Marcia Rose: Dhamma Talk - Introduction to Gratitude followed by Gratitude Practice, Dedication and closing

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) In the talk, Donald reflects on having just completed, four days before the talk, four weeks of practice at Spirit Rock. He particularly focuses on three themes from the retreat, exploring each theme in terms of both its retreat context and its daily life context. The first is the theme of listening deeply to one's own "intuition" and what "calls." The second is the theme of developing samadhi (usually translated as "concentration"--the unified mind and heart and body) and in particular practicing the eight jhanas as taught by the Buddha. The third is the theme of bringing the retreat learning and explorations into daily life, and how in particular to cultivate the first two themes in the daily life context. The talk is followed by discussion.

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We begin with a brief account of the nature of samadhi (usually translated as "concentration"), and then give instructions for developing samadhi in formal meditation. (We'll come back to discuss samadhi in more depth in the talk.) There are several reminders during the meditation to return to the focus on cultivating samadhi. In the last part of the meditation, we connect the greater stability that's developed in the practice of cultivating samadhi with cultivating mindfulness.

(Mountain Hermitage)

(Mountain Hermitage)

(Mountain Hermitage)

(Mountain Hermitage)

(Mountain Hermitage)

(Mountain Hermitage)

(Mountain Hermitage)

(Mountain Hermitage)