Clear Mountain Monastery Project

00:00 Chanting Together

00:52 Ayyā Ānandabodhi — Walking Right Here

08:04 Ajahn Kovilo — Walking With Stillness: The World Moving Through Us

16:58 Ajahn Nisabho — Path as Duty: Monastery as Container

26:59 Question: Navigating Career Transitions

31:53 Question: Managing Boredom in Relationships

37:25 Question: Balancing Duty and Presence

In this session, directly preceding their three-day pilgrimage from St. Mark's Cathedral in Capitol Hill, Seattle to the new Clear Mountain property in North Bend, Ayyā Ānandabodhi and Venerable Satima join Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho in reflecting on the why and how of Buddhist pilgrimage ("tudong") and walking meditation more broadly.

To learn more about Ayyā Ānandabodhi and Venerable Satima, visit www.parayanavihara.org

Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

ESSAYS

Return to Simplicity Through Wuwei: https://luminousdharma.org/return-to-simplicity-through-wuwei/

Returning to Nature: https://luminousdharma.org/returning-to-nature-advanced-dharma-practice/

PAIRED VIDEO: https://youtu.be/qlU00qmHq1E

DESCRIPTION

Returning to Simplicity is an approach to Buddhist practice based on radical surrender. What we set down is the whole apparatus of impulse, obsession, discriminating, ruminating, and holding concepts about how the world should be. We are not setting down the arising of these things, but our investment in them. What we take up instead is feeling the world as it actually is.

The Buddha encouraged exploring body, mind, and environment as "not I, not me, not mine." In this discussion we look at how that seeing may be uncovered and directly experienced, and how life can open into freedom when things are entrusted back to natural function. To learn more, visit https://luminousdharma.org/.

BIO

Jason Bartlett teaches a practical, cross-traditional approach to Buddha Dharma centered on "returning to nature" — a method of releasing the sense of self by entrusting whatever arises spontaneously and uncontrolled to nature itself, drawing on prajñāpāramitā, tathāgatagarbha, and early Taoist teachings. He began meditating in 1993 at age 17, and his practice expanded over the years to include Chan, Korean Seon, and Theravāda traditions, along with study of the Pāli suttas and Mahāyāna sūtras. Following his brother's death in 2019, he founded Luminous Dharma to offer teachings freely. His mentors include Venerable Sucitta Mahātherī, Santikaro Upāsaka, Leigh Brasington, and Venerable Wu Kai Shīfù. To learn more, visit https://luminousdharma.org/.

CHAPTERS

0:00 – Opening & Bio Introduction

3:08 – "How would you describe returning to simplicity?"

9:34 – "How would you speak about people embodying this in daily life?"

13:33 – "Can you give listeners practical ways to embody the skill of release?"

18:05 – "How would you suggest cultivating this on the cushion?"

21:45 – "Do you want to quickly speak to the sailing analogy?"

27:20 – "How would you speak about moments where it's not easy to turn off the motor?"

32:24 – "Would you speak to big mind and small mind?"

35:20 – "What other methods do you have for people stepping into big mind?"

37:19 – "Do you have an example of returning to simplicity while doing the dishes?"

46:59 – "How do you teach this in meditation? How do you sit to develop these skills?"

51:30 – "Can you give a practical technique to sit with this — breath or mantra?"

54:54 – "What's different about returning to nature vs. returning to simplicity?"

1:01:19 – "How is returning to nature different from returning to simplicity?" (trust/wholehearted wish)

1:09:00 – "What's the practical way to sit and develop the returning to nature method?"

1:17:14 – "How do people make the leap to piti, rapture, and nourishment?"

1:21:43 – "How does one know if a breakthrough is authentic?"

1:25:08 – "How does the Awakening Alchemy method fit into this paradigm?"

1:28:42 – "Do you consider yourself Buddhist?"

We are especially grateful for the work of Chetan Raj in filming and editing. Sadhu!

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Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this talk, Ajahn Nisabho the Buddha's directions towards developing jhāna through mindfulness of breathing, as articulated in the Ānāpānassati Sutta (MN 18 - https://suttacentral.net/mn118/en/bodhi?lang=en&reference=none&highlight=false). Taoist articulations of how to refine the body's energies provide practical tools for practitioners looking to refine the mind through these stages. Specifically, Jason Bartlett's "Awakening Alchemy" methodology, described in the talk and essay below, give in-depth guidance about the approach.

