Alan Wallace Live From Phuket!

The beginning of this afternoon's lecture is a stunning, wisdom-packed reflection on the analysis of our own world view. Alan starts by giving an overview of some of the predominant world views, from the individual vantage points of physics, biology, Abrahamic religions (Christianism, Judaism, Islam), and contemplative practices, ultimately culminating in an explanation of the Buddhist view. He gives a brief but very precise reflection on Karma, Theravada, and Mahayana views, and then proposes a profound hypothesis, probably the most profound hypothesis that we can test personally: In Buddhism it has been observed throught millenia that as we orient ourselves with reality, with genuine happiness and liberation/enlightenment of both ourselves and others, reality rises up to help out. In other words, reality seems to align itself so that the conditions necessary for finding genuine happiness (a.k.a: finding reality as it is) present themselves to us when our motivation is clear and we develop a sincere and prof

I'll try not to title all of the Shamatha episodes from today onwards with the phrase "for the last time," although we have come to the final cycle of the teachings!My descriptions for these morning practices will really not be very verbose since it's the fourth time (or so) I podcast the full-body awareness practice.So if you are new to the podcast, I really suggest listening to the first practices back from April. The descriptions and the practices themselves are much more throughly explained. But I'll keep uploading this cycle just so you have more practices to choose from in your Shamatha podcast arsenal!This mostly unrelated photo of a nearby pineapple-to-be was provided by Sanjay. If you have never seen pineapples growing I must say it's quite a sight to behold! Here is another example of a more matured pineapple: http://i.imgur.com/Ho9Zg.jpg . There are fields and fields of those around the mind centre...

A number of the past bonus podcasts had been geared towards the physicists, but this weekend we have some juice for psychologists! In this bonus podcast, we have some extremely interesting points about attention training and the cognitive sciences from a more professional psychology standpoint. However, this is also very relevant for all meditators wishing to gain a better understanding of attention.Adeline asked several questions, mostly pertaining to the "pulse-like" quality of our attention, and to the 600 or so pulses of attention that we have per second (according to both Buddhist psychology and modern psychology).I wont go much into the details of the answers, but in a brief overview the podcast first goes into the need for actual contemplative scientists (a hybrid profession of both professional science and professional meditation) in modern psychology, followed by a discussion on the "clustering" of these pulse-like moments of cognition. Alan also relates this clustering is also re

In this bonus episode we cover some very interesting cognitive science/brain science questions from Noah.The first question asks if meditation researchers have been able to isolate the EEG correlates of meditative experiences such as staying on the object, excitation, laxity, etc.The second question asks whether it is possible to "augment" Shamatha practice, perhaps speed up the earlier stages, for example, with the use of neurofeedback training.Alan starts by talking about the short/medium term plans for the scientific investigations here in Phuket. If everything goes well, the plan to have around 20-40 people fully focusing on achieving Shamatha (while being scientifically studied with state of the art, non-intrusive equipment) could be a reality very soon. Alan talks about the ideal situation, where these people start achieving Shamatha (even having the actual achievement inside an MRI tube) and then very rigurous scientific studies could be published, in order to turn this attention training int

In this afternoon's marvelous introduction, Alan talks about The Great Path of the Bodhisattvas, comparing it to a Freeway (using the American term). Using this very accurate analogy he talks about getting on the fast lane, and never getting off (until we reach the common destination). A very inspiring introduction!After a thirty minute silent session, we go into some very interesting Q&A. Among the topics covered we have a quick question about the breath as the body settles during the practice, and then a very interesting question about Merit. If you have any doubts or would like a refresh on this topic, I really recommend this part of the lecture. Alan covers all of the bases, from the basic act of helping someone with any little thing, to realizing emptiness. He talks about how it can be gained, lost, and how it can be used for many things, incorporating the story of Śāriputra (how he realized Nirvana after hearing a short phrase) and what role Merit played in it. Throughout the entire lecture and up t

This afternoon we started with a special guided meditation to commemorate the Buddha's Enlightenment, not specifically centered on Shamatha or the Four Immeasurables.After the meditation, Alan gave us a short recap on the night/morning of the Buddha Gautama's enlightemnent, up to the moment when he went back to his five companions and they also achieved Enlightenment. He ends the story on a heartwarming reflection about the day we are commemorating, which set this whole sequence of events flowing (up to our retreat here and this podcast), which have given rise to so much goodness in the world. Alan then spontaneously adds a very beautiful and inspirating note on what it means to be a Buddhist, saying it's simply a matter of trust.After we silently recovered from the powerful emotions that were generated in many of us, we went to a much lighter tone and Alan read a poem submitted by an anonymous member of our Sangha here. I must say it was very good and quite impressive, expanding Alan's "3Rs" into &

Happy Vesak Day! This morning we conmemorated the celebration of Buddha Śākyamuni's birth, enlightment, and parinirvana with a guided Shamatha meditation.After the session, Alan talks a little bit about Vesak and concludes by saying that the best way to celebrate the Buddha's day is to practice all day, so I hope you can all join us around the world!

