At the most basic level, everything we experience is the transformation of consciousness. The mind is a kind of soup of phenomena arising and subsiding. That flux itself is classified as transformation of mode: seeds are ripening into dharmas (experienced phenomena) and at the same time phenomena are being resown as seeds. There is nothing…
The idea that our conscious experience is under-lied by an enduring substrate is a natural extension of Mundane Right View and the insight into the selfless nature of the five skandhas. Practically speaking, in the Buddhism of the Nikayas, there is no need for further discussion after the cessation of rebirth at the attainment of…
In Tibetan Buddhism there is a notion of preliminary practices that precede deep looking meditation, or in the case of that tradition, tantric practices. I don’t exactly subscribe to that school of thought, but I think there is some basic wisdom in it. First of all, the formulations of deep looking meditation need a certain…
Love is usually considered to be something between people, or as Thay suggests, between people and hamburgers. But the four immeasurable minds aren’t traditionally presented in that way. Here is the stock formulation found across the early sutras: He meditates, spreading a heart full of love to pervade the first quarter, and the second, and…
The Buddha The buddha was enlightened. He achieved profound insight into the workings of the mind and that insight set him free from suffering. How did that happen? First of all, he was capable of it from the beginning. I reject the proposal that this was something unique to the historical Shakyamuni. In principle, everyone…
I would like to make a few practical prompts for direct investigation and experience of the samadhis described in this chapter. I have kept the prompt general, but if it will help you to be concrete, you may like to choose someone or something specific to reflect on as you read through. Examples: my husband,…
