Exploring the path to samadhi, Gil Fronsdal reflects on how we can stop being at war with ourselves and develop a more unified awareness.

In this episode, Gil Fronsdal offers a talk on:

• The process of becoming whole
• Holding compassion for the self and others
• Feeling at ease and not being in conflict with the self
• Unification as a function of samadhi
• Composing ourselves on what is happening in the moment
• Learning to be alert while relaxing
• The problem with too much thinking
• How defining ourselves physically limits the quality of awareness
• Including it all, the difficult and the wonderful

“I believe that the earlier stages before samadhi are stages that are to help us become whole and not to be divided with ourselves or fragmented. Part of the process of entering samadhi is becoming whole, at least samadhi is healthier the more whole we become, when we are not at war with ourselves.” –Gil Fronsdal

This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed

About Gil Fronsdal:

Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

“When the mind is stable and equanimous, you have a much better situation to be able to see clearly without the filter of your conditioning, the filter of your likes and dislikes, the filter of your emotional reaction to what is going on.” –Gil Fronsdal

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Through the Buddhist precepts, Trudy Goodman leads us to Pabhassara Citta, the innate radiance and clarity of our own minds.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode, Trudy Goodman talks about:

• Sila and the courage to follow what we love
• Wholeness and having an undivided heart
• Pabhassara Citta: the radiant mind and heart
• How thoughts and ideas can be a thief
• Telling the truth, no matter what
• The liberating jewel of being honest with yourself
• Relating to all experiences with steadiness of heart

This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.

About Trudy Goodman:

Trudy is a Vipassana teacher in the Theravada lineage and the Founding Teacher of InsightLA. For 25 years, in Cambridge, MA, Trudy practiced mindfulness-based psychotherapy with children, teenagers, couples and individuals. Trudy conducts retreats, engages in activism work, and teaches workshops worldwide and online. She is also the voice of Trudy the Love Barbarian in the Netflix series, The Midnight Gospel. You can learn more about Trudy’s flourishing array of wonderful offerings at TrudyGoodman.com

“It’s the truth that frees each one of us. So when you’re sitting there, retched and overwhelmed, anxious, in whatever tormenting state may be present when you’re just certain that there won’t be any end to the pain, then, just to see that ‘oh, I can be aware of this, I can tell myself the truth of how this is, it doesn’t matter that this is my experience’. It doesn’t matter whether we’re retched or soaring with insight and spiritual strength. What really matters is the relationship that we have with each experience.” –Trudy Goodman

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Rev. Dr. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez introduces us to Pure Land Buddhism, an accessible, living practice that people can easily incorporate into their lives.

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In this episode, Rev. Dr. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez and Vincent discuss:

• The ever-changing nature of the past
• How Rev. Dr. Enrique initially took refuge within the Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition
• Finding a “livable” practice in Jōdo Shinshū (Pure Land Buddhism)
• Diversity of rituals within different Jōdo Shinshū sanghas
• Commitment through devotion rather than excessive time and effort
• How contemplating impermanence can lead to both distress and hope
• Realizing that practice may not work in the way we want it to, but it will work the way we need it to

“I was thinking, ‘there must be another way of living Buddhism that doesn’t involve long retreats and intensive practice everyday’ That’s when Jōdo Shinshū started appearing on the horizon somehow.” –Rev. Dr. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez

This conversation was originally recorded on the Paths of Practice Podcast. Listen to more episodes HERE.

About Rev. Dr. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez:

Rev. Dr. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez is a professor of Humanities and Digital Society at the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja-UNIR. He is also a Jōdo Shinshū priest that serves Jinen-Kō, an online community of Portuguese and Spanish speaking folk who are interested in learning and practicing the Dharma, or teachings, of Pure Land Buddhism. For more information about Jinen-Kō, click HERE.

“The more I practiced, the more I realized my self-centeredness, the more I realized how bound I am by my own desires, dislikes, things that annoy me, and so on. The practice was working.” –Rev. Dr. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez

About Vincent Moore:

Vincent Moore is a creative and creative consultant living in San Francisco, California, with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry and holds a graduate degree in Buddhist Studies. For years, he performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, an improv and sketch comedy theatre based in New York and Los Angeles. As an actor, Vincent performed on Comedy Central, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Seth Meyers, Above Average, and The UCB Show on Seeso. As a writer, he developed for television as well as stage, including work with the Blue Man Group, and his own written projects have been featured on websites such as Funny or Die. Additionally, he received a Master's in Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies with a Certificate in Soto Zen Studies and engages in a personal Buddhist practice within the Soto Zen tradition. Vincent is also the creator and host of the podcast, Paths of Practice, which features interviews with Buddhists from all over the world. Learn more on Vincent’s website HERE.

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