In this first course of this course series, we will be learning the details of deep meditation and all the steps of spiritual practice, from baby-steps all the way to enlightenment, from one of the greatest teachings on meditation ever given: a book called A Gift of Liberation, Thrust into the Palms of Our Hands, written by the great Tibetan master Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941).
🔗 This course is the 1st of an ongoing 14 year journey in our study of the Gift of Liberation Thrust into the Palm of Your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche.You can explore all the courses here: ([ Ссылка ])
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction & Review of Class 1: Review of the six different conditions to get ready for your meditation practice even before you actually sit down and meditate
0:27 - 1. You will need a place to meditate which is conducive to meditation
4:36 - 2. You have to reduce your needs
5:04 - 3. You have to learn to be happy with what you already have
6:31 - 4. You have to start giving up excess stimulation and activity
6:57 - 5. You must become a highly ethical person
8:21 - 6. You should try to clean your mind of all those random thoughts
8:49 - Which is most important? Ethical practices are not merely preparatory but are integral to the meditation process itself, enhancing both personal growth and spiritual development throughout the steps of the path to enlightenment
11:42 - Why it's gong to take so long to finish this course series. Understanding the Scope of the Teachings
13:40 - Starting from the end: Geshe Michael reiterates his innovative approach to teaching the sections on meditation and emptiness from Pabongka Rinpoche's Gift of Liberation. He mentions that traditionally, these topics are taught towards the end of the Lamrim teachings, but he has chosen to address them first
14:48 - The 2nd of the 6 steps to effectively learn meditation: The actual instructions on how to meditate
15:03 - Nothing works! 'Separating Extremes from the Middle'. Here in The Gift of Liberation, Pabongka RInpoche mentions teachings from a text written 16 centuries ago by Maitreya, considered the next Buddha in our world. This text offers systematic techniques on how to meditate effectively
17:18 - Addressing Common Meditation Challenges: Brief Introduction to the 5 Problems and the 8 Ways to Stop Those Problems
18:31 - 1st of the 5 Problems: (Lelo) Identifying and Conquering Laziness in Meditation
19:29 - 2nd of the 5 Problems: Forgetting the Meditation Instructions
19:40 - 3rd of the 5 Problems: Navigating Between the Two Extremes of Meditation
25:38 - 4th of the 5 Problems: Failing to action when you should be
25:47 - 5th of the 5 Problems: Taking action when you shouldn’t
26:22 - Pabongka Rinpoche stresses the importance of these traditional sources for anyone seeking to deeply understand and practice meditation
27:41 - “People Like You and Me”: Accessibility and Relatability
29:21 - Encouragement to Use Proven Methods & Critique of Modern Disregard for Classics
32:46 - Je Tsongkapa's strong warning about not using authentic and proven instructions on meditation
43:05 - Je Tsongkapa on the extremely dangerous risks of subtle dullness in meditation
47:29 - Dangers of Mahamudra meditation without clear goals and purpose
51:06 - No Tolerance for BS! The importance of rigorous scrutiny in teaching and practice & the beauty of Je Tsongkapa's approach
55:42 - From fixing your car all the way up to the highest levels of spiritual practice: Learning the 5 problems and 8 fixes are crucial
57:53 - Your mind is like a beautiful work of art: You have an opportunity now to repaint your own mind
59:45 - Beginning of detailed instruction of the 5 meditation problems and the 8 ways to stop those problems
1:00:18 - 1st of the 5 Problems: (Lelo) Identifying and Conquering Laziness in Meditation
1:00:55 - 4 of the 8 antidotes are targeted at the 1st problem of meditation (Lelo): 1. Admiration (དད་པ, dé pa) 2. Aspiration (འདོད་པ, dö pa) 3. Effort (ཚུལ་བ་, tsulwa) 4. Getting good at it! (གཞིན་སྔགས, shinjang)
1:01:31 - How antidotes 1-4 are like a high school crush
1:09:48 - What real meditation feels like. Single pointed focus in meditation: "Ting nge dzin" (སྒྲིབ་མེད་གི་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན)
1:13:09 - Pabongka RInpoche's definition of the 1st meditation problem (Lelo: not feeling like meditating)
1:13:53 - The most important antidote for the 1st meditation problem: Shinjang
