How wonderful you are in your being! I delight that you are here! I take joy in your good fortune! May your happiness continue and increase! (From a Sinhalese Ms of the 19th century. Monks' and nuns‘ practice upon receiving alms).

Thimo, Yuka and Akincano respond to practitioner's questions.

Training and understanding the mind happens with the mind already affected by the very states it wishes to understand and transform

Introduction and guided meditation

Upādāna in different Buddhist Teachings: – Clinging as fuel for renewed becoming (punabbhava) – Clinging in the 5 aggregates (khandha) – Clinging in Dependent Arising (paṭiccasamuppadā) – Clinging as four specific forms: (i) kāmūpādāna – clinging to and identification with sensuality (“Seeking” experiences) (ii) diṭṭhūpādāna – clinging to and identification with views (“Being right, being competent“) (iii) sīlavaṭūpādāna – clinging to and identification with virtue, practices and ritual (“Having the right technique“) (iv) attavādūpādāna – clinging to and identification with doctrines of a self / Self (“Being someone”)

Bodhicitta—the mind of awakening—is the aspiration to attain awakening for the benefit of all. Seeing our practice in this light can be a source of inspiration and counteract the tendency to self-centeredness. The talk discusses the historical development of the concept and explains what it means.