58 Tong Len meditation and The Seven Point Mind Training

Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Bodhisattva Way of Life

We begin the evening session with a silent Tong Len meditation by focusing on a person, group of people, or other sentient beings - those who come to mind. The session is briefly introduced by Alan right before. After the meditation, we go back to the explanation of the sixth stage of Shamatha path and the wide range of experiences that might occur as a result of dredging up the psyche and the importance of seeing them simply as appearances to the mind: see them for what they are. After that, we move onto the last of the four practices to purify karma of the Seven Point Mind Training, which is: make offerings to Dharma Protectors. Alan explains that if one is not sure who his/her Dharma protector is, the best method is to see Buddha Shakyamuni as the Dharma protector and make offerings to him, as suggested by His Holiness The Dalai Lama. We end the session by Alan answering three questions from the retreatants.

Meditation starts at: 5:20 (silent meditation; not recorded)