Crucial Points in the Practice of Shamatha: A Brief Guide to Mental Health and Well-being

On November 22, 2023, Dr. Wallace emerged from retreat silence for a few hours to offer this talk to our full-time contemplatives at Miyo Samten Ling Hermitage. In this talk, Dr. Wallace discusses the profoundly positive effect that shamatha meditation (in which one calmly abides in single-pointed attention on a chosen object) can have on our sense of well-being. As you listen to this talk, please also follow along with the resources linked below.

This talk was inspired by an excerpt from The Royal Seal of Mahamudra, Volume One entitled “The Value of Observing the Mind,” written by The Third Khamtrul Rinpoche Ngawang Kunga Tenzin.

Accompanying Resources:

English

• Notes – Crucial Points in the Practice of Shamatha
• Excerpt: “Value of Observing the Mind”
• 51 Mental Processes

Espanol

• Notas del Discurso: Puntos cruciales en la práctica de Shamata
• Extracto: sobre el valor de Observar la menta
• 51 Procesos Mentales

To automatically download teachings in this series to your favorite podcast app,* follow this link to SBI’s website. Then, click “Podcast” under the heading “Subscribe to this Course” on the left side of the page, and follow the instructions.

*Please note that Spotify does not allow users to manually add an RSS feed URL to their podcast player.