In preparation for this blog post, I reviewed the 2020 Q2 update and laughed outloud. The first sentence, “What a crazy busy quarter.” 2020 Q3. What a crazy busy quarter! :D The Akimbo Podcasting workshop was (as the Story Skills workshop was) transformational. I hate using language like that, but there it is. How so, […]
I’m in the midst of producing several Buddha Bites podcast episodes on Vedanā (aka Hedonic Tone). It’s been challenging; following are some deets about the process. As I wrote back in March, a 2019 retreat led by Akincano Weber and Dr. Judson Brewer hooked me on the implications of Vedanā. When I talk about Dharma […]
We’re very much in experimentation phase here at DharmaPhD. To produce EP3 of Dharma PhDthe podcast, I used an audio editing program designed for podcasters called Descript. If you have three minutes and would like to smile, I cannot help but recommend their ad video. It’s delightful. But. The real thing to announce is that, […]
This post accompanies a podcast episode and a transcript of Peacock’s talk. I’d love to hear what you think. Happy reading! It is a lovely July morning. BooBear kisses me farewell and I, grinagog, board the Greyhound bus which is to spend the day ferrying me from Baltimore, MD to New York State. I trot […]
I thought it might be useful to mention that I have guided meditations over on the Insight Timer app. Search “Cultivate“, which is the pseudonym I’m using to corral my teaching activities. (Ahem, cultivate.gg, ahem.) See you there!
This talk was made available by Audio Dharma; the talk is available here: Buddhism Before the Theravada Part 2. If you’d like to explore further, we’ve produced a podcast episode about this talk (Episode 3, if you’re already subscribed). I’d love to hear what you think! Okay, okay. One more thing… I made a very […]
No, ladies and gentlemen et. al. That is not a typo. Today my dharma-vocab was upgraded. Thanks to the inimitable Anu Garg at A.Word.A.Day, I now know the verb “cliticize”, which means “To attach or become attached”. From one practitioner to another I beg you: Quit Your Cliticizing.
This talk was made available by Audio Dharma; the talk is available here: Buddhism Before the Theravada Part 1. If you’d like to explore further, I’ve also written a commentarial blog post about this talk and we’ve produced a podcast episode on it (Episode 2, if you’re already subscribed). I’d love to hear what you […]
I am writing this post in July, 2020, amidst a confusion of half-arsed quarantining efforts in the US. The edifice of US formal education is showing its cracks. For many, self-directed education is not only a viable option, it is the best possible option. Particularly for adult learners, and particularly for those adult learners for […]
What a crazy busy quarter. on 12MAY I got an email from Seth Godin’s Akimbo program saying that the Story Skills Workshop was opening on 18MAY. My entire life got squeezed into 8-hour writing/workshopping/critiquing/responding. It was crazy. But. That workshop was one of the most important I’ve taken. It transformed my ability to communicate. As […]
Several folks have asked me about becoming an MBSR teacher. Thought I’d share this last draft of my response; it may be helpful to others. :) *******Dear Rachida, greetings! As promised, here is a brain-dump of my knowledge re: becoming an MBSR teacher (in English): Background: As you probably know, MBSR was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn […]
I am currently enrolled in one of Seth Godin’s Akimbo projects, “The Story Skills Workshop”. The first piece is a look at my transition from military aviator to philosopher of mindfulness. It’s been fascinating to go through the process of writing, editing, revising. Learning what the moral was along the way. I hope you enjoy […]
As I divulge more about this little project o’mine, I’m amused and surprised by the interest. To answer questions and track my progress, I’ll make quarterly reports on how the project is taking shape. 2020 Q1 It seems that breaking things into quarters is more intelligible than academic semesters. Though I began thinking about this […]
Last year my dharma practice transmogrified. Let’s call this Part 1: What Happened. I had been practicing in a general way for some years. Omnivorous, secular, hot on cognitive science and evolutionary psychology while grazing here and there the texts and contemplative practices of various religious traditions. Rummaging around in the dharma bin, but unable […]
This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. Re-contextualising Mindfulness. Sati in Buddhist Psychology, sati in Mind-development, Images of sati. Establishing the Fourfold Mindfulness: (satipaṭṭhāna) as map and as four channels of experience. Insight Meditation Society — Retreat Center : Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: The Foundations of Mindfulness-Based Modalities and Research. This is the time when one of us […]
Frequently Akincano refers to what he calls “Buddhist Psychology”. I’m curious if this is a phrase used across the Bodhi College team? For myself, as I explore these disciplines of Mind and Human Flourishing (that is: Cognitive Science, Philosophy, Psychology, Neuroscience, and Contemplative Practice), I find it increasingly important to select the most appropriate (dare […]
