Deep emptiness is nothing other than compassion, leading to the end of suffering. In the retreat on “Compassion and Emptiness” we explore the teachings that Bhikkhu Analayo highlights in his book of the same name. These combine the divine abodes with the emptiness teachings found in the Shorter Suññata Sutta. In this sutta, the Buddha […]
We will start by clarifying a crucial distinction - that between mind and body. Mental contents, such as thoughts and images, cannot awaken. Our conceptual mind is not what, or who, we truly are. It is the immediate experience of our sensate body and the other ‘body senses’ that are our gateways to awakening. […]
On this retreat, I will be offering embodied approaches to dhyāna (jhāna) that people have found to be helpful and effective. This may well involve questioning both our own views and approaches, as well as some of what the tradition has to say about dhyāna. Dhyāna is far more than samatha, or mental calm. Recognising […]
‘Wings to Awakening’ is a poetic rendering of ‘bojjhaṅgā’ - seven ‘limbs’ or factors that support bodhi - awakening. The bojjhaṅgās are highlighted in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta as crucial to the fourth contemplation, that of dhammas. They are experiential qualities that we cultivate and are integral to entering and deepening into the four dhyānas - […]
