Topics Include: 1) Sharing of a recently received email about non-killing and its relationship to the ideas of karma, conventional and absolute reality, and self and non-self, all fundamental ideas in the Dharma teachings. 2) If there is no self, who dies when one commits suicide? Why do people of color want to be white? If there is no self, why can’t we have preferences between what we like and don’t like? 3) Understanding the difference between self and non-self and conventional and absolute reality, and the function of karma in conventional reality. 4) The question of racial and cultural preferences and the role of conditioning. Achieving a balanced understanding of ourselves within the context of conventional and absolute reality. 5) The mistake of assuming there is no self in our moral and ethical decisions in the world. 6) Understanding that the law of Karma, or cause and effect, occurs in conventional reality, not in absolute reality. 7) What is unconditional reality? It is defined by behavior that is not conditioned by our ego or our thoughts. 8) Facing the ultimate question: how do we die with grace. 9) The universality of the teaching of absolute reality as the transcendence of the ego. 10) Understanding the power of conditioning in our lives. 11) The effect that meditation has in our daily lives: the leavening of the soul, increasing our sentient capacity, our ability to feel.
April 10, 2021
53 min.