Glen Svensson, 07 Apr 2020
Session 2: Breath (full-body)
This session focuses on mindfulness of breath with full body awareness. Glen reviews our previous practice of settling the body, speech and mind in its natural state, and how this practice can be an entryway to shamatha, vipassana, and cutting through to pristine awareness.
He elaborates how our shamatha meditation should have three main qualities: relaxation, stability and clarity. Their counterparts are tension, excitation and laxity. In our modern world, relaxation is the first quality we should develop in our meditation.
Glen also mentions the different objects of shamatha meditation we can use, which are: breath, mind, awareness and space.
Based on the Buddha’s quote that Lama Alan frequently uses, he explains how shamatha has the effects of being peaceful, sublime, an ambrosial dwelling which quells unwholesome states.
Meditation starts at 26:40
Glen concludes by doing a Q & A, and recommending us to keep our initial meditation sessions short, emphasizing quality over quantity, and gradually increase the duration. He also elaborates how it is OK if in our shamatha sessions there is still a sense of observer and object, examination of duality is a vipashana practice.
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