This is the ten percent happier pack cast down harris hello everybody today on the show we ve got some strategies for getting over yourself. This is part two of our best of Joseph goldstein series. There were running this week. Joseph A fan favorite on the show is also personal. Favorite of my given that he's been my meditation teacher for more than a decade is also a great friend. Every year Joseph does a three month. Silent meditation retreat by himself at his home in massachusetts in this station you're about to hear Joseph had just emerged from one such retreat with a bunch of thoughts on what are called the three proliferating tendencies or three proposes to use the aged. the term in the language of polly,

three ways in which we perpetuate a sense of self in, and I'm not talking here about a healthy sense of self, but an unhealthy sense of self. Kind of like the beatles sang about in that song, I mean mine as Joseph. Explain to me and many other people before you can think about the process of going deeper in meditation as us of lightning up or getting less self centered into you but to get a master class in doing just that for the uninitiated. Joseph is one of the co founders of the insight, meditation society and bury massachusetts. His coffee, there are two other meditation titans share in salzburg and jack cornfield. Since I am ass was founded, thoust of people from around the world have come through to learn about mindfulness from many many teachers. many leaders in the field. I message incredible play so many amazing offerings and it's beautiful will put a link to their webs In the show note if you want to go check it out, which I urge you to do anyway, Joseph has been a teacher, I met since the place was founded in the seventies he contain. To be the resident guiding teacher. There is also a founding

You're over on our companion, meditation app, he helped us create our flagship, courses for learning the basics of meditation, as well as some advanced courses. compassion and also stress in this conversation. We talked about the framework for understanding the three proliferating tendencies: the basic building blocks of our experience in the world, six things that make up what the buddha called the all I love that expression, the all what non self means and why it is central to the buddhist teaching liberation, the two levels of truth, conventional and ultimate. This is actually incredibly important understand why language is so important and conditioning how we experienced things and how that we proliferating tendencies, provide a very practical guide to understanding how we manufacture our own suffer miss out on the enjoy everyday walking meditation pack over on the ten percent happier up its available for free two august twentieth

I haven't tried walking meditation on the app before I highly recommend you check it out here, is what one user had to say. I'm quoting here, I'm in my sixty year with ten percent. I start and end my day with it. I like their walking meditations to use when I'm out exercising or walking the dog the longer I use it, the more I learn, nuances and subtleties and refinements of the process. It is life changing. That's us into here. although the ten percent happier after day wherever you get your apps and gets for freight. The show is

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you had given recently you where you were talking about what are known as the three proliferating factors. I think I have that right. Am I using the terminology correctly. Proliferating tendencies What do you mean by that and then what are they? Okay, so first out of general interest. I just want to mention the polly word for that for tendency, power is the language of the ancient put his because it's it's one of those terms that comes up Frequently, even in our modern discourse on the teachings, so just to familiarize listens to that term. Its papaya- and I like the public because it sort of it's an amount appear. It sort of sounds like what it is a pop. I'm sure it's just the mind proliferating any operating from the bear.

Elements of our experience from the building blocks of our experience with build told worlds. and then get enmeshed in one way or another, in those words, and so the three main tendencies which led us in that direction and it's very helpful. to become aware of them to distinguish between them. and to learn how to free ourselves from them. If completely, at least to have more wisdom in relay and then, when we see them arising, so that's basically what the poncho is proliferating tendencies of mind, just it expands in quite a powerful way, just the complexity of our lives, particularly with regard to how suffering is created and how we can

become a little more free. When I use the word historically, I must be used in the sanskrit version, because I have often said Pra poncher. It sounds like that difference between pauline transcripts, which are very close- I love the term pro poncho or put punch or whatever you want to pronounce it or spell it, and I've heard it translate it as the imperialistic tendency of mind in the end that you who you take our data point from the present moment, like you, stub your toe and you colony, the future with this whole like? Why am I always the guy was steps into you know this is gonna, hurt forever and what you are talking about here, these three sort of runaway trains of prepared that are really three of the main contributors to how we suffer as humans yeah. I liked your description of them. We need

stopping imperialists in our minds to crit to curb those ten. So, let's go through that tendencies Yeah sure we take them one at a time. The first one is craving. Maybe Before we do, that just said, the law- larger framework behind it all its expressed in one very succinct teaching of the borders which he actually gave to his son were hula swords. as a kind of touching aspect her that the buddhist leading his own son in on this path of liberation, the whole story behind it with buddha is telling him everything should be seeing with perfect wisdom. This is not mine I am not. This is not myself

so not mine, not I not myself. Everything should be seen in that light, and so the pond, three proliferating tendencies, are connected to the sense of mine will belong to me or to I am, I am, This or that or to the view of self, so that those facts, the underlying framework for understanding that proliferating tendencies, not mine, not I not myself, so Not mine, is connected to craving taking things to belong to me, a million examples of this? We do it all the time. So I ll just give one example from a meditative practice. I might begin to the freeing aspect of it. You have we,

walking meditation, for example, and being pretty mindful, the movement, the touch it would be quite common to have. One might almost say a subliminal or very fast. the overlay of a sense of leg. You know we're walking, leg or fight, so, even if with feeling this insane, of the moment in the touch very commonly very clear it overlay would be that sense of leg foot but actually we don't feel the fact, we don't feel like there's, no sensation called leg. We are feeling hardness when, with touching around maybe no movement, so leg is the concept.

