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In this weekend retreat held in Santa Barbara, California, B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D. explores methods of cultivating genuine happiness. The retreat consists of meditation, lecture, and discussion periods focusing on the themes found in Wallace's book "Genuine Happiness." These include methods for cultivating attentional stability and vividness, contemplative insight, and the Four Immeasurables of loving kindness, equanimity, compassion and sympathetic joy. The teachings are designed to help us integrate practice into our everyday life in the world through mind training. The downloadable MP3 audio files, and the four-disc DVD video set, chronicles the weekend retreat "The Cultivation of Genuine Happiness Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment" held at Santa Barbara's historical Old Mission July 24-26, 2009. -
A central message of the Buddha’s teachings is that the mind is purified of its afflictions through the integrated cultivation of meditative quiescence (shamatha) and contemplative insight (vipashyana). The four applications of mindfulness—of the body, feelings, mental states, and mental objects—comprise the foundation of Buddhist insight practice. As we investigate the nature of these features of our existence in this seminar, we will probe the nature of human identity and the possibility of freedom from suffering and its inner causes. This audio stream and DVD chronicles the seven-day Four Applications of Mindfulness retreat held at Santa Barbara’s historic Old Mission in May 2008.
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During this Meditation seminar, B. Alan Wallace introduces the theory and practice of three methods of developing meditative quiescence or shamatha. He begins with the practice of mindfulness of breathing as taught in the Theravada tradition, which is especially effective for soothing the body and calming the discursive mind. He then explores an approach to shamatha that is particularly pertinent for Dzogchen practice, called "settling the mind in its natural state," as taught by the 19th century Dzogchen master Lerab Lingpa in his commentary to the "Heart Essence of Vimalamitra." Finally, he engages the practices of "shamatha without a sign" as taught by Padmasambhava in his classic treatise Natural Liberation. Although this subtle practice is taught explicitly as a means of achieving shamatha, Padmasambhava comments that it may even result in a realization of rigpa, or pristine awareness. The achievement of shamatha is widely regarded in the Buddhist tradition as an indespensable foundation for the cultivation of comtemplative insight (vipashyana). The seminar consists of lectures, guided meditations and discussions and recorded in January 2010. -
This MP3 set chronicles the seven-day The Way of Shamatha retreat held at Santa Barbara's historic Old Mission in April 2008.
