In his latest book, “Noble Truths, Noble Path” (Wisdom Publications, 2023), American monk and translator Bhikkhu Bodhi describes the four noble truths as “the matrix of the teachings” and “not merely as one Buddhist doctrine among others, but more broadly as the implicit framework of the whole teaching.” The Thursday talk and discussion will address the first three Truths: 1) Dukkha (unsatisfactoriness/vulnerability/suffering), 2) the Cause of Dukkha (tanha, or craving/leaning in/turning away), and 3) the Cessation of Dukkha (nirodha, extinction, liberation). We will look at each Truth in detail, discuss how they are “ennobling,” and see how understanding them can be found in formal practice and daily life. This evening will lead us into the February 24 daylong retreat, where we will explore the fourth truth, the noble eightfold path, in both theory and practice.

We rightly place strong emphasis on mindfulness of the body and mindfulness of mind states in our practice of meditation and everyday awareness. These are the first and third ways of establishing mindfulness as described in the Satipatthana Sutta, one of the core teachings of our Insight tradition. Sometimes overlooked is the Second Foundation of Mindfulness: mindfulness of feeling tone (vedana in Pali). A feeling tone of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral accompanies every experience, physical or mental. Unnoticed, these feeling tones can escalate to desire, aversion, or delusion and cause us to suffer. When noticed, they can lead us to expand our range of situations where we can feel okay, regardless of outside circumstances. On this evening, we will explore vedana in our guided meditation and in the dharma talk and following discussion. Rich encourages you to practice noticing vedana in the week leading up to this evening, so you can report directly from your experience in the discussion session. If you are unfamiliar with the practice and need instruction, email Rich Howard.