Fall 2011 Shamatha Retreat

We come to our very last session with a meditation on loving kindness and dedication of merit (0:50)

Afterwards our group prepared such a lovely closing ceremony that we figured other people might like to cultivate some empathetic joy :)

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We come to the last day of the retreat, where Alan invites us to reboot our mind by way of shamatha.

Silent meditation starts at 01:16

Afterwards Alan shares a story and shows us how through shamatha, for a moment everything can be ok

Alan leads the group, who has started talking now, through a shamatha session (02:13) designed to bring the mind down from agitation to calm. He speaks to a question (35:53) regarding the Dzogchen view of rigpa and the extent to which one can provide a reason as to why one who awakens from the dream of reality won’t fall asleep again.

Note: The first 5 or 10 seconds were missing because Alan started talking before the computer had finished loading. Sorry about that! We were coming back from our (hectic) group photo session so he was talking about that, and that's also why this session is shorter.

Alan briefly speaks on how to infuse a busier day with shamatha and mindfulness. He also announces that he will do 6 months retreat at the end of 2012, so there will be no 8 week shamatha retreat in Spring 2013. Silent meditation starts at 01:38

There are three strategies to protect from the tornado of thoughts in the mind. The first is to go to a shelter which is mindfulness of breathing – releasing and releasing the thoughts. The second is the tornado chasers who learn a great deal about tornadoes without getting caught in them – that is settling the mind in its natural state. The third is to go up into the tornado and come out on the other side in the expanse of blue sky – that is awareness of awareness. Silent meditation starts at 04:18

Questions (29:02)

Were the four immeasurable taught as a part of the year of shamatha practice with Gen Lamrimpa?

Could you discuss further the role of the observer participant related to frozen time.