Personal Practice

• 402Vipassana 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.
• 403Shamatha 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.
• 404Right Mindfulness

  Analyze an experience of mindful pausing, evaluating immediate thoughts and feelings without judgment, and critiquing your chosen response.
• 408Fame and Anonymity

  Evaluate personal motivations regarding fame and notoriety, and implement actions that are free from both craving recognition and fearing obscurity.
• 412Right 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.
• 411Right Speech

  Evaluate speech patterns by identifying personal examples of any of the four non-virtuous speech actions; then design and implement communication strategies that integrate Buddhist principles of truthfulness, kindness, and timing to create more harmonious interactions with others.
• 410Mindful Listening Practices

  Implement deep listening practices, and analyze the “listening pot” metaphor to identify essential conditions for effective communication.
• 409Right Effort

  Implement the principles of right effort in daily life; analyze opportunities to cultivate wholesome thoughts and actions; and evaluate how this practice transforms well-being and relationships.
• 407Sympathetic 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.
• 405Methods 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.