Ep. 209 - Why We Suffer with Buddhist Teacher Gil Fronsdal

Gil Fronsdal explores why we suffer and how we can meet our suffering with a supportive presence for the benefit of ourselves and all beings. 

In this episode, Gil thoughtfully discusses:

• Becoming like a wise & peaceful snake, shedding our skin from time to time
• How mindfulness practice can contain the goal of cessation of greed, hatred, and delusion
• How clinging creates emotional stress, mental pain, and spiritual suffering
• Notice the “aah” of skillful action versus the “ouch” of unskillful action as we develop awareness
• Being present for the depth of suffering in the human heart
• Bringing the qualities of the awakened mind in to meet our suffering and help us release it
• Helping our suffering feel safe and remembering that all suffering can be put to rest
• The ability to stay with our experiences without clinging and with a sense of wellbeing 
• Meeting our suffering for ourselves and to show the way for others
• Practicing mindfulness with sincerity, consistency, and heartfelt dedication

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp & Dharma Seed:

Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTI

Today’s podcast is also brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

About Gil Fronsdal:

Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.org

No matter what it is, suffering is always an activity that can be put to rest, that can stop. Suffering is not the deepest thing in you. It doesn't have to define you, it's not all of who you are." – Gil Fronsdal

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