“Easy, Flowing, Attentive Awareness” with Benjamin H tomorrow; Alex Haley upcoming teaching events

Dear Community,

Sunday 10am Community Practice & Discussion

Tomorrow, Sunday, March 3, Benjamin Hohl will lead an exploration on the theme of “Easy, Flowing, Attentive Awareness” in our practice. This is inspired by the below quote in Joseph Goldstein’s The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation. For those curious, he is referencing a sutta from the Samyutta Nikaya (SN 47.20) which you can find translated here and here.

“Being with the flow of phenomena on a microscopic level is the kind of mindfulness that develops with practice. The Buddha gave an example of just how mindful we should be. He told of a person who was ordered to walk through a very crowded marketplace with a water jug full to the brim balanced on his head. Behind him walked a soldier with a big sword. If a single drop of that water were to fall, the soldier would cut off his head. Assuredly, the person with the jug walked pretty mindfully. But it has to be mindful in an easy way. If there is too much forcing or strain, the least little jostling will cause the water to spill. The person with the jug has to be loose and rhythmic, flowing with the changing scene, yet staying very attentive in each moment. That is the kind of care we should take in developing awareness: a relaxed alertness.” (Goldstein, Joseph. The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation (Shambhala Dragon Editions) (pp. 43-44). Shambhala. Kindle Edition.)

Please join us. Everyone, of all meditation experience levels, is welcome. Registration and Zoom information available here.

Upcoming Teaching Events with Alex Haley

Founding teacher of Minneapolis Insight, Alex Haley, has a number of upcoming teaching events (information and registration for all can be found here):

• Online Nine Bodies Insight Daylong Retreat March 23
• Online Nine Bodies Insight Weeklong Retreat April 18 - 24
• On-land at Spirit Rock Insight, Awareness, and the Nine Bodies of Consciousness Retreat June 7 - 14
• On-land at Spirit Rock Naturally Arising Samadhi (Concentration) Retreat October 1 - 10

With metta (loving-kindness),
Minneapolis Insight