What has always engaged Guy Armstrong is working with practitioners who are deepening their commitment to the Dharma and then seeing them take a quantum leap in their understanding. His contribution to this commitment is working towards conveying a Theravadan practice with a Mahayana spirit.
The Theravadan practice of vipassana provides simple, direct instructions that can be immediately understood and applied in daily life as well as retreat practice. The Mahayana spirit has the beautiful attitude that we practice not for ourselves alone, but for all sentient beings. Between the two, the unfolding of liberation for ourselves and others becomes a simple, down-to-earth practice that anyone can do.
It is fun for him to take the most difficult concepts and put them into accessible language, to unwrap the mystery. So Guy Armstrong try to find ways to explore the breadth of concepts like “emptiness” — to see how the entire path can be explained in terms of this synonym for nibbana. One of his aims is to bring the goal of freedom into the here and now. This way practitioners get a taste of freedom, so they know what they are heading toward on their journey to liberation.
The tools of mindfulness and lovingkindness can be picked up by anyone. They are easy to understand and they bring immediate benefit to our lives. The essence of vipassana is ideally suited to western society, especially to the resonance between our psychological turn of mind and our quest for spiritual understanding.
Buy Guy Armstrong’s book here: Emptiness: A Practical Guide For Awakening
Guy Armstrong’s Free Mindfulness Meditations
Guy Armstrong talks about the nature of awareness; mindfulness and consciousness being different properties. What about the word awareness?
The practice of Metta is an exploration. How Metta is relevant in the unfolding of the Dharma? How the heart responds as we identify loving kindness.
“Refrain from violence and work to end hatred” is a good way to reflect on during the long retreat. Attitude and simple living are the keys.
Guy Armstrong discusses about the sufferings brought about by the emotional pain. Sadness, grief, all other difficult emotions, how you work with it.
Guy talks about Karma and the End of Karma. Why is it important to teach Karma? It is the science of happiness according to Buddhist teachings.
Guy Armstrong talks about connection to life. How the ego puts us into differentiating ourselves making us less connected to the whole of humanity.
The topic of working with fear shows the liberating power of the Dharma. Guy Armstrong says fear has haunted human development, but it can be uprooted.
Guy Armstrong discusses the 7 factors of enlightenment. These are mindfulness, investigation, energy, rapture, calm, concentration and equanimity.
Guy Armstrong leads a big mind guided meditation. Good for calmness and relaxation, enforcing mindfulness and liberating consciousness.
Guy Armstrong says “unentangled” means preventing the tangling from happening. So unentangled knowing is the kind that prevents tangling from happening.
The practice of Metta makes the heart more responsive. You’ll be surprised you don’t even need to learn Metta in order to show the power of loving kindness.
Mindfulness of breathing is fundamental in Buddhist meditation. This is the 1st thing on mindfulness of the body; to be able to stay calm and concentrate.
Relax, observe, and allow. These 3 are the guidelines for the proper attitude in awareness meditation. Guy teaches to strike the balance in so-doing.