Fall 2013 Shamatha And The Bodhisattva Way Of Life

We go right into meditation on the rise and fall of the breath at the abdomen. Burmese method to stabilize the mind. Stage 2 of Shamatha is reached when you can stabilize your mind for up to a minute at a time. Alan discusses how to use the 9 stages of Shamatha – as sign posts, not as goals. If you set as goals then turn the 9 stages into poison. Achieve this stage by the power of thinking such as counting the breaths. Most of the time your attention is not on the object. This is to be expected. In between sessions maintain mindfulness. Meditation was silent and so not recorded.