I extracted this practical gem from this afternoon's lecture. It is a clear example of how the instructions to a practice can be profoundly meaningful, stunning, transformative, and just utterly inspiring when given correctly by a sharply prepared, more than qualified, and immensely skilled teacher.In this short episode, Alan sublimely describes the practice of Awareness of Awareness in response to a question from Malcolm, specifically focusing on resting in the pure luminosity and cognizance of experience. I really won't contaminate this with my words, so I'll just say it's an absolutely must-listen for those who really enjoy the practice, for those with a few doubts about it, for those who don't quite understand the practice, for those in between, and for everyone else.That probably includes you!Alan sometimes uses the example of "shafts of light" from the substrate filtering through all our grasping, and I think this picture gives some sort of an idea of what is left over when we just rest in the

Today we went directly into practice, which I removed from the recording to make it easier to listen to. As you know by now, just do your own practice and then press play! Alan suggests that if we are just feeling "ordinary" or with no specific need to balance emotions, then Loving Kindness or Tonglen are always magnificent go-to practices.After the meditation (and where this recording starts), we had an extremely juicy lecture. I usually say "juicy" when Alan gives marvelous scientific explanations but this time it was pure heart-food, with no physics attached. The first minutes have a lot of short answers on different topics, such as a very brief recap on yesterday's eating meat discussion (which did not make it to the podcast), some of the possible benefits (for some people, or for a period in our lifes) of celibacy and monastic ordnation, highlighting the simplicity that both bring. We also had a wonderful question from Ilse about beauty, which started with "Does a Bodhisattva enj

This morning we had a silent meditation followed by a few brief tips. The tips cover a bit of posture, and then Alan talks about how the benefits of the practices can be retained in a non-contemplative lifestyle, linking this to losing as little ground in between sessions by using one of several strategies.Enjoy!(Local photo from Daniela)

This afternoon we went directly into meditation with no preamble, and had no outro directly pertaining to the meditation. So you can meditate for 24 minutes on your own and then press play!We briefly come back to Malcom's question on the Theravada/Mahayana views of Equanimity, clearning up some generalizations that are sometimes made about Buddhism (specifically about karma and equanimity) in the process. We then go to a question from Mervin about "The Attention Revolution" and the expedition of Shamatha, specifically focusing on the perils and dead ends. Alan also briefly talks about how the practice can go wrong (in rare cases) and how to avoid that, referencing the beautiful Nine Stages of Progressive Mental Development thangka which you probably already know and love (and can be used as an illustration for the nine stages in "Attention Revolution"). Thangka can also be seen at the website for this episode.And you will be wondering why the podcast only lasted 15 minutes. Unfortunately w

This morning Alan suggested to adopt the attitute of starting a 2-week retreat. He humorously gave some very important points and tips about the practice in order to make the most out of the time we have left. Very recommended!After the practice, Alan throws in 3 minutes about William James' pure experience theory, John Wheeler 's (theoretical physicist) theories, and how they are extremely similar to the core Buddhist teachings of experience. He also relates them to the practice of Shamatha, showing how it is really an outstandingly potent tool to probe into the nature of the universe at large. Yes, in 3 minutes total.Enjoy, along with this beautiful photo from Ale!

In today's lecture, Alan gave a very brief reflection for when we finish this retreat. As we know, the still, sustained focus / samadhi of our attention will naturally diminish within a socially engaged lifestyle. However, the Four Immeasurables have no reason to do so and in fact can even be amplified and practiced all day within the context of our life. We then go into a free Four Immeasurable meditation, and I have a question for you valued listeners:Do you prefer for me to trim the silent meditations out of the podcast? Please comment on the site for this podcast episode. Keep in mind that I always place chapter markers so you can easily skip to after the meditation or just use fast forward. So please comment, I want to see what you all think! I left it in today, also because we had a great meditation-enhancing rainstorm. Unfortunately the tiny wire microphone I use for Alan obviously does not do it justice, but you can at least imagine meditating here with us in the rain :)After the meditation I stripped

