Practice at a Wisdom Retreat - Shabkar’s Flight of the Garuda (2018)

July 8, 2018

In this talk, Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner encourages us to turn our attention away from what is going on "out there," and instead look inward to see what is going on within our own minds. He explains how retreat is beneficial for developing clarity, wisdom and refining our patterns of thought as it gives us the time to do the work of looking inward without so many external distractions. He shared sections from Lama Mipham’s “Wheel of Analysis and Meditation that Thoroughly Purifies Mental Activity," showing how investigation of what is arising in within our minds can help us free ourselves from attachment. He also commented on lines from "The Flight of the Garuda," by Shabkar that point out the intrinsic purity of all our minds. He explained that the teachings of awakening to this intrinsic purity are the core of the Buddhist path which go back to Shakyamuni Buddha’s great enlightenment.