Audio Dharma Talks
​​with Anagārika Michael Turner
Hi! My name is Michael Turner. I am a pre-monastic Early Buddhist ācariya, an ariya-puggala, and a full-time Buddhist anagārika.  I work with dedicated Buddhists practitioners to help them attain measurable progress toward Nibbāna. This special kind of one-on-one training isn't readily available to lay practitioners. So, if you may be interested in joining our growing student community to make veritable progress toward Nibbāna, please visit my training page to learn more; or contact me to discuss becoming a Buddhist trainee today.

Tonglen Meditation: Benefits & Techniques to Develop Deep Compassion, the Brahmavihārās, Buddhist Awakening (streamentry)

Duration: 00:39:41 — Posted June, 2022


​In this dharma talk I dive into the details of a somewhat-lesser-known meditation technique that anyone can use to overcome mental suffering, physical pain, and generate deep and transformative states of compassion and gratitude. I also cover the importance of Right Effort, determination, and good teachers, and how these are critical to cultivating resilient states of contentment and to making spiritual progress.

​The dharma talk is preceded by a 5-minute recorded  introduction (transcript linked above). 

Here is a completely incomplete outline of the dharma talk that follows:
  • Breaking down the ego-driven hard shell around out heart
    • opening ourselves up to compassion
    • compassion is critical to our own sense of happiness
    • tearing down the suffering caused by our own aversions, resistance, and resentment to our unwanted feelings and emotions
  • Putting our suffering and our problems into perspective
  • Recognising how gratitude and appreciation are boundless sources of peace and contentment
  • Cultivating the foundations for the brahmavihārās, the limitless ones, of lovingkindness, compassion, altruistic joy, and equanimity
  • Summary of the purpose and benefits of Tonglen
  • Understanding our suffering fuels our motivation to learn, study, and practice the dharma and to meditate
  • Tonglen is only powerful and beneficial if we truly understand why and how, and cultivate the correct understanding, motivations, and intentions to practice is properly and wisely
  • Objects can be human, but also animal and insect
  • Tonglen helps to cultivate deep levels of compassion, ultimate levels, on the levels of ultimate bodhicitta
  • The power of Buddhism to change the levels of happiness an contentment we experience
  • The importance of Right Effort in our practice
  • Briefly Tonglen meditation versus Mettā meditation (lovingkindness)
  • Tonglen is a practice any of us can start benefiting from right away
  • Beyond Level 1 Tonglen, a sneak peak into Level 3 Tonglen
  • Importance of good teachers
  • How cultivating Tonglen cultivates progress toward streamentry and Buddhist awakening (streamentry)
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