Beth Upton, Host Guru Viking, 8/5/22; Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Why is Buddhist Meditation Teacher Beth Upton extraordinary? She is capable of explaining things more quickly and deeply than most monastic teachers. Why? She set off on a spiritual quest at the age of 21 and attained it. She was a monastic for a decade at the best monastery with the most brilliant scholar-practitioner monk alive today, who has produced a number of excellent teachers.This is
why Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal backs Beth Upton's efforts to teach and create a meditation community.
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| Soft spoken British supermodel nun |
The "secret" to attainment is not a special technique; it is right practice with a mind accompanied by wholesome states. Then a technique that cultivates an increasingly subtle object will work to produce knowing-and-seeing. Come and see. Investigation will turn into direct knowledge and vision of the Buddha's Dharma.
Should Westerners become monastics in Asia? Yes. What if they don't want to? In that case, study with Upton. What if they do want to? Then ordain and then study with Upton.
Natural Meditation: Beth Upton (2)
Upton is a former Burmese Theravada Buddhist nun (actually Ten Precept Sayalay Anutara), an accomplished student of the renowned meditation master and scholar-practitioner Pa Auk Sayadaw.
- Caves of Spain: sanditthika.org
Upton shares her emphasis on serenity and insight meditation with the natural rhythms of the body and reveals how she deals with students who experience low motivation, psychological challenges, and even psychosis as a result of their meditation practice.Upton also discusses her own relationship difficulties after disrobing as a "nun" (sayalay), why she embarked on special communication trainings to address them, and she explains why erotic feeling diminishes as one progresses through the stages of enlightenment in the historical Buddha's gradual training.
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| Rafa, Beth Upton, Gwen (Sanditthika) |
- Previous episode with Beth Upton: guruviking.com/podcast/ep..
- This interview: guruviking.com/podcast/161...
- Interviews, videos, and more visit: guruviking.com
- PLAYLIST: Guru Viking Interview Series
- Also available on YouTube, iTunes, and Spotify by searching "Guru Viking Podcast"
TOPICS
- 00:00 - Intro
- 00:43 - Beth Upton’s Sanditthika meditation community in Spain
- 04:16 - Different modes of community
- 07:36 - Meditation with one’s natural rhythm
- 10:45 - The structure at Pa Auk Forest Monastery
- 12:04 - Resting on the first few days of retreat
- 14:35 - Working with low motivation to practice
- 17:30 - Facing challenging mental and emotional states during retreat
- 19:47 - Psychosis [fractures from consensus reality] on retreat
- 21:34 - Common teacher mistakes when dealing with emotional states and psychosis
- 23:12 - Fear of litigation and criticism
- 27:14 - Scandal, transparency, and patriarchal models
- 31:57 - Living in harmony with nature
- 33:12 - Relationships after leaving monasticism
- 40:12 - Does enlightenment eliminate erotic function?
- 41:58 - Begin in a relationship with an enlightened person
- 43:49 - Tantric and kundalini practices
- 47:05 - The value of relational and communication practices
- 48:14 - Meditation isn’t enough to heal relational patterns
- 52:04 - Upton’s training in relational practices
- 53:20 - Truth in relationship
- 55:32 - Balancing retreat practice and practice in life
- 58:51 - Off-cushion meditation toolkit
- 01:01:09 - Upton’s personal practice rhythm
- 01:03:48 - Sense restraint is a gift to oneself
- 01:06:00 - The consequences of indulgence…
Music "Deva Dasi" by Steve James
- To find out more about Beth Upton, visit: bethupton.com and sanditthika.org
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