Burgs Podcast

When human consciousness is refined with kindness and respect and our hearts are pure, we are close to the divine.  Our inspiration is to be close to that. But when humans get too self-absorbed, we are not moved by the divine. The general psyche is absorbed with itself and the pursuit of what it wants. We separate ourselves and cut ourselves off from the creative process. Individuality is a human obsession. 

When the Buddha taught the Dharma he hoped that beings would free themselves from suffering. We swing from periods of good fortune to misfortune. When we are fortunate, there is a danger that we run our life on karmic overdraft and our merit runs out. When this happens, a life of good fortune is no longer supported. A fortunate human life is the rarest opportunity to free yourself from suffering.   

How you are feeling now is a result of how you have reacted to what you have experienced in the past.  The way we react is hardwired into us. It is a conditioned response. We each have a different stock of reactions that we have accumulated.  If you change the way you react in the present, it will change how you will react in the future. 

Giving back and breathing out can be an adventure. You have to put a significant amount of time and energy into your practice to see what you are truly capable of. Committing to a long retreat, for example, is an opportunity to change the make up of your mind in a permanent and enriching way that will serve you for the rest of your life. Burgs explains why now is the time to be a yogi. 

How can I manage my life in such as a way that I feel comfortable and settled in the experiences that I am engaging in? Part of the answer is looking at taking care of yourself, being realistic and maintaining a balance at every level. Many people feel overwhelmed because they bring too much into their life – it is crowded out and there is no spaciousness. Rather than looking at how can I cope with this, look at how can I create more space? 

 The Buddha talked about beings that are volitional (driven by personal will) or functional (performing their function seamlessly in an awakened state). The transition from adolescence to adulthood is when we find out who we actually are by performing our function and not thinking we are special. A skilful human being moves like a stick through water and does not leave much of a trace. There are countless ways of being of service and performing our function. 

The experience is what has a transformative effect in meditation. Seeing something we have not seen before can create a paradigm shift which helps us transform our suffering. Peak experiences are not the cessation of suffering. The real testament is the refinement of character which means you are not afflicted by what happens to you.  

The Buddha was not interested in teaching the momentary cessation of suffering but finding a pathway to cut off at the root the habit of bringing ourselves to suffering. When he was a prince twenty-five centuries ago, he came to the conclusion that there is no happiness to be found in the pursuit of pleasure alone. After he renounced his worldly life and went forth, he also found that practicing austerity practices alone does not cut off the causes of suffering. When he became enlightened, he came to see the absolute truth of the conditioned process of life beyond the appearance of things. 

We may not have recognised it but somewhere inside us is a longing for a sense of deep connection to what we are part of. We try to do meet this through ideas but this is not the same as being totally present. We need to turn up fully to our experience rather than get lost in thinking about it all and meditation is a process of gradually bringing to an end our sense of separation.  

With more mindfulness, you can see what you are bringing to this moment from the past. When you witness this without a sense of self, you see things much for how they really are rather than what you think they are. We can bring a more objective perspective and open the door to some of the charge we are carrying. 

The goal of meditation is to free ourselves from suffering of the affliction we experience in our life. To see clearly what life is, we have to polish the lens that we look through.  Understanding comes from insight rather than studying or intellectual reflection.  The eightfold noble path leads to liberation through insight.  As soon as you see what this is, you free yourself.  The liberation is in the seeing. In order to see, we have to pay wise attention 

What did the Buddha say was the cause of suffering? You might think that attachment is the cause of our suffering, but attachment itself is caused by ignorance. If we saw what life truly is, we would not suffer.  Our ignorance is the illusion of self.   When we are absorbed in what we are doing, our sense of self fades. The arising of the sense of me in the middle of my experience is what creates the sense of separation.  

You don't know what you are going to get in life – good luck or bad luck, who knows?  Sometimes life goes your way and sometimes it does not.  It does not matter what you get, it matters how you meet each experience with a clear mind.  Burgs goes onto to discuss karma and consciousness and asks what do you know to be true?  The views we cling to are highly predictable on account of the way our mind works and our conditioning.  The “wisdom of the idiot” acknowledges that we know nothing and are open to life as it is – rather than rigidly clinging to our views.  

