<p>Dhamma gifts reflect the ways we are already enlightened and the ways we are most vulnerable. Through them we connect with the core of life itself.  Ahimsaka’s story illustrates how our natural sensitivities can be both gifts and hindrances.</p><a rel="payment" href="http://www.easingawake.org/donations.html">Support the show</a>

Being Nothing

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.”