INSIGHTAotearoa
A newsletter for New Zealand's insight meditation practitioners and communities
kanya @ insightaotearoa.org | http://www.insightaotearoa.org
Monday December 5th, 2011
The theme of this issue is 'Self/Not Self'
Kia Ora,
In this newsletter you'll find...
EDITORIAL: Who Am I?
REFLECTION I: A Healthy Sense of Self, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
WISE WORDS: Inspired by Rabbi Hillel
REFLECTION II: Embracing the Paradox of No-Self, Ilana Becroft
HUMOUR
REFLECTION III: Psychological Self v. No-Self, Ron Crouch
POEM: Quietness, Rumi
CULTIVATING THE DHARMA GARDEN: Self/Not Self in the Dharma Garden
THEMES: For upcoming issues
SANGHA NEWS & NOTICES
NEW: Seeking support for February 2012 visit by Stephen and Martine Batchelor
IN COMMUNITY: Retreats, Workshops, Courses, Talks & Special Events
RESOURCES: for Dharma study and support
THE LAST WORD
SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION
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EDITORIAL: Who Am I?
The Buddha’s teachings on anatta (emptiness or not self) pointed to the realisation that there is no solid self that can be found anywhere when we look deeply into the nature of mind. This “self” that we cling to is a combination of habits, concepts, memories, preferences, conditioned behaviour patterns, all of which are subject to change.
The personality that we have is not who we are. And yet, paradoxically, we cannot fully release our attachment to our concept a solid self until we have an integrated personality that supports us to live well in the world. If we are raised to have no trust or confidence in our experience and perceptions; when we suffer abuse, neglect or violence; when life challenges us with loss and disorientation, then there is a need for the wounding we have experienced to be healed. As practitioners we can spend many years training on the cushion and in being mindful in daily life, and yet deep seated problems can still remain, despite the insights we may have. These issues need to be addressed so that we can be free of our unconscious habit patterns of disconnection, avoidance and addiction.
Many of us find that we need to do counselling or therapy alongside the practice of Insight Meditation. Learning to heal our hearts using both these powerful tools, we have the opportunity to enter fully into the journey of awakening.
This is the final newsletter of 2011, with the next edition coming out in February 2012. I hope you enjoy these offerings of personal experience and wisdom. Christine Dann and I wish you a time of enjoyment, well being and relaxation over the summer as you connect with loved ones, friends, and community over the holiday season. May your heart be at peace with whatever circumstances you find yourself in. May you be gentle with yourself and others.
with metta,
Kanya Stewart
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REFLECTION I: A Healthy Sense of Self
“As we learn to abide peacefully,” says Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, “we become familiar with a healthy sense of self. Like the Buddha, we become strong, caring, clear-minded individuals in harmony with ourselves and our environment."
In his journey toward enlightenment, the Buddha saw that human existence is characterized by three qualities: impermanence, suffering and selflessness. He discovered that we suffer because we try to make ourselves solid and permanent, while our fundamental state of being is unconditionally open and changing. The Buddha encouraged others to discover this open state of being for themselves in the process of sitting meditation.
A Tibetan word for meditation is "gom",familiarity. When we meditate, we're becoming familiar with something. In shamatha meditation we first become familiar with a technique: to recognize and release thoughts and emotions and return our attention to the breath. Over time we become familiar with the open state of being that the Buddha called selflessness. As we learn to abide peacefully, we also become familiar with what I call a healthy sense of self. Like the Buddha, we become strong, caring, clear-minded individuals in harmony with ourselves and our environment. The meditation posture itself embodies this healthiness: grounded, balanced and relaxed.
In sitting meditation we develop the patience and honesty to be self-aware. As our minds become more flexible and curious, a whole new range of reality becomes available to us. We begin to see certain truths about the way things are. For example, we begin to notice that even though we want to live a dignified, enlightened life, there's a constant pull on our attention. Moment to moment, we're trying to be entertained. I'm not just talking about watching movies and television or roaming around on the internet. This notion of entertainment is older than modern technology. The ancient meditation texts are full of observations about how the mind is always seeking entertainment.
We're always thinking that the next little thing—the next thought, bite of food, conversation or relationship—is going to give us the permanence and solidity that we lack. We keep looking and looking for what will bring us final satisfaction. Meditation shows us this tendency most directly. As we sit there, we notice that even though we could abide peacefully, the mind is still churning. Rather than relax right now, we continue to look for entertainment. We distract ourselves with replays of the past and fantasies about the future. We rehash conversations and plan our day.
