Introduction to Chapter 3: Opening Reflections + Course Readings

Welcome to Chapter 3 of The Heart of Wisdom!

In this chapter, we’ll explore a few maps of paths that lead to the Heart of Wisdom. Specifically, I’ll share a simple map of awakening from pre-egoic consciousness to egoic consciousness to post-egoic consciousness. We’ll look at how the meditative process facilitates this process of awakening, as well as how the Buddha’s map of The Four Noble Truths clarifies essential injunctions along the journey. 

In practice, we’ll integrate Yang elements of Samatha-Vipassana that support an optimal way for traveling over the terrain of the path itself. 

Here are the main Practice Themes in this chapter:

• Awareness. The practice path of awakening is a story of the growth, development and expansion of awareness itself. 
• Yin + Yang Samatha-Vipassana. Complementing the previous chapter’s suggestions for cultivating calm and clarity with the 3 R’s of Yin Samatha-Vipassana, in this chapter we’ll practice the 3 R’s of Yang Samatha-Vipassana, specifically whenever we sense the experience of resistance is creating the perception of a problem in our practice and life.
• Practice + Consistency. Please continue to commit to thirty minutes of Yin Yoga/Qi Gong/Sitting per day. Tending the path of practice is very similar to tending a garden. A daily practice will build a momentum that is conducive to direct insight. Without that momentum, it is very difficult for the seeds of your intention to sprout into nourishing insights in the garden of your heart. Practice whole-heartedly, with patience and perseverance.

With metta,

Josh

Course readings.

Chapter 1 in Noble Eightfold Path

Introduction + Chapters 1 and 2 in Four Noble Truths