A Four-Word Buddhist Teaching for Instant Calm and (Just Maybe) Lasting Peace | Bart van Melik

If you struggle with the terrifying reality that everything changes, this conversation is for you.

Bart van Melik is a meditation teacher, psychotherapist, and our Teacher of the Month for January. In this live session recorded on Zoom with subscribers to the 10% with Dan Harris app, Bart and Dan explore one of Bart's favorite teachings: "Keep calmly knowing change"—four words that supposedly distill all 84,000 of the Buddha's teachings.

We talk about:

• Why attuning to the flow of things brings peace (even though change is terrifying)—and what the Buddha said on his deathbed about impermanence

• How to introduce meditation to kids without making it seem difficult or boring 

• The three dimensions of mindfulness: internal (your own mind), external (noticing other people's breath on the subway), and relational (the field we're all co-creating together)

• Whether connecting through venting and complaining is harmless or something to examine more closely

• "Useless speech" (sampappalāpa)—the Pali term for saying stuff that doesn't really matter, and why the urge is often just "look at me"

• Why Bart is still on this path after all these years: community

Bart closes with a beautiful dedication about coming home to the body and appreciating that we show up in community.

These live sessions happen every week in the app 10% with Dan Harris, where you can meditate with Dan and guest teachers and ask questions in real time. Get the app at danharris.com—there's a free 14-day trial.

 

 

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