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Talk: 2011-07_24 The Way Of The Breath - Anapanasati as a complete meditation practice. #7.json Start_time: 01:08:46 Display_question: I noticed that we did not emphasis metta practice on this retreat? Keyword_search: metta, love, direct experience, intimate contact, vipassana, suffering, yogi job, breath, Russian Jewish, views, opinions, fear, energy, mothers, military, skillful, tactical, intelligent, concentrate, mind, walking, mind Question_content: Questioner: Compared to other retreats, I've noticed hardly any emphasis spoken about metta. Larry: Yes Questioner: You made a couple of jokes. Larry: Yes, they're just jokes. I really believe in love all, you've got is love. Now what is it? Let's all hug each other, and do Kumbaya, end the retreat that way. No, go ahead. I'm sorry. There I go again. Questioner: Was it just not what you were emphasizing on this retreat, or where does that fit into individual practice. Larry: Yes metta, is a very useful method. I made it very clear that we're trying to emphasize… look, this is my own conclusion. I've seen that the direct experience, intimate contact with what is, when people… that isn't what we typically are really excited about doing. And yet all Vipassana is going in that direction. And there are a lot of other practices that cultivate very wonderful human qualities. They are not getting to the root of our suffering, but they are definitely useful. And metta is one of them. Very useful. Break_line: Now, do I ever suggest that people do metta? Absolutely. But that's sort of working from the outside in. You're cultivating… now here, that's what I was trying to say. The fact that we're emphasizing a direct perception of what's happening and the breath, we can't include everything. I also felt I neglected, usually we talk a lot more about your yogi job, it's very important. And groups ask people, how are they practicing with the mopping the floor, and what does that bring up, and so forth. So, I felt we were trying to convey how breath, as a method, can be very, very useful, and in the process probably neglected it. But there have been a couple of people who I've told, why don't you pull back from the breath, and do some metta? So, it is a very, very useful, and there are other cultivating, other practices, that are useful. Just we're not trying to do everything, on this retreat, so yes, you're right. But no, it's good. Do you like to do metta? Questioner: Well, I'm also Russian Jewish, and I can be a sourpuss, like you called yourself yesterday. Sometimes it irritates me when they keep bringing it up, but I notice Larry: When who keeps bringing what up? Questioner: At other retreats. Larry: Yes. Questioner: Throwing metta in there. It does feel to be sometimes like going to the outside, and sort of what you said, but I value it Larry: Same. Questioner: It's against my brain, but I kind of missed it. Larry: Do it. Questioner: Well, I did, actually, I brought my own. I brought some with me so…and I did use it in the course of this retreat. Larry: Fine. If I could do a self-diagnosis, of how I teach, and I don't know, Matthew could do it for himself as well. And this is just…it’s all views and opinions, so I'm not going to hold on to it, but I'm trying to really help you understand it. First of all, I do suggest metta, but let's say somebody's fear comes up, and a person is plagued with lots of fear. My highest priority would be to learn how to meet fear, face to face, to open up to, and receive it, not the word, but the energy. In other words, there's fear. That's a word, and it conditions the energy. Fear is not a good word. Oh, I just love to be afraid. I don't think so. So, when you say fear, that can put it on steroids, but there's energy. It's sort of like this, I'm going to have to act it out. Break_line: It's sort of… but internally. So, what you're aware of is that now, typically people don't want to do that, and you can go through years of retreats, and find ways of avoiding, what you really need to look at, most of all. And I would say all teachers have different biases, so some will, if there's any resistance, immediately or very soon go, we'll go to metta, do some walking metta? In other words, just drop it. And then others, if I'm off as a teacher, and I saw this, and I do my best to improve upon it, I saw that I tend to see people as being stronger than they see themselves, and sometimes that's very good, in my opinion, because I think many of us, most of us are stronger than we think. Break_line: For example, I know a lot of women who've had children, and they say, oh, that sounds really hard to do that, and I say, have you had children? And they said, I've had four children. That's much harder than this. The kind of pain you went through, this is a piece of cake, sitting there. Oh, fear, there's fear, you're going through (groaning sound) it's nothing. Do it. You're way ahead of the average of Vipassana yogi. But then if I overestimate a person, and that's where I tried not to do that, and I became aware that if I am a little off in my teaching, it would be there. Like this person…Now, sometimes it's obvious what the person needs is really just a hug, or just, you're not ready to look at fear just yet. It's a kind of what in military terms, is called a skillful retreat, tactical retreat. A good general is not a coward. If they know how to retreat, they realize, sorry this is military, but this is a good one. They know that their soldiers need food and rest, and get their energy back, and then they have a chance, or they see that the configuration is such that they can't handle that. So, it's a tactical withdrawal. It's not fear, it's not cowardice, it's intelligent. And then on another day, they can be more effective. Break_line: So that sometimes, I think part of the skill in teaching, is seeing that. Very often, it's so obvious, that you suggest a person do the breath, full breath, not look at fear. Just straight in, out, in, out, or metta, or other meditations, or do walking, or go in nature. And then if the time comes, where they're ready for it, then you resume that. So, my tendency would be not to immediately jump to that, or not so quickly. Because I feel that finally, as we say, the bottom line is you're not going to uproot fear, by just doing a lot of, let's say, metta. And yet, then again, it's very helpful. For some people, the breath is totally inappropriate. There are people who have asthma. It's the wrong object, typically, or the wrong process. Metta would be much better, to concentrate the mind. So it is useful, and how to use it skillfully, is always an issue. Is that? Questioner: Yes, that was very helpful. That’s why I have a toolkit. Larry: Yes. It's a tool. Yes. And some people use it a lot, and it's very helpful for them. Some not so much. Yes. Same with breath. End_time: 01:15:42
