|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
The greatest gift is the gift of the teachings
|
|
|
|
The Satipatthana Sutta
2010-01-19
The Satipatthana Sutta
38:02:35
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
The Satipatthana sutta is the fundamental teaching by the Buddha, revered by all Buddhist traditions, on the application of mindfulness. Mindulness is the the basic teaching that connects the isolated individual to his/her internal and external environments. Through a steady integration of mindfulness our unconscious tendencies become conscious, and we discover a preexisting awareness and interconnectedness to life that changes everything. The four applications of mindfulness (body, feelings, mind, and mind objects), as well as the underlying principles behind it, are explored thoroughly through talks, discussions, dyads, and homework. |
|
2010-06-08
Satipatthana Sutta, First Foundation: Loving the Whole Body
58:27
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
We start with an aversive or attractive response to the body or body part, and quickly an emotional attitude arises that fixates upon the appearance; a story is formed, an opinion is held, and our body is made into something it never was. To love the whole of the body requires an intentional reversal of stepping out of those perceptual fixations and embracing the pleasant and unpleasant components in totality. |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
2010-11-09
Satipatthana Sutta, Second Foundation: Neutral Feelings
58:18
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
Neutral feelings pervade our life when we try to maintain a high level of intensity for our life's purpose and meaning. Busyness is an indication of this dependency, but as soon as the energy decreases below an established threshold, our mind wonders, and we become dull, listless, and uninterested. Awareness has not waned in the slightest, but we have been conditioned to stop paying attention. |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
2011-03-29
Satipatthana Sutta, Third Foundation: Division Through Doubt
63:04
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
The mind finds endless reasons to energetically split itself in two. "Shoulds," denials, rationalizations, resentments, and countless other states are energetic divisions, where the mind is trying to have what it wants while hiding from its assumed reality. Doubt is perhaps the most common expression of this pattern. Doubt reaches for what it wants with half a heart because it fears the repercussions of being a failure. |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
2011-04-12
Satipatthana Sutta, Third Foundation: Division Through Anger
0:14
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
Anger is often unconsciously encouraged because it clears away the doubting mind. "I know why I feel this way, and I am right," says anger. Spiritually we can only approach and understand anger from humility, the opposite direction of righteousness. Anger usually arises as a component of grief where something you cared about was blocked or diverted away from you. If we can see anger as grief, humility is more easily accessed. |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
2011-04-26
Satipatthana Sutta, Third Foundation: Division Through Shame
59:40
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
While we may have guilt over an incident or a series of mishaps, shame is the accompanying attitude about oneself and can therefore be far more disruptive. Life becomes an uphill battle against our destructive inward narrative. Its variations go from feeling lesser and smaller than to being an obstacle and ultimately better off not existing. Confronting our conclusion around shame is taking on our emotional posture to life itself. |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
2011-05-10
Satipatthana Sutta, Third Foundation: Division Through Judgment
58:55
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
Judgment is seeing the world in quantifiable terms. There a holistic way of seeing that is not partial and comparative but becomes inaccessible when we believe in judgment. Let the presence of judgment remind you that your thinking and emoting is arising from an incomplete perception. Quiet yourself to the inward narrative and allow the whole mind, undivided by judgment, to arise. |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
2011-05-24
Satipatthana Sutta, Third Foundation: Division Through Worry
59:12
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
Worry attempts to protect us from every contingency. It becomes a pattern and view of life where I am the guardian and protector of my security. Worry is actually a process of self-affirmation because we keep affirming our power over what life brings forth. If I let down my guard, life would be chaotic and out of control, and therefore I need to worry to have everything turn out as I wish. Worry and planning elevates us to the status of a god while we are actually being controlled by fear. |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
2011-09-13
Satipatthana Sutta, Fourth Foundation: The Lions Roar
59:42
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
Accessing the Fourth Foundation is as easy as abiding in wonder. A question that is interesting to you but does not immediately resolve itself into an answer holds that wonder. When you hold a question without trying to immediately find the answer, you will feel the pull of form (needing to know the answer) in conflict with the formless (the wonder within the mystery of the question itself). |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
2011-11-08
Satipatthana Sutta, Fourth Foundation: Application of Discernment
56:22
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
Applying discernment requires an honesty of intent. That honesty is the discernment at work. If you need skillful means to help balance the energy, use it. It can be helpful to back up to the First Foundation and see how the state of mind is affecting the body. Next, move to the Second Foundation and catch the feeling tone and the accompanying story. Moving onto the Third Foundation, settle to see just what this state is in essence. Finally, apply discerning questions that pick apart the solidity and truth of the state of mind such as, "Is there space for this too?" "Where is the "me" in this state?" |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
2011-11-22
Satipatthana Sutta, Fourth Foundation: Discernment and the Hindrances
47:25
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
Struggling with the hindrances draws us back into form. Each hindrance has to be thoroughly understood so that when it arises we no longer invest reality into its appearance. Discernment is the only tool that can reveal the truth of its emptiness. In seeing the true nature of the hindrance, we see our own and the struggle ends. All other applications of practice reinvest thought into the form and make it more than what it is. |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
2011-12-13
Satipatthana Sutta, Fourth Foundation: Discerning the Self
67:28
|
Rodney Smith
|
|
Discernment must ultimately understand the nature of self completely. Awareness saw in the Third Foundation how the self was born from a feeling and elaborated on with thought forming the story and image of "I." Even though that process is now understood (wisdom), still, because of its tremendous momentum, there may be a residual belief in the self when it arises. Discernment wears down that residual belief by tracking the sense of self through all its manifestations until there is no longer the belief in self even though there is the occasional arising of self. |
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
|
In collection
The Satipatthana Sutta
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|