In this final session, Alan brings us back to the first immeasurable of loving-kindness with a guided meditation which focuses on loving-kindness first for oneself, and then spreading out to all begins. Thank you for listening to these podcasts. If you have found them of value, please consider donating to the Santa Barbara Institute.…

Editor's Note: Due to multiple recording errors, this afternoon's podcast is an optimized recording from an iPhone. Because of this, it is difficult to hear clearly. My very sincere apologies. If anyone can improve the quality further, I would love to publish a better version. Please email Lizzy at podcasts@sbinstitute.com if you are interested. Al…

This morning, Alan first speaks about Dharma practice during periods of transition. This is followed by an unguided meditation, which is not included.By B Alan Wallace

Although there are two more days of retreat, this is our last afternoon session. Alan begins by jumping right in to a guided meditation in which he "puts us through the paces" of the three types of mindfulness of breathing, settling the mind in its natural state, awareness of awareness, and, finally, vipashyana. This is followed by a long question …

This morning we begin with an unguided meditation (not included in this recording) and then Alan answers the following questions from the group: 1. Could you clarify the terms mind, awareness, and consciousness? Do you use them interchangeably? 2. You mentioned sem and rigpa. What about lo?By B Alan Wallace

This afternoon Alan leads a guided meditation [6:25] that integrates the three different methods of vipashyana as taught by Padmasambhava. After the guided meditation [31:40], Alan talks about the history and development of science by answering the following questions: 1. When did the different schools and interpretations of scientific discovery oc…

This morning, Alan speaks about skillful means for evaluating our practice and determining whether our aspirations are being fulfilled or not. The following unguided meditation is not included.By B Alan Wallace

In this afternoon session, (today's morning session did not include any guidance or teachings and was not recorded) Alan Wallace continues to teach on vipashyana. We begin this afternoon with a 24-minute meditation [1:10] with guidance from the direct words of Padmasambhava. After the meditation, Alan elaborates and gives commentary on the text, wh…

This afternoon, we review the teachings from Saturday afternoon (#84) and practice in the same way. The unguided meditation is not included. There is no question and answer; instead, Alan gives some final remarks after the ~55 minute dharma talk and meditation period. Link to the notes from this talk: http://sbinstitute.com/PodcastNotes/Vipashyana%…

This morning, Alan reminds us to continue to "downshift" and loosen up if we find we are unsatisfied with the quality of our meditation. This brief introduction is followed by an unguided meditation, which is not included.By B Alan Wallace

This afternoon Alan continues with a second method of vipashyana, "Engaging in the Search for the Mind," again from Padmasambhava's "Natural Liberation," with reference as well to Tsongapa's teachings on the same subject. The dharma talk lasts most of the session, and we conclude with a final seven-minute silent meditation (included), followed by f…

We will continue to go right into unguided meditation sessions in the morning (not included in the recording), followed by brief Q&A. This morning Alan answers one question: 1. In awareness of awareness, I find it difficult to relax, although I am quite concentrated. I notice tension keeps creeping in. Is this common?…

This afternoon, Alan ventures into the realm of vipashyana with an introductory teaching. He draws from Padmasambhava's "Natural Liberation" and instructs us on a basic vipashyana technique. The opening talk lasts 55 minutes, and the following unguided vipashyana meditation is included. After the unguided meditation [1:23:05], Alan continues to ela…

This morning's session is an unguided open practice, followed by brief Q&A. The meditation period is not included. Alan answers these questions: 1. In awareness of awareness, how can I most effectively release medium excitation other than relaxing more? 2. In settling the mind in its natural state, during the period of "in the seen, let there be ju…

Alan begins this afternoon session with a profoundly wise and skillful dharma talk on the deepest kind of equanimity: that which is viewed from the perspective of rigpa. This 55 minute talk is followed by the unguided meditation (not included) and one question from the group: Sometimes I rephrase your guided meditation questions to suit myself. Is …

This morning we return to the final phase of the awareness of awareness practice: exploring this awareness spatially. Alan first reviews the technique for the practice. The unguided meditation is not included.By B Alan Wallace

This afternoon, Alan Wallace sets up a meditation on equanimity, or uppekha, in two parts. First, bringing to mind situations in our lives that arouse aversion and craving, then imagining maintaining equanimity, and reflecting upon right action in those situations. Second, attending to a wide array of beings with equanimity, allowing the awareness …

