Dear Friends, The fifth kind of wisdom Gil discusses is what he calls liberative wisdom.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11207 We start practice often from a place of suffering – we initiate practice from this motivation to find freedom from suffering. As we practice, there is more clarity and we can start to distinguish what is happening. That gives us more capabilities to… Read More »
Dear Friends, Gil’s fourth dimension of wisdom is something he calls “revelatory wisdom.” He uses this phrase because things are revealed to us as we practice.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11199 The calming and settling of the mind that we may experience through practice allows us to see more clearly. Something that was always there is clear. Gil uses an example of when… Read More »
Dear Friends, The third form of wisdom Gil discusses is “decisive wisdom.”https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11192 As we sit and practice, there is more clarity in the mind to see what is happening, and we start to see what is helpful and what is not helpful, and the consequences of our actions. When we see the what is happening and we have… Read More »
Dear Friends, The second aspect of the faculty of paññā, wisdom, that Gil reflects on is what he calls distinguishing wisdom.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11182 As we start to see our experience with more clarity, we can begin to tease it apart into its component parts. Gil gives the example of getting more clarity on something like “I feel terrible.” To look… Read More »
Dear Friends, The fifth faculty is paññā, often translated as wisdom, and Gil offers other words like discernment or insight.https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/11407 Although the word “wisdom” may sound lofty, it’s a faculty we all possess. Gil says “as we settle in and listen deeply, … our psychophysical system will begin to discern what’s happening. We’ll begin to see more and… Read More »
Dear Friends, My Facebook feed on Friday had the following news: beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95. We invite our global spiritual family to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful… Read More »
Dear Friends, In the third talk from the retreat, “The Brahma Viharas for Insight and Wisdom,” Jill brings in lots of ideas to unpack – so I’ll take a couple of days to bring out a few points I found helpful. Jill starts off by explaining two extremes we might notice in our own lives – one of… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Sally Armstrong’s talk, “Facets of Equanimity,” looking at equanimity as an expression of wisdom. One of the lists Sally includes in this section on equanimity and wisdom is the five remembrances. This is the version she shared: I am of the nature to age, I have not gone beyond aging.I am of the nature… Read More »
Dear Friends, To finish Kamala’s talk, “The Five Spiritual Faculties’ relationship to Equanimity” with the fifth faculty of wisdom. Kamaly says the calm and steady collected mind can “pierce through the illusion of solidity and permanence.” She says, “When [the mind] pierces through the illusion of permanence, the deep understanding and wisdom of impermanence is known. Not theoretically,… Read More »
Dear Friends, Yesterday, we reviewed a common occurrence when trying to bring mindfulness to daily activities – we start off with good effort and results, but then the novelty wears off, and we stop being so mindful. I related this to two short-lived types of joy that Chade-Meng Tan discusses in Joy on Demand: the joy of novelty and the joy of… Read More »