Video: Buddhist Lotus, Taoist Roots: An Ancient Blueprint for Modern Practice | Jason Bartlett Q&A: https://youtu.be/qlU00qmHq1E

Awakening Alchemy Essay: http://Luminousdharma.org/awakening-alchemy/

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Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

ESSAY: http://Luminousdharma.org/awakening-alchemy/

PAIRED VIDEO: https://youtu.be/_GUvwlg8bHI

DESCRIPTION

Awakening Alchemy is a system of body, breath, energy, and spirit practices that cultivate and transform our being on multiple levels. Its concepts and approach are rooted in principles found within East Asian medicine, Taoist cultivation, and Buddhism. In this discussion we establish the principles and working points that serve as the foundation for this style of practice.

As with all techniques, these practices affect each person differently. If you experience problematic symptoms or stress while trying them, please discontinue the practice and consult a skilled practitioner of traditional East Asian medicine as needed. To learn more, visit https://luminousdharma.org/.

BIO

Jason Bartlett teaches a practical, cross-traditional approach to Buddha Dharma centered on "returning to nature" — a method of releasing the sense of self by entrusting whatever arises spontaneously and uncontrolled to nature itself, drawing on prajñāpāramitā, tathāgatagarbha, and early Taoist teachings. He began meditating in 1993 at age 17, and his practice expanded over the years to include Chan, Korean Seon, and Theravāda traditions, along with study of the Pāli suttas and Mahāyāna sūtras. Following his brother's death in 2019, he founded Luminous Dharma to offer teachings freely. His mentors include Venerable Sucitta Mahātherī, Santikaro Upāsaka, Leigh Brasington, and Venerable Wu Kai Shīfù. To learn more, visit https://luminousdharma.org/.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction and guest biography

01:59 How did the Awakening Alchemy approach develop?

05:35 What are the Three Treasures (jing, qi, shen)?

09:29 How do the Three Treasures map onto satipatthana and the four jhanas?

11:58 How do heaven, earth, person and fire and water map onto the body?

16:26 How do we practically work with the Three Treasures?

18:44 Phase one: how do we settle into yin until yang is born?

26:06 How do you find the dantian by feel?

32:40 What is bellows breathing and how is it practiced?

35:33 Phase three: what happens when we "steam the medicine"?

41:10 What are the microcosmic orbit and the magpie bridge?

44:27 How do the three phases cycle together (the firing cycle)?

48:51 How do we use dantian awareness with difficult emotions in daily life?

51:29 What are warrior fire and scholar fire?

53:21 How do the three dantians wire together?

58:52 What is the postural shift that opens the heart center?

1:03:08 Which phase does the wiring of the dantians belong to?

1:04:34 What happens when the dantians connect into an "antenna"?

1:09:41 How would one know they've touched this antenna phase?

1:11:04 What is the "ball of medicine" that gathers with practice?

1:16:05 How should practitioners handle setbacks, timelines, and support?

1:21:00 Can you demonstrate the opening and closing practices?

1:28:19 What about standing meditation (zhan zhuang) and shaking practice?

1:32:21 Why does ethical restraint (sila) matter for this practice?

1:38:05 How does this system map onto the Anapanasati Sutta's 16 steps?

1:44:33 Where does jhana fit into this framework?

1:51:16 How do the jhana similes describe these body experiences?

1:54:03 What is the nada sound (the "sound of silence") and how do you find it?

1:56:17 How does this practice fuel metta and the Brahmaviharas?

2:00:16 How do capacity and merit affect spiritual development?

We are especially grateful for the work of Chetan Raj in filming and editing, and of Alex Haynes in creating the instructive imagery. Sadhu!

----

Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo speaks about four doors to entering into the perception of space (ākāsa-saññā or ākāsānañcāyatana-saññā):

1) transcending form (rūpasaññānaṃ samatikkamā);

2) setting down resistance (paṭighasaññānaṃ atthaṅgamā);

3) unhooking duality (nānattasaññānaṃ amanasikārā);

4) resting in space (‘ananto ākāso’ti ākāsānañcāyatanaṃ upasampajja viharati).

Bhikkhu Sujato Translation:

"With the...surmounting of perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite’, one enters and remains in the dimension of infinite space."

Bhikkhu Bodhi Translation:

"With the...surmounting of perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of sensory impact, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite,’ some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite space."

Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!