I think it's odd for people to say, "I meditate," or "I don't meditate." It's like saying either you work with your mind or you don't. The reality is that whether or not we are working with our mind in formal meditation, one way or another we are always working with our mind. Most of the time we're using it to meditate on "me." We're using it to become familiar with our immediate reactions to the world around us. Somebody has something we want, so we meditate on jealousy. We don't get something we want, or we do get something we don't want, so we meditate on anger. Our root meditation is, "What about me? Will I get what I want today?" Our mind is continuously chasing itself around, trying to secure happiness in all the wrong ways. Its speed and reactivity keep us under siege. There's so little space that by the end of the day we feel physically exhausted. We are drained by our continual meditation on the mental fabrication known as "me."
In formal meditation we learn to become familiar in a positive way with how our mind works. Our mind becomes open, inquisitive and supple. We're comfortable looking at ourselves honestly. We're not too hard on ourselves, but at the same time we're becoming wise to our little tricks. We know how we get slippery. We know when we're about to buy in to habitual reactions such as anger or jealousy. At some point we have the strength and discipline to make a choice about how we're using our minds. We can be open to alternatives beyond the knee-jerk reaction. We can say, "Traffic is bad, but I don't always have to be irritated. I can choose a different response."
Meditation offers the space to see that we can choose not to wallow in grasping and irritation. At the same time, finding this space and encouraging our healthy sense of self to come forward involves more than just sitting down and crossing our legs. When we sit down to meditate we might think, "Now I'm going to just relax and try to breathe my problems away." That's helpful to a certain degree. But we're not going to sit down as Joe or Mary Schmoe and arise as the Buddha. It requires discipline to strengthen our mind by actively working with our thoughts and emotions.
People often come to me as if I were a priest and confess that they have not been meditating. They apologize. They're surprised when I say, "Look, I don't really care whether you're meditating or not. It's your mind, your life. Your practice is there not for me, but for you." Meditation isn't about being "good." It's about taming our mind by engaging our mind, with enthusiasm and inspiration. With practice we become grounded in the experience of basic goodness. This leads us toward a healthy sense of self.
With a healthy sense of self we feel wholesome, balanced, confident, pliable, at ease. The mind is more robust. Now we can meditate on qualities like love and compassion—deep aspects of being human that represent the genuine health of the mind. The stronger and more stable the mind, the more compassion and kindness we can generate. We are being courageous like a warrior in strengthening a healthy sense of self, for it liberates us from the "me" plan. Now we can extend ourselves toward others.
What the Buddha discovered on this journey is that we're all ultimately capable of seeing things as they are—empty, joyous and luminous. In practicing meditation, we rejoice in the possibility of developing a clear view of the facts of life, an unconditionally loving heart, and the wisdom to know the right thing to do always. Everything we need is already here. Our human potential is to realize this truth and consciously root our activities in it. Centering ourselves within this state of contentment is how we become happy.
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is holder of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage established by his father, the late Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. He is the author of Turning Your Mind Into an Ally.
A Healthy Sense of Self, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Shambhala Sun, July 2003.
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WISE WORDS:
Somewhere between always giving to others,
and keeping it all to myself,
I stand.
Somewhere between only caring for others,
and only caring for me, I live.
But when I am only for others I as,
Who will be for me?
and when I am only for me
then who am I?
Inspired by the thoughts of Rabbi Hillel in 'Pirkei Avot', Chapters of the Fathers
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REFLECTION II: EMBRACING THE PARADOX OF SELF, NO SELF
My journey of understanding about self, no self began long before I started to meditate and learn about the Buddhist teachings.
I know from psychological theory about the importance of a healthy sense of self in a young child's development. My upbringing seemed to emphasize getting rid of that “self”; “I” was not important, “God” was; it was most important not to be selfish. Then as a young woman I was immersed in a feminist environment which promoted a strong sense of self. Later, on first starting to meditate and hear the teachings on anatta, or no self, I felt that I had a strong realization of no self. I now know the experience was real, but also imprinted with a veil of conditioned learning about not being selfish. My background encouraged the idea of no self, but somehow I believed it was a matter of suppressing, or repressing the “I” impulse which I felt was bad.