This is one of a series of transcripts of contemporary talks which I have found particularly instructive. This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. The meeting of Dukkha and Sati — a transformative encounter. Insight Meditation Society — Forest Refuge : August 2014 at IMS — Forest Refuge. Good. Tonight I’d like to say something about Dukkha. And about Sati, Mindfulness. […]
The deeper I delve into Buddhist psychology, the more I feel at risk of going tharn in the face of its immensity. The work here at CogScifulness is 100% an attempt to deal with that threat of overwhelm. I worry, somewhat, about exposing my under-construction understanding… but I do not believe that wisdom can develop […]
I have long been a proponent of MindMapping as a brainstorming and categorization technique. Today I discovered that Bhikkhu Jayasara (of Bhavana Society) digs them too. Back in 2017 he posted several MindMaps of Buddhist concepts. Do take a look. They are well done. To wet your appetite, here’s his MindMap for “All the Defilements”:
As I begin to explore the Tipiṭaka (the Pāli Canon, the Buddhist scriptures that began to be written maybe about 400 years after Gotama’s death), I find that I need to further translate the scholarly renditions (from Bikkhus Ñanamoli, Bodhi, Ṭhānissaro, etc), into an every-day English that I can more readily access. This seems to […]
This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. Vedanā, Practice on Attention and Sati. Gaia House : Stillness and Insight Good. I’d like to ask for your attention. A few clarifications of our exercise. 00:20 We have started identifying aspects of breathing, have started taking up the exercise of returning attention to a chosen process, to […]
This is one of a series of transcripts of contemporary talks which I have found particularly instructive. This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. Vedanā — Feeling tone and attention. Practice instruction. Insight Meditation Society — Retreat Center : Cultivation — Investigation — Contemplation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students. Good. Let me request your attention again for some clarifications about our exercise. […]
This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. Citta — The Knowing Heart. Citta [as] the seat of experience. References to citta in the discourses. Upadana — four forms of grasping. The vision of atammayata “unconcoctability”. Insight Meditation Society — Retreat Center : Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students So I’m glad to have made it. Just got lost […]
This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. Review of Tools — Orientation. Four satipatthana paradigm as a map. Instruction on meditative skills resourcing — orienting — attuning — forming intentions. Insight Meditation Society — Retreat Center : Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students 0:02 So, good morning everyone. We’re in the midst of our retreat. I trust you feel some of this […]
This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. Citta the Knowing Mind. Insight Meditation Society — Retreat Center : Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students 01:11 Once more I’d like to request your kind attention for some thoughts. We’ve been exercising what we, somewhat casually, call the mind. As you are probably aware, this is […]
This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. Cittānupassanā: Contemplation of Mind States. Insight Meditation Society — Retreat Center : Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students I’d like to indulge your attention for some considerations around Cittānupassanā, the contemplation of mind states. A mind state is different from the three other Satipaṭṭhānas in character. Body […]
This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. Flavors of Not Knowing. Insight Meditation Society — Retreat Center : Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students I’d like to request your kind attention for few thoughts on practice. I was going to give you a lofty discourse on the nature of the Citta. At the heart […]
This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. A Psychological Take on Bhavana: Four Dimensions of Meditation Practice. Insight Meditation Society — Retreat Center : Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students I’d like to request your attention for a little story that I will begin with and some scattered thoughts on a number of little […]
This talk was made available by Dharma Seed. Satipatthana — Four Establishments Of Mindfulness Satipaṭṭhāna (Satipatthana) as a map of experience and practical orientation. Insight Meditation Society — Retreat Center : Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: Insight Meditation Retreat for Experienced Students 0:23 So. I’d like to request your kind attention. You’ve been doing well. Second day. Yet another scratch on the […]
I am about to begin a rather involved project of transcribing and posting hour-plus long talks to this blog. Following is my rationale. It’s a dusty read whose purpose is to assure I come in peace. Not worth reading unless you are mad, and if you are mad, it is unlikely you are interested in […]
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