This afternoon, Alan first gives a lengthy Dharma talk about different methods for responding to the reality of change. He contrasts the materialistic and Buddhist views, and goes into detail about how attachment and grasping block one's ability to achieve freedom from the suffering of change. This is followed by an unguided meditation on compassion for the suffering of change. Editor's Note: The unguided meditation and brief Q&A session afterwards are not included in the recording due...

Alan first speaks for 15 minutes about the benefits of the practice of settling the mind in its natural state and its use in freeing ourselves from our habitual propensities of craving, aversion, and delusion. He also talks about the skillful use of stage of generation practices in the context of settling the mind in its natural state. The unguided meditation begins at 16:20 in the recording.

Alan begins this afternoon's session with a lengthy dharma talk on cultivating confidence in the practices, now that we have two full weeks of silent retreat remaining. He also sets up today's meditation on compassion for blatant suffering by speaking about different ways of responding to "hedonic distress" and "genuine distress." The unguided meditation on compassion begins at 35:50 in the recording. Alan then answers these questions from the group, which begin at 1:04:30. 1. When we...

This morning continues with unguided meditations. Alan first speaks briefly about the tendency to identify with the body and mind as oneself. This practice is particularly effective in eradicating this misunderstanding. It helps us move from, "Buddhanature is something I have, but I'm really screwed up," to, "Buddhanature is who I am, and the mental afflictions come and go." The unguided meditation begins at 10:45 in the recording.

Another unguided meditation this afternoon, first introduced with a description of the obstacle of feeling separate from others, and how this impedes the flow of loving-kindness. The unguided meditation begins at 9:20 in the recording. Alan then answers a number of questions from the group, beginning at 37:35 in the recording. 1. Where does volition reside? It's not there when I look for it. It appears and disappears. 2. In awareness of awareness practice, I bring my attention to the...

This morning, Alan first reviews the instructions for the third phase of mindfulness of breathing, with the attention placed on the sensations of the breath at the aperture of the nostrils. We then share a 24-minute unguided meditation. Enjoy! Unguided meditation begins at 8:45 in the recording.

This afternoon we continue with unguided meditations. Alan first reviews the meditation on loving-kindness for others in the tradition of Buddhaghosa, first for oneself, then a dearly loved friend, then a neutral person, and finally a difficult person. Alan also invites us to hold space to see who else might arise and attend to them with loving-kindness. The unguided meditation begins at 17:40 in the recording, and Q&A begins at 45:30. This is followed by these practical questions from...

This morning, Alan first reviews the practice of mindfulness of breathing, the second phase, with its emphasis on the somatic sensations of the breath in the abdomen, while maintaining relaxation and increasing stability. This is followed by an unguided 24-minute meditation, and then Alan reminds us to maintain our mindfulness between sessions by bringing our awareness to the breath and the tactile sensations of the body, releasing the flow of conceptual thinking associated with...

In this afternoon's session, Alan first gives advice on the sleep imbalances that can arise during retreat (or outside of retreat) and introduces us to the practice of "sleepitation" to ground oneself in the earth element and relax deeply when trying to sleep. He then reviews the instructions of loving-kindness for oneself in detail, after which we share an unguided 24-minute meditation on loving-kindness. The unguided meditation begins at 18:40. Q&A begins at 47:15. Alan then answers...

The next three morning sessions will be unguided meditations on the first three stages of mindfulness of breathing. This morning, Alan first speaks briefly about the importance of the cultivation of relaxation. The unguided meditation (included) begins at 8:00 in the recording. Recording quality improves significantly at 2:00.

In this session, we approach the immeasurable of equanimity from a Mahayana perspective, using the practice of tonglen (sending and receiving) to attend to individual sentient beings. The guided meditation begins at 7:10 in the recording. Alan then answers these questions from the group: 1. What is the relationship between the four immeasurable and bodhicitta? 2. What about dedicating the merit? Do you have any special recommendations in the context of retreat? After each session? At the...

In this morning session, Alan Wallace guides a meditation on the awareness of awareness practice. Today, we intentionally send our awareness above, to the right, to the left, below, to the heart center, and then out into space. The guided meditation begins at 4:22 in the recording.