More recently I remember doing something exceptionally well. I told a friend about how it flowed, as if it had nothing to do with me, no self involved. Her response was: “Of course it had to do with you, you did it, you did it well, be proud!.” I asked Sharda Rogell, Insight meditation teacher at Spirit Rock and Te Moata, about the seeming contradiction. Her response was “That's the paradox, both perspectives are true, both self, and no self.” It was helpful to me that she pointed to the paradox.
After years of insight meditation practice I began to understand this paradox. The investigation and contemplation in meditation practice bring delusions into focus, allowing me to perceive and let go of identification of self. This is both a rich, exciting, and a humbling realization. It opens up worlds of possibility. While I can be responsible for my actions, I do not need to take on blame; it is the self absorbed part of me which clings to blame. It is possible at the same time to be both a stronger, clearer person, and to understand, or know in my being, that the self is simply a concept of the mind. From the place of no self, the value in this life, this being, is not in the outward things I do in the world, is not personal to my self; the true value comes through the practice of awakening in each moment, it is the intrinsic possibility of being human.
I'd like to finish with this quote by Henry David Thoreau which is contributed by my partner, Margo: "The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and undescribable as the tints of morning and evening. It is a little stardust caught, a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched."
Ilana Becroft.
Ilana is a member of the Tairua sangha, and is involved in Te Moata Retreat Centre.
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HUMOUR
Two priests are kneeling in prayer at the altar, beating their breasts and calling out "Oh Lord, 'I am nobody, I am nobody". The cleaner, hearing their words, comes kneels beside them. He begins to do the same, calling out and beating his breast "Lord, I am nobody, I am nobody". The priests stop in surprise to see who this third person may be. One looks at the other and says "Look who thinks he's a nobody".
Source unknown
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REFLECTION III: Psychological Self vs. No-Self
As a therapist and a meditation teacher, I live a surreal life. At the office I’m helping people to gain greater self-esteem, more positive self-regard, and encouraging them to see themselves as competent, empowered and strong. But when I teach meditation I strongly encourage people to see that the self is an illusion. On the outside it could seem as if I’m working against myself.
It’s the same for a lot of people who meditate. Most meditators accept that no-self is a core truth of reality. But many have also taken intro to psychology classes and have read a lot of self help books that promote healthy acceptance of the self. It is not unusual for people who regularly attend meditation retreats to also do a lot of self-development, such as adult education and travel. Clearly, in meditation circles, it can seem like we are pretty mixed-up about ourselves. It’s as if we have a love-hate relationship with the “self.”
How are we to make sense of this apparent paradox? The self is indeed an illusion, but why care for and cater to it?
The self in Western psychology is viewed as that function of the mind that helps us to organize our experiences. It takes raw sense data, memories, and other cognitive functions and turns them into recognizable narratives. It is critical for everything that we do. Without a strong sense of self, we literally could not make sense of anything that happens to us.
What is fascinating is that in the western psychological view, the “self” or the “executive function” is actually a process and not really a thing. It waxes and wanes all the time, goes into the foreground and background of awareness depending on how much we need it, disappears when we sleep, is not the same as it was when we were little, much less the same as it was last year, and is even subtly different than it was last week.
So far, this should make a lot of sense to both psychologists and meditators. But here is where things get interesting: we all know that processes are not solid and change all the time, yet in this particular process there is a nagging sense that there is a solid permanent “me” hiding in that process somewhere. As if the process itself were a real solid thing in the same way that a table or chair is.
It is this unshakable sense of a solid “me” in the midst of this process that is the “self” that is referred to in the Dharma. When we talk about “no-self” in Buddhism, we are pointing to this sense of a solid self in and calling it an illusion. The process of “selfing” is real, the belief that it is somehow a permanent “me” is not.
To help understand how important this illusion is imagine that another mental process had this same illusion tied to it. Take memory for example. When we experience a memory we know that it isn’t “real” in the sense that it does not have a reality outside or our mental functioning. We know that memories come and go, are subject to change and can be forgotten. But what if every time you remembered something you assumed that the memory itself was “real” in the same way that a table or chair is real. That it was substantial and lasting. Even though you could not literally see or experience the memory with your five senses, you still had the unshakable belief that it was a real and solid thing that is supposed to last. Wouldn’t this be a set-up for frustration? Memories slip and slide out of consciousness and like every other mental function they are subject to dramatic change. If we expected them to never go away and always be there, we would constantly be in distress. This is exactly what is happening with us in terms of the self-process.
