Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat

In this guided meditation, we follow in the footsteps of Buddhaghosa, expressing loving-kindness sequentially, from ourselves, to a very dear loved one, a more casual loved one, and then out and out until all barriers are broken down and our wish for others' well being is equally distributed. Alan also reminds us that the use of visualization during this meditation is not fundamentally required.

The guided meditation begins at 12:05 in the recording.

Alan then speaks freely for a short time about the skill of lucid dreaming, following up on his brief introduction on lucid dreaming that was given at the very end of yesterday evening's teaching (#42).

Alan then answers these questions from the group:

1. You spoke of the "eyes of wisdom" during this guided meditation. I find that I'm not sure I'm using the eyes of wisdom when examining others - especially neutral people - because I find it is easier to see some endearing qualities than others, and I imagine the eyes of wisdom are equanimous. Can you elaborate on the expression of the eyes of wisdom?

2. In the awareness of awareness practice, we are focusing on the awareness that moves with the breath. If we are aware of this awareness that is moving with the breath, sometimes I have an experience of something sucking the awareness…

3. In the phases of mindfulness of breathing, you encourage a balance of relaxation, stability and vividness. I find I'm able to maintain this balance fairly well. If I want to apply this balance to the practice of settling the mind, how would I do that?

4. When meditating in the supine position, I feel like the ground is shaking under me - like there is an earthquake - quite often. What is this?

In this session, Alan Wallace guides us through the second method of mindfulness of breathing, which focuses on grounding one's attention in the sensations of breath in the abdomen. He reminds us that doing this practice alone can take us through stage four in the stages of shamatha (detailed in his book, "The Attention Revolution").

The guided meditation begins at 9:20 in the recording.

Alan Wallace guides us through the immeasurable of loving-kindness, leading us to imagine our own happiness both on a hedonic and a deeper level.

The guided meditation begins at 9:50 in the recording.

He then answers the following questions from the group:

1. Can you elaborate on the use of imagery to stabilize meditation?

2. Almost every evening you say "Let your awareness descend into the body as your first act of loving-kindness." My question is, where is the awareness, and is it a cultural dysfunction that it isn't with us?

3. When doing the stretching exercise in awareness of awareness, we go in many directions (left, right, up, down) but not forwards and backwards. Why?

4. In the same practice, why, when we come back after stretching in one direction, does our awareness "release" instead of returning the way it came?

5. I'm always flummoxed when we do a loving-kindness meditation like today, and you ask us to ask for what we want and need. I feel I have everything I want and need, and I see how others live with so much less, so I don't want to ask for more.

6. Is our dreaming awareness different from our waking awareness?

We return again to the beginning of the 10-session cycle of guided meditations on shamatha with settling the body, speech and mind in their natural state.

Guided meditation begins at 10:50 in the recording.

During the first part of this podcast, Alan Wallace guides us through a meditation on equanimity, blending the other immeasurable of loving-kindness and compassion to create a beautiful trio.

The guided meditation begins at 9:48 in the recording.

Following the meditation, Alan speaks freely for a short while and then answers these questions from the group:

1. Can you please comment on forgiveness and the role for apology in the Buddhist view?

2. I'm seeing that I need much more sleep at night here than I do in the outside world, and I'm also napping during the day. Should I go with the flow or try to cut back?

3. Can hypnogogic imagery be useful on the path?

4. What is the Buddhist point of view on out of body experiences?

This morning, Alan Wallace guides a meditation on the awareness of awareness, teaching us to expand and stretch this awareness spatially, literally increasing the space of the mind.

The guided meditation begins at 6:50 in the recording.

In the initial guided meditation on equanimity, Alan Wallace encourages us to use wisdom to discern the difference between behavior and the person expressing that behavior.

The guided meditation begins at 12:50 in the recording.

During the following Q&A, Alan answers these questions from the group:

1. I've been wondering about Buddha Maitreya. You said he would be the 5th Buddha in this cycle of Buddhas, and you also mentioned 13 other Buddhas the other day. Why don't they count?

2. Can you clarify the experience of resting in the space of the mind versus resting in awareness? In my own experience, they are very similar.

3. Buddha Shakyamuni was a very educated person, yet he did not write any books or other writings. Why?

4. In "The Attention Revolution", you lay out a suggestion for using the three methods in terms of progressing through the different stages. Would it be fair to call that a theory, and how have people in retreat used that method?

5. What does "o lasso" mean?

During this morning session with Alan Wallace, we are led in a guided meditation on awareness of awareness. Within this context, we probe deeply into our experience of being the observer, and ask the question, "Who is observing?"

Guided meditation begins at 8:20 in the recording.

This afternoon's guided meditation on the immeasurable of empathetic joy focuses on cultivating the underlying causes of genuine happiness and flourishing. Alan Wallace reminds us that Tsongkhapa said that the easiest and most effective way to empower and energize one's practice is to take delight and satisfaction in it.

The guided meditation begins at 12:30 in the recording.

After the guided meditation, Alan answers these questions from the group:

1. Can you expand on the concept of collective karma that you mentioned recently?

2. Does Buddhism have a concept of free will, and how does this relate to non-self?

3. When I'm dwelling in the space of the mind, suddenly I remember that I am supposed to exhale and release, and I lose the concept of dwelling in the space of the mind. Then I'll just forget about exhaling anything, and breath and maintain awareness in this space...

4. In the practice of awareness of awareness, is there a difference in the way you release thoughts as compared to the practice of mindfulness of breathing?

5. Can you describe a different way of doing tonglen (sending and receiving) for those who, like myself, have difficulty letting go of (or allowing the incineration of) the suffering that is drawn in on the in-breath?

6. You've used the term "sealing the path" often - what does this mean and how does it relate to stream entry?

Alan Wallace guides a 24-minute meditation on awareness of awareness, teaching us to invert the awareness deeply, attending closely to the evidence of someone - an agent - in one's mind that stands apart from and somehow controls the body and mind.

Guided meditation begins at 5:20 in the recording.

Editor's Note: Due to a recording error, this session may be difficult to for some to hear clearly. Our sincere apologies.