The Meaning and Practice of “Investigation” in Insight Practice
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren
The principal purpose of Insight Practice is the creation of conditions that lead to spontaneous, intuitive Insight that liberates the mind and heart from suffering. This occurs through “Investigation.”
An exploration of the meaning of Investigation involves an examination and understanding of the most fundamental and radical viewpoints expressed in the teachings of the historical Buddha. Likewise, it involves how those viewpoints are operationalized into the Buddha’s instruction for practicing meditation and paying attention to our experience in everyday life.
Dennis’ talk this evening will explore these topics and the challenges they represent to evaluating our own individual meditation and daily life practices. The talk will use the Buddha’s teachings on the “Seven Factors of Awakening” as a jumping off point for discussion and exploration of this fascinating topic. It would be helpful to review the first 12 pages of the article by the same name by Piyadassi Thera which can be found at https://accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/piyadassi/wheel001.pdf.
Sacramento Insight Meditation events are sustained by the generosity of instructors in offering teachings freely and on the generosity of students and members of the meditative community in the form of financial support, service and participation in events. With our practice of dana, we support our Sangha.