Be as you are. This talk encourages a spacious and accepting attitude that embraces experience just as it is occurring. It is inspired by non-meditation approaches that bring relaxation, release, and ease to awareness without the exertion or efforts of striving. Mindfulness instructions are simple: observe your experience of sensory contact, observe what occurs at any sense door. You don't need to do very much with what you observe. See what is happening; be present with what is. Several obstacles to deep presence are examined. We learn to release attachments to material stuff, to overcome the influence of social expectation, and to renounce distracting and unskillful speech. We also learn to free the mind from mental proliferation, worry, and restless wandering; to embrace precepts that protect us from doing habitual or selfish actions; and to let go of clinging whenever it arises. This approach illuminates the power of renunciation; the calming of concepts of self, I, me, and mine; and the great peace that brings an end to suffering.

This talk explores the practice meditation in silent retreats. What are the reasons and benefits for attending a meditation retreat? How can one undertake retreat most effectively. Retreats offer opportunities for deep relaxation; time to set down our worldly identities; let go of the pressures we place upon ourselves to produce and perform; and deeply rest. In the silence of retreat we meet ourselves as we are; we see our patterns, habits, and tendencies; and we discover the causes of suffering and can glimpse the potential to end suffering. We become aware of subtle internal dynamics and thought patterns; we get to know our own minds. Shaila shares that some of the happiest moments of her life have been on retreat, content with little, present and aware of the simple things happening around her. Having spent more than 7 years in silence, Shaila offers helpful tips about what to expect on retreats regarding schedule, instruction, and interaction with the teachers; how to prepare for a retreat including what to pack or not pack; and how to transition back home after the retreat has ended and integrate the insights gleaned through intensive meditation into the complex encounters of everyday life.

We are all vulnerable to aging, illness, and death. Everything born will eventually die. How can we contemplate death in a way that brings us to realize the deathless liberation of mind? How can we go beyond birth and death by facing the reality of our existence? Reflecting on death is one traditional way to contemplate the nature of the body. These meditations include contemplating the decaying corpse, body contemplations, noticing that our friends and loved ones perish. We are all friends who share birth, old age, sickness, and death.

Doubt can be an obstacle to meditation or a form of healthy inquiry. It is helpful to ask questions, to ponder, and be willing to doubt our beliefs and opinions. Ask yourself: are my views true? We hold many unexamined beliefs—beliefs about self, about how things should be, about what other people should do. The Kalama Sutta encourages us to question what we think, and to not adopt beliefs based on hearsay or mere tradition. We can use our minds to critically inquire into how things actually are. Doubt as an obstacle, on the other hand, is a painful state that leads to confusion, fear, indecision, and uncertainty. It manifests as obsessive thinking, planning, and anxiety. The Discourse to Malunkyaputta (Middle Length Discourses, M. 63) proposes that if we indulge in speculative thinking we might miss the opportunity to free ourselves from suffering. Specific suggestions are offered for working skillfully with the hindrance of doubt.

Guided meditation, meditation instructions

Guided meditation, meditation instructions

The teachers at Insight Meditation South Bay frequently guide meditation for the community. These recordings vary in length and style. They may include instructions for specific meditation techniques, introduce a dhamma theme, offer general mindfulness reminders, or present meditation instructions at the beginning of an otherwise silent session. Please listen to these recordings in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Turn off your phone, and settle into a comfortable meditative posture. Plan to meditate for 30-45 minutes even if the recording is brief and verbal instructions last for only a few minutes. You may enjoy brief recordings at the beginning of meditation session, and then continue to meditate in silence for as long as you wish. Silent periods during longer recordings are intentional; moments of silence allow time for you to practice the instructions that were previously explained.

Desire is usually described as a hindrance to meditation, but to realize deathless liberation we must want to be free. A burning desire to awaken opens the heart and mind to a possibility of freedom otherwise not known. This talk examines the force of desire as both a form of craving that perpetuates suffering, and as a necessary and wholesome factor that supports the realization of nibbana (nirvana) and the end of suffering. We examine hindrances, pain, and obstacles from which we want to be free in order to realize unconditioned awakening. Working with desire has some risks, but it is a powerful force that encourages curiosity, investigation, and openness to possibility—the possibility of discovering a profound fearlessness, and enduring happiness, the possibility of enlightenment.

Hindrances and habits prevent us from experiencing a natural and peaceful radiance of mind. Meditators learn to make peace with obstacles. We learn to work skillfully with the hindrances. Sloth and torpor and restlessness are common energetic imbalances that either dull the mind into sleepiness and laziness, or agitate the mind by promoting worry and anxiety. This talk examines the causes that produce the hindrances, and provides practical suggestions and tools for working with obstacles and overcoming their force.