We started the evening with a guided meditation exploring the six senses and the possibility to just ‘experience’ as opposed to getting caught up with the thought story.  This was an experiential start to Chandana’s beautiful talk based on the Sangharakshita’s presentation of ‘mind. reactive and creative’.

He explored how we can escape the cyclic reactions that bind us to our habits and the deepening of our negative samskaras.  We can leave the twelve links of the wheel of life at the point where feeling (Vedana) becomes craving and aversion (Trsna).  With mindfulness we can then enter a progressive spiral that ultimately leads to enlightenment.   It sounds like a big ask but this is something we can explore all the time and starting with small habits we can enjoy the progress of change and growth.   

‘Choice’  was a word used often by Chandana in his talk.   This process, this awareness gives us choice.

Chandana used the example of Marmite to demonstrate our ‘feeling’ response to ‘contact’ (in his example Marmite).  The feeling response arises from past experiences etc and that’s fine.  It’s what we do with the response that counts.  Liking or not liking Marmite is not the problem.  It’s the arising of craving or neurotic averion that causes us suffering.  

In the second half we split into groups and explored some interesting questions posed by Chandana.  Transference of merits concluded the evening.

During the evening we brought to mind our beautiful friend Sarasuvanna.  It was the third anniversary of her death.  She is sadly missed and would have loved the Stockport Group.