Alan Wallace begins this afternoon's session with the question, "When a desire arises, how does one know whether it is desire (wholesome) or craving (unwholesome)?" He explores practical answers to this question, then proceeds to a guided meditation on the immeasurable of uppekha, or equanimity, focusing on a Theravaden approach, cultivating an evenness of mental imperturbability, a mind unaffected by mental afflictions. The guided meditation begins at 14:37 in the recording. Afterwards,...

In this morning session, Alan Wallace guides a meditation of awareness of awareness, focusing on the lived sense, the actual sense one has, of being the witness, or observer, of all that is 'over there' while one feels oneself is 'over here.' The guided meditation begins at 7:26 in the recording.

In this session, Alan Wallace guides a meditation on empathetic joy, emphasizing taking delight and joy in both the causes of genuine happiness and the material fruits of this happiness. In his introduction, he also speaks about the importance and meaning of path, and the question of how to develop a deep enough aspiration to clarify this path. The guided meditation begins at 22:45 in the recording. Alan then answers these questions from the group: 1. In the awareness of awareness...

In this morning session, we follow Padmasambhava's teachings in this second phase of the awareness of awareness practice. Our quest is not to look and find nothing, but rather to look for something that does exist: the "lived sense" of "I am the agent." We then scrutinize this sense. Is it authentic or delusional? Does it correspond to an actual agent? The guided meditation begins at 26:10 in the recording.

In this session, Alan Wallace guides a meditation on mudita, or empathetic joy. He first speaks for some time about the opportunity of a precious human birth, and the power contemplating this opportunity has to shift the mind towards gratitude and delight. The guided meditation begins at 21:55 in the recording. Alan then answers these questions from the group: 1. When we are practicing settling the mind in its natural state, thoughts always come. Do them come from the substrate...

We again begin to explore the practice of awareness of awareness in this teaching and guided meditation with Alan Wallace. He speaks for a short while before the guided meditation about the significance of this practice. The guided meditation begins at 13:50 in the recording.

In this teaching, Alan Wallace guides a meditation on compassion for the deepest kind of suffering: the suffering of conditioned existence. He informs us that the cultivation of wisdom from insight is a prerequisite for this compassion; the sense that it is possible to wake up, to realize true freedom. The guided meditation begins 29:08 at in the recording. Editor's Note: The first three minutes of this session may be difficult for some to hear due to a recording error. Alan then answers...

We continue to practice setting the mind in its natural state, today focusing on observing the space of the mind without alteration. The guided meditation begins at 9:20 in the recording.

Today's session begins with an inspiring and lucid twenty-minute dharma talk about the four noble truths, particularly the first three noble truths. This is followed by a guided meditation on the immeasurable of compassion, focusing on the suffering of change because of attachment to the way things are or are not. The guided meditation begins at 21:45 in the recording. Alan then answers these questions from the group: 1. In "The Attention Revolution" in chapter 7, you talk about, when...

Alan Wallace guides a 24-minute guided meditation on settling the mind in its natural state. He first introduces the practice of applying this quality of awareness to our experiences engaging with others. The guided meditation begins at 14:17 in the recording.

Alan Wallace begins today's teaching with a 40-minute dharma talk that could be titled, "Retreat and Expedition Approaches to Freedom from Blatant Suffering." In this engaging talk, Alan surveys the history of these approaches and explores the mechanisms and effects of shamatha and vipassana. He then guides a meditation on compassion, first wishing ourselves freedom from blatant suffering, then on to others, working both spatially and allowing others to simply appear, "invite themselves in,"...

We return to the practice of settling the mind in its natural state. In the guided meditation, we bring the quality of quiet, bare attention to the visual, auditory, tactile, and then the mental field. In each domain, we allow there to be the simplicity of "in the heard, let there be just the heard" and so on. The guided meditation begins at 7:45 in the recording. After the guided meditation, Alan speaks freely for a while, encouraging us not to grasp onto anything which is not in our...

This simple approach to loving-kindness was taught by the Buddha himself. We will be extending the awareness out spatially in all directions -- without bounds -- but first requesting that we be free of animosity (the distant enemy of loving-kindness). Alan tells us about how Matthieu Ricard once said, in the context of compassion practice (but the statement is analogous to loving-kindness practice) that one way you know the practice is working, that it's been more than an intellectual...