Dear Friends, Gil’s fourth dimension of wisdom is something he calls “revelatory wisdom.” He uses this phrase because things are revealed to us as we practice.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11199 The calming and settling of the mind that we may experience through practice allows us to see more clearly. Something that was always there is clear. Gil uses an example of when… Read More »
Dear Friends, The third form of wisdom Gil discusses is “decisive wisdom.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11192 As we sit and practice, there is more clarity in the mind to see what is happening, and we start to see what is helpful and what is not helpful, and the consequences of our actions. When we see the what is happening and we have… Read More »
Dear Friends, The second aspect of the faculty of paññā, wisdom, that Gil reflects on is what he calls distinguishing wisdom.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11182 As we start to see our experience with more clarity, we can begin to tease it apart into its component parts. Gil gives the example of getting more clarity on something like “I feel terrible.” To look… Read More »
Dear Friends, The fifth faculty is paññā, often translated as wisdom, and Gil offers other words like discernment or insight.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11407 Although the word “wisdom” may sound lofty, it’s a faculty we all possess. Gil says “as we settle in and listen deeply, … our psychophysical system will begin to discern what’s happening. We’ll begin to see more and… Read More »
Dear Friends, Gil’s final talk on the faculty of samadhi first reminds us that this is something closer to our natural state when we relax all artifice. “We just settle into a very relaxed, deep, attentive way of being.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11157 The progression discussed so far has gone from the initial ways we begin, over and over, to center the… Read More »
Dear Friends, Gil’s fourth talk on the faculty of samadhi considers the state of the mind “when we are fully present, fully engaged in what’s happening.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11153 He talks about some of the more refined states of concentration, often called ‘absorption’ – although he clarifies that this state is not one where we are losing ourselves in the experience.… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing the examination of samadhi, Gil brings in a couple of related words that bring out other dimensions in this practice and faculty. Rather than it being a laser-like focus, there’s a sense of “placing something together, bringing together, unifying, gathering together.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11146 We can settle into our experience – gathering all the fragmented parts in our… Read More »
Dear Friends, The next talk on samadhi looks at two movements of concentration practice – to initiate through connecting with an object and to engage with a sustained attention.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11141 The two Pali words for these are vitakka (wi-tah-kah) and vicāra (wi-chah-rah). Normally I don’t worry about the pronunciation in my writing, but Gil does a bit of play… Read More »
Dear Friends, The fourth faculty is samadhi. This word is often translated as “concentration,” but as Gil mentions in this first talk on the topic, “it somewhat limits what samādhi means in the practice we do.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11137 Gil looks at samadhi two ways: as a capacity of the mind, which can become strong as it is used, and the… Read More »
Dear Friends, In Gil’s fifth short talk on the faculty of sati, he gives a overview of the progression thus far, and then briefly expands into exploring awareness itself.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11130 Starting with a simple mindfulness – to connect to what’s here. Then having some recognition. Leaning back and observing without interference. Sustaining observation overt time, we notice the flow,… Read More »
Dear Friends, In the progression of discussing sati, mindfulness, so far, Gil has laid out a progression: we wake up to the present moment; we develop clear recognition of what is happening in the moment; we learn skills to sustain this recognition through time and observe the flow of experience without adding stories. Gil’s next step in the… Read More »
Dear Friends, After we initially establish mindfulness and start to recognize what is happening, we can open up to observing what is happening, without interference. Observation is the third aspect of sati that Gil discusses.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11122 When we observe what is happening, we are not interfering with judgments, stories, attitudes, etc., that can cloud our perception. Gil notes, “It’s… Read More »
Dear Friends, In the second short talk on the faculty of sati, mindfulness, Gil brings in an element to help with the establishment of mindfulness – “the mind’s capacity to comprehend what is happening, to know what is happening. … This is the ability to clearly recognize what something is.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11117 The simple recognition that Gil discusses is not… Read More »
Dear Friends, The next series of talks will look at the faculty of sati, the Pali term that is commonly translated as mindfulness; Gil also uses the term awareness. As with the other faculties, Gil Fronsdal will focus in on different aspects of mindfulness that we can develop. The first aspect Gil reviews is what he calls “simple… Read More »
Dear Friends, Gil’s fifth talk on viriya looks at “effortless effort.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11105 He describes the progression of effort as “deeper layers of letting go.” Effortless effort is a continuation of this flow of effort in a profound way. There is equanimity, non-reactivity, non-attachment. An analogy Gil shares is that of something tethered outside with a rope. Over time, the… Read More »
