1. Q) I've heard you say that in daily life practice we should give ourselves wholeheartedly into what we are doing. How do I know when something is being done wholeheartedly?

In this talk:

• The problem of teaching someone how to ride a bike.
• The three ways 'I' give myself wholeheartedly in everyday life already
• The quality of flow in wholeheartedly being given into what is being done.
• Use the body

Exercise: The disliked chore

In this Podcast we discuss the effect that culture has on our development and the difference between loneliness and being alone.

This month:

You have mentioned the - wisdom of the body - several times. However, the body is also the place where we commonly think of our instincts and impulses. How do we differentiate between this wisdom and impulsiveness?

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In this podcast:

• A short history of differing conceptions of 'body' and 'nature' East & West
• The problem of evil as assisting everything to its 'right' place.
• The human state on The Wheel of Life. The aspiration to full humanity. Why only humans have ethical codes?
• The Arhat path, the Bull herding pictures 1 - 7 - the transformational path.
• The story of the royal couple unnerved by the realisation of their own selfishness.
• The passions are the Buddha Nature… the Bull also wants to come together with the herdsman.

Master Dogen said: 'The flower petals fall though we love them, the weeds grow though we hate them - that is just how it is.' (Wisdom of the Zen Masters by Irmgard Schloegl)

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In this podcast:

• The difference in meaning between the Buddha's liberation and political liberation & freedom.

• The link between picking & choosing and attachment to self and between self & fear

• How attachment to self is attachment to restriction of movement and to life.

• The paradox of the practice of restraint leading to freedom from the restriction of self.

Why do we place a count on the out breath in Zazen meditation practice?

In this podcast:

• Meditation on the breath - Four Foundations sutta
• The focus of attention is where the heart energy goes - Tibetan spider story
• Mind - body split and healing the rupture with samadhi
• breath to out breath - to count on the out-breath aligns body and mind together

• How the practice of bowing is at the heart of spiritual practices.
• Setting the mood for practice - The Great 'Yes' - Acceptance practice
• Cultivating reverence - looking up rather than dragging down.
• Sincerity in bowing - before the shrine, before a meal (an expression of gratitude & dependency)
• The bow as an expression of love

In this podcast:

• The illusion of 'I' being in control.
• Some neurological insights into how 'I' appear to be in charge.
• Conscious control and unconscious management
• Reflective consciousness and the appearance of 'myself'.
• No-I is not a 'state' of consciousness but the true nature of consciousness.
• The sun behind clouds and the giving of myself away into… the forgetting of 'I

In this podcast:

• The difference between 'knowing in the head' and 'knowing in the body'.
• Knowing by doing - learning through embodied action and how it works in practice.
• How faith is key to exploring the 'miraculous'.
• This wisdom of the body aligns with the wisdom of the universe.
• How 'my' notions get in the way of this 'ordinary' functioning.

In this podcast:

• 'giving myself' = samadhi. A phrase used by Master Daiyu as a counter to 'mind/mindfulness' Rhys Davids translation early 20th century.
• Phrase emphasises embodiment rather than mind-led activity. citta = heart; Five Skandas are field of consciousness and rupa = body and senses used as counterpoint to the thinking centre of the samskaras - helps to kick the habit of heart residing in thoughts.
• The 3 situations where 'I' naturally give myself away into the 'doing'
• Use of forms to facilitate ease of giving myself into… athletes and classical musicians
• Phrases such as 'at home in the body' suggests a natural resting in the physical form. The Buddha talked of the 'four positions of sitting, standing, walking and lying down'.