once we already have that concept: leg v, commonly. We were there it is my leg so right there, where Getting involved in this belongs to me this is mine and it's mine, we have all kinds of wanting saw cravings about it I want whatever's mine to be this way or that way or not to change all kinds of things. Come out of that believe that things belong to me. So this is a very simple example just walking, but just imagine how many times this plays out in one's life. What's wrong with claiming my own leg is mine, what's wrong with it. Is that it's not

he's a living in the pollution once again, so. For example, If we really deeply, bedded enough. Both of you you and sense. the being mine, then A couple of things one is. We are going to suffer when things happened, that we don't want it to happen. Let's leave the hamper the lego weeks. Just take the whole body taking the body to be mine belonging to me. Well, the more attach priority view. How do we feel as the body ages as it gets sick as it dies? That's going to create a lot of suffering, whereas if we see

the body and adjust the physical elements which make up the body is being just an aspect of nature, its non personal? It's just these. The elements in certain configuration fulfilling their functions subject. the laws of impermanence and change. When we see In that way, we will not claiming to be my hand then, as it goes through the inevitable changes. This is not like. It happens to some people and not the crews, and all of our bodies go through this process. Then we really it is where, in harmony with nature, rather than creating a punch

Creating a mental proliferation which adds to the basic experience of what's happening. This idea- this is mine, and you can see that when that strong, then it leads to a lot of craving of how we would like the body to be, and just How much of our society is built on advertising things that appeal to our sense of what we would like our bodies to be like, because we take it to be me, we take them to be self. We take it to be mine, so it has a lot of consequences. yeah as we play out our lives. So craving is one of these pontius lash pro poncho, let's just say, per punch or let's use the Paul okay. Let's just do what Joseph says.

It's a craving if there is no craving that so that's that's craving. The next is conceit so this is really interesting. First, it's to understand that in the book The terminology conceit mean something a little different then I usual understandable means an english beginning generally. We use that word to mean a very inflated sense of oneself. Someone is conceded, nepali, word for conceit is mana m a n. So in this buddhists, usage of that word.

How it's been translated into English as concede is much broader most. Basically, it refers to this deeply deeply felt sense of I am it's just the I am this which manifest in a few different ways it can manifest. I am income paris into other people, So I'm better, then I'm worse than equal to just some comparing function is all considered conceit. because everyone in a negative way no I'm not as good as that person that still

following around that I am sense. So that's one way the conceit manifest in comparing- and it would be interesting to note- is not only the obvious times when that's happening No, it's really very, very clear in our minds, but my senses that it happens a lot often under the radar, and it might be interesting to notice when we interacting with people petition, people, maybe that we're not No, that well or perhaps a meeting for the first time just to see if there's any undercurrent in that meeting of comparing maybe comparing. personality you're comparing intelligence are comparing looks of what,

ever kind of going on. In the background that I think is often unnoticed, but still exerting its influence on our minds. So that's one aspect of conceit. Does this comparing and the other aspect? is the I am over time, someone with thinking Of how I was in the past. Or how I am in the future. In the present how I will be in the future so that that also is an expression of conceit. So it's pretty pervasive and it's a contraction. You know as soon as we become identified with that proliferation. In the mind the I mx it's not a pleasant state, it's not a quality of happiness. It just feels like this contraction

Bobby S, either there are many people listening to the show who are familiar with basic buddhist concepts, who will completely understand what you're talking but there may be others who are certain new to this in our thinking What is this guy talking about what he mean? I am in clause and the pain of course, I am. I look in the mirror and I see me so. Why is that a problem? So first, in order to kind of come to some full understanding of all this, I think it's helpful to talk about the basic building blocks of our experience, because then the prolific, nation will become more apparent. So what are the basic building blocks of how we experience ourselves in the world.

