45 Mindfulness of breathing, part 2

Fall 2011 Shamatha Retreat

Afternoon talk
Mindfulness of breathing. Cultivating stability of attention while focusing on the rise and fall of the abdomen. Maintaining the same sense of relaxation. Breathe in to arise wakefulness and eliminate dullness. Breathe out to release all distractions. Discussion of counting technique with breathing. One thing you bring to the practice is your substrate consciousness with its stillness. Clarity is an intrinsic quality that gets covered over but not eliminated. Importance of releasing grasping.
Meditation starts at 30:43
Questions (55:55)
How do you know when medium and subtle excitation are occurring in the settling the mind in its natural state meditation? How about medium and subtle laxity?
Is it true that merely attaining shamatha, the body remains fresh after death? What level of realization is needed to be liberated in the bardo of the Dharmata?
Why do we need to be in solitary retreat to attain shamatha?
Question regarding free will and the self. How does rigpa impact the coarse mind and does it influence free will? Are there parallels in Christianity?