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In the Footsteps of the Buddha pilgrimages with Shantum Seth across India and South Asia. Other spiritual journeys that transform. Mindful travel.
Meditation |
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What to do when mindfulness is not easy
The primary approach of mindfulness is to pay attention to what's happening and to develop a different relationship to our experience so that we're not rejecting it or hating it, but we're also not overwhelmed by it. So mindfulness has an inherent sense of balance. But the reality is that there are times when mindfulness is not that easy. We may be exhausted, or we may not be able to find balance through coming back to the breath, or mental noting, or other techniques we employ, or our mindfulness may be too intermittent. So there are a whole host of approaches to help us come back into balance and once again be mindful. It's fine to explore these methods instead of following a traditional mindfulness practice. Sometimes people think, "Oh, I blew it, I can't do the real thing." But it's not like that at all. More » -
Sharon Salzberg's Real Happiness is back
Back by popular demand, Sharon Salzberg's Real Happiness is available to Tricycle Community members for the month of April. So if you missed the Tricycle Book Club discussion in February, or didn't get to ask Sharon all of the questions you wanted to, this is your opportunity. Sharon will also be hosting a Tricycle Retreat this upcoming month, entitled "The Five Hindrances." Our hope is that the book and retreat combination will help enrich your meditation practices.From Real Happiness: More » -
Thanissaro Bhikkhu visits Tricycle
Thanissaro Bhikkhu, known to friends as Than Geoff, is in New York City to give a talk tonight at the Moving Body Resources center and was kind enough to stop by the Tricycle office. The weather is cold and rainy here, with a bit of snow mixed in, so he's used to better at his San Diego-area home of Metta Forest Monastery, where he is abbot. We spoke with him about a wide range of topics, including the Buddhist take on forgiveness and reconciliation. He then led us in a 20-minute guided meditation. We'll post the video of this next week. Than Geoff led one of our most popular Tricycle Retreats ever in January, which you can visit here. More » -
April Retreat: Sharon Salzberg on the Five Hindrances
Last week I had the privilege of attending some of the taping* of the April Tricycle Retreat: Sharon Salzberg on the Five Hindrances. The Five Hindrances are classically described as negative mental states that interfere with meditation. Sharon Salzberg in this retreat will speak of how they play out in our lives generally as well. They are translated in different ways, but generally speaking they are: craving, including attachment or clinging to sensual and other pleasures aversion, including anger and resntment sleepiness, inclduing boredom and laziness restlessness, including fear and anxiety doubt, lack of confidence and mistrust of the teachings More » -
Watch: Meditation Instructions for Beginners
Pamela Gayle White and Khedrub Zangmo are wrapping up the first week of their Tricycle Retreat, Letting Go. You can follow that link to visit Week 1 of the retreat, which contains two videos and supplementary readings and the discussion with the teachers. (You'll have to be a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member to join in the three weeks that follow.) The second video, which contains 25 minutes of meditation instructions for beginners, has proved so popular that we're re-posting it here. Enjoy! More » -
What are you holding onto?
It's been a good week at Pamela Gayle White and Khedrub Zangmo's "Letting Go" retreat. You can watch the two videos that make up Week 1 here—the second video is meditation instructions.) One of the best features of Tricycle Retreats is the direct access they offer to teachers, and the discussions that follow the teachings reflect this. In this week's discussion, one commenter writes: What really strikes me about your presentation here, apart from its loveliness and deep sense of peacefulness and tranquility, is how you seem to be applying what one learns on the meditation cushion to our daily lives. You are teaching us here practical measures for integrating the message of the Buddha into the next moment and the one after it and the one after that, how to live like a Buddha every day and everywhere, in all situations. Thank you. More »