Well, it's quite a measuring because it comes down to some very simple things and the buddha talked about this and he gave one discourse which he called the all. So he described the all, which is everything in six phrases so decides pretty amazing, ok! So what is the or? What is the all. the ice, invisible objects, the ear In sound the nose and smell the tongue and taste the body and sensations and the mind and mind objects, thoughts, emotions images to just the six things sight, sound smell, taste, touch and objects of mind and the buddha

Our people. Does anybody experienced anything outside of these six things, so I find quite amazing, because very often think our lives is so complicated and other such confusion. but really all its efforts happening is one of these six things so in some way? I see it is, our lives, everybody's lives. It's like a six peace chamber, orchestra, That's playing the music of our lives. so what makes the music. Either harmonious and beautiful or discordant are not the first five other the sight. Sound smell taste

What touch there's no problem in any of them, some pleasant some are unpleasant, but that's all fine! Complexity in the confusion and the suffering comes in our mental response to these six things, how we relating to them and HU. The pointed out, though, ways of relating that cause suffering. And those ways of relating to these six very simple things in ways that create peace, create happiness for us. So the point in talking about, I am the conceit. I am this an important doorway into free

our ourselves from a lot of suffering side? I just want to read something grasping and cherishing that which does not exist is the centre of all of us. So we have created the sense of self, which is the last of the three parts of the view of self and we've created this view of self and made it into something subsidy. Essential in our view, and then we cherish should we hold onto it only do all kinds of things but, as it says, we're grasping at cherishing that which does not exist, because all that really exist are those six thinks of sight. Smell stays sensation

If mind objects, are we getting clear or more confused? Let me just ask a question. Let me just channeled: do you know that the term you sell yet the me of your or to do a service to some. listeners who may have non nude newer to this. Yes, okay, so of its six peace chamber, try- and my sense of myself is this is a beautiful phrase from my friend and colleague, the buddhist teacher J michaelson. If sense of self- is born in that blur of these six aspects of the all. and to claim any of it of as mine, is as an took hold another buddhist teacher who I first heard of three, you is to claim any of it is mine, is of misappropriation of public property and causes suffering Where does that leave me? Because I still you know you need to function

the world as me. Ok, I think before addressing that specifically- and You may have to remind me again of the question I have to finish this little digression: I'm getting old, and I think that just like this, and in a minute or two talking about the view of self or what self means. because everything we ve been talking about really rests on that understanding or misunderstanding for example I like to give in terms explaining what non self means- and is this

Kind of understanding of non self is absolutely central to the buddha's teaching of liberation of freedom. You know of greater happiness. So it's really it's an essential point who begin to explore? It's not that easy to understand because its counter intuitive, just as you said when you mean there's no, of course here. I am, and I I need that to navigate in the world so example that I'd like to give special in these last couple of years is that of a river so we all know what a river is in its sitting of this body of flowing water and lots of rivers and we give the rivers different names, but is there anything that is a river separate from or did.

print, then or independent of. The flowing water now river basins A designation river is a designation for that says the water flowing in a particular channel. Some river is not a thing in itself It's just a word. We used to designate that phenomena. Self is just like river Self is a designation for this changing process, of a mind body elements self is a designation for the all which is in constant change, constant flow, just like the water that we call

however, in understanding non self. It doesnt mean that something is there that the suddenly disappeared from those people who think that badge feeling. Oh my god, if I really understand no self, What's gonna happen. All disappear in a puff of smoke is certainly an issue. Of course. It's not bad at all. It simply understand things, That the word self does not refer to anything substantial in and of itself. It's just the designation for the flow of changing elements. ok so once we understand that then the I am No one in a river do you know it? Eddie is another

is flowing down stream and then you can hit some obstacle and parted the water flows back Can kind go around and around round so if one is canoe, resting or something and accordingly eddie just go around and around until someone get you out that, and you you back in the stream, so the I am the I am is the concede its liking. eddie in the stream in the flow of our experience. we're going along along and then the minds of just the flow of that or metaphor, the flow of the river or the sixties chamber August is playing the music school one fine, but then we get caught up in some mental fabrication.

and we get caught either in that comparing mind or worse than pass lost in future, revolving around something that actually isn't it. we're revolving around this mental The asian of I am or self which, as I just said, is really just a designation for the flow ok. So then, I do remember your question except we're not if we're not caught in this for puncher. You know of mine, or I am or a view of self, how do we actually navigate, Being this river changing a flower. How do we know get in the way that skilful and, of course, all but his teachings are really about. The package is bring us a ways

of living in this flow impermanence of constant change and movement. But in a way that brings about harmony where the things about peace we did just another way of saying how can, live in harmony with the nature of things with nature, and so here's, where another aspect the teachings comes in, which is really important. I mean this is this is fundamental that our actions, whether its physical actions in our body earth in speech, actions of our mind that all our actions have consequences, so they not happening in isolation. Innovation could save it. There are ripple effect from everyone

