Inner Awareness

• 442EFour Immeasurables Overview

  Analyze the distinctive qualities and antidotes of each immeasurable by examining their progression from conditional to unconditional states, evaluate how systematic cultivation of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity transforms relationships with all beings, and implement guided meditation practices that demonstrate the expansion from limited affection to boundless regard for all sentient beings.
• 415EKarma and Habit

  Analyze the relationship between Buddhist teachings on karma and neuroscientific understanding of habit formation; evaluate how conscious repetition of wholesome thoughts, words, and actions creates positive neural pathways; and synthesize understanding by implementing deliberate habit-change practices that demonstrate the intersection of contemplative training and brain plasticity.
• 412ERight Effort

  Analyze the four aspects of right effort by identifying examples of helpful and harmful mental states in daily life; evaluate how joyful effort differs from forced effort in personal practice; and implement the principles of right effort in daily life, analyzing opportunities to cultivate wholesome thoughts and actions while evaluating how this practice transforms well-being and relationships.
• 408EFame and Anonymity

  Evaluate personal motivations regarding fame and notoriety, and implement actions that are free from both craving recognition and fearing obscurity.
• 405EMethods of Using the Breath

  Implement mindfulness and breathing awareness to develop a calm, focused, and balanced mind. Create and guide a basic breath meditation for others.
• 407ESympathetic Joy

  Analyze the nature of sympathetic joy; guide unscripted meditation practices for cultivating this quality; and develop the practice of responding by rejoicing when witnessing others’ happiness.
• 400EThe Five Hindrances

  Identify and categorize the five hindrances to meditation practice with their corresponding antidotes; analyze how these obstacles manifest in contemporary life beyond formal meditation; and implement systematic approaches for recognizing and addressing hindrances while evaluating the effectiveness of traditional Buddhist remedies in modern contexts.
• 402EVipassana Meditation

  Analyze the distinction between awareness and its objects during vipassana practice, evaluate how investigating the three marks of existence (impermanence, suffering, non-self) through direct observation leads to insight, and synthesize understanding by creating guided practices that help others develop insight.
• 403EShamatha Meditation

  Explore shamatha meditation as a way to calm the mind and support both insight (vipassana) practice and everyday mental habits; evaluate personal experience with meditation; and demonstrate the practice by leading shamatha sessions that guide breath-based concentration while recognizing common challenges, obstacles, and their antidotes.