2023 Deerhaven Fall Retreat–Contingent Origination Review

A core principle of Buddhist psychology is paticca samuppada, dependent origination.  During this talk, an alternative translation is offered–contingent provisional emergence–which incorporates contemporary scientific and psychological understandings of this important concept for understanding how karma forms and how it can be changed through diligent and mindful clear knowledge of what arises and passes away in consciousness.

Here are the notes prepared for this talk:  CONTINGENT PROVISIONAL EMERGENCE AND KARMA

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Dependent Origination And Emptiness

During this talk, Peter Carlson reviews the key Buddhist teaching on dependent origination as it is associated with another important concept, emptiness, which has frequently been misunderstood.  During the discussion, contemporary scientific and psychological information that fosters more clarity about the topics are presented.

Here are the notes prepared for this talk, which provide a more extensive review of the various aspects of emptiness from a contemporary scientific as well as the traditional perspective:  Contingent Provisional Emergence As Emptiness

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Reviewing Mindfulness of Feelings and Dependent Origination

This talk first focuses on reviewing the Second Foundation of Mindfulness, Mindfulness of Feelings; the second focus is on a core concept of Buddhist psychology, Dependent Origination, within which mindfulness of feelings plays a key role.  Peter Carlson provides a contemporary rendition of dependent origination, Contingent Provisional Emergence, which describes the ancient concept using more contemporary psychological terminology.

There are two sets of notes accompanying this talk:  MINDFULNESS OF FEELINGS and Understanding Contingent Provisional Emergence

There is a guided meditation posted on this site intended to complement the contents of this talk: Guided Mindfulness of Feelings Contemplation

Next week’s talk will review the Third Foundation of Mindfulness, Mindfulness of the Mind

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Reviewing Dependent Origination

This talk provides a view of a core Buddhist concept that describes how karma is formed that differs from the traditional Theravaden understanding–instead of the terminology of Dependent Origination, a case is made for an alternative rendering, Contingent Provisional Emergence, which includes more contemporary concepts and research regarding the formative drives that create our personality structures.  This view complements comments from the previous meeting of August 17, 2022 regarding the Five Aggregates of Clinging, part of the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness.

Here are the notes prepared for this talk:  Understanding Contingent Provisional Emergence

Next week’s talk will begin a review of the Seven Awakening Factors, qualities of attention that significantly develop liberation from distress and confusion in the mind, leading to a transformative understanding regarding our self-state organizations.

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Reviewing Contingent Provisional Emergence

This talk provides a thorough review of the core Buddhist concept Paticca Samuppada, typically translated as Dependent Origination.  A different rendering of the concept is provided, including reference to a contemporary concept, complexity theory which led to the term Contingent Provisional Emergence.  The Theravadin tradition describes 12 elements to the concept and each is reviewed, with emphasis on the nonlinear aspects of how the moment-by-moment process of self organization operates.

This talk can be accompanied by: “Guided Investigating Feelings Meditation”, found in the archives, to reinforce the importance of mindfulness of feelings to realize the potential of the paticca samuppada concept.

Here are the extensive notes prepared for this talk; it is recommended to download and read them to more thoroughly understand the concept:  Contingent Provisional Emergence Review

 

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