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Mindfulness Wisdom Teachings – The Satipatthana Sutta

Mindfulness meditation is based on the teachings of the Buddha. In these eight bi-weekly sessions we will progressively examine and then practice the instructions on meditation as laid out in the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha’s principal teaching on mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of bare attention, of learning to simply be with whatever is arising in the moment, without clinging to it or pushing it away.

Each session will start with a short meditation period to settle the body and mind, followed by detailed instructions taken from the sutta, followed by a longer sitting where we can immediately practice those instructions. At the end of each session there will be time for questions and discussion. There is no formal charge for these teachings. They are all Dana based.

All of these sessions will be on Thursday nights from 7-8:45pm at Asana Studio in Arvada, CO. It would be best to attend all the sessions to get a complete understanding of the practice. However each session will stand on its own and people are welcome to attend any or all of them.

1) September 7 – Mindfulness of Breath.
Focusing on the breath is the beginning of many forms of meditation practice. We’ll look at ways to pay attention to the breath as the means to develop concentration.
2) September 21 – Mindfulness of Body – Part 1.
Like the breath, sensations of the body are always present. By learning to pay attention to sensations as they arise we can expand the field of our concentrated awareness.
3) October 5 – Mindfulness of Body – Part 2.
There are many ways to observe the body at rest and in motion. These can become part of our meditation practice.
4) October 19 - Mindfulness of Feeling Tone – Vedana.
A subtle mental factor of feeling tone arises with each sensation of body or mind. Vedana takes only one of three forms; pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. By learning to tune into this subtle energy we can see how our habitual reactive patterns of mind arise.
5) November 2 - Mindfulness of Mental States.
In Buddhism the mind is viewed as the “6th sense”. By learning to notice the processes of mind we can learn to simply be with them as opposed to constantly being caught by them and pulled out of the present moment.
6) November 16 – Mindfulness of Obstacles – The Kilesas.
When we sit and meditate there seems to be and endless procession of distractions. By understanding what these obstacles are and how to detect them, we can turn them from problems into just more things to be mindful of.
7) November 30 – Mindfulness of the Aggregates of Awareness.
The Buddhas teaching on the Five Aggregates is a powerful means to understand that we are not separate or unique, but instead intimately connected to everything and everyone else.
8) December 14 – Mindfulness of the Factors of Awakening.
The Seven Factors of Awakening is a clear outline of the progressive steps that we take as we move towards enlightenment.

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