Dear Friends, In Gregory Kramer’s book, A Whole-Life Path, he says he refers five questions to define sati, the word we translate as mindfulness. Why am I cultivating awareness?What am I aware of?How am I cultivating awareness?Where am I aware?When am I aware? Page 255 He suggests finding a time for undisturbed reflective practice – alone or with… Read More »
Dear Friends, The seventh factor is right (or wise) mindfulness. Mindfulness is a buzzword nowadays. If you use your favorite internet search engine for “mindful ___”, where you fill the blank with practically any subject, you’ll probably find an array of articles related to it. But what is right mindfulness? In one of the discourses, Sariputta describes it… Read More »
Dear Friends, In Gil’s fifth short talk on the faculty of sati, he gives a overview of the progression thus far, and then briefly expands into exploring awareness itself.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11130 Starting with a simple mindfulness – to connect to what’s here. Then having some recognition. Leaning back and observing without interference. Sustaining observation overt time, we notice the flow,… Read More »
Dear Friends, In the progression of discussing sati, mindfulness, so far, Gil has laid out a progression: we wake up to the present moment; we develop clear recognition of what is happening in the moment; we learn skills to sustain this recognition through time and observe the flow of experience without adding stories. Gil’s next step in the… Read More »
Dear Friends, After we initially establish mindfulness and start to recognize what is happening, we can open up to observing what is happening, without interference. Observation is the third aspect of sati that Gil discusses.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11122 When we observe what is happening, we are not interfering with judgments, stories, attitudes, etc., that can cloud our perception. Gil notes, “It’s… Read More »
Dear Friends, In the second short talk on the faculty of sati, mindfulness, Gil brings in an element to help with the establishment of mindfulness – “the mind’s capacity to comprehend what is happening, to know what is happening. … This is the ability to clearly recognize what something is.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11117 The simple recognition that Gil discusses is not… Read More »
Dear Friends, The next series of talks will look at the faculty of sati, the Pali term that is commonly translated as mindfulness; Gil also uses the term awareness. As with the other faculties, Gil Fronsdal will focus in on different aspects of mindfulness that we can develop. The first aspect Gil reviews is what he calls “simple… Read More »
