Alan Wallace Fall 2012 Retreat Podcast: Vipashyana, Four Applications Of Mindfulness

Teaching pt1: Alan reviews the view of reality according to the 3 turnings of the wheel of the dharma. In the 1st turning, in response to the question as posed by the Sautantrika of “What is real?”, we see things as simply or mere phenomena. Seeing means knowing what we’re seeing is mere or simply phenomena which means in accordance with the 3 marks of existence, free from our conceptual projections con-fused with reality. In the 2nd turning, we use our intelligence to uncover the ultimate nature of phenomena which still appear deceptively. In the 3rd turning, rigpa recognizes rigpa. For each of the 4 applications of mindfulness, the Buddha mentions in the Sattipathana sutta to attend 1) internally, 2) externally, and 3) both internally and externally. This allows us to shine the light of awareness and mindfulness on domains of our own experience. Meditation: mindfulness of the body. Letting awareness be still, attend to 1) perceptions of all 5 senses and 2) your body. Ask: 1) is any appearance „yo

Teaching: Alan begins the session by presenting the 2nd and 3rd marks of existence. In the 2nd mark of existence, dukkha can be understood to mean the unsatisfactory nature of looking at any experience and thinking, „This will make me happy.“ The 3rd mark of existence: all phenomena are empty and non-self. This means that „me“ and „mine“ are conceptual designations empty of intrinsic entity (=self). Meditation: mindfulness of the body focusing on the 3rd mark of existence emptiness and non-self. Use discerning mindfulness on each of the following sense domains in turn: 1) visual, 2) auditory, 3) tactile, and 4) all 5 senses. Ask: 1) is any appearance „yours“ or „you“?, and 2) do you have any control over appearances arising? Q1. When I focus on the breath, it gets tight and uneasy. Why and what can I do about it? 
Q2. Within the course of a single session, is it possible to shift from mindfulness of breathing at the abdomen to the nostrils, or vice versa?
Q3. It’s difficult for me to feel sensat

Teaching: Alan gives a brief teaching on Dromtönpa’s quote „Give up all attachment to this life, and let your mind become dharma.“ In shamatha practice, releasing excitation corresponds to giving up attachment, and resting in awareness, 5 antidotes naturally arise to counter the 5 obscurations to the substrate and rigpa: 1) sukkha vs. malice/ill-will, 2) single-pointed attention vs. desire/attachment/fixation, 3) coarse investigation vs. laxity/dullness, 4) bliss vs. excitation/anxiety, and 5) precise analysis vs. afflictive uncertainty. Meditation: mindfulness of breathing method of your choice. If there is tension, you may want to practice full-body awareness. If there is rumination, you may want to practice mindfulness of breathing at the abdomen. If the mind is loose and calm, you may want to practice mindfulness of breathing at the nostrils. For any of the practices, use staccato counting if helpful. As always, monitor the flow of mindfulness with introspection and apply antidotes to laxity and

Teaching pt1: Alan begins the session by introducing the buddhist theory of causality. Here, one distinguishes between substantial causes and cooperative conditions in how effects are created. We can contemplate the factors of origination and dissolution in reference to the 18 dhatus—i.e., 6 sensory fields, 6 modes of consciousnesses, and 6 faculties. Meditation: mindfulness of the body focusing on the 2nd mark of existence dukkha. Closely apply mindfulness to see if sensations of pleasure/pain or comfort/discomfort are coming from the object. Have awareness illuminate all 5 sense domains and ask: 1) is there anything unchanging/static?, 2) is anything a true source of pleasure/displeasure?, and 3) is there any overlap between the sense domains? Teaching pt2: Alan returns to the 1st and 2nd marks of existence with the idea that when they saturate our mind, there’s a profound shift in our world view. The 1st mark of existence: unconditioned phenomena are impermanent. The 2nd mark of existence: an

Meditation: mindfulness of breathing at the nostril. Same instructions as before. Use introspection to attend to the flow of mindfulness. If there’s excitation, relax, release, and return. If there’s laxity or dullness, refresh, refocus, and retain. In between sessions, let your default mode be perception of real phenomena as defined in the Sautantrika and release rumination. Also, check to see that your respiration is flowing naturally. Meditation starts at 9:30

Meditation: body scan. Single-pointedly focus on sensations (both outer and inner) at one target area, scanning the body from top to bottom as instructed in the guided meditation. Teaching: Alan introduces some Sautrāntika philosophy—view of reality—to help us observe closely. There are 1) things that exist and 2) things that don’t exist. Among things that exist, there are 1a) real and 1b) unreal. Real phenomena constitute anything that can be perceived directly or with the help of instruments. Unreal phenomena exist only because we say so—i.e., conceptual designations. 
This framework helps us in the practice of the 4 applications of mindfulness to distinguish through careful observation between 1) what’s being presented and 2) what’s being superimposed. Q1. In the practice of the 5 elements, each element appears to be in flux, so does each element contain air element?
Q2. Is the experience of prana (lelung) upon achieving shamatha the same as kundalini?
Q3. Can walking meditation be integrated int

