DharmaMind Buddhist Group

Complete Teachings - Talk 3

This talk starts with the first steps of the insight path, and the features of the 'white cloud' that we often refer to in our practice. This talk explains that the insight path isn't something narrow that can only be pursued with defined insight methods and tools, Developing familiarity with insight can begin in the most unstructured way in any circumstances. From this growing familiarity you can then take yourself into the deeper and more refined practice that will eat away at the root of your ignorance.

Complete Teachings - Talk 2

An overview of the five pillars is followed by an introduction to the blue sky. Pursuing the pillars as the centre of training will naturally bring you to your open limitless blue sky that can now begin to become a significant aspect of your vision of what is beyond the dualistic world. The blue sky is the natural stillness and limitlessness of who you really are. From here you can begin to come alive to that which is not of the created world of the mind. Changes can be significant here but it is not the end of the path. There is still the white cloud of insightful investigation to integrate with the blue sky, it is then you can really begin to cut the bonds of ignorance.

Complete Teachings - Talk 1

These talks cover the complete spectrum of the teachings on offer from the DharmaMind approach to the dharma with its focus on liberation from the self, and nurturing the path to becoming a complete warm-hearted human being. This first talk draws together what are essentially two perspectives that could be seen as separate but are of a complete form of training.

Preparing for a Retreat

In this talk I've used the upcoming retreat for the group in Snowdonia as an example of breaking the habit of needless mental projections. Using this retreat as a metaphor for life I'm encouraging the student to rather than spend time creating situations in their mind about the retreat that may or not occur, to instead turn away from this common habit because it only produces burdens and expectations that almost certainly will not take place anyway. Best to arrive at the retreat without any expectations at all and so arrive with an empty fresh openness often described as a beginners mind. This is but an example of how we should approach everything we do in our life.

Liberation in the Mundane

We are creatures of habit, or looking from a dharmic perspective conditioned beings. This means when we learn something it then becomes a habit in our everyday life and it so often then becomes something we follow without any notion of being present through awareness, and so become like a mindless mechanical thing. The habit learned in the body takes over so that we can get lost in our thoughts and fantasies yet still perform the function that we set out to do. By living like this we are cutting ourselves off from the very source of our true nature and liberation and will be forever unfulfilled. The challenge that we all face is with energy (virya) be alive with ever present awareness and be with all of our daily habits and mundane routine, for it is just being like this that the door to freedom and awakening can only be found.

Cultivation of Detachment in Chan Buddhism

The heart of Mario's talk focuses on the fundamental danger of practice of unknowingly turning the practice itself into just another possession of the self. He focuses on the teachings of the early Chan masters who developed teachings and structures to alert practitioners of this danger that many would consider the greatest challenge of the spiritual path, in that of surrendering the notion of self without simply reinforcing it.

Professor Mario Poceski is an associate professor of Buddhist studies and Chinese religions at the University of Florida, USA. His latest books include:

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to East and Inner Asian Buddhism (Blackwell 2014)
Introducing Chinese Religions (Routledge 2009)
Ordinary Mind as the Way: The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism (Oxford 2007)

Embracing Life with Courage

This talk begins with a short acknowledgement of the Buddha's life during this month of Wesak, followed by the importance to focus on fully engaging with life as we learn to contain the habits that cause attachment and dukkha. We learn with a spirit of playfulness and experimentation to redirect our thoughts, speech and actions into a more skilful way of living all with the guidance of the six paramitas, as we slowly come to recognise the selfless engagement and function of our true nature and its aspiration of revealing the true human being.

The Fear of Letting Go (Pt. 3)

It is so easy to misunderstand our form of practice as just learning to be still and silent of mind and then expect wisdom to arise from this state. If your understanding of the training is along these lines then this is a misunderstanding and a grave error. You certainly needs stillness as a basic foundation and platform for wisdom but to really liberated what is your inherent wisdom requires commitment to change your stream of habitual attachments, through observation, investigation and restraint, all through practice within the four postures. These three talks highlight the need to be careful of retreating into your comfort zone that stillness can encourage but challenge this danger by willingly engaging with the whole of life.

The Fear of Letting Go (Pt. 2)

It is so easy to misunderstand our form of practice as just learning to be still and silent of mind and then expect wisdom to arise from this state. If your understanding of the training is along these lines then this is a misunderstanding and a grave error. You certainly needs stillness as a basic foundation and platform for wisdom but to really liberated what is your inherent wisdom requires commitment to change your stream of habitual attachments, through observation, investigation and restraint, all through practice within the four postures. These three talks highlight the need to be careful of retreating into your comfort zone that stillness can encourage but challenge this danger by willingly engaging with the whole of life.

The Fear of Letting Go (Pt.1)

It is so easy to misunderstand our form of practice as just learning to be still and silent of mind and then expect wisdom to arise from this state. If your understanding of the training is along these lines then this is a misunderstanding and a grave error. You certainly needs stillness as a basic foundation and platform for wisdom but to really liberated what is your inherent wisdom requires commitment to change your stream of habitual attachments, through observation, investigation and restraint, all through practice within the four postures. These three talks highlight the need to be careful of retreating into your comfort zone that stillness can encourage but challenge this danger by willingly engaging with the whole of life.