His version of jhāna is exactly as described in the Pali Canon. If you know your Buddhist literature, you immediately know what he is talking about. And if you've ever experienced any type of jhāna, you know that his method works exactly as intended.
Daniel I don’t know if you wasn’t prepared or weather you needed to be prepared for explaining the elements but I got No foundation or build up to anything you was doing it was just weird as you say and fantastical experiences but no real strategical or conceptual I dead for profession very airy fairy this talk I got nothing from it tbh just being honest nothing to take away but wow wouldn’t this be great well yes
@David Germano A BIG problem with religions is they underwrite what cosmologists call the ANTHROPIC principle. Is are we the universe "human" centric? When we get in to the bardo, what if we seem to be attracted to being an oyster... as an audiophile? Fire walkers? They go to hell because no problem ? I mean the greeks and Sumerians et.al. had elemental philosophies. What I feel is interesting about the togal/ chod/trekcho sensory meditations is their capacity to DEMONSTRATE how the MIND (i.e. mental, psychophysiological behaviors can OPEN UP our boundaries to what's possible)
A detailed, deeply science based, yet easy understanable presentation with foqus on us, humans in a humanly way. Thank you for this impressive speech. Since I'm not a native speaker is it maybe possible to have cc or transcript?
31:50 We are our bodies, our minds are an afterthought. 40:25 Explain Or Feel, either or. 46:50 Physical Safety 52:25 Pick them up, hold them, rock them, make them feel safe, sing to them, make funny noises, be silly. 1:08:55 Regulate yourself. 1:13:40 Notice that. 1:16:07 Wake up insula with deep physical sensations.
You should be able to concentrate for 45 minutes straight before attempting most practices which involve moving energy around. Zen is Sutra Yana not Tantra Yana.
Love the enthusiasm and energy Daniel always brings to his talks. Much appreciated Daniel. You too David! That bit about Earth's sound is very useful for me to meditate on. That being said, I would like to non-judgmentally point out that your focus on the elements seems to be only focused on sound. For me the earth element is the easiest to meditate on. Our body is made of the earth. The food we eat. The ground we stand on. I can feel the Earth's (or mother earth if you like!) pull. There's a lot of ways I can feel it.
yeah as a real noob to this stuff but having done a 10 day vipassana retreat in the goenka style, this was explained as the point of vipassana, to eradicate/erase sankaras. exactly how this erasure was to manifest was not explicitly described (Goenka stuff is very vague for better or worse) but for me it was these visuals during bodyscanning which related to traumas and unpleasantness. Actually the visuals were not excessively vivid, what was striking about them was their rapidity and the number of them arising and passing in a short span of time. My equanimity was about 80% and I was pretty exhausted after the first sit like this. I had a second experience preceded by a dream, which I was more prepared for. Interestingly, whilst I half-accepted the interpretation Goenka gives that bodyscanning leads to the erasure of past traumas as they are recoded with equanimity (much like in trauma psychology and self-hypnosis) they were more ambigously erasures and less directed than what Daniel describes. I wondered at the time if I was sticking a spanner in the works. nonetheless, Daniel's experience does seem somewhat similar. just what it would be like for a very experienced meditator to go through this sort of thing. and the physical sense of emotional fatigue afterwards is exactly right on (though I didn't get it as bad as daniel ofc), but a real weepy feeling in the face etc..
A little confused. Is it the case that the classical elements (fire, earth, water, wind, etc.) are simply useful conceptual tools for practice, and their classification as "elements" is ultimately arbitrary? Or is there a claim being made that there's objective merit to their status as elements (like any element you could find in the periodic table)?
I can't speak for Dr Ingram, but for the Tibetan Buddhist traditions I don't think its arbitrary at all. It is an entire complex theory and practice that is based upon these five natural elements as encountered in nature, analyzing there characteristics, locating those characteristics in physical and mental processes, and so forth.