We do and the buddha just pointed out what kinds of actions bring about suffering to ourselves and others, and what kinds of actions bring about peace for ourselves There's some once we learn that, then that's the blueprint for the template for living in the world. Not needing the sense of I am the solidification or contraction in order to live effectively and happily. in fact, for free or we are from that contraction, the happier we will be. How can I be held responsible for the consequences of my action? If I don't exist, you think you're gonna to stump

right now we could get into a little a whole little thing here. Then I just in the very way you asked the question. Forgive me for saying this reflects the delusion of the question because how can I take responsibility for my actions if I don't exist so in the very first Part of the question you're already positing the. I think it really didn't exist. You wouldn't be positing it in the first place, but that, having been said, I just had to play with you a little, but it's much more a question. The consequences of one's actions. It's that simply a conventional way of saying that the,

low of our lives, the unfolding of our lives. The flaw is happening lawfully and so The present will condition in one way or another. What happens in the future. The sense of eyes, not at all necessary to understand that actions have consequences. If this, the understanding that a certain action- and this is using the buddhist teachings, for example, if it's based in greed or it's based in hatred, that the result of that action. he's going to be some kind of suffering down the road either immediately no reveal, or perhaps but down the road, it will be a seed for future suffering.

On this note, I no sense of self needed to understand that cause and effect relationship If there is the desire for greater peace, happiness rather than the desire for suffering. We should pay attention to the causes behind those different results, and none of that has to do with an eye yourself. The civil law of nature, you painting and apples you're, not gonna get a pear tree, so what kind of seeds replanting what kinds of seeds are being planted? We don't need the eye in their it all and we're gonna get to that. The use of the passive voice, because you ve got a very what I found a very powerful practice to run that just staying on this question of not self.

one framing that help me. I think, understand this begin to understand this. Is talking about things on a relative level. This is these are terms of art here, relative level and an ultimate level can you, Explain those terms of art and- and do you think, I'm onto something in terms of this being a way that we can kind of grapple with that in that we are more urgent, run deal that now spread be called a jahren before so yeah, this understanding of incense codes of buddhism. It's called the two levels of truth, relative truth and more ultimate truth. Another word that I like to use instead of relative is just,

venture non, conventional truth and we could say more, ultimately, so on the conventional level, we use the term self- and I knew- and you know, very ordinary way of understanding things and for the purpose of communication. That's totally approach. It. You also a matter of suggesting that, as we begin to explore for ourselves, and maybe even have some experience of what non self means We don't give up conventional language, thereby be very awkward to say this process of the mental physical elements, is feeling hunger I'm hungry. So it's ones, then that is totally fine and appropriate to use convention language. The problem is that, for most of us were most of the time,

we are seduced by that language into believing that bad, Is the more ultimate reality lie? which is really important in terms of condition it? How we experienced things and it is very, very common, as I just said too, to be seduced by the conventional lange. of I mine. to believing that that has some substantial reality, as opposed to being just a convenience of communication. Let me give you an answer.

Example of how understanding the proportion of conceit of understanding that and how its working in recognising it can free the mind from a lot of unnecessary suffering. So there's just happened to be on a recent retreat, but very fresh in my mind So as I myself retreat at home and doing fair man sitting in walking but not super intensively. I would be doing quite a lot, but at other times I would be doing a little reading or perhaps some writing projects, but in one afternoon I just found myself figuring way. Some time I didn't know what I was doing now, but I I wasn't doing anything very mindfully or constructively, and

I recognize this. I began to get down on myself a little bit know a little self judgment came in here on retreat and views, It's meditation teacher! What are you doing just frittering away this time? I was definitely feeling some kind of suffering involved in that self judgment you know, and for that short period of time, not feeling great about myself, and so for myself coatings, but I'm your familiar enough with all his teachings that at a certain point for me, time. It didn't hurt bad laura sooner. Maybe five or ten It's a wallowing in there in the self judgment, but then, as often happens when I'm suffering let it peaks my interest. what's going on here, will have no wise my mind in this place of suffering,

and I realized that it was just a situation of I aiming I'm so bad because Wasted all this time, I, as soon as. Recognized the mindset of concede that particular the fireman, of mind. Rather than focusing on the story of You now spent all his time was really a waste bridge created that bad feeling. As soon as I reckon I know, this is just conceited the sum to stop what am I aiming immediately in the recognition of the bad the whole mindset just let go. I was back in the present moment

because I was recognising the basic element that was causing the suffering. It wasn't the fact of furthering the time that was just what it was when it was obviously wasn't some great saying, but still it was enough to create that feeling and myself. But as soon as I let go of the self story, the I am story to recognizing that clear. This is just conceit working. This is just this particular poncho. She the whole thing released, and so there's a very practical. Occasional does everything we're talking about is not just about buddhists, theory or buddhist philosophy. It's really about understanding suffering is created in our lives and how it can be free very precise level in terms

of understanding how our minds is working. Coming up Joseph talks about three this is that can give us a taste of the freedom from craving conceit and wrong view and a tip for reducing over effort affording by using the Passive voices is actually been a huge technique for me personally,. Tad blocking is on the rise and audiences are getting harder to reach. So to cut through both brands, throw I've seen out the window and ramp up online backing, but rave offers a new approach. One we're privacy and performance come together, brave users choose when and where they see brave adds the result. Industry leading add, engaged we breathe, if you can drive traffic sales and product awareness with out violating user privacy and

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dot amazon dot com, slash happier to get started. I believe you ve got three practices least from what I've heard in your recent public utterances on this subject. Three practices that help us deal with the three proliferating factors of craving, seed seat and wrong view and the first of these practices you already kind, a referenced which is kind of using our language to kind of reverse engineer and insight into our molecules in the linguistic change yours jesting, is the passive voice. Can you talk about that you're, just a little sidebar here I just finished listening to a really interesting book, called the code, breaker by world isaacson and is all about.