While the self-process creates narratives that organize our experiences into something recognizable, the illusion of self is inserted as a main character into all these narratives. We expect the character to be the same all the time, to never change or go away, to be “real.” And yet each moment we are running into a stark reality: the self is not as real as we believe it to be, and it certainly does not last. Over time this sense of solid “me” becomes the most salient feature of all of our experience and our greatest source of anxiety. The fact that we see this constantly changing process as a solid “me” creates endless problems for us because it sets up a never-ending fight between us and reality (and reality never loses).
What is odd is that according to psychology, this sense of a solid self is not an issue. In fact it is not really addressed at all. One part of the psychological literature explains that the self is a cognitive process like any other, and then another part of the literature goes on about protecting and promoting a healthy “self.” The fact that we are taking a process and turning it into a solid thing in our minds is simply not addressed.
In psychology, this point may have been missed because of the bias to study and theorize about pathology rather than health. The illusions and problems inherent in a “normally” functioning mind just don’t get a lot of research lab-time. So most theory in psychology works to get damaged selves back to “normal functioning.” Buddhism on the other hand, starts with the assumption that normal functioning is full of suffering caused by a false sense of self, and works to get people from a state of “normal” to enlightened.
Joining the Psychological Self with No-Self
In the book Transformations of Consciousness Jack Enlger, a psychologist and meditation teacher, attempts to reconcile the eastern and western approaches to self by proposing that these two traditions should be joined in a “spectrum model of self development.” The central idea being that the illusion of a solid self is a necessary developmental step that supports people in their learning and growth, but that once resilient mental health has been attained the direction for further growth lies in the shedding of this illusion.
What is great about this model is that it proposes that you can support someone in building their self-esteem and support another person in seeing through the illusion of self, and you are really doing the same thing: encouraging growth along the spectrum of self development, but from two different points. Further, Engler suggests that movement along the spectrum is a fairly linear process. People must begin with a strong solid self in order to move to the next developmental step of seeing it as an illusion. Engler is famous for boiling this idea down into the phrase: “you have to be somebody before you can be nobody.”
I see a lot of value in Engler’s model, but given my own experiences I would change it sometwhat. Rather than a linear model where the person goes from developing a self to seeing through the illusion of self, I would propose a dimensional model, where self development and insight develop concurrently. This can be imagined as an x/y axis with self development and insight development as separate axes.
This model makes more sense for a number of reasons. First, people who attain very high levels of insight also tend to be greatly engaged in further self development: travel, education, career changes, relationships, etc. They also tend to make the same mistakes that go with self development that people without insight make (any review of the scandals of meditation teachers should confirm this). This is something that you really wouldn’t expect with the linear model, because self development should stop when you reach that part of the spectrum where you are attaining insight into no-self.
In my personal experience, growth in insight has in no way inhibited or stopped self-development, rather it has made the process more fun and easier to understand. At the core of this dimensional model is an assumption that is somewhat different than Engler’s: seeing through the illusion of self does not make the self disappear. The self remains, it continues on in the lived experience, but it is no longer the center of experience anymore. It is put in its proper perspective, as a simple, natural process of the mind, like any other. The sense that this organizing process is a real permanent “me” diminishes with insight. Even with great insight the natural process of growth and change, of what we would call “self development” continues to unfold, but the self is no longer believed to be “real”, it is simply an experience like any other.
So, while on the surface it can seem like we in the enlightenment traditions are pretty mixed up about the self, the opposite is actually true: we are clear about who we are. That does not stop us from growing, having fun and being human. It simply gives us greater awareness of the process.
Ron Crouch
Ron Crouch is a Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist based in Hawaii
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POEM: Quietness
Inside this new love, die.
Your way begins on the other side.
Become the sky.
Take an axe to the prison wall.
Escape.
Walk out like someone suddenly born into color.
Do it now.
You're covered with thick clouds.
Slide out the side. Die,
and be quiet. Quietness is the surest sign
that you've died.
Your old life was a frantic running
from silence.
The speechless full moon
comes out now.
Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
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CULTIVATING THE DHARMA GARDEN: Self/Not Self in the Dharma Garden
A home garden is very much an expression of the Self. It expresses what the gardener likes and dislikes by way of colour, form and arrangement of plants, and also the way she wants the garden to be experienced. Even when the gardener does not think about this consciously, inevitably a series of many, many small choices create a big picture of who the gardener is and what she values most. Each garden has a personality which is a reflection of the gardener's personalilty – a love for straight lines or curves, formality or informality, bright colours or muted ones, trees or cactus, vegetables or lawns, and so on.
