Programs > Joy of Living Meditation Group Program

Series IX – Awakening Wisdom
Part I: The View

I. The Fact of Suffering

Points to consider
In our lives and in the world around us, there is suffering. Recognizing this
basic fact allows us to begin a journey of discovery in which we gradually
uncover the causes of chronic dissatisfaction, anxiety, and other forms of
suffering. By facing the truths of the human condition, we not only learn to
undo the habits that create suffering, we eventually get in touch with the
basic goodness that underlies all of these experiences.

Questions for discussion

• Why is it important to begin with the question of suffering? What happens if we ignore this aspect of our lives?
• What is the relationship between understanding the causes of suffering and finding lasting happiness? What is the role of meditation in this process?
• What happens when we are caught off guard by suffering? Would we
  experience things differently if we accepted the ups and downs of life as a natural process?

Daily meditation practice
On the cushion: Begin each session with a short period of resting in open
awareness. As you rest, bring your attention to any uncomfortable feelings
you may have. If you're feeling good, then look to see if there is any desire
to hold on to the experience or fear that it will be lost. Simply observe what
comes up without judgment, noticing the deeply ingrained habit to be
unsatisfied with what the present moment has to offer. Close your meditation
with another period of resting in open awareness.

Off the cushion: Throughout the week, bring a sense of curiosity to your experience. Check in with yourself as often as possible and try to notice when things are feeling slightly or completely off. See if you can cultivate the desire to fully understand what suffering is and how it occurs.

Reading: Joyful Wisdom, 38-43

II. The Web of Self-Created Suffering

Points to consider
One of the most fundamental questions on the spiritual path is "Why do we suffer and how can we stop it?" Though there are certain forces in our lives that we have no control over, such as aging and death, we do have the power to change the way we relate to the unfolding of our lives. Gaining insight into the way the mind shapes and interprets experience allows us to see the distinction between natural suffering and self-created suffering.

Questions for discussion

• Think of a painful episode from your life. Was the suffering you endured at the time inevitable or something that could have been experienced differently?
• How do mental and emotional habits keep patterns of self-created suffering in place? Are the thoughts and feelings themselves the problem? If not, what is?
• Is self-created suffering still suffering when we see it for what it is?

Daily meditation practice
On the cushion: Begin each session with a short period of resting in open awareness. As you rest, allow whatever unpleasant experiences or feelings of uneasiness that may be present to surface. Take an interest in these experiences and look to see their different components. Close with another period of resting in open awareness.

Off the cushion: As you go about your day, try to notice whenever you feel resistance to a particular experience or feeling. Look to see whether this is natural or self-created suffering, bringing a sense of open exploration to your life.

Reading: Joyful Wisdom, 43-49

III. Transcending the Limited Mind

 

Points to consider
Our lives are shaped by biology, culture, and personal experiences. When we mistakenly take the relative notions created by our conditioning to be absolute truths, we are often left with a nagging sense of dissatisfaction. Seeing the limited nature of these ideas opens us to the unlimited potential of our true nature.

Questions for discussion

• How do our distorted or false beliefs create suffering?
• Think of an instance where the power of past conditioning is at work in your life. What beliefs does this pattern imply about yourself or the world? Are these beliefs true?
• What does it feel like to be completely caught up in a mistaken idea? Can you give an example? What happens when you realize the idea is a fantasy?
• How do our limited ideas about ourselves keep us from seeing and actualizing the qualities of our true nature?

Daily meditation practice
On the cushion: Begin each session with a short period of resting in open awareness. As you rest, bring your attention to any thoughts or memories that are replaying themselves from your day. Try to see if these memories are surrounded by beliefs, assumptions, or expectations about how things should be. Look into the conditioning that underlies these beliefs and ideas, and then close with another period of resting in open awareness.

Off the cushion: When you find yourself holding to a fixed view, try to see the underlying ideas and beliefs that led to this view.

Reading: Joyful Wisdom, 101-106

IV. Seeing Through the Solidity of Experience

Points to consider
When our thoughts and emotions go unobserved, they often seem solid and real. When we look into these same experiences with the penetrating gaze of awareness, however, we see that even the most powerful feelings can be broken down into bits and pieces. This liberating perspective frees us from conditioned habits and allows us to use our thoughts and feelings, rather than be used by them.

Questions for discussion

• What is it that makes painful emotions painful? What part of the experience results in suffering?
• Have you ever had an experience of being able to observe a powerful
  emotion in the heat of the moment? What was it "made of"?
• How does the experience of feelings and thoughts change when we observe them? What do we learn about the nature of experience through this practice?

Daily meditation practice
On the cushion: Begin each session with a short period of resting in open awareness. As you rest, notice any thoughts or emotions that are present. Observe what happens when you bring your awareness to these experiences. Look to see if they shift or change, if new experiences arise, and if there is any substance to them? Close with a period of resting in open awareness.

Off the cushion: Pick one strong emotion that is common in your experience. Throughout the week, bring a sense of interest to this emotion. What happens as you become aware of it? Are there other thoughts and emotions that feed it? Is there any substance to it?

Reading: Joyful Wisdom, 239-241

V. Opening the Door to Insight

Points to consider
Intellectual understanding can be a helpful tool when we seek to make sense of our experience, but when it comes to uprooting the causes of chronic dissatisfaction and self-created suffering, we need to address these causes directly. Insight meditation, or vipashyana, provides a bridge between theory and experience, allowing us to see beyond conditioned ideas and habitual reactions to the basic goodness that lies at the core of our being.

Questions for discussion

• What is the difference between the simple observation of awareness
  meditation and insight meditation?
• What is the relationship between intellectual understanding and direct
  experience? Are both necessary?
• How does insight uproot the causes of suffering? Have you ever experienced the power of insight in your life?

Daily meditation practice
On the cushion: Begin each session with a short period of resting in open awareness. As you bring your awareness to whatever thought or emotion is manifesting in the present moment, look to see if this experience is you. Are you the observer or is the emotion somehow part of you. Don't theorize, observe your experience directly and watch what happens. Close with another period of resting in open awareness.

Off the cushion: Whenever you have a sense of uneasiness or discomfort, look to see what aspect of experience you are relating to. Ask yourself the question: "Am I this thought, this feeling, sensation, or whatever it might be?"

Reading: Joyful Wisdom, 169-173