This morning we continue with the practice of awareness of awareness. Alan first gives an introduction, then brief final remarks after the unguided meditation. The unguided meditation is not included in the recording. All meditation sessions are 24 minutes long.By B Alan Wallace

This afternoon Alan Wallace again sets up an unguided meditation on mudita, or empathetic joy. He first gives a 40 minute dharma talk about skillfully attending to one's own virtues without reifying oneself in the process. The unguided meditation is not included in the recording. Alan then answers this question from the group (begins at 42:38 in th…

This morning Alan Wallace again introduces the practice of shamatha without a sign, or awareness of awareness, as taught by Padmasambhava. We are instructed to look right into our actual sense of being an agent. The following unguided meditation is not included in the recording.By B Alan Wallace

This afternoon's session begins with a 50 minute Dharma talk in which Alan Wallace invites us to consider whether we are content, satisfied, perhaps even willing to rejoice in the current trajectory of our individual lives. He talks about balancing between the two extremes of being utterly disappointed with ourselves and being complacent with the w…

In this morning's session we return to the practice of awareness of awareness. Alan first introduces the technique of oscillation between withdrawal from all appearances and release into space, or non-objectivity. The unguided meditation is not included.By B Alan Wallace

This afternoon, Alan first gives a Dharma talk relating to the deepest type of suffering to which we are vulnerable: the pervasive suffering of composite, or conditioned, existence. He asks the question, "Why do we suffer?" and explores it from a theistic, materialistic, and then, in depth, a Buddhist perspective. Finally, he posits that in order t…

This morning, Alan first reviews the practice of settling the mind in its natural state, both in theory and in practice. This is followed by an unguided meditation that begins at 12:00 in the recording.By B Alan Wallace

This afternoon, Alan first gives a lengthy Dharma talk about different methods for responding to the reality of change. He contrasts the materialistic and Buddhist views, and goes into detail about how attachment and grasping block one's ability to achieve freedom from the suffering of change. This is followed by an unguided meditation on compassio…

Alan first speaks for 15 minutes about the benefits of the practice of settling the mind in its natural state and its use in freeing ourselves from our habitual propensities of craving, aversion, and delusion. He also talks about the skillful use of stage of generation practices in the context of settling the mind in its natural state. The unguided…

Alan begins this afternoon's session with a lengthy dharma talk on cultivating confidence in the practices, now that we have two full weeks of silent retreat remaining. He also sets up today's meditation on compassion for blatant suffering by speaking about different ways of responding to "hedonic distress" and "genuine distress." The unguided medi…

This morning continues with unguided meditations. Alan first speaks briefly about the tendency to identify with the body and mind as oneself. This practice is particularly effective in eradicating this misunderstanding. It helps us move from, "Buddhanature is something I have, but I'm really screwed up," to, "Buddhanature is who I am, and the menta…

Another unguided meditation this afternoon, first introduced with a description of the obstacle of feeling separate from others, and how this impedes the flow of loving-kindness. The unguided meditation begins at 9:20 in the recording. Alan then answers a number of questions from the group, beginning at 37:35 in the recording. 1. Where does volitio…

This morning, Alan first reviews the instructions for the third phase of mindfulness of breathing, with the attention placed on the sensations of the breath at the aperture of the nostrils. We then share a 24-minute unguided meditation. Enjoy! Unguided meditation begins at 8:45 in the recording.By B Alan Wallace

This afternoon we continue with unguided meditations. Alan first reviews the meditation on loving-kindness for others in the tradition of Buddhaghosa, first for oneself, then a dearly loved friend, then a neutral person, and finally a difficult person. Alan also invites us to hold space to see who else might arise and attend to them with loving-kin…

This morning, Alan first reviews the practice of mindfulness of breathing, the second phase, with its emphasis on the somatic sensations of the breath in the abdomen, while maintaining relaxation and increasing stability. This is followed by an unguided 24-minute meditation, and then Alan reminds us to maintain our mindfulness between sessions by b…

In this afternoon's session, Alan first gives advice on the sleep imbalances that can arise during retreat (or outside of retreat) and introduces us to the practice of "sleepitation" to ground oneself in the earth element and relax deeply when trying to sleep. He then reviews the instructions of loving-kindness for oneself in detail, after which we…

The next three morning sessions will be unguided meditations on the first three stages of mindfulness of breathing. This morning, Alan first speaks briefly about the importance of the cultivation of relaxation. The unguided meditation (included) begins at 8:00 in the recording. Recording quality improves significantly at 2:00.…

