Yuka Nakamura has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1993 in the Theravada, Dzogchen and Zen traditions, and has been trained as a teacher by Fred von Allmen. Living in Switzerland, she teaches meditation and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.
The transformation of our heartmind, citta, depends on the patient, gradual cultivation of wholesome qualities. The Buddha distinguished three areas of cultivation - the area of ethical living, the development of the mind and the cultivation of wisdom.
Citta, the heartmind, lies at the center of our Dharma practice. Understanding how the state of the citta determines our happiness or unhappiness, we are motivated to take good care of it and cultivate it. This process begins with bringing mindfulness and interest to our mindstates.
Dharma