Session 50: Compassion Practice for the Suffering of Change and the Dissatisfying Nature of Hedonic Pleasure

This evening Alan taught us more about the cultivation of compassion, but now going deeper, from the compassion for the blatant suffering of sentient beings to the compassion of the suffering of change which emerge from the 5 obscurations (attachment, malice, dullness, excitation and uncertainty) and he pointed out the unsatisfying nature of hedonism. Then he raised the questions: what is it dukha good for?; Can I make it meaningful? And the response is that dukha can be our best allied making us wake up getting on a real path to emerge definitely from suffering. And for that we should question ourselves: what is a true source of happiness, could it come from within? He addressed the significance of the practices of shamatha and vipashyana. He continued with a touching meditation, finishing with Q&A, the first one regarding the practice of mindfulness of breathing and the second one about Alan’s knowledge of some realizations of practitioners.