“The Five Skandhas” is traditional way of talking about the nature of consciousness as it applies to ego or self-centeredness. The skandhas of form, feeling, perception, concepts or memory, and consciousness, this whole package of concepts is pointing out different ways in which the consciousness operates to convince us that we are somebody. During this dharma talk, the teachings are brought to life during a powerful exchange between Sokuzan and a close student.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFnbl0DatT8

When ego-mind feels like it is being swamped by emotions, we try to stop them by distracting ourselves, by blaming someone or blaming ourselves. It has been said that emotions can be transmuted into compassion, into serving others. It seems to come from the ability to spend time looking closely, deeply, precisely at what arises in mind. Transformation is not something you do, it is something you are. Participation mystique. It is complete involvement, complete non-separation from whatever is occurring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w99SryceNUU&t=237s

The Path, using this twenty-five-hundred-year-old teaching and though your awareness, is to see what the Goal is and go straight to it rather than get sidetracked into little rest areas that we call our life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRviQLDtxL4

Often the expectation is that when we meditate, we are going to feel better and quite often this doesn’t happen. We start to uncover areas that, up until the time we started practice, were ignored. So, when we’re feeling worse, how do we work with this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh11uv8YhbI

It says in the Fourth Reminder “…I will cut desire and attachment and attain enlightenment through exertion”. Meditation is about seeing the root of desire. The exertion is the intention to stay with that, to just observe. You are sharpening the blade of awareness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjjcUvuk0q4

Just observe, not only in sitting but in post meditation. The idea behind emphasizing that is that it is so difficult to miss what is in front of you and go into some kind of commentary on everything. See of you can maintain observation and not grasp at any commentary. It’s not that the commentary doesn’t arise spontaneously, just don’t do anything with it, because will take you into a labyrinth of analysis judgment, pushing, pulling, mini skirmishes and little tiny warfares with yourself and your environment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wecTzD3MHk

“Just observe” is to encouragement you to drop your agenda around everything, even sitting practice. As you observe what comes through the six sense fields, just notice the leading edge of anything. Trungpa Rinpoche said, “First thought, best thought.” This absolute as it appears relatively is pretty close to first thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aitxei0eG7c

Whatever shows up: just that. Whatever comes out of your action, reaction, please, just observe. It is possible to do that, to just witness what’s happening. You can begin to penetrate reality and see what it fundamentally is yourself. You can do it! Start now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frva3l_Fy24&t=1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQfqILHDIdM&t=1304s

When you have an emotion or memory the thoughts are more than happy to jump in and tell you what it is, explain it to you. We see it’s a snake and we reach for it and grab it right by its head. As it is said, “hold your horses!”. Don’t grab the snake. Take your time. Just observe. As soon as you start to analyze based on trying to get somewhere, you cover up the very information that is freely given: your own neurosis that is full blown in front of you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDCtSbr_upA&t=3s