Audio

While all of these teachings are made available for free, we are non-for profit organization and would greatly appreciate any help we can receive.

This is a series of discourses and meditations on the practical application of Dhamma, given on a six week  retreat in Scotland January 2009.

• The Basis of Samatha - Discourse: An introduction to the serenity and tranquility aspect of mental cultivation, taught by The Buddha as Right Concentration in The Noble Eightfold Path.

• Anapanasati -  Discourse: An introduction to the practice of mindfulness of breathing. This meditation practice is often the start point for beginners. It is a foundation for Samatha practice - Right Concentration - as taught by the Buddha in The Noble Eightfold Path, and cultivated up to, and including, the absorption or Jhana states.

• Anapana  -  Guided Meditation: An introductory guided meditation by Burgs, to establish concentration and mindfulness on the breath.
  

• Mindfulness of the Body - Discourse : A discussion on how mindfulness of the body, one of the four foundations of mindfulness taught  by the Buddha in the Mahasatipatthãna Sutta, may be developed in different ways: as a Vipassana practice for cutting off attachment by viewing the body’s impermanent nature and inherent loathsomeness; as a practice for bring about healing in the body; and as a Samatha practice for developing concentration up to Upacara Samadhi or 1st Jhana.
  

• Mindfulness of the body - Guided meditation: A guided meditation by Burgs to develop mindfulness of the body part by part either as a Samatha or Vipassana practice.

• Four Elements  - Discourse : An introduction to the Four Elements meditation practice.

• Four Elements - Guided Meditation: A guided meditation by Burgs to develop awareness and mindfulness of the Four Elements of materiality.

• Four Elements - Discourse: A discourse on ways to further develop the Four Elements meditation practice.

• Loving Kindness  - Guided meditation: A guided meditation on loving kindness or Metta Bhavana. “Bhavana” means “cultivation” or “development,” and “Metta” is a word that means “love,” “friendliness,” or “lovingkindness.”  This is a meditation practice where we actively cultivate positive emotional states towards others, as well as to ourselves. As we begin to experience forgiveness, gratitude, compassion and unconditioned love we can turnaround the negative mind states of anger, resentment, envy and fear. Metta can be developed as a Samatha practice up to absorption.

• Loving Kindness to Absorption - Discourse: Burgs discusses Metta in more depth and how it may be developed as a Samatha practice to absorption, explaining that the greatest happiness that the human mind is able to experience is when taking Metta as the object for third Jhana.

• Love and Wisdom as Healing Energy - Discourse: A short discourse by Burgs on how Love and Wisdom are used to heal sickness.

• Reflections on Jhana - Discourse: Burgs discusses the first four absorption or Jhana attainments.

• How to Develop White Kasina from Skeleton - Discourse

• Practicing Vipassana  on Rupa - Materiality - Discourse

These are  reflections and discourses taken from a  7 day Foundation in Meditation retreat.

• The Higher and Lower mind in Meditation: Access to and recognition of the Awakened state of pure awareness helps significantly to loosen the grip of attachment to the mental states and experiences of the lower mind.

• Pure and impure mindfullness: This discourse discusses the difference between the deliberate but contrived application of Mindfulness as an exercise in paying attention and restraint in the early stages of meditation, and the higher state of pure awareness which is the direct perception of things within the experience of the awakened mind.

• Two Kinds of Happiness: A discussion on the pursuit of Happiness in the here and now and the happiness that is the result of the causal cessation of suffering. The transition over lifetimes from the personality driven  life to the life that is aligned with the soul purpose.

• How Karma Fruits: A brief explanation of how Karma fruits through the appropriate mind doors

• The Direct awareness of No Self in Vipassana: A reflection on how the direct experience of No Self in Meditation can greatly accelerate progress upon the path of Vipassana meditation. “He who perceives emptiness as empty will not complete the path. He who perceives emptiness as not empty may complete the path”.

• The Hearts Deepest longing: A discussion on the True Nature of Love and how the knowledge of this Love is one of the Hearts Deepest Longings.

• Help for the Dying: A discourse given when the father a participant on retreat fell and broke his neck on the evening before he was meant to join the retreat.

• Help for the Dying 2: Concluding the reflections on helping the dying.  How we might make our life meaningful and let go the vexations that could hinder us at the end of this life and interfere with our ability to make peace with ourselves.