42 Loving kindness, part 1

Fall 2011 Shamatha Retreat

We have begun to see the promise and the obstacles - our minds bare and naked. We have seen some glimmerings of our potential. In the vajrayana path we can take the fruit as the path. Go where you have never been before and invite this into the present actuality through imagination.

We are at an important moment in history - a lot changing and going and being destroyed. A lot of possibility will be dharma to have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. But few teachers can show a full path to liberation - not many out there who know the real path.

There is no way to peace, peace is the way.
There is no way to freedom, freedom is the way.

We come back to the practice of loving kindness focused on one self, again posing these four questions:
1) What would make you truly happy, and provide you with a sense of fulfillment, the realization of your innermost heart's desire?
2) In order to find the fulfillment that you seek, what would you love to receive from the world around you; hedonically, which of course is very important; and what would you love to receive from others in order to find genuine happiness at its perfection?
3) In order to realize your heart's desire, from what qualities would you love to be free, with what qualities would you love to be endowed, how would you love to transform and mature, evolve, so that you can become the person you'd love to become?
4) What would you love to offer to the world around you, to those near and far, over the short and the long term, what is the greatest good you can offer?

Alan also shares his own vision of this, comprised mainly of: following the path to true awakening, and helping other people to do so.
Meditation starts at 8:14

Note: No, we didn't skip a session :) Alan has decided to switch the format so we're now having the 4 immeasurables in the morning and shamatha in the afternoon. He talks more about this in the next episode, so stay tuned!