A recent visitor to my garden said she could see that I had created a place for others to enjoy. This is true, although I never once said to my Self – I am going to create a place for others to enjoy. Rather, the part of my Self that finds pleasure in growing and arranging plants in ways that being joy to others besides my Self was unconsciously at work. Where did this aspect of my Self come from? How long will it last? I have no idea – like so many aspects of the Self, it is totally mysterious.
I do know, from insight meditation practice and from my reading of neuro-psychology, that the Self I experience as 'me' is created incrementally, by building up patterns of thought and behaviour, reinforcing some and neglecting others. Every time I think about gardening or do gardening, this process is at work, and of course it connects to the other parts of my Self that value beauty, peacefulness, contemplation, biodiversity and all the other invisible, abstract components of a garden which people can find enjoyable.
This is my gardening Self for now – and yet because this Self is a process, not a product, tomorrow it may change. I will learn new things, change my mind about old ones, and so on. Thus my gardening Self is also Not Self – an open space of possibilities for me and also of connections with other humans and other species. The dark soil from which all things can grow.
Christine Dann
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THEMES: for upcoming issues
Short contributions from readers (original or fully attributed) on the theme of the month are welcomed. Please email them to the Editor - kanya @ insightaotearoa.org
FEBRUARY 2012 - New Beginnings
MARCH 2012 - This Body, This Earth
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SANGHA NEWS & NOTICES
NOTICE: Seeking support for February 2012 visit by Stephen and Martine Batchelor
Martine and Stephen Batchelor will be returning to New Zealand in February 2012 to give two public talks, a residential retreat and a day long retreat. Their schedule is:
Friday 17 – Auckland – public talk
Saturday 18 – Auckland – day long retreat
Sunday 19 to 26 – Riverslea Retreat Centre, Ōtaki – residential retreat
Monday February 27 – Martine teaches for a day on “Acceptance and Transformation”.
Monday 27th – Wellington – public talk by Stephen: “Becoming Human – Buddhist Practice in a Post-Christian World” at St Andrews on The Terrace from 5.30pm
Their visit is being coordinated by Derek LeDayn – derek.ledayn @ gmail.com or 021 355 225.
Contributions towards their travel costs can be made through the Aotearoa Buddhist Education Trust – http://www.abet.net.nz
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SUPPORTING INSIGHTAotearoa
INSIGHTAotearoa goes out in the first week of every month (except January). INSIGHTAotearoa aims to encourage and assist the formation, connection and growth of communities of Insight meditation practitioners around the country, by listing current insight meditation events and groups throughout the country, and promoting future events; publishing articles and other items of interest; sharing news and views from insight meditation groups, teachers and practitioners.
Please help us keep the SANGHA NEWS section of INSIGHTAotearoa up-to-date by sending news and corrections regarding events, sitting group details, etc. to christine @ insightaotearoa.org
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IN COMMUNITY: Retreats, Workshops, Courses, Talks & Special Events
1. Saturday December 17th, DUNEDIN.
Slowing Down & Doing Less, facilitated by Kovido Maddic Hooper 10.30am-4.30pm Saturday December 17th 2011.Inlet Otago Peninsula, Dunedin.
In this day retreat we will be developing mindfulness through walking, sitting, eating, loving kindness meditation and gentle movement. The day will largely be conducted in silence although instructions will be given by Kovido. This retreat is suitable for anybody who has done some meditation or mindfulness practice. Send $20 deposit or $75/50 full feemade out to Kovido Maddick to 42 Kauri St., Ravensbourne, Dunedin 9022. Enquiries to Kovido at 03 471- 0785 or 027 357 2884 or kovido @ slingshot.co.nz
2. A Month of Mindfulness - Online Course with Peter Fernando. More details at http://bit.ly/o0HqvA
COMING UP IN 2012
1. January 22-29, CANTERBURY
Dharma Gathering with Subhana Barzaghi, Jeremy Logan, and Arthur Wells. A week of meditation, workshops, art, music, bushwalks and enjoying being with dharma buddies. Organised by Southern Insight Meditation in conjunction with the Diamond Sangha. Details from southern.insight.meditation @ gmail.com
2. February 11-19, TE MOATA
Insight Dialogue Meditation Retreat ‘Open Heart, True Wakefulness.Insight Dialogue and Relationship’ with Sharon Beckman-Brindley (USA) and Mary Burns (USA)
See http://www.abet.net.nz for more information
3. February 17-19, AUCKLAND
Being At Home in the Body. A weekend retreat with Peter Fernando & Kanya Stewart. Kawaipurapura Retreat Centre, Albany, Auckland. In this retreat we will work with our intention to become more fully into the present by being grounded in the body. We will explore ways we resist being present in the body, and how we can bring kindness and openness to our habits of escape and denial. For more information contact peter @ originalnature.co.nz or pranava @ ihug.co.nz
4. Sat Feb 25, WELLINGTON
Helping Each Other to Awaken. A day-long Insight Dialogue retreat with Mary Burns & Sharon Beckman-Brindley from the US, 9.30 - 6pm at Level 1, 60 Ghuznee St, Wellington Central.