Meditation: mindfulness of breathing at the nostril. Focus mental awareness on breath coming in and out at the nostril or upper lip, wherever you feel the sensation most clearly. Engage with the full course of in and out breath, arousing attention at in breath and releasing thoughts and relaxing at out breath. Experiment with staccato counting to counter rumination.
This practice enhances vividness, but does so without sacrificing stability and relaxation. 
Be relentless about breaking up rumination by resting engaged! Meditation starts at 1:40

Teaching: Alan begins by framing the quest as the pursuit of inner knowledge, contrasting the centrality of subjective experience and mind in buddhism with the emphasis on understanding reality from the outside and materialism in science. In science, conceptual understanding and reason are considered the highest goal. In buddhism, concepts are used as a means to arrive at non-conceptual experience/realization. Both the body and the environmental are composed of the 4 elements. Meditation: mindfulness of the body with immediate experience of the 5 elements: 1) earth, 2) water, 3) fire, 4) air, and 5) space. For each of the elements, 1) observe nakedly, 2) can you observe anything stable or static?, and 3) can you directly perceive the space of the body? Q1-2. Can we guide ourselves using internal dialog or verbal prompts during our meditation, or is this distracting?
Q3. Can we adjust for any physical discomfort during meditation? 
Q4. I’ve experienced the greatest stability in my meditations when the

Meditation: mindfulness of breathing at the abdomen using counting of breaths as a support. Counting does break the flow of mindfulness, so use it only if it helps stem rumination. Keep the counting staccato and as before, use introspection to detect any laxity or excitation. Meditation starts at 2:36

Meditation: mindfulness of the body. For each of the following senses—1) visual, 2) auditory, 3) tactile—engage in the following steps 1) direct mindfulness to the sense objects, 2) observe to see if they are unchanging, 3) direct mindfulness to space of sense field, 4) observe to see if it is unchanging. Teaching: Mindfulness of the body includes your own body, others’ bodies, all objects of the 5 senses. Alan recounts the story of the Buddha’s teaching to Bahiya, „In the seen, let there be just the seen...“ as a teaching on vipasyana where there is no atman here (in the self), there (in phenomena), nor in between. Bahiya realized arhatship as someone with sharp faculties. Sentient beings suffer due to the misapprehension of reality as characterized by the 3 marks of existence—1) impermanence, 2) suffering, and 3) non-self—and the 4 ends of impermanence—1) whatever is born, perishes, 2) whenever there is meeting, separation, 3) whatever is acquired, lost, and 4) whatever goes up, comes down. Mindfulness m

Meditation: focus attention on the in and out breath at the belly. With the in breath, arouse your attention. With the out breath, release any thoughts and relax. In order to maintain attention, it is important to develop relaxation first. Otherwise, we get tired easily. Normally, our default mode is rumination, where we become susceptible to mental afflictions. We need to develop a new default mode: continuity of attention, continuity of non-conceptual knowing. When your breath is long, notice you are breathing long, when your breath is short, notice that you are breathing short. Sustain the clarity of awareness. With this exercise, we open the doors to intuition. Meditation starts at 6:40

Meditation: Settling body, speech, and mind in the natural state; Bare attention; Application of mindfulness on the body Teaching: Alan begins by distinguishing between mindfulness, bare attention, vipassana, choiceless awareness, open presence, and dzogchen. As an entry point to vipasyana, it necessary to undo the conflation between that which is being presented and our superimposition of labels, memories, like/dislike, etc... Vipasyana is an expedition which attends to and engages with all appearances of reality without falling into old ruts. Someone suitable for the expedition possesses 3 qualities: 1) being perceptive, 2) being open-minded, and 3) putting teachings into practice. In the Sattipathana sutta, the Buddha calls the 4 applications of mindfulness the „direct path“ to the „realization of nirvana“. Samadhi is prerequisite for the wisdom teachings to penetrate, purify, transform, and liberate the mind. The foundation of samadhi is sila (ethics). Meditation starts at 00:00

It's important to settle the motivation for the day. In Mahayana teachings the motivation is the base of bodhicitta. It's important to have cognitive balance, which brings intelligence to our desires and aspirations. Relaxation, stability and clarity are crucial for meditation. First melt away the body and then allow the breath to flow naturally. Trust in the healing capacity of our own body. If you get tired when meditating, focus on relaxation without loosing stability. Meditation starts at 14:55

Alan welcomes the participants and explains some of the groundrules for the 8-week retreat. Teaching: Alan begins by presenting the framework for his cycle of teachings on shamatha, vipasyana, mind-training, dream yoga, and dzogchen. During this retreat, the instructions in the morning will focus shamatha and those in the afternoon on the 4 applications of mindfulness. Even if one has not yet realized shamatha, vipasyana practice will support shamatha and vice versa. Practice by being sweet and gentle to yourself. Most problems in meditation come from pushing too hard or too much ego. Note: Several sections concerning logistical issues have been removed from the recording.