Ep. 168 - Big Flower, Small Flower with Gil Fronsdal

Distinguishing commentary from direct experience, Gil Fronsdal helps us break free from the conventions and comparisons that the mind makes. In this episode, Gil Fronsdal speaks to listeners about: - Paying homage to those who have purified their hearts - Direct experience versus attempting to describe things - The way that comparison arises - Self-image and appreciating our own suchness - Resting in the part of ourselves that is not an idea or a concept - The conditioning that can happen from society - Wisdom from sitting with physical pain - Living in the present moment instead of the stories we tell ourselves - Letting things be as they are - Seeing God in our simple, direct experiences - Coming back to the breath and practicing all throughout the day - This 1998 talk was originally published on Dharmaseed “Most of us know the wonderful smell of a rose, but if you could try to describe in words what that fragrance is, you’d have a hard time I think. The actual sense, the direct experience of smell, is something we can all experience – seeing this flower as it is. In Buddhism, there is a lot of emphasis on seeing things as they are.” – Gil Fronsdal