Insight Dialogue, as taught through Metta Foundation (Gregory Kramer) is a practice of Interpersonal Meditation, inviting a deepening into wakefulness through listening and speaking truth with mindfulness. Contact: Caz Sheldon 021 111 0373 caz @ buzz.net.nz
5. Monday February 27, WELLINGTON
Martine Batchelor will be teaching a day-long session in Wellington on Monday February 27th. The theme for the day will be “Acceptance and Transformation”. Please contact Diana Clarke – dianaclarke276 @ gmail.com – if you would like to register or if you would like to be on the mailing list to receive further information.
ON-LINE
Online Practice Group: Journey to the West
Are you housebound due to health or disability or far from a meditation group? We meet weekly for an hour via Skype conference call to reflect on practice and draw on the energy of our experience together as a reminder for practice. We presently have members from New Zealand, the UK, Canada, USA and Sweden and are part of the Unfettered Mind network. (http://www.unfetteredmind.org) Contact Ann: abraunw @ gmail.com, 03 544 2597
RESOURCES: for Dharma study and support
1. Aung San Suu Kyi on freedom. Burmese democracy leader and Buddhist meditator Aung San Suu Kyi recently gave two secretly recorded lectures for the BBC’s Reith Lecture series. They are available as podcasts at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012402s
2. Locally-produced Stephen Batchelor DVDs/on-line talks
The November 2010, panel discussion between Buddhist teacher Stephen Batchelor and Christian theologian Lloyd Geering at St Andrews on The Terrace in Wellington is now available as a DVD. A well attended meeting, the DVD includes responses to the questions which were put by a lively audience. The topic of the evening’s discussion was “Can Christianity and Buddhism Remain Relevant in the 21st Century?”. Also available is a DVD of the talk that Stephen Batchelor gave at the National Library in Wellington in December 2004 on the topic of his book “Living With The Devil”.
Produced by the Wellington Insight Meditation community, each DVD costs $30, including postage. To get one or more DVDs, make a deposit into the WIMC account at Kiwibank 38 9010 0244181 00 with the reference ‘Geering Batchelor DVD’, “Batchelor DVD” or “both DVDs”. At the same time send a message to treasurer @ wimc.org.nz letting treasurer Janice Hill know how much you’ve deposited, which DVDs you want along with your postal address.
Alternatively, send a cheque to WIMC, PO Box 6626, Marion Square, Wellington 6141 with a letter stating which DVD you want, and how many copies.
OR You can watch both the 2010 panel discussion and the 2004 talk online at http://www.wimc.org.nz.
3. ‘MINDFULNESS IN PLAIN ENGLISH’
This excellent basic guide to Insight meditation by the Ven Henepola Gunaratana can now be downloaded from http://www.urbandharma.org/dharma4/mpe.htm
4. AOTEAROA BUDDHIST EDUCATION TRUST
A charitable trust which raises funds to bring insight meditation teachers to New Zealand. To find out more visit http://www.abet.net.nz
5. INSIGHT MEDITATION IN AOTEAROA ON THE WEB
http://www.insightmeditation.org.nz – information on New Zealand’s insight meditation practitioners and communities
http://www.insightaotearoa.org – the website for this newsletter
http://www.southern.insightmeditation.org.nz – Christchurch sangha Southern Insight’s website
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THE LAST WORD
“Suffering exists, but no sufferer can be found. Actions exist, but no doer of actions is there. Nirvana exists, but no one who enters it. The Path exists, but no traveller can be seen.”
Visuddimagga, 513
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with metta, Christine Dann, Kanya Stewart – supported by Marianne Adams. Thanks to Ron Dubin & Caren Wilton for their technical expertise & support.