Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:24:33 -0500 Ken McLeod http://www.unfetteredmind.com Podcast Maker v1.3.6 - http://www.lemonzdream.com/podcastmaker Podcasts previously listed here are now available at www.unfetteredmind.org. <- NEWS Unfettered Mind is a network of teachers and students that provides training in direct awareness (e.g., mahamudra and dzogchen in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition) for those whose path lies outside established centers and institutions. The principal teacher is Ken McLeod, translator, author, and executive director of Unfettered Mind. Ken began his training in 1970 with the Tibetan master, the Ven. Kalu Rinpoche. Trained in the Kagyu, Shangpa, and Nyingma traditions of Buddhism in Tibet, he was authorized in 1985 by Kalu Rinpoche to teach and guide others. His book, Wake Up to Your Life (published in 2001), provides a comprehensive and accessible approach to practice, from the initial stages of meditation up to the full integration of open awareness into one’s life. The recordings here are a selection of his teaching and retreats over the last several years and cover a wide range of topics: meditation, compassion, emptiness, power, conflict, and presence. Ken’s approach, and the approach at Unfettered Mind, is to create environments of awareness, conditions in which people experience directly what it means to be awake and present in life. His teachings include pragmatic applications of Buddhist methods to the practicalities of life. ]]> Unfettered Mind is a network of teachers and students. . . NEWS-> Podcasts previously listed here are now available at www.unfetteredmind.org. <- NEWS Unfettered Mind is a network of teachers and students that provides training in direct awareness (e.g., mahamudra and dzogchen in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition) for those whose path lies outside established centers and institutions. The principal teacher is Ken McLeod, translator, author, and executive director of Unfettered Mind. Ken began his training in 1970 with the Tibetan master, the Ven. Kalu Rinpoche. Trained in the Kagyu, Shangpa, and Nyingma traditions of Buddhism in Tibet, he was authorized in 1985 by Kalu Rinpoche to teach and guide others. His book, Wake Up to Your Life (published in 2001), provides a comprehensive and accessible approach to practice, from the initial stages of meditation up to the full integration of open awareness into one’s life. The recordings here are a selection of his teaching and retreats over the last several years and cover a wide range of topics: meditation, compassion, emptiness, power, conflict, and presence. Ken’s approach, and the approach at Unfettered Mind, is to create environments of awareness, conditions in which people experience directly what it means to be awake and present in life. His teachings include pragmatic applications of Buddhist methods to the practicalities of life. en-us Copyright 2005 by Ken McLeod Ken McLeod podcast@unfetteredmind.com http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/ipodArtworkv2_144.jpg http://www.unfetteredmind.com 144 144 Buddhism Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod no Ken McLeod What is Apparently True Practice on awakening to what is apparently true: taking and sending. The audio for this series of podcasts was originally recorded on audio cassette. As such you may find the sound to be of a lower quality. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MTSF02.mp3 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:14:37 -0500 Buddhism no 00:47:24 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod What is Ultimately True Review of lineage; 5 practices on awakening to what is ultimately true: regard everything you experience as a dream, examine the nature of unborn awareness, the remedy itself releases naturally, the essence of the path: rest in the basis of all experience, in daily life, be a child of illusion. The audio for this series of podcasts was originally recorded on audio cassette. As such you may find the sound to be of a lower quality. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MTSF01.mp3 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:14:25 -0500 Buddhism no 00:46:51 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Receiving the Result Receiving the Result. Whatever the outcome, work with that: The Four Steps of Standing Up as a way of living, continually cycling. Four stages of conflict: Pacification, Enrichment, Magnetization, Destruction. Balance, boundary, and the ethics of power. Obligation and the three bases of relationship. Courage. How power differs from other gestures (ecstasy, insight, compassion). Fairy tale: Ransom, Return, Recognition http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/PAP10.mp3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:27:07 -0500 Buddhism no 01:03:16 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Serving What is True Serving What is True. Difficulties in serving what is true when it doesn’t accord with expectations and understanding. Fairy tale: The Old Man with Red Eyes How fairy tales describe internal realms of experience vs. the world of shared experience. Attention vs. Intention vs. Will. Exercise: 4-person flocks. Obstacles as simply features in the landscape to be negotiated. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/PAP8_2.mp3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:26:59 -0500 Buddhism no 01:12:03 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Artist and Critic Exercise: Artist and Critic. If you live for respect, you give your life over to others. How the sense of urgency often accelerates things, and we get swallowed up in the acceleration. Evolutionary paradigms: providing the _conditions_ for certain things to evolve. Applications to meditation. Fairy tale: Black Sheep http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/PAP9.mp3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:26:54 -0500 Buddhism no 00:11:43 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod On posture On posture. How we hold ourselves carries/conveys meanings. Posture exercises: Advance-retreat; rise-lower; widen-narrow. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/PAP7.mp3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:26:48 -0500 Buddhism no 00:15:35 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Opening to What Is Opening to What Is. How familiar situations trigger old scripts, whose function is to dissipate attention. Exercise: Push hands, back-to-back. How triggered scripts corrupt intention. Power is the ability to implement intention, by staying present. Instead of focusing on what you want to do, include the entire situation. Fairy tale: The Old Witch and the White Bird http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/PAP6.mp3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:26:40 -0500 Buddhism no 01:02:46 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod On Showing Up On Showing Up. Revisiting the primary practice: not to ‘get it right’ but to experience what happens, the totality of your life. Balancing exercises: how slowly thinking happens, but the body knows how to maintain balance. Applications in meditation. Nothing undercuts a distracting story so well as returning to the body. Fairy tale: The Black Castle http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/PAP5.mp3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:26:26 -0500 Buddhism no 01:25:41 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Power and opposition Power and opposition. Engaging with power, you have no idea what you’re going to be called upon to do. In the experience of opposition: something in yourself that you’re not willing to admit or experience. Exercise: Walking the gauntlet. How training develops capacity to respond in complex situations. Fairy tale: The Sleeping Giants http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/PAP4.mp3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:23:26 -0500 Buddhism no 01:11:02 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Forming a relationship with power Forming a relationship with power. The ethics of power: the warrior’s sword vs. the predator’s sword. Exercise: Taking the sword. Four ways of working. Five mysteries associated with power: power, balance, presence, truth, freedom. Fairy tale: The Straw, the Egg, and the Book of Knowledge http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/PAP3.mp3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:23:21 -0500 Buddhism no 00:42:23 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod The Four Steps of Standing Up Staying present in the experience of acceleration. Receiving feedback from the environment and adjusting. The Four Steps of Standing Up: 1) Show up. 2) Open to what is. 3) Serve what is true. 4) Receive the results. Exercise: Showing up in your body. Story: The thief, the samurai, and the warlord. Do what is required, no more. Primary practice, revisted. Fairy tale: The Two Inns http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/PAP2.mp3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:23:15 -0500 Buddhism no 01:16:40 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Introduction Introduction to retreat themes and practices. The relationship between power and presence: finding peace under pressure. Exercise: pushing, resisting, giving way. How quickly power accelerates and takes over. Instruction in the primary practice. Fairy tale: The Journey Begins http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/PAP1.mp3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:23:11 -0500 Buddhism no 00:45:55 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Experience and presence Retreat format, structure, and materials; what is the view?; error of taking refuge in specific experiences; the mistaken notion of self vs. skillful interactions; the illusion of choice. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/POI01.mp3 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:34:05 -0400 Buddhism no 01:04:08 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Prayers and practice Overview of rituals and prayers used in retreat; the 'primary' practice described, related guided meditation, and participants' experience with this meditation; relaxing and resting. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/POI02.mp3 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:33:55 -0400 Buddhism no 01:27:03 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Resting without reference Shamatha and cultivating a basis of attention; infallibility; the end of suffering as a process, not an end state; resting in whatever arises; guru yoga. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/POI03.mp3 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:33:44 -0400 Buddhism no 01:31:01 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Consequences, vows, and commentary Consequences of ignoring what arises from meditation; what is meant by sentient beings are infinite, I vow to save them all; comments on Verse on the Faith Mind; questions from participants; sky-gazing instructions http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/POI04.mp3 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:33:33 -0400 Buddhism no 01:31:51 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod The nature of experience Discussion with participants on the origin of attention; thoughts, mind, and freedom from reacting; inference, intellect, and experience; discomfort and the death of duality; mirror, mirror on the wall; the importance of stability. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/POI05.mp3 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:33:22 -0400 Buddhism no 01:32:51 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Awareness The problems of idealizing; seeing the mirror; awareness; commentary on Aspirations for Mahamudra. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/POI06.mp3 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:33:10 -0400 Buddhism no 01:46:10 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Buddhism and how you actually live Satori, enlightenment, and laypeople; parallels with martial arts training; what compassion is really like; commentary on Aspirations for Mahamudra. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/POI07.mp3 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:32:59 -0400 Buddhism no 01:21:17 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Seeing and resting The utility of deception; faith, trust, and not knowing your reaction to what you haven't experienced; the union of seeing and resting (guided meditation); what it the teacher in one's experience; questions from participants. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/POI08.mp3 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:32:49 -0400 Buddhism no 01:33:32 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Bringing life into practice Common mistakes and pitfalls regarding emptiness and Mahamudra (believing emptiness is a thing, attempting to offer explanations to those who do not practice, etc.); a reading of One Sentence Pith Instruction and Recognizing Mind as Guru; integrating practice and life; questions from participants. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/POI09.mp3 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:32:29 -0400 Buddhism no 02:15:56 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Doing nothing Retreat’s daily schedule and routine; subject matter for retreat (Buddhahood Without Meditation); sitting with questions rather than trying to answer them intellectually; the challenge of doing nothing; the importance of silence; resting & seeing. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/BWM01.mp3 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:46:30 -0400 Buddhism no 00:45:25 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Dzogchen & willingness, know-how, and capacity Participants’ accounts of what is like to do nothing; overview of Dzogchen from the perspective of outlook/view, practice, and behavior; willingness, know-how, and capacity and related tools for Dzogchen practice. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/BWM02.mp3 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:46:20 -0400 Buddhism no 01:51:32 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod The view Participants’ accounts on using tools described in previous sessions; discussion on guru yoga, negative emotions, and faith; instruction and questions on sky gazing; instruction, discussion, and experiences on using the breath and questions to learn how to rest in the view. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/BWM03.mp3 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:46:10 -0400 Buddhism no 01:45:09 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod The tap on the shoulder The hunter and the three bears; how different sets of instructions point to the same thing (Asanga, mind-training, mahamudra, dzogchen); forms of knowing; letting direct experience soak in to your core; the sense of self and ant colonies; the nature of experience; form and emptiness. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/BWM04.mp3 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:46:01 -0400 Buddhism no 01:47:03 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Why not do what you want? Question regarding translation of Dogen’s Genjokoan; If objects and experiences are empty and there is no self, why does it matter what I do?; the struggle between patterns and ethical/virtuous behavior; Buddhist ethics as a way to create the conditions for a quiet mind; what would life be like if you could experience fully whatever arises?; intention; meeting what is there; what is buddha nature? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/BWM05.mp3 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:45:53 -0400 Buddhism no 01:40:05 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Recognizing and resting Seeking ‘the experience’; the illusion of choice; recognizing what is arising and resting; useless and useful planning; resting as a means, not an end; the nature of mind; working with resistance; meditation instruction; emptiness and awareness; what is meant by ‘May I know that mind has no beginning.’ http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/BWM06.mp3 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:45:39 -0400 Buddhism no 01:41:34 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod The futility of effort The story of tea; commentary and questions on The Wisdom Experience of Ever-Present Good and understanding apparent contradictions in the text. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/BWM07.mp3 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:45:34 -0400 Buddhism no 01:49:50 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Acting in ways that leave you at peace Conduct and behavior as ways to both set conditions for practice and enhance / deepen practice; the story of Mrs. Foo; applying the principle of the middle way; tightening up your life and keeping your intention clear; two lists of metaphors for conduct and behavior; engaging in a chosen behavior so as to experience in yourself the related reactive emotions. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/BWM08.mp3 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:45:21 -0400 Buddhism no 01:36:52 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Practice as life, life as practice Historical tendency of practice being both separate from and more important than other daily activities; stabilization of attention (with and without activity) as the only type of practice; why incorporating practice into your life doesn’t work; why incorporating your life into your practice does work; using the primary practice continually; including your whole life in everything you do; the only thing you can know is what you experience; a knowing that is immediate and direct but not conceptual; find appropriate response through the four steps of standing up; open to both poles of a reactive pattern to step out of it. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/BWM09.mp3 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:45:13 -0400 Buddhism no 01:40:56 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Heart Sutra talk by Ken McLeod and Bill Porter (Red Pine) A reading of the heart sutra; discussion of the sutra's purpose; commentary on what is meant by 'be a lamp unto my feet'; how the title of this talk, Anything Is Possible, relates to the heart sutra; the relationship between form and emptiness; karma and memory; practice as building a capacity to experience in attention whatever arises. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/AP01.mp3 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:27:19 -0400 Buddhism no 01:20:03 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Heart Sutra talk by Ken McLeod and Bill Porter (Red Pine) Appearances and reality; what life is and staying present in it; the world in which we think we live and the world in which we actually live; where does Buddhism and politics come together; how does one work with psychological trauma in practice; working with fear; how does interdependent origination relate to our thoughts; karma, rebirth, and evolution; translating Buddhist poetry and spiritual writing; discussion of mantra at the end of the Heart Sutra http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/AP02.mp3 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:27:16 -0400 Buddhism no 01:34:35 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Buddhahood (continued) The three kayas or forms of Buddhahood (Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, Nirmanakaya) and their characteristics; special traits of Buddhahood; understanding the activities of Buddhahood as the natural response of compassion instead of viewing them as special abilities; thanks and acknowledgments to everyone who helped manage the class and make the podcasts possible. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN37.mp3 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:57:59 -0400 Buddhism no 01:31:26 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod The ten bodhisattva bhumis & Buddhahood Discussion of the highly coded text used in these last chapters; overview of the ten bhumis or stages and how they relate to one's experience; how the stages reflect specific, real-life experiences and shifts; division of stages into impure and pure. Discussion of the first (nature) of the two aspects of the pristine awareness of Buddhahood; evaluating experience; resting in experience and seeing what is, bringing these two together; seeing things as they are, knowing how they appear; meditation instruction for upcoming week. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN36.mp3 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:40:52 -0400 Buddhism no 01:27:54 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod The Five Paths The problems and advantages of charting spiritual progression; spiritual growth is rarely linear; the five paths as a way of organizing accumulated wisdom; The Path of Accumulation (gathering resources), mindfulness, perfect abandonment, and miracle powers; The Path of Application or Accommodation (no independent existence), the four stages and four noble truths, the five powers and strengths; The Path of Insight (seeing the nature of things); The Path of Meditation and the noble eight-fold path; The Path of Perfection (attention and seeing are stabilized). http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN35.mp3 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:17:06 -0400 Buddhism no 01:22:56 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Perfection of Wisdom Participants' experience with previous week's meditation on exploring the difference between doing routine, simple activities as usual and doing them when one has dropped into the clear resting mind; importance of means and wisdom; perfection of wisdom is knowing precisely what you are experiencing or know directly that all experience arises from no thing; translation points, change "realize" to "know directly" and "phenomena" to "experience"; entering into the mystery of "what am I? what is this experience I call life? what is time?"; approaching experience as just experience; practice instructions; meditation assignment for upcoming week on exploring when and how do I experience time in daily activities and meditation? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN34.mp3 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:43:56 -0400 Buddhism no 01:19:51 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Meditative stability, pt. 2 Participants' experience with previous week's meditation on comparing experience in actions with clear and unclear intention; remedies for the following reactive emotions: desire, anger, instinct/blind stupidity/ignoring, jealousy, and pride; experiencing vs acting out or suppressing emotions; remedies are used to develop unfragmented attention; three kinds of stable attention; meditation assignment for upcoming week on exploring the difference between doing routine, simple activities as usual and doing them with a resting mind. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN33.mp3 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:55:17 -0400 Buddhism no 01:32:15 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Meditative stability, pt. 1 Participants' experience with previous week's meditation on exploring one's experience with enthusiasm and lack of enthusiasm in everyday life; stability vs concentration; results of agitated mind; clairvoyance as a mistranslation of what can happen with a stable mind; stable attention gives rise to compassion; natural virtue of resting mind; stopping distraction; primary characteristics, genesis and faults of fragmentation of attention and solitude; evaluating what brings meaning, value and peace to us; clear intention leads to stable attention; meditation assignment for upcoming week on comparing experience in actions with clear and unclear intention. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN32.mp3 Fri, 30 May 2008 10:50:34 -0400 Buddhism no 01:18:57 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Perseverance Participants' experience with previous week's meditation on working more deeply to experience what one seeks to avoid by exiting into impatience; translation issues around "perseverance, diligence, effort, etc."; working hard the right way; virtuous, spiritual and practical aspects of working hard; passivity vs laziness; 3 types of laziness and remedies; translation issues around laziness; 3 types of diligence; 3 efforts; natural enthusiasm in working hard at virtue; efforts on one's spiritual path; working hard with no sense of effort; meditation assignment for upcoming week on exploring one's experience with enthusiasm and lack of enthusiasm in everyday life. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN31.mp3 Thu, 22 May 2008 21:12:15 -0400 Buddhism no 01:27:15 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Patience Participants' experience with previous week's meditation on exploring impatience and what you are afraid of experiencing at that moment; impatience arising from your feeling weaker than what is opposing you; anger resulting from impatience conditions quickly and deeply; essential gesture: compassion creates a sense of ease; classification: patience when interacting with others, patience with self in spiritual practice, patience with fear of no-self; primary characteristics; developing patience with self; experience anger without acting it out; patience for the rigors of practice; patience which allows us to know just how things are; meditation assignment for upcoming week: work more deeply to experience what one seeks to avoid by exiting into impatience. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN30.mp3 Thu, 15 May 2008 13:07:09 -0400 Buddhism no 01:24:26 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken Mcleod Moral Discipline Moral Discipline Participants' experience with previous week's meditation on exploring the difference between doing the moral thing because you know its the right thing to do and doing the moral thing because it is natural; morality as discipline; morality as skillful means; advantages of practicing and disadvantages of refraining from moral discipline: exercise of discipline as stepping out of conditioned behavior; essential gesture: moral discipline is learned through interaction; classification: restraint, generating the good and wholesome, wake up to every aspect of our experience; primary characteristics; generating good and wholesome outcomes; descriptive guidelines for living awake; moving from ordinary moral discipline to the perfection of moral discipline; end outcome; meditation assignment for upcoming week on exploring impatience and what you are afraid of experiencing at that moment. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN29.mp3 Mon, 12 May 2008 15:40:38 -0400 Buddhism no 01:32:03 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Generosity Participants' experience with previous week's meditation on exploring the difference between giving with a sense of I and other and giving without a sense of I and other; advantages of practicing and disadvantages of refraining from generosity; essential gesture; classification; primary characteristics; 4 methods for increasing the power of generosity; moving from ordinary generosity to the perfection of generosity; end outcome of generosity; meditation assignment for upcoming week on exploring the difference between doing the moral thing because you know its the right thing to do and doing the moral thing because it is natural. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN28.mp3 Thu, 01 May 2008 20:34:17 -0400 Buddhism no 01:38:30 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod The six perfections Participants' experience with previous week's meditation on experiencing the four black dharmas; genesis & fruition vehicles; six perfections: generosity, morality, patience, effort, meditative stability & wisdom; their specific evolutionary order; their characteristics; generosity as letting go; paramita; meditation assignment for upcoming week on the difference between giving with a sense of I and other and giving without a sense of I and other. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN27.mp3 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:22:41 -0400 Buddhism no 01:35:13 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken Mcleod Who am I conventionally? Introduction of participants; workshop outline; meditation instruction; Who am I conventionally speaking? What are my interests, talents, influences, gifts? Where am I going? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/WAI01.mp3 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:33:48 -0400 Buddhism no 00:58:36 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken Mcleod Who am I ultimately? Who am I ultimately? Am I my name, my body, my feelings, my thoughts, what I experience? sense of self; impermanence of self; independence of self; irreducible aspect of self. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/WAI02.mp3 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:33:36 -0400 Buddhism no 00:49:49 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken Mcleod Who am I functionally ? Who am I functionally? Who am I in the family environment? Who am I in the work environment? Who am I acting in each of the six realms? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/WAI03.mp3 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:33:18 -0400 Buddhism no 01:19:29 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken Mcleod On being nobody On being nobody; our situation consists of: nothing at the core, emotional reactions from roles, world of stories; tools: black box, middle way, interdependence; closing. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/WAI04.mp3 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:32:52 -0400 Buddhism no 01:15:11 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Training in bodhicitta, pt. 1 Participants' experience with previous week's meditation on response to bodhisattva vow; creating conditions for bodhicitta to arise in oneself; five training principles: don't close your heart to anything, be mindful of the benefits, nurturing goodness and awareness, spread and deepen attitude within, avoiding four black dharmas and instilling white dharmas; meditation assignment for upcoming week on experiencing the four black dharmas. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN26.mp3 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:17:24 -0400 Buddhism no 01:34:07 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Bodhisattva vow, pt.3 Participant's experience with previous week's meditation on succumbing to despair and rejecting others; aspects of the bodhisattva vow associated with Dharmakirti; moving from intention to will; benefits of taking the vow, disadvantages of losing and factors leading to the degeneration of the bodhisattva vow; vow renewal; bodhicitta as an ethic of compassion; meditation instruction for upcoming week: repeat bodhisattva vow daily, how do you respond to the ceremony and to forming this intention? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN25.mp3 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:44:15 -0400 Buddhism no 01:29:02 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken Mcleod Bodhisattva vow, pt. 2 Participant’s experience with previous week’s meditation exercise on rejoicing in virtue; meeting the deficiency inside ourselves so that we may aspire to bodhicitta; planting virtuous roots; prayers used in class: Prayer to the Perfection of Wisdom, Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind, Refuge and Awakening Mind, Four Immeasurables, Dedication, Aspiration for Awakening Mind, Good Fortune; bodhisattva vow ceremony; celebration; meditation instruction for upcoming week on succumbing to despair with regard to helping others. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN24.mp3 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:08:05 -0400 Buddhism no 01:22:11 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken Mcleod Bodhisattva vow, pt. 1 Participant’s experience with previous week’s meditation exercise on laying to rest wrong action; taking the bodhisattva vow in the presence of a teacher; does spiritual understanding lead to appropriate action; insight and compassion; preparation for taking the vow: offerings (developing generosity), clearing away non-virtuous action (remorse, remedy, resolve, reliance); meditation instruction for upcoming week on rejoicing in virtue. Due to a recording error, the meditation instruction was added later. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN23.mp3 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:16:29 -0400 Buddhism no 01:33:35 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Bodhicitta, pt. 3 Participant's experience with previous week's meditation on attention, intention, and will; living life at the level of intention or will in order to help others wake up (bodhicitta); Is bodhicitta or desire to help others awaken a natural instinct?; the four geneses of bodhicitta; meditation instruction for upcoming week: when you doing something you know is wrong, what needs to happen to lay it to rest? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN22.mp3 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:12:57 -0400 Buddhism no 01:25:09 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Bodhicitta, pt. 2 Participants’ experience with previous week’s meditation exercise; the four stages in the development of awakening mind; two aspects of awakening mind -- apparently true and ultimately true; translation points on these two terms; aspiration and engagement awakening mind; attention, intention and will; meditation instruction for upcoming week. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN21.mp3 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:34:38 -0400 Buddhism no 01:24:17 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Bodhicitta, pt. 1 Students' experience with previous week's meditation exercise on engaging in wholesome and unwholesome activities; reading 'behind the lines' when a text references other text (using opening of Chapter 8 as an example); what is bodhicitta, what cultivates it, and what it means to be awake; a different perspective on what it means to 'help all sentient beings'; discussion of some of the 22 similes for bodhicitta; meditation instruction for upcoming week. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN20.mp3 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:06:03 -0500 Buddhism no 01:26:08 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Refuge, pt. 2 Review of previous week's discussion on outer, inner, and secret interpretations of the three jewels and participants' experiences with meditation on trusting the three jewels; participants explain why taking a vow of refuge was important; description of refuge ceremony from text; what is meant by 'realize all phenomena are nonexistent and have no form, no perception, and no characteristics...'; experience when completely present; function and importance of ritual and ceremony; discussion of various trainings in refuge; overview of pratimoksa; meditation instruction for upcoming week. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN19.mp3 Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:21:21 -0500 Buddhism no 01:30:17 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Refuge, pt. 1 Participants' experience of previous week's meditation on trust; an exercise in trust; overview of Jewel Ornament of Liberation covered to date; the importance of a foundation to spiritual practice; origin of refuge; in what can one trust; outer, inner and mystery interpretation of the three jewels; how each jewel meets a different motivation; meditation instruction for upcoming week http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN18.mp3 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:44:45 -0500 Buddhism no 01:22:41 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Understanding the problem Identifying what you want to do and what prevents you from doing it; how attention causes one to focus and create results; lack of willingness, know-how, and capacity as a framework for understanding what prevents things from happening http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MTH01.mp3 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:44:30 -0500 Buddhism no 00:53:55 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Four foundations for success Interest in understanding things; persistence that continues after exploration; close attention to genesis and causation (and the difference between the two); creativity in framing questions (and reversing the six forms of mind-killing as a way to develop them) http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MTH02.mp3 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:44:27 -0500 Buddhism no 01:09:41 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Where do you go now? An exercise on understanding the distinction between what you actually want and what you're asking for; particpants' reaction to exercise; how relating directly to experience through awareness leads to being more awake and alive; What do I stand for?; attend, intend and commit http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MTH03.mp3 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:44:23 -0500 Buddhism no 01:00:26 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod What do you do now? How to attend: gathering information (internal and external), check for balance; How to intend: get a symbol, generate possibilities; How to commit: take action (even a small action), keep cycling, watch signs, stay in touch with body and feelings, think evolution; participants' comments; reminder to stay in your own experience http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MTH04.mp3 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:44:18 -0500 Buddhism no 00:53:27 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Loving-Kindness and Compassion (pt. 2) Participants report their experience with previous week's guided meditation; a tale of warm fuzzies and cold pricklies; reactions to giving and receiving kindness; three steps to staying present when receiving kindness: recognizing, acknowledging, and appreciating; the natural response (love) to staying present in kindness; extending this response to 'all sentient beings'; the difference between loving-kindness and compassion; the contraction that occurs in the presence of suffering that prevents loving-kindness and compassion from arising; meditation instruction for the upcoming week. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN17.mp3 Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:46:14 -0500 Buddhism no 01:39:26 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Karma, pt. 3 & Loving-kindess and Compassion, pt. 1 Participants reaction to intentionally engaging in a non-virtuous act; patterned behavior as a way to avoid experience; ascription, inevitability and karma; how to respond to questions like "Do you believe in evil?" Loving-kindness and compassion as remedies to attachment to the pleasure of peace; the maturation of motivation and practice; Is compassion the natural outcome of awareness or something one must cultivate?; meditation instruction for upcoming week. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN16.mp3 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:06:34 -0500 Buddhism no 01:25:19 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Karma, pt. 2 Follow-up discussion on free will and karma; the four factors which determine if an action sets in motion the process of evolution or karma: motivation/intention, doing the action or causing it to be done, the object which is acted on, and experiencing the completion of the action; the four results of such action: the full ripening result, the predisposition to experience the world, how the world experiences us; the way one is likely to experience things; the results of a specific non-virtuous actions (taking life); the problem with purity; By not taking these mythic descriptions literally, are we somehow shutting the door to the mystery of life?; the three categories of non-virtuous acts (body, speech, mind); 'wrong views' as having beliefs which prevent us from relating to what actually is; what is meant by improper sexual relations (avoiding obsession); making the dharma relevant in western culture; Buddhism as 'a' way or 'the' way; karma and attachment to meditative states; guided meditation for the upcoming week. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN15.mp3 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:30:09 -0500 Buddhism no 01:28:31 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Karma, pt. 1 Three analogies for karma: God's will, gravity, and evolution; God's will as explanation of mystery; gravity as absence of justice, etc.; evolution as contrast to cause and effect; karma's function in spiritual life; karma is conditioning through intention and action; the three types of karma. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN14.mp3 Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:33:34 -0500 Buddhism no 01:28:15 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod The Suffering of Samsara (pt 2) Review of the first two types of suffering; the third type of suffering and the six realms; how a society's cosmology (medieval or modern) reflect its psychology; how we experience the realms in daily life (anger as hot hell, hate as cold hell, etc.); how the development of numbering systems impacted mythic descriptions; perception of time and the realms; personal values and social norms; the four major and four minor sufferings of the human realm. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN13.mp3 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:41:57 -0500 Buddhism no 01:28:19 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Part 1 of 4 The aim of Buddhist practice; What is a relationship? Three types of relationship: 1) mutual benefit, 2) shared aim, 3) emotional connection; What's possible in a relationship? What gets in the way -- or how projections arise in relation to the Three Marks of Existence (impermanence, suffering, and no self); How relationships are undermined by disagreement or lack of clarity about their basis; How we can become awake in relationships. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/RAC01.mp3 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:41:52 -0500 Buddhism no 00:59:39 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Part 2 of 4 What can we actually know in a relationship? The story of Nasrudin, the smuggler and the customs agent; The world of shared experience and the world of individual experience; The Four Steps of Standing Up in a Relationship: 1) Stand up -- actually be there, 2) Open to what is happening, 3) Serve what is true to the limit of your perception, 4) Receive the result; Useful tools for being awake in relationships: deep listening, four questions for opening up difficult situations, the rule of three, returning confusion to its source and not picking up what isn't yours. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/RAC02.mp3 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:41:45 -0500 Buddhism no 00:58:27 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Part 3 of 4 Conflict as the experience of resistance to change when two or more worlds interact; Locating the resistance; The inevitability of conflict and how to engage in it skillfully; The Four Stages of Conflict (from Vajrayana Buddhism) -- pacification, enrichment, magnetisation and destruction; How to be awake in conflict using the same tools as for being awake in relationships and by remembering the Three Marks of Existence. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/RAC03.mp3 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:41:26 -0500 Buddhism no 01:00:00 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Part 4 of 4 The Four Immeasurables as higher emotions not based on a sense of self, and their transformative quality; The Four Immeasurables in the context of relationship and conflict and the ways these manifest in relationships; How equanimity manifests as judgement at the base level, up through impartiality, aloofness or detachment, and patience to full acceptance with no sense of judgement; The two aspects of true equanimity; How loving-kindness manifests as attraction or sexual desire at the base level, up through affection and caring to the selfless wish that others be happy; How compassion manifests as pity at the base level up through sympathy, fearlessness to be with another person's pain to the genuine wish that they not suffer; The complexity and richness of compassion; Joy as competition or paranoia at the base level, up through elation or delight to joy in being and knowing what needs to be done and just doing it. Loving kindness and compassion as the appropriate efforts in intimate relationships; The shared aim relationship with a spiritual teacher; A summary of conflict as resistance to change demanded by the third world created when two people interact. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/RAC04.mp3 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:41:20 -0500 Buddhism no 01:00:08 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod The Suffering of Samsara (pt 1) Recap of chapters previously covered; about the word "dukha"; what 'suffering' means in Buddhism; what is the question to which 'the vicious cycle of samsara' is the answer; why not just eat, drink, and be merry; relating the three types of suffering to the three poisons and the three types of faith; an exercise on experience and our reaction to experience; a closer look at the first two types of suffering. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN12.mp3 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:45:18 -0500 Buddhism no 01:31:33 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod How to handle difficulties that arise during the holidays Talk and meditation instruction on holiday stressors and the three marks of existence: facing the passage of time (impermanence), dealing with difficult emotions (suffering), dealing with difficult situations (non-self). http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/WTD01.mp3 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:10:04 -0500 Buddhism no 00:38:00 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Impermanence (pt 3) Appreciating and living in the understanding of the three facts of impermanence: death is certain, time of death uncertain, and we take nothing with us into death; regret and death; moving beyond the child-like morality of right and wrong; impermanence and the intensification of life experience; value of being able to experience life fully; how to do reflective meditations such as death and impermanence; how to use physical and emotional reactions in these meditations. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN11.mp3 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:51:41 -0500 Buddhism no 01:34:27 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Part 1 of 4 The problem: money drives the way we understand ourselves. Aim of financial model is to see experience through projection of money; aim of Buddhism is to experience what arises without projection; three bases of relationship: mutual benefit, shared aim, emotional connection; all forms of idealism involve avoidance of some form of suffering; when money is regarded as the problem, something else is being ignored; Questions: What are you asking for? What do you want? What does money symbolize to you? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MAV01.mp3 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:57:13 -0500 Buddhism no 00:43:53 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Part 2 of 4 What generates the problem? Confusion about money points to confusion about what we value in our lives; when you see things in terms of money, you are inevitably in one of the six realms; guided meditations: survival, getting emotional needs met, and self-image; intention versus self-image; valuing what can be taken away places life in other people's hands. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MAV02.mp3 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:57:10 -0500 Buddhism no 01:27:31 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Part 3 of 4 Possible directions towards a solution. The world of shared experience and the world we actually experience; money exists in the world of shared experience and of materialism; definition of materialism; comparison of the bases of life in world of materialism and world of well-being; comparison of spiritual ideal and being fully alive; Questions: What would you do with your life if you knew you would die in one year? If you were free from trying to get your emotional needs met? If you weren't concerned with being somebody? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MAV03.mp3 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:57:07 -0500 Buddhism no 01:21:17 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Part 4 of 4 Theoretical and practical concepts of what might be done. Traditional Buddhist method of The Noble Eightfold Path; footnote on the word "right"; four bases of success – curiosity, persistence or enthusiasm, understanding of genesis and conditions, creativity in framing questions; seven steps of manifestation; Questions: What am I going to do next week? Next month? Next year? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MAV04.mp3 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:57:01 -0500 Buddhism no 01:14:17 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Impermanence (pt 2) Viewing mythic descriptions of the outer world as descriptions of internal processes; meditating on death as a means to detach from social conditioning, increasing clarity in life, and savoring every moment; why be concerned about death if our 'experience isn't real'; the balance created by contemplating the fact death can come at any time; working with physical reactions and sensations that arise with contemplating death; emotional parallels between contemplating physical death and experiencing death of patterns. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN10.mp3 Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:44:06 -0500 Buddhism no 01:22:23 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Impermanence (pt 1) Transitioning to the method for awakening; four reasons (obstacles) why we aren't already awake: taking experience as fact, habituated tendencies to satisfy cravings, mistaking peace for being awake, and not knowing what to do to wake up; If experience isn't real or a fact, what is experience?; differences in the meaning of 'ego' as used in Buddhism and psychology; remedies to the four obstacles; impermanence and the four ends. http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN09.mp3 Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:22:16 -0500 Buddhism no 01:32:02 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Spiritual Teachers (pt 3) Respect for, and service to, one's teacher as expression of importance of one's own spiritual practice; eastern and western perspectives on the teacher-student relationship; knowing when motivation for practice comes from presence and not patterned behavior; devotion and reverence towards one's teacher as expression of one's own emotional attitude toward spiritual practice; practice and persistence (the individual responsibilities of teachers and students); three ways to receive teaching http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN08.mp3 Sat, 24 Nov 2007 10:46:33 -0500 Buddhism no 01:36:28 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Spiritual Teachers (pt 2) The teacher-student relationship as origin of understanding; the importance of questions; experience as teacher; the four classifications of teachers; defining nirmanakaya, sambhogakaya, and bodhisattva; ways to approach the mythic language of classical texts http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN07.mp3 Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:28:39 -0500 Buddhism no 01:24:29 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Spiritual Teachers (pt 1) Recap of last week's discussion on faith and belief from a perspective of how suffering is viewed in Christianity and Buddhism; people's reports of what they experience when working with a teacher; what is the question for which 'meeting a teacher' is the answer; three reasons why a person needs a spiritual teacher: scripture, logic, simile; retranslating omniscience, merit, and purifying obscurations http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/TAN06.mp3 Wed, 07 Nov 2007 02:14:41 -0500 Buddhism no 01:25:34 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Introduction (first evening) What is Mahamudra? It can be seen as another way of looking at what the Four Noble Truths are about. Or it may be approached by asking: to what questions might those practices provide answers? What are my questions? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MRT01.mp3 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:10:41 -0400 Buddhism no 00:32:17 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Day 1 morning Four fundamental questions to consider are: How do I know what is real? How do I know what is true? How do I know what is right? How do I know what to do? The beginnings of answers may be found in he Four Reminders (precious human existence, death and impermanence, teachings of karma, shortcomings of samsara). http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MRT02.mp3 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:10:33 -0400 Buddhism no 00:05:53 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Day 1 afternoon Practice: deep listening, More questions from the Perfection of Wisdom: What do I trust? How do I relate to people/things/experience? What can I know? http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MRT03.mp3 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:10:28 -0400 Buddhism no 00:58:24 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Day 2 morning Building capacity, Shamatha meditation, Energy transformation practices, The practice of devotion: guru yoga http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MRT04.mp3 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:10:22 -0400 Buddhism no 00:59:57 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Day 2 afternoon Practicing without reference points: Milarepa’s Song to Lady Paldarboom, verses 2-6, Doing nothing: Six Words of Advice from Tilopa, A question of teaching: keeping our intention clear http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MRT05.mp3 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:10:17 -0400 Buddhism no 01:14:12 Unfettered Mind Buddhism McLeod Ken McLeod Day 3 morning Stillness and movement: Milarepa’s Song to Lady Paldarboom, verses 8-17, Learning to breathe underwater: finding stillness in experience http://www.unfetteredaudio.com/podcast/MRT06.mp3 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:10:12 -0400 Buddhism no 01:02:46 Unfettered Mind Buddhi