Everything has a cause, and that cause has a cause. Like following a string of dominoes, Dependent Origination traces suffering to its roots. This talk shows how to recognize and work with these links. It’s the Buddha’s core teaching. This episode with Doug Kraft was recorded in 2017 at a retreat given in San Juan Bautista, CA. <a rel="payment" href="http://www.easingawake.org/donations.html">Support the show</a>

Ennobling Questions

Sifting through the earliest records of the Buddha's talks, we find a simple, elegant, and powerful practice. When he died, his teaching became an “ism”, Buddhism. As it spread into other countries, cultures, and eras his teachings or “map” was copied and re-copied. Shortcuts and alternatives were added and deleted. Compared to the versions of his teachings most widely known, his original meditation emphasized: Tranquility: an open, receptive awareness favored over highly focused, one-pointed concentration; Simplicity: loving kindness, serenity and insight all integrated rather than treated as separate practices; Stages: the practice matures through stages, each of which builds upon and goes beyond earlier stages (or “jhana”); Ease: relaxing as more important than striving. These podcasts are dedicated to this approach to meditation and daily living. I call it “easing awake.”