward to these next few days! There are many lists in the Insight Meditation tradition, and equanimity shows up in a lot of them, and usually towards the end of the list, suggesting this is a quality that has a lot of power and subtlety – and will probably take a lot of practice. So back to our intention, we can set our aim towards living more equanimously, and course-correct when we get pushed around by our habit energies. The word equanimity isn’t one that I used…
January 20 – Thoughts, emotions, moods, and mind states
Dear Friends, In Afternoon Instructions – Mindfulness of Mind, Jill looks at different mental processes and leads a reflective practice for the participants. Jill speaks again about the “wheel” model of how body and breath are related to getting lost in proliferation. It might look something like this: Here’s how Jill explains this: To continue exploring the model of the wheel that I brought in at the beginning of the retreat, based on Gil Fronsdal’s teaching, where we can think of the breath and the body as being at the center, at the hub of the wheel. And at the outer rim, when there’s no mindfulness, is proliferation, that habit of getting caught in unhelpful mental activity and reactivity. … How is it that we move so quickly from the simplicity of the breath to spinning out in loop, after loop, after loop of reactivity? … As we move out…
January 19 – Practice to cultivate an unobstructed heart
Dear Friends, In Guided Meditation – Mudita, DaRa offers some opening comments, then sparks some generosity and gratitude through a story and reflection, and leads an appreciative joy practice that radiates joy to beings in all directions. She says we’re up to something radical here by intentionally cultivating joy, gladdening the heart. There are many joyful moments in life, but if our hearts are closed or contracted, these moments pass us by. We can train ourselves to start noticing more and more of these moments, and that can build some momentum. On a retreat once, I noticed these tiny little purple flowers in the grasses I was walking through. Because my heart was open to that then, I find I am more likely to notice little flowers in the grass – especially when I remember to slow down. Even a dandelion can spark joy. Birds at the feeder. The sparkle…
January 18 – Wow. Thanks.
Dear Friends, In the latter part of the talk on Sympathetic Joy, Mudita, DaRa describes some of the impediments and allies of mudita, appreciative joy. The impediments include judgment, comparing, prejudice, demeaning, envy, avarice, selfishness, boredom. Thinking about boredom as an impediment to mudita is interesting! When we stop paying attention to the little things in life, and the little things in our meditation practice, we find ourselves in a state of boredom. By reconnecting to the little things, we awaken again to a delightful kind of openness. The allies are appreciative joy: rapture, gratitude, metta, and compassion. They all share their origin in our basic goodness, and they form a potent team to reduce suffering, and to bring happiness. She defines rapture as “our capacity to take active delight in things, And this depends upon our ability to actually let ourselves feel joy.” Gratitude can bring delight that counters…
January 17 – Appreciative joy
Dear Friends, Today and tomorrow, I’ll turn to DaRa’s talk on Sympathetic Joy, Mudita. Mudita is a way of cultivating joy. It’s sometimes translated as sympathetic joy, appreciative joy, altruistic joy, empathetic joy. It’s a joy that arises when we can resonate with someone’s happiness and success. Here’s a little story that wakes up this quality of joy in me. Before my dog Savanna came to live with me, she lived with a family in the neighborhood. If I would be out walking Reece and he saw Savanna, he would stop mid-track and direct us to go visit Savanna. As we got closer, his tail would wag, and he would zoom from one end of the leash to another. Even after living together now for many years, there still are times when Savanna goes out ahead with my mom and Reece and I come out a bit later. When he…