In this episode, Alan talks about something that probably bothers many of us, and he calls it "A Sacred Tension." It is about our decision to either dedicate our time fully to contemplation, to mundane life, or somewhere in between both. This is very valuable for those of us having these types of doubts.I stripped out the silent meditation (so you know the drill: pause, set your own 24 [or more!] minute timer, and then press play again), and left in a brief outro. I would like to say that the stats that Alan mentions are now almost double! I'll share some stats with all of you towards the end of this podcast series.Thank you all for tuning in =)

This afternoon we started with a very practical introduction on how to draw from the 4I throughout the course of a normal day in our life after the retreat if we are not going into full time practice. To use an incorrect (but illustrative) phrase, going back to the "real world." It includes a review on how to identify when and which of the Four Immeasurables are needed and on how to correctly apply them in day-to-day mundane life. The practice itself was silent, but I left it in for coherence.The outro includes a brief summary on the gradient of nuances with which we can practice each of the Four Immeasurables. There is a mode of practice for everyone!There were also two great questions, the first of which I have taken out with the goal of making your Sunday a fun day. The second question deals with the "pulses" of cognition that are described both in Buddhist psychology and in modern scientific research. Alan overviews how they interact, conglomerate, scatter, etc, and how our Shamatha pr

This morning Alan started by saying that he would like to let us choose our own Shamatha method, for these next few days and perhaps for the rest of the retreat. If so, then I will only be podcasting the long afternoon sessions.But for now I left this one in anyway.Alan also talks about the "gears" of our practice, upshifting and downshifting, and gives a brief outro on the importance of remaining engaged with reality.Enjoy this silent practice with us!This great photo is by Sara.

In this short and sweet sunday bonus, we synthesized the three main methods of Shamatha into one practice. There is an extremely short introduction and then the practice.A great way to combine these different meditative variations!Enjoy as we did!I would also like to let you know that after receiving several emails offering donations, I added some links to donate to the Santa Barbara Institute for Conciousness Studies to help fund future podcasts. For those viewing this on the web click on the big arrow to see the subsite, and for those viewing this in iTunes go here: http://bit.ly/bnxSR5All of the profits will go to ensure that they can keep running podcasts in the future when I am not around. So don't worry, I don't want to make any money from you (and neither do they!)The photo is of the very photogenic Sombrero Galaxy. That glow in the middle is composed of billions of stars.Credit:Image Credit: NASA/Hubble Heritage Team

This lovely afternoon we went back to the practice of Loving Kindness, using the phrase from T.S. Elliot in the title. We went straight into meditation.After the practice, we had assorted Q&A from several people, on many topics. Alan talked about "practicing well" regardless of how well the practice is going, and there are other pieces of golden information scattered throughout. I would also like to let you know that after receiving several emails offering donations, I added some links to donate to the Santa Barbara Institute for Conciousness Studies to help fund future podcasts. For those viewing this on the web click on the big arrow to see the subsite, and for those viewing this in iTunes go here: http://bit.ly/bnxSR5All of the profits will go to ensure that they can keep running podcasts in the future when I am not around. So don't worry, I don't want to make any money from you (and neither do they!)This picture of the surrounding jungle was provided by Sangay!

As you can probably tell by the title, today's practice was not you regular 4I practice. Sure, it did start out with a regular equanimity/Tonglen practice but this time we had the option of going deeper, down to pristine awareness. Rather than "Boundless" Compassion or Loving Kindness, today we had the option to cultivate "Great" (Maha) Compassion/Loving Kindness. Although "boundless" sounds quite more grandiloquent, cultivating Mahakarunā or Mahamettā is something that has to be yearned at our deepest level of existance for it not to be just utterly hilarous or megalomaniacal. Alan gives a great introduction on how to see this from a non-megalomaniacal point of view, and explains taking on the task of "making it so" for all sentient beings and arousing our deepest motivation for it. I won't pollute it further with my words, listen to Alan!After the session, Alan spontaneously said one of the classic (beautiful) dedications of merit, and gave an English translation. We

Alan "kickstarted" this morning [because he likes that word so much ;) ] with a healthy dose of Physics. He started talking about the following article from NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/science/space/18cosmos.html , which claims to uncover a new clue as to why we exist. Appreciating the enormous scientific value of this article, we realize the truth of the statement "ask a physical question and you'll receive a physical answer." We go back into the analysis of the relationship between the observer and matter, going into a "strange loop" of which came before the other, ending in mutual interdependence.Alan then masterfully creates a seamless link between this introduction and the practice of Awareness of Awareness. While these brilliant scientists at FERMI (and soon CERN!) are deeply investigating why we exist from the material point of view, we brilliant contemplatives are investigating why we exist by probing into the very nature of consciousness (without which there w