We come to our very last session with a meditation on loving kindness and dedication of merit (0:50)Afterwards our group prepared such a lovely closing ceremony that we figured other people might like to cultivate some empathetic joy :)Thank

96 For a moment, everything can be ok

Oct 21st, 2011 38m 33s

We come to the last day of the retreat, where Alan invites us to reboot our mind by way of shamatha.Silent meditation starts at 01:16Afterwards Alan shares a story and shows us how through shamatha, for a moment everything can be ok

95 From chaos to calm

Oct 21st, 2011 58m 23s

Alan leads the group, who has started talking now, through a shamatha session (02:13) designed to bring the mind down from agitation to calm. He speaks to a question (35:53) regarding the Dzogchen view of rigpa and the extent to which one can

94 Infusing the day with shamatha

Oct 20th, 2011 27m 34s

Alan briefly speaks on how to infuse a busier day with shamatha and mindfulness. He also announces that he will do 6 months retreat at the end of 2012, so there will be no 8 week shamatha retreat in Spring 2013. Silent meditation starts at 01:

93 The tornado of OCDD

Oct 20th, 2011 1h 45m

There are three strategies to protect from the tornado of thoughts in the mind. The first is to go to a shelter which is mindfulness of breathing – releasing and releasing the thoughts. The second is the tornado chasers who learn a great deal

92 Whenever there's meeting, there's parting

Oct 20th, 2011 47m 26s

We are beginning our final descent. The deva realm of Tushita and the pure land of Tushita sit side by side. In the deva realm when it is time for a deva to leave their flowers fade and they suffer great mental anguish over leaving. However

91 Purifying our vision

Oct 19th, 2011 1h 33m

Silent meditation (no introduction) starts at 0:18Questions (25:28):1. Comment on the concepts of time and space.2. What role do the “Hidden Lands” play in the context of Buddhist practice?3. In the Vajrayana, there is the practice of the i

90 Moving from coal to solar energy

Oct 19th, 2011 32m 56s

Relying on hedonic pleasure is like a town that relies on a coal-fired generator. We begin to realize how much pollution this represents and seek more environmental friendly energy sources. In the same way we can begin to gradually shift into t

89 A wellspring of good advice

Oct 19th, 2011 1h 41m

This last Monday afternoon’s session, which we can say that is indispensable to listen to, Alan offered a huge number of pieces of advice that are extremely useful for those that are going to do a long retreat, for those that are going to meet

88 Karma must ripen

Oct 19th, 2011 45m 44s

The root of all Buddhist teachings and practice is compassion. We start out with the reality of suffering – something that we have all experienced. The background radiation of anxiety has got to go. It is the result of grasping onto what is

87 The built-in antidotes

Oct 16th, 2011 1h 35m

In this session Alan reminds us that shamatha is designed to dispel the 5 obscurations and as the imbalances are built-in, the remedies are also built-in. In the same way, among the 4 Immeasurables one naturally arises as the remedy for the ne

86 The Path

Oct 16th, 2011 34m 45s

The Four Immeasurables unguided meditation. Alan reiterates how important it is to have a sense of direction, a path. You really need to have a vision in your heart of where you want to go. He mentions that on the Dzogchen path he has the se

85 Practicing after the retreat

Oct 15th, 2011 1h 40m

For those of us returning to our ordinary lives, Alan suggests that we avail ourselves of all the shamatha practices depending on our body and mind at that moment. For those of us continuing in retreat, Alan suggests that we focus primarily on

84 Maturation

Oct 15th, 2011 31m 30s

Experienced meditators can move through a process of maturation where the Dharma and practices become ever more central to their lives. They come to practice without preference for good or bad meditations but continue regardless of their perso

83 Lucid dreaming and dream yoga

Oct 13th, 2011 1h 42m

After a silent meditation (1:40) Alan gives an overview and brief ‘how to guide’ of lucid dreaming and dream yoga. Then questions (67:20) include eyes closing as we progress along the path of mindfulness of breathing, the use of tonglen for s

82 Envision the novel of the rest of your life

Oct 13th, 2011 32m 20s

“Shape your mind, shape your life.” Having completed the cycle of guided meditation, Alan speaks briefly about envisioning the transition from retreat into daily life, and in particular the difference between “aspiration” and “hope and fear”.

81 Shamatha without a sign, part 4

Oct 13th, 2011 1h 40m

Reading from Vajra Essence regarding the difference between consciousness, substrate consciousness and Rigpa.Meditation on awareness of awareness expanding out to all directions (26:30)Questions (51:23)How does the "naked" healing process of

80 Equanimity, part 2

Oct 13th, 2011 40m 48s

Meditation on equanimity. Start with loving kindness for ourselves. Mental afflictions come to us just like the flu – don’t fuse your identity with the mental afflictions. The more loving kindness you have for yourself, the more you can exte

79 Shamatha without a sign, part 3

Oct 12th, 2011 1h 38m

Dharma talk and meditation on Awareness of Awareness with the focus on the observer: Is there someone in there?The Bahiya (of the Garment) Sutra. Bahiya received a short discourse from the Buddha and immediately became an arhat. Bahiya was

78 Equanimity, part 1

Oct 11th, 2011 35m 16s

We come back to equanimity and Alan talks about it from 3 different levels:Coarse mind - Shantideva: "If there is something you can do about it don't worry. If there's nothing you can do about it, don't worry"Subtle mind - Everything arises a

77 Shamatha without a sign, part 2

Oct 11th, 2011 1h 38m

Deep…During this extremely inspiring afternoon, Alan started by explaining how to recognize the object of attention of the practice of awareness of awareness for those that find this practice elusive. Also he explained, with the parallel of mos

76 Empathetic Joy, part 2

Oct 11th, 2011 38m 32s

Instruction and meditation on cultivating Empathetic Joy: Calling upon the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and gurus for blessing and remembering that they are not outside of ourselves but within us.Meditation starts at 11:26

75 Shamatha without a sign, part 1

Oct 8th, 2011 1h 31m

Alan talks about the up and downs of the practice and how to keep the enthusiasm and where to draw the inspiration from. Then he shares an excerpt from Dudjom Lingpa's The Vajra Essence about the difference between the substrate, the substrate

74 Empathetic Joy, part 1

Oct 8th, 2011 39m 58s

Why couldn't we all never be parted from genuine happiness free from suffering? Cultivating Empathetic Joy is not just an emotion but also an aspiration. When we take on the personal commitment, "May I make it so" we go from immeasurable Empa

73 Settling the mind in its natural state, part 3

Oct 7th, 2011 1h 34m

Alan goes into greater detail about ascertaining the space of the mind between mental events in settling the mind. He explains the danger of complacency at Stages 4 and 7 and the importance of overcoming remaining faults by sharpening the blad