Understanding the mind

Meditation and motivation

• Brief meditation on breathing
• Cultivating our motivation for the listening to the teaching

Understanding the mind: Meditation and motivation (download)

What is mind in Buddhism?

• Why it is important to understand the mind
• Differences between the Buddhist concept of mind, which includes consciousness, intellect and emotions, as compared to western concept of mind
• The mind reflects (is clear) and engages with objects (is aware)
• Different levels of mind
• gross (associate with brain, senses, feelings)
• subtle (sleeping, dying, other)

Understanding the mind: Part 1 (download)

How the mind creates our experiences: Part 1

• The mind as a constantly changing source of happiness and pain
• How our attitude frames our experience, which is not an objective experience of reality

Understanding the mind: Part 2a (download)

How the mind creates our experiences: Part 2

• Examples from Venerable Thubten Chodron’s life
• First become aware of our thinking, then transform our mind so we can be happy no matter where we are or what is happening

Understanding the mind: Part 2b (download)

Relating to friends, family members, boring or disagreeable people

• Seeing each living being as an unknown treasure
• Makes us curious, interested and engaged with people and family
• Drawing out their qualities and talents like a musician brings forth a beautiful piece of music from an instrument
• Strategies for getting along with disagreeable people

Understanding the mind: Part 3 (download)

The second way in which our mind creates our experiences

• Karma: volitional actions of body, speech and mind
• leaves energy traces or imprints in our mind which ripen and bring about experiences and circumstances
• Good motivations and positive actions bring about good results and happiness for ourselves and others
• Creating the causes of happiness is both the result of our current interpretations of our experiences (mind) and the ripening of our previous actions (karma)

Understanding the mind: Part 4 (download)

Questions and answers

• How our pets help to calm our anger
• Our interdependence with others
• Flight SQ 006 that had crashed recently, coping with grief
• Becoming Buddhist
• Being truly happy when others are not
• The meaning of “no self”
• Rebirth and enlightenment

Understanding the mind: Q&A (download)