Lama Live! August 6, 2023 with guest teacher, Lama Willa Blythe Baker, PhD

Please enjoy this recording from Lama Live!, offered on August 6th, 2023 with guest teacher, Lama Willa Blythe Baker.

The event opens with Lama Willa guiding us through the practice of befriending what is present, welcoming the unwanted, and greeting it in the body. She then seamlessly transitions to offering teachings on "beautiful monsters," those habitual patterns of reaction that may be distorted, but hold a unique beauty within them. As the verses of a presented Rumi's poem resonate, Lama Willa skillfully intertwines them with a contemplation of a timeless painting—a depiction of Buddha Shakyamuni beneath the Bodhi tree, amidst the swirling dance of Maras. In the same way the Buddha remains steady, Lama Willa teaches us to embrace our "beautiful monsters" through Five Steps to Befriending Feelings, thanks to which we can break free from shame, resistance, and aversion.

Lama Willa Blythe Baker
2:43 – Welcome
6:28 – Practice of Befriending Feelings
16:49 – Introduction to the Tsoknyi Rinpoche's Term, "Beautiful Monsters"
26:05 – Collective Reading of Rumi's Poem, "The Guest House", Combined with Contemplation of an Image of the Buddha Surrounded by Maras
39:10 – Lama Willa Shares the Five Steps to Befriending Feelings
1:05:35 – Dedication of Merit

Lama Willa Blythe Baker, Ph.D., is the Founder of Natural Dharma Fellowship in Boston, MA, and its retreat center Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH: https://naturaldharma.org

Lama Willa was authorized as a dharma teacher and lineage holder in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism after twelve years of monastic training and two consecutive three-year retreats. She also has trained in the Nyingma and Shangpa lineages. In 2013, Lama Willa completed a doctorate at Harvard University.

BOOK | The Wakeful Body by Lama Willa Blythe Baker: https://bit.ly/wakeful-body

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