@@favorites3652 From my practice-oriented point of view, rather than ontological point of view, it turns out that experientially the elements make for a really nice set of focuses that connect to various aspects of the body and the natural world, and they also begin to show up as types of experiences that clearly have specific elemental qualities that are often well categorized by the framework, and they also can lead to effects that also clearly seem to be well described through an elemental lens, so, practically, the elements, once you begin to appreciate them for yourself, have a lot going for them as a framework.
Said another way, very "windy", or "watery", or "fiery", or "earthy", or "space-related" focuses produce effects that correspond to those focuses. I think it less useful to debate contructivist vs essentialist ideas, at least for me in this case, and more useful to notice what is being pointed to directly for yourself, in your own experience, for enough time for those components of your experience to show you useful and interesting things.
By way of a clear and straightforward example, if suddenly powerful heat begins to arise in the body, it seems perfectly reasonable to me to think of that as fire element, same with a vision of flowing, bubbling water as water element as another example, and, through this mix of arising experiences and specific focuses, one can begin to live in a world where one can see both the essentialist and semi-constructivist (or more "radio-tuning") perspectives. I hope this is helpful and not held in some tight way, just a practical way.
neither. they are not arbitrary and are not elements in the sense of elements in periodic table. these are meant as fundamental building blocks of anything manifest. there are outer or gross elements, then inner or subtle elements appearing as lights, and secret or innermost that are just root syllables or sounds. maybe start here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81bh%C5%ABta#Four_primary_elements
Buddha never taught that by concentrating (however deep or absorbed) Nibbana can be realized. The jhana that Buddha taught is the cultivation of wholesomeness in preparing the mind so it is able to see the roots of our Dukkha and eliminate them completely. The absorption jhanas (in which our mind focusing/concentrating on object of meditation and become absorbed/glued with that object) will never make us awaken. This absorption method is the one that Prince Siddharta abandoned after learning and achieving the jhanic states explained by Alara kalama and Uddakha Ramaputta. The jhanas that buddha taught is pretty much different. The aim is not concentration but cultivation of wholesomeness (bhavana) and in the same time developing and perfecting insignt (vipassana).
Concentration is IMMENSELY useful on the path of developing insight. The Buddha didn't teach different jhanas because there are no other jhanas. Granted there are light vs hard jhanas. Who cares if jhanas themselves don't liberate the mind? Developing your mind to that level has amazing benefits and to try and do insight without having jhanas as a basis is not going to be a quick or easy process, while having a jhanically powered mind is incredibly useful and anyone who has truly attained the jhanas (many people lie about this or are deluded) will agree. Having that power of mind is essential.
shamata doesn't take longer than 3-6mo with clear instructions the key is avoiding all internal and external sounds, as well as not allowing more than 12h to pass between ones 40min - 1h sessions it mostly depends on how well the initial instructions connect your compassion and love, preferably bodhichitta if at all possible, and then taking yourself to a quiet place (can be difficult)
This is without doubt one of THE most important videos I have ever watched. For reasons which a far too complex and personal to explain Leigh has allowed me to breakthrough a barrier whcih has held me for at least 10 and maybe 20 or more years! Thank you so much Leigh and for the wonderful karma that brings your teaching into my world. It has taken me several days to listen to the talk and I have seen changes already. I am so grateful.
we cannot hear Dr. van der Kolk's speech. Syllables of words keep disappearing. Please enhance the audio. It is exhausting to an older listener like myself. He keeps whispering parts of words. Get this right please. This problem can be overcome with re-mixing!!!! He could also be shown HOW TO HOLD A MIC TO CATCH THE PITCHED FOCUS OF HIS VOICE. Sincere appreciation requested.
Masterpiece lecture!!! Bravo! Personally and in my mental health profession will rock the boats, going back to a real scientific based university of psychology ( LFB univ)
Karolyn, thank you for creating this series, it was very helpful to me, in designing a workshop for parents for my Capstone Project in the ACT ( Applied Compassion Training) this year.
