Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia has been offering instruction in Theravada Buddhist teachings and practices since 1990. She is a student of the Western forest sangha, the disciples of Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Chah, and is a Lay Buddhist Minister in association with Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California. She has served as resident teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, taught many months at IMS's Forest Refuge, and served as a Core Faculty member at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. She co-authored Older and Wiser: Classical Buddhist Teachings on Aging, Sickness, and Death and has written numerous articles for the Insight Journal of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.
This talk spotlights things we experience during integration at the end of retreat and considers how to use re-entry well. Because of an enhanced sensitivity we are keenly aware of our usual mode of interacting, the impulsiveness of our actions, the impact of our speech. We also see our innate goodness with greater clarity. We need to feel the impact of all of this so that we reap the greatest benefit. Exhale retreat; inhale the rest of our lives. And try not to judge our practice.
Reflecting on the early years for practice–how we often try to get free of difficult states by engaging in battle with them. Gradually, we learn to shift from fighting mindstates to receiving them with an open heart. We see that there is a softening taking place simply through being willing to embrace them.