Fairly, recent discoveries of was called crisper, which is basically tool for gene, editing, the editing dna, which has tremendous implications for peace? securing or preventing disease and yet but to get in on just as you said on that sell you know level nine something that creates problems now happening in biology, so I liked you this is kind of gene it we'll get away getting in there to say: ok, what's in it, dna of our understanding and can edit out those genes that create suffering so one way of editing

one little practice we can do, which could give a sense of that is an application of a linguistic framework of how we are describing the world to ourselves in language now, mostly We use language in the active voice. Does the subjects no vermin object, So I'm walking to town eating some food- or you know just a very simple basic grammatical construction of active voice, a subject performing an action. The passive voice. does something very interesting, and that is the passive voice takes the subject out of it. So, just as an example in the active voice, we might say I'm hearing the sand. I am

they're right there with built in the eye amis we ve, built in the sense of self just in language and ordinary conventional language. To begin to play in the passive voice, we would say a sound. is being hurt or a sound is being known, and so the passive voice takes the subject I out of the equation And I found this to be an extreme well the valuable frame for meditation, For a whole variety of reasons, one is Puts us more in alignment with the actual state of affairs that we not positing a desert, nation, a conventional designation to be an essential element of the experience, which is what

usually doing just in our ordinary use of language. So what is the point. Ass, a voice in framing a meditative expired and then all of our experience There are things, are being known. It's a way of really touching into the effortless nature of meditation. If there is an idea that is trying to do something So then, there's an effort being involved for that. I, I am especially at the beginning of people's factors, but even later on as well that effort in quality which is different than arousing energy, that that's that's a different thing. I'm talking about a in unskilful effort being or forcing

expecting all is rooted in the I assume we drop into the past. The voice of things being known, we can merely settled back We ve taken the eye out of it and new experiences arising by themselves in each moment. There's no one there doing anything. I there, the all the other six things or just arising, one after another sight, sound smell and so a very simple meditative exercise, which I think would give people a a real, immediate sense of what this means is just to spend five minutes. Ten minutes long time, just short period of time, either in sitting or

In going for a walk, this can be done it in any time holding the question just holding the frame of the question moment at the moment. What's being none and then back, then, just recognising what is being known moment if the moment a site, a sand, the sensation, the thought, sound sensation thought sound, so it's all happening by itself. It's all just flowing along by itself and thin. Being known. If we have set that intention to pay attention in this way be set, that frame what's being known and then settled back and see how effort as it is, and it also really highlights the impermanent nature, because when with back in that way, and just aware of what's being known moment at the moment, without an attempt

control it in any way or even to direct it its immediately obvious how things are just appearing disappearing moment if the moment I don't know how much weight this will carry, but just to give it some an endorsement here, but I struggled so much in the early stages of my practice and to this day with over everything and did hence city in duration of those travels, had been really reduced by using the passive voice. What is being known just ask myself that question and watch what happens, and it's not- and I am trying so hard to be all over my breath, like a rat dog, it's more like feeling the breath in data dead, though the breath is being felt did there's nothing for me to do it's already happening in. Yes, maybe distraction comes up, but I

see that and then can go back to things being known on their own. It's incredibly helpful, and I know we've got a couple of other techniques to help us with the power puncher factors, and I want to take a quick break and when we come back we'll talk about those much more of my conversation with Joseph Goldstein right after this. Audible lets you into a all your audio entertainment in one arab you'll, always find What you love for something new to discover: you'll discovered thousands of protests from popular favourites to exclusive new series, guided wellness. programmes, theatrical performances, comedy am exclusive, audible, originals from top celebrities renowned experts An exciting new voices in audio as an audible member you can choose one title a month to keep from the entire catalogue, included,

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before we go on something occurred to me in the break that I thought might be helpful to mention when people are both first beginning the practice, but also sometimes well into the practice. It can sometimes feel a little discouraged witness. We watch our minds to see nowhere in the buddhist terminology are called the defilements, Sir Canada's unskilful patterns of mine, who suffer in one way or another for ourselves or others, and I remember when I first began practice in india and I was seeing my mind. You know, with greater clarity than I had seen before. I started mended tasting and I saw all these unskillful patterns you know of different manifestations of desire or wanting agreed aversion, annoyance or whatever, whatever it may be,