In this session, we approach the immeasurable of equanimity from a Mahayana perspective, using the practice of tonglen (sending and receiving) to attend to individual sentient beings. The guided meditation begins at 7:10 in the recording. Alan then answers these questions from the group: 1. What is the relationship between the four immeasurable and…

In this morning session, Alan Wallace guides a meditation on the awareness of awareness practice. Today, we intentionally send our awareness above, to the right, to the left, below, to the heart center, and then out into space. The guided meditation begins at 4:22 in the recording.By B Alan Wallace

Alan Wallace begins this afternoon's session with the question, "When a desire arises, how does one know whether it is desire (wholesome) or craving (unwholesome)?" He explores practical answers to this question, then proceeds to a guided meditation on the immeasurable of uppekha, or equanimity, focusing on a Theravaden approach, cultivating an eve…

In this morning session, Alan Wallace guides a meditation of awareness of awareness, focusing on the lived sense, the actual sense one has, of being the witness, or observer, of all that is 'over there' while one feels oneself is 'over here.' The guided meditation begins at 7:26 in the recording.By B Alan Wallace

In this session, Alan Wallace guides a meditation on empathetic joy, emphasizing taking delight and joy in both the causes of genuine happiness and the material fruits of this happiness. In his introduction, he also speaks about the importance and meaning of path, and the question of how to develop a deep enough aspiration to clarify this path. The…

In this morning session, we follow Padmasambhava's teachings in this second phase of the awareness of awareness practice. Our quest is not to look and find nothing, but rather to look for something that does exist: the "lived sense" of "I am the agent." We then scrutinize this sense. Is it authentic or delusional? Does it correspond to an actual ag…

In this session, Alan Wallace guides a meditation on mudita, or empathetic joy. He first speaks for some time about the opportunity of a precious human birth, and the power contemplating this opportunity has to shift the mind towards gratitude and delight. The guided meditation begins at 21:55 in the recording. Alan then answers these questions fro…

We again begin to explore the practice of awareness of awareness in this teaching and guided meditation with Alan Wallace. He speaks for a short while before the guided meditation about the significance of this practice. The guided meditation begins at 13:50 in the recording.By B Alan Wallace

In this teaching, Alan Wallace guides a meditation on compassion for the deepest kind of suffering: the suffering of conditioned existence. He informs us that the cultivation of wisdom from insight is a prerequisite for this compassion; the sense that it is possible to wake up, to realize true freedom. The guided meditation begins 29:08 at in the r…

We continue to practice setting the mind in its natural state, today focusing on observing the space of the mind without alteration. The guided meditation begins at 9:20 in the recording.By B Alan Wallace

Today's session begins with an inspiring and lucid twenty-minute dharma talk about the four noble truths, particularly the first three noble truths. This is followed by a guided meditation on the immeasurable of compassion, focusing on the suffering of change because of attachment to the way things are or are not. The guided meditation begins at 21…

Alan Wallace guides a 24-minute guided meditation on settling the mind in its natural state. He first introduces the practice of applying this quality of awareness to our experiences engaging with others. The guided meditation begins at 14:17 in the recording.By B Alan Wallace

Alan Wallace begins today's teaching with a 40-minute dharma talk that could be titled, "Retreat and Expedition Approaches to Freedom from Blatant Suffering." In this engaging talk, Alan surveys the history of these approaches and explores the mechanisms and effects of shamatha and vipassana. He then guides a meditation on compassion, first wishing…

We return to the practice of settling the mind in its natural state. In the guided meditation, we bring the quality of quiet, bare attention to the visual, auditory, tactile, and then the mental field. In each domain, we allow there to be the simplicity of "in the heard, let there be just the heard" and so on. The guided meditation begins at 7:45 i…

This simple approach to loving-kindness was taught by the Buddha himself. We will be extending the awareness out spatially in all directions -- without bounds -- but first requesting that we be free of animosity (the distant enemy of loving-kindness). Alan tells us about how Matthieu Ricard once said, in the context of compassion practice (but the …

Alan Wallace guides in the third phase of mindfulness of breathing, which focuses on enhancing vividness without sacrificing stability. During this meditation, we place our awareness on the sensation of breath at the aperture of the nostrils. Alan reminds us that relaxation remains essential and to maintain a relaxed body, especially the facial mus…