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Teacher: Rodney Smith
Date: 2008-05-05
Venue: Seattle Insight Meditation Center
Series
- Introduction to Insight Meditation 2008-04-21
Description
This is the third class in a series of 6 classes meant to introduce the basics of Insight Meditation to beginners. In each session Rodney Smith provides guided meditation instruction, homework to be done daily for a week, answers questions from students and introduces new concepts and techniques that build from previous sessions.
Homework
Reflect upon these questions:
What do I hope to gain from meditating? How thorough is my resolve to carry through with the practice despite good times and bad? Do I meditate only when my life is going well or conversely, only when I am troubled?
When I meditate, am I seeking pleasurable states of mind or the quiet of concentration? Why am I doing what I am doing?
Is meditation coming from what I think I should do for myself or is it a deeper pull than that? If a “should” is driving my mediation is there also self-judgement about whether I am living up to my standards?
Am I practicing for insight (to see how life really is) or self-improvement (to be better than I am now)?
Exercise: Resolve that you will be totally mindful for one hour. Do whatever you have to do to accomplish this resolve. Be careful of shame and remorse when the mindfulness wanes during that hour.
Video
Link to view on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/3652539
TalkID=290 SeriesID=18
