How Hard to Try

Part IV in a Series on the Five Conditions for Release

A few weeks ago I got stuck in an elevator with my kids — the thing I've feared most of my life. My vision wobbled. And then something steadied. This week's talk is about the fourth condition for the release of the heart — vīriya, rousing the energy to practice — and why it's worth doing. It's a strange kind of energy. Instead of tensing up, it's the energy to relax, over and over. Plus: what a Spanish doctor taught me about how hard to work.

The talk was recorded at the Riverside Meditation Community. We meet again this coming Sunday at 9 AM at the Brookmont Church, 4000 Virginia Place, Brookmont, MD.

Texts & references: The five conditions that ripen the release of the heart — Meghiya Sutta (Udāna 4.1, suttacentral.net/ud4.1; also AN 9.3) · Faith as the ground of energy — the five spiritual faculties (SN 48.50, suttacentral.net/sn48.50) · Soṇa and the tuning of the lute (AN 6.55, suttacentral.net/an6.55) · Crossing the flood without halting or straining (SN 1.1, suttacentral.net/sn1.1)

This week's practice: Try one for a week — a body scan in bed before you get up, a few minutes of walking meditation, or a light awareness of the breath all day. Then notice what you find.

Photo by sendi gibran on Unsplash