The First Noble Truth (Dukkha)

This is the dharma talk and meditation from a class I taught last Wednesday (I’ll be teaching there again this Wednesday). The talk is about defining dukkha. I pointed out that after 2,600 years, there still isn’t an agreement about what exactly dukkha refers to or how we would define it in English, despite the fact that it is the cornerstone of the most foundational teaching in the Pali Canon. Rather than engage in an intellectual exercise, I invited participants to use a meditation technique developed by Eugene Gendlin, a psychotherapist, called “Clearing the Space.” I find that the technique brings us right up to our deepest understanding of the nature of dukkha, and the possibility of freedom. This technique was taught to me by Jonathan Foust and I am glad to be able to share it with you. Many blessings. Photo by Matt Hardy on Unsplas h Get full access to Devin Maroney at devinmaroney.substack.com/subscribe