36 The Roots of Empathetic Joy

This afternoon's guided meditation on the immeasurable of empathetic joy focuses on cultivating the underlying causes of genuine happiness and flourishing. Alan Wallace reminds us that Tsongkhapa said that the easiest and most effective way to empower and energize one's practice is to take delight and satisfaction in it. The guided meditation begins at 12:30 in the recording. After the guided meditation, Alan answers these questions from the group: 1. Can you expand on the concept of collective karma that you mentioned recently? 2. Does Buddhism have a concept of free will, and how does this relate to non-self? 3. When I'm dwelling in the space of the mind, suddenly I remember that I am supposed to exhale and release, and I lose the concept of dwelling in the space of the mind. Then I'll just forget about exhaling anything, and breath and maintain awareness in this space... 4. In the practice of awareness of awareness, is there a difference in the way you release thoughts as compared to the practice of mindfulness of breathing? 5. Can you describe a different way of doing tonglen (sending and receiving) for those who, like myself, have difficulty letting go of (or allowing the incineration of) the suffering that is drawn in on the in-breath? 6. You've used the term "sealing the path" often - what does this mean and how does it relate to stream entry?