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 […]
Bodhi College, in conjunction with Tricycle Online Courses, is offering a course entitled “Mindfulness: Its Origins, Purpose, and Transformational Power”. Course instructors are Akincano Weber, Christina Feldman, Stephen Batchelor, and John Peacock. The preview material includes a video entitled “What is Mindfulness?”. It is available for free; click “Free Preview”, enter your email address. You’ll […]
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