I remember nothing to my teacher and energy have expressed it this way by basically the sensors, I'm such a terrible parson up look at all these terrible things that are missing in my mind, and so it can lead to a lot of self judge, toward discouragement have the fact it's. Why do I want to sit in seawater stuff? well, something really interesting happens and it could happen either quicker or slower, depending on how quickly one understands this boeing get to a place in the practice. We were actually delighted to see all this stuff because we. grab a sea it than not see it. So, for example, now, when I see a manifestation of conceit I am in one way or another

I am delighted that, like I could see you, I caught you if you're not going to seduce me anymore so as to actually uplifting encouraging and joyful to be seeing the? the workings of our mind, with clarity and with mindfulness. I just wanted to put out to the listeners even though they may be seeing things which you know a problematic in one way or another, but the very seeing of them is enlightening. it's a way that we get a lighter and lighter and lighter pics. As we see them, we are not so caught by them. If we don't see it Then they just run riot and alive. I've heard you mentioned this before, and I seen it play out in my own mind, and I really agree

just got me. Thinking again did just to get back to these challenging questions. I was asking you before about the idea the illusion of the self or the not self doctrine in buddhism that are there no aspects of the cell that are you fall! In other words. What, if you catch the thought of I Joseph from gonna reach out to a friend who suffering I Joseph I'm going to write a book there, I'd help a lot of people. I Joseph I'm gonna write a dogma, talk that might teach people important concepts that they get used to it. their own life. Is there no manner that is good mona. This goes back to someday. We were talking about earlier. using that language can. Then, surely completely fine that that's how we communicate- and you know I could Very well say

have said many times. I have this project Emily excited about. I really want to get involved in it all. That's fine We need to use that kind of language just for ease of communication, because this is how things are conventionally understood. No problem at all. We do that. It's just understand that, even as we using that language we don't want to be quite by seduced. in the belief or in our minds, construct stand shall reality to what is in itself just a designation for peace, the process. So the designation is helpful when we use it, but what happens? Is Take the word. We take the concept, the desert,

I used to be the reality itself instead of saying I have. This is just shorthand way of saying Idea arose in the mind entered. He came to act active learn week. We could describe the same thing without the use of that language, but it's just very awkward cell use of the language is fine. The I am language, but we want to understand that it's just conventional, it doesnt really referred to anything in and of itself, but mostly people dont make that second step Mostly will lost in the world of concept and convention, and we haven't, really understood the building blocks of experience

so it be, for example, in science like just as we look at the physical world, take any simple physical objects like a glass anything now so conventionally we think a glass exists and for a lot of practical purposes, there's no problem with that. We use a glass. But if so, just got caught by that they would never have been motivated to look ok. Well, what is it? They were actually calling glass Right and developing the tools to investigate that question. What is it What we mean by these designations and in a whole new worlds. Open up. Imagine the excitement of the first person to look through a microscope and then nowadays, of course, it's even incredibly more sophisticated.

in that whole new dimensions of reality, open up when we not imprisoned by our attachment to the concepts glass even though on a conventional level, it's a useful designation. So it's the same thing you know, so we use it but we don't want to be limited by that concept, and this is really what the buddhist teaching is all about. It's ok, what's, What's underneath it or one of the basic elements of experience and how do they function. use the word elements right. There were in the middle of going through three little pieces of joseph homework,

that we can all do to get under the hood here to go beyond these kind of limits that are pretty deep in her wiring in our dna, these poncho factors and said there's one of the practices is built around a buddhist concept of the elements. Tell us about that. Ok, yeah! Each of these topics could be our long dogs, so I'm gonna try to at all. first, just need a little explanation of of the buddhist frame work for understanding the elements? Because, when we think of physical elements, we might think of a chemistry class, you know in the periodic table of the different elements, the buddha in that time, whether he actually knew all about a nice, because I don't know, but in those times they used very simple.

Framework for describing the elements such the different designation for, Physical elements- and it was a failure, in ancient times to think of the elements in terms of earth, air firewater, that's how they would describe the elements. now. Obviously, there are certain limitations in that in terms of the understanding of chemistry, but they are very practical in terms of having a simple

designation for how we experience different physical phenomena. So, for example, the earth element is a designation for just the experience, the sensation of hardness, hardness or softness. So that's an immediate felt experience which we all have so the buddha just designated that as that's the earth element or movement would be the air element or warmth or coolness would be the fire element. So that's what the terms birthday of firewater refer to and they're helpful, because it's just a very simple shorthand for describing our physical experience

Free of potential of desire and craving and conceit and wrong view, so this is the way that I was playing with it on retreat, and it was really quite amazing to me and again it points to the power of language. Whether it spoken language of the language in our minds as we describing or interpolating to ourselves, what we're experience the words we use are going to condition how we experience it. So again this is something that normally when not paying attention to rethink. Oh, you were experience in the truth of what the hell not realizing that But I have a language refusing to describe it is affecting our experiencing it.

Okay. So all of that is background. I was just outside just doing walking meditation and again. This was not in a very slow pace, was just kind of a normal pace of walking, but it could be done. It speed and, as I said before, when I was skyping me my in belonging to me walking, even though I was I was doing, Fine. I was feeling the sensations of the movement in touch. I was noticing that I would say almost subliminal sense of I'm walking Or my leg, it wasn't an explicit statement in my mind, but I could feel A trains loosened veneer, may experience

hardly noticeable, but having just read this one particular discourse of the buddha to his son were ruler in which he was describing this very practice as a way of counteract the poncher of Aimee mine. He said practice seeing the physical experience in terms of the elements of her. So I just read bad so in the walking I just started every time I would move yom of black. I just lightly ogier element, no one. I touched the ground earth element just that. That's all I just change the language, but connecting those words to the experience. I wasn't it.

kind of words, going through my mind, unrelated to the walking it's like prevailing, connecting the words to the experience. It was amazing what happened just such a simple thing, just simple change of language moving element, kurth element: it became so clear. That the earth element or the air didn't belong to me that the book longing to me like my leg or my foot conflict we fell away was just earth. There was just area element. doesn't belong to anybody and the whole sense of I am fell away,

Even though we might say you know, I'm walking, I'm walking would we ever say, I the airlines, and now, The change of language. Removed that veneer I me mine and he dropped the whole experience into simply being the elements being now. That's all I was there Hi disappeared, the I m disappeared, the mine disappeared, and even if it's just for a few moments at a time right, so I suggest you have people who are interested. They might try this and play with it. It doesn't have to be a big project, can be take five minutes or ten minutes of walking.

Playing with this and see. If any of what I have just said resonates with your own experience. But for me it was so striking and so immediate to see how the application of the understanding of the elements was. The antidote to I mean mine. This might be just a good chance to give the background story to the buddhist teaching to his son, in which he described exactly what I just said to use the elements, So they were gone for arms ran into a village. He not go collect food, and so the buddha was walking ahead and rebel at his son was walking behind him, and revenue is looking at the beautiful form of the buddha hours said to embody physical perfection as well as

section of heart and mind and reveal lowest kenya taking pride in the. that he had a resemblance to the buddha. You know he was his son and, of course The buddha, through his power of my new within motherless, pipe it so he stopped He turned around a ruler and that's when he gave this teaching everything should be seen with perfect wisdom. This is not mine. This is not I. This is not myself, you know, so all the pride that rahul was taking in his physical form. My body looks like this and is in this beautiful right now.

Who sang see. Everything with perfect was not mine, not about myself, and then he went on to explain one way of accomplishing that is through this meditation on the elements because, as I just said when we, that the I mine just falls away, we're back just in the basic six elements of experience that it's just those six things being known moment after a moment said let liberating in freeing and even We are not living in tat space all the time. I think it's very powerful even if we have brief moments of it, because that's like planting the sea. It's in our ongoing flowing stream of a deeper understanding. those seeds are really important. Big, saying we're not completely captured

by the world of conventional and concept, no kind of poking holes in that and the powerful that really begins the process of liberation in the time that remains here. Let me proud you to describe the third exercise which, if I recall, has to do with seeing how quickly everything that comes up in our mind, passes away. We got through different stages in practice, and even at any stage know that remain to be tat. Of course, one of the fundamental insights Is that things arise and pass away, things come into being and vanish, so this is not difficult to understand or to say I can

a good part of the time our minds are focused on what arising for each new arising experience, catches our attention arising arising rising, but we could as well focused on the disappearing side of things because, of course they doing both but I think our minds had been no condition in general to always be measured by the newly arising at it. But something very different happens when we start to focus on the disappearing aspect. because when we're just focused on the arising aspect, that's very easy for us to get attach too.

to have aversion to to claim as being self. We we do all kinds of things. Relationship to seeing a new object arise, something completely different happens when we are focusing on the disappearing so how to do that in a way, that's really vivid forgotten. One time I was just out for a walk, the ordinary walk, you know being as mindful as I could be. You know, but I wasn't it wasn't like a slow, meditative walk. It was just an ordinary. and the thought came to my mind, but what happened to the step of five minutes ago? It's good.

That means it's completely gone, really glad because there was nothing of it left and then he said well what about one minute ago, god? What about thirty seconds ago gone? What about one second ago it's got, and so I just put my mind up. To the very lip of the flow of like what over waterfall gone, I'm gonna go so I'd, rather Mind right to that point of things is disappearing, disappearing, disappeared, disappearing, and it was quite amazing, it's like being in that experience of things disappearing, it's impossible to hold on

The thing is guided by the time we could even hold onto it, and so the mind has let go of any kind of grand Being or attachment leaving wanted because things are continually disappearing, and so we get into a kind of free flow, just a free flow of experience, without getting caught up in any of the eddies that I mentioned, of getting caught in some kind of attachment, a reaction to the press, norman experience and circling around that bill, up all the poncho about it now has just gone gone gun and the de felt experience of that He's so liberating and. Interestingly enough and this I dont really quite understand yet.

It somehow being in that space act They did what, in the buddhist terminology, is called the heart centre in others there. energy centers in the body known each one- has it's own kind of manifestation, so I think we will have a just an intuitive sense of what the heart center means. You know the the felt sense of an open heart. Interestingly enough, that's what was activated when I was just in that place of the continual disappearing falling away falling away, with its consequent lack of any clinging to anything. So I think all of the contributed to that feeling of the heart space of it. There is a very free space, even though in just hearing the words it might feel. I dunno, if people here just off

falling away falling away full inquiry is now is. stability, it might feel a little frightful. That was not the experience of it at that time. there's one image than might be helpful in understanding how we experience. This greater awareness of things disappear Falling away because we have different relationships to that. No different felt experiences of that at different times. Somebody once told me of this example: It's a somebody free falling out of her plain, So young people do this kind of for sport. This is not in the sports situation, so just imagine somebody falling. The plane one way or another, the circumstances

not really germane. To the example, and then perhaps is the first experience of exhilaration just the exhilaration of freefall. So this is very much like the first experience of things arising and passing quickly. Now, as we Continuing our meditation fact and an deepens at a certain point, the mind really goes from emphasising the content of what arising rising in others. Is that says, there's this to the process, meaning the process of change and so, instead of the emphasis being on the lot, it really becomes an emphasis on the how it's happening.

Things arising passing arising in passing, and that perception get very find. So we see this process of change very quickly, so that the sense of exhilaration then go back to the image of the free, four men. Maybe the person realises they don't have a parachute Therein this freefall, I made no parachute, and then they get really frightened out. Maybe a little fear hurriedly terror arise and the falling falling fraid of the head and said Equivalent of that in the meditative process would be after the exhilaration seeing things arise and pass so quickly, and then the mine begins to focus on just the disappearing. The rapid disappearance of everything surrenders. If the felt sense of there's just no secure

any place, there's nothing to hold onto, and so back and be a challenge. in time in meditation. You know have going through that feeling of it, but then genuine back to the example of the freefall. So first there's the exhilaration, then is the fear, but then, at a certain point, the person realises there's no ground and then they relax into inequity. Committee that simply enjoying the whole experience of fall of change a flower. So this is quite similar to what happens in meditation because after that Can you disturbing period of time when we. highlighting the fact that the insecurity of there's nothing to hold onto other continual disappearance.

at a certain point. We realise there's no ground which is Another way of saying or analogous to the understanding of selfishness, this is just a natural process going on and we fall into a place of tremendous. we know today and the echoing the is so profound, It's a very exquisite kind of happiness. That comes. We really come to a place of peace and at that point in practice it said even for those people who are still the path, but that place of equanimity is said to resemble the mind. Of a fully enlightened being it's just being met

Holding on anything in his resting in the piece of that, but piece of non clinging, the piece of not grasping at that which is continually changing for the exercise that I mentioned this going for a walk and maybe for a short period of time to staying at that disappearing age of things. Seeing things continually fall away, I think, is very unlikely that you'll be exceeded. And seeing the unsettling aspect of seeing this process of change. My thanks to that you'll really begin to understand the liberating aspect of it. This is great. Where I really appreciate this in, and I really love the three homework assignment gazeta things all of us can do so. Thank you Joseph really appreciate it. You're very welcome. As you know, I love talking about this stuff. It see you next

I am the nz as associate next time, and I like that, because that implies there will be a next time. I didn't do anything too bad this time. No, no! This is delightful. Thank you to Joseph as a reference

The topics covered here today were covered in deeper detail within two dharma talks that Joseph gave on a retreat recently an online retreat. So you can actually hear those talks if you want to go deeper here. We put the links in the show notes, thanks to all of you, for listening, really appreciate it. Go give us a rating or review that stuff really helps, and thanks most of all to the people who work so hard on. This show. Ten percent happier is produced by Gabriel zuckerman Justine, Gaby, Lauren smith and terry Anderson, DJ cashmere as our senior producer recession, either men or senior editor and kimmy regular. Is our executive producer scoring and mixing by Peter bonaventure of ultraviolet audio, and we get our theme music from nick thorburn of the great indie rock band island. We'll see you all on friday for a boats. a prime members, you can listen the ten percent happier early and ad free on amazon, music,

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