Topics Include:
Right concentration as part of the Eightfold Noble path.
Understanding the distinction between Samatha or concentration meditation and Vipassana or mindfulness meditation and how it reflects the evolution of the Buddha’s journey.
The forty different kinds of objects used in concentration practice:
The ten kasinas: objects that represent some universal quality.
The ten unattractive objects: the decay of the physical body.
The ten recollections: the three gems, morality, generosity, and divine-like qualities in ones self; death; the unnattractive nature of the body, breathing, and the recollection of peace.
The four Brahmaviharas: lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
One perception: the repulsiveness of food.
One analysis: seeing the body in terms of the four primary elements: earth, water, fire, and air.
The importance and primacy of the breath as a meditative object.
September 18, 2021
52 min.