Sometimes the conditions are not present for us to be flourishing and we are either struggling or coping.  The maturing of our insight ensures we can make more skilful life decisions, so that our expectations are realistic and in tune with the karmic forces that are underpinning our lives.  There will be times when we are supported karmically, and times when we are challenged.  If you get a sense of what is going on in the background, you can time your decisions appropriately, and act when the energy is right.  

What causes disturbances in our meditation once we have established serenity and are not throwing any more pebbles into the pond of our mind?  It's our old stock of unwholesome mental states which shake our heart base. This happens because our field of perception opens and negative mental states reveal themselves which are below the threshold of our normal awareness. We know these mental states are just below the surface but usually distract ourselves from feeling them - maintaining a more limited level of consciousness.  

Are you looking to learn to meditate or realise the path out of suffering?  Your welfare in the here and now is dependent on the accumulation of merit in the past.  If you are practicing to enhance your welfare for now and in the future, this is realised through virtue and how you conduct yourself.  The Buddha taught the path of the causal cessation of suffering which might not be everyone's aspirations.  Whatever your aspirations, it is clear that we need to change significantly the way we live our lives and take full accountability for our choices.  

Following on from the last episode, Burgs explores the themes of vitality, karma and stress.  The quality of your mind has a very significant impact on the quality of your life – much more so than what you eat, for example.  When you are meditating, it is the attitude you bring to it which can bring the most coherence and transformation.  When its not going well, rather than worrying, it is an opportunity to find a strength of character that you would not normally bring to the things that you do.   

What is the mechanism by which the state of our mind impacts our health?  There are four causes for the arising of material states; temperature, nutriment, consciousness and karma / action energy.  It is the subtle materiality (consciousness and karma) which allows life to be expressed through us in all its extraordinary ways.  In meditation, we can refine our karma and what prompts us to act. In doing so, we refine the quality of the way we function.  By developing our physical and mental constitution, we can develop our capacity to take on challenges without being destabilised.  

We have tendency in a materialistic culture to take the Dharma into our mind at an intellectual level but we have to put the Buddha's teachings into the context of the deeply spiritual culture within which he taught.  There was an inherent sense of being connected to something sacred in his day and this was woven into the architecture of people's minds. Through practice, we recognise that this is a profoundly conscious universe and we are all deeply connected to each other. Meditation helps us to connect to the sacred nature of life beyond an intellectual understanding.

Happiness arises when you chose to accept yourself to be what you are without any judgement.  It's important to find a sense of loving kindness for yourself.  This is what will help you to let go.   It is a loving surrender, free from aversion, and finding forgiveness for yourself and others. On the path, love and insight need to mature in equal measure; generating a wholesome quality to our mind. 

There is a current of vital force running through you.  Vitality is partly generated from the volition or desire that we bring to our actions.  There is also the vitality of our spirit – the current of life that is driving you which is not personal.  When you shut down, you choke the spirit that makes your feel alive.  To be fully, powerfully alive is to reclaim every aspect of yourself with full consciousness and authenticity, so that the current of life is pouring through you. This podcast directly follows the last episode (no.37 – Reclaim Your Consciousness).  

Your soul is something that is inherent in you and is deeply conditioned by everything you have experienced.  It feels like something that is fundamentally “me” which we can break down and dismantle.  We might experience a fractured or broken part of our soul which we are disconnected from.  The way to fill that hole is to be with the experiences in the past that we were unwilling to be with. This is the doorway to our awakening and the route to reclaiming our consciousness.  

The 10 paramis are qualities of our character identified by the Buddha that act as wholesome support to our mind on the path out of suffering. Once these qualities come to perfection in us, we make very swift progress. Burgs explores each one of the paramis: generosity, virtue, truthfulness, renunciation, patience, vitality / energy, determination, lovingkindness, wisdom and equanimity. By refining these qualities without judgement, we are polishing the lens we look at life through so it is less distorted. 

The Dharma is a transmission of an experience of reality which frees us from suffering.  It is about the transformation of our hearts, not our ideas. A devotional attitude helps us to get beyond ourselves and our limiting ideas of who we think we are.  When we surmount our pride, our heart opens and we can come into resonance with a higher consciousness.   

How can we best prepare ourselves for our own passing and how can we best support others in the dying process? In the immediate period after someone passes away, loved ones should seek to gather in their house (or a place where they felt most at home) to connect to their spirit and share merits. Holding this space lovingly is wonderful service and can be a huge support.  One should reflect on the wholesome deeds the dying person has done in their life and provide encouragement to let go of any regrets so that there is a feeling that affairs are settled. 

When we are deeply moved by something, such as music, art or nature, it switches on a faculty of consciousness that does not involve the mind. It works at a spontaneous level - arising directly through awareness at a non-conceptual level.  We are transported beyond ourselves where the sense of “me” stops arising.  When we clearly see the mechanism behind this process and touch what is truly sacred, we can find a peace within ourselves. 

Sleep lies at the centre of our lives but we often miss its importance. In some ways, it can be seen as a doorway to the greatest of all spiritual awakenings – resting deeply in the clear light of awareness (even though we tend not to be conscious of it). Dreaming can be seen as unpackaging our karmic tendencies – similar to the vipassana process – that can be accepted rather than rejected. If you can be with your biggest disturbances in the night, and let them go with equanimity, it can be a transformative practice.   

Meditation can be a way of life rather than a pallative for stress. There is a significant gap between what we can currently experience at a conscious level and what our true potential is. The spirit of the yogi is a gradual process towards unifying yourself with your experience and ending the sense of seperation, representing one of the greatest and highest endeavors. 

There is a huge disparity between the way we live as human beings and the way we are designed to engage with our experience consciously. The only way we cope is by shutting down so that we cant feel what we are doing to it. We need to wake up to what a human being really is and make changes in our lives to build our spiritual capacity. To do this, we must first transform our character before we transform spiritually. It's a warrior's path

What do our little human lives amount to?  We all have to make choices in relation to the challenges in front of us. Many unwise choices are made due to the belief that there is no intelligent process behind our lives. Our path out of suffering is our way home and a deep connection to the intelligence which holds us. 

In this interview, Burgs suggests that we are at a threshold in human history where it is crucial we make the right decisions in our lives and create a critical mass for change. This time is calling for us to find the best qualities of what it is to be human and become the species that starts to give back. Burgs talks about the courage to step into the unknown, unlearning the culture of consumerism, finding meaning over hopelessness and how to become a net contributor. 

In this meditation, we create in our heart a vision for the world as we would like to see it. If we cannot imagine the world we dream of, then it's not going to happen. What are you going to change? Where are you going to find courage? What would you like to see happen in your life and in the world around you? We all want to see the world be a beautiful place, it's what we long for. May we all do our little bit and what is in our heart.

Are you able to switch off and drop the things that worry you?  How can you be a more relaxed person and get into a deeply settled state? You might have tried yoga or meditation but perhaps have not made an agreement with yourself to actually be more relaxed.  Burgs explores letting go our sense of control, trusting the power of life, dialling out of stress, changing our habit patterns and reconfiguring our relationship with time. 

We can often feel that something is missing in our lives and run around looking for something that will give us meaning. That search can go on for our whole life. However, when we get in touch with the deepest part of our heart we know that there is nothing lacking. That is why we must do whatever we can to overcome numbness, reclaim our capacity to feel and nourish our connection to the sacred. When you end your numbness, your quest for meaning in your life will be over and you will understand what you came here for. 

The choices we make this year are going to determine the direction of our lives and the lives of future generations. Life has changed dramatically in the last two years. It will never be the same again. But how will it be different?  How can the choices we make lead to the growth in humanity? And what is the direction you want to take in your life?  Now is the time to put conviction behind your beliefs. 

Life is an extraordinary mystery and the deeper existential questions are not answered sufficiently by science. Through deep yogic practice we can polish the mind and as this lens becomes more and more refined, fundamental spiritual truths are revealed in stages. The Buddha asks us not to subscribe to views but to see for ourselves what is true through practice. Dharma is a living universal truth – the way of things – and by seeing this we can live life skilfully. Burgs tells the story of the Ox Herder – which Illustrates the journey we go through as we learn to clear the dust from our eyes and start to see the dharma for ourselves. 

If we test positive for covid-19, we are cast into a journey which we know can go a number of ways. Burgs shares his experience of having the virus with the impact not just on the physical body but also the subtle energetic body. By undertaking a digital detox and resting, he found that the virus was causing absolute turbulence in his body, and yet his mind was in a deep state of peace. The experience reinforces the importance of holding our own space and finding stillness in a storm. It is an invitation to let go which is similar to a deep vipassana practice if you can be with what arises – such as your deepest fears.  This can be very healing. 

Giving back starts with each one of us doing the inner work to realise our reals needs are far less than our perceived needs are.  Living simply is not a sacrifice but a relief. And this opens our heart so that we feel more connected to the people around us and all of life.  Delight in what you have to give and find peace in your life. From little acorns come mighty oaks. If you keep walking in the right direction, you cant fail. 

We are living in the most important time in history. We are being asked to bring about a total paradigm shift in what it means to be a human being. How can we be the generation to turn it all around?  How can we give back more than we take out? We are using up our good fortune and the only way to accumulate it again is to create merit and give something back – both for ourselves, the planet and future generations. 

Why do we find it so hard to accept certain things?  When we find it challenging to accept something, it is usually wrapped up in our idea of ourselves and how we think the world should be. A big part of acceptance is yielding on our position and to the way things are. Experiencing grief can be a healthy response to losing someone we love and can also be unhealthy – how can we love unconditionally without attachment that is bound up in fear, control and insecurity? 

Keeping fear packaged up inside us ties up a lot of our energy.  It takes courage to turn this into something positive. What lies behind the fear we are holding onto? At the deepest part of ourselves is the fear of our existential annihilation. We can overcome this by gradually developing a relationship with what remains when our ego passes; the love which is the ground of our being. 

Upholding a complex life that is both expensive and difficult to mange vexes us to the point that we don't experience joy.  The path out of suffering is a gradual path of negotiation with ourselves, looking at which the degree to which we are attached to things that cause suffering and our willingness to let these go. If we are in conflict with letting go, then we are not ready to do so. It is a choiceless process relating to our level of understanding and our longing for simplicity. 

Following the Buddha's enlightenment, a great Brahma asks the Buddha to teach others the path out of suffering.  This leads to the Buddha's first teaching and the turning of the wheel of Dharma which has existed to this day. The truth lies within each and every single one of us waiting for us to discover it for ourselves. What are you going to do with your time here? 

Burgs tells the early life story of the Buddha.  Born as a prince, Siddhattha Gotama was destined to become either a great monach or a great spiritual leader.  Leaving his palace in his late twenties, he encounters human suffering and the very next day renouces the life of sensual pleasures to live the life of a wandering ascetic.  He learns from the greatest teachers of the age, followed by undertaking austere practices, before finding the middle way and reaching his goal of the causal cessation of suffering on a May full moon.  

Our culture is built on the idea that we should always be challenging ourselves to achieve more and we drive ourselves to our limit for long periods of time. The result is that we can live our lives in an over-stimulated state for years and we are never deeply at rest. This can have a huge impact on our health and wellbeing. Our nervous system can be in a coping state the entire time, always pushing to get more out of ourselves rather than raising our capacity. To get the most out of life, we should ask ourselves what can we come by from a state of ease and comfort?

There are many offerings out there promising quick fixes and instant transormation. Yet the journey to free ourselves from suffering is a gradual process where we let go layers of conditioning in stages. This podcast explores how it is conciousness which is the greatest conditioning factor in our life and transforming this is a progressive path.  

We are currently at an axis point where we are being asked to let go the persuit of our creations and feel more alive. Can we find the courage to do what is being asked of us and stand up for the freedoms of future generations, just as past generations have done? 

Burgs explores how we always have the choice to make our suffering the making of us, no matter how painful it might be.  "Healthy grief" is honouring our separation and a true state of love, as opposed to "unhealthy grief" which is not willing to accept the way things are. Grief is a process that can open us up more completely to life and does not need to shut down our capacity to love. In this way, we can live with a sense of gratitude and appreciative joy, rather than fear. 

Burgs explores the nature of love we have with a partner. He examines how attachment can smother our love and how fear only shrinks the heart. Healthy relationships require sacrifice and hard work. We should seek to love people unconditionally for who they are rather than expect more than is reasonable. 

In this episode, Burgs explores what we mean by loving kindness and that if we are going to love others, we must first find love for ourselves. It includes a meditation with reflections on self-love, acceptance and healing our relationship with ourselves.

In this podcast Burgs investigates how we can enter deeply into our experience so that the innate truth it contains reveals itself, beyond our limiting thoughts and ideas. The podcast journey's into this state of presence where we learn to rest within the experience so it reflects perfectly its true nature. From this state we can see clearly into our life and are prompted act according to its deep innate wisdom that always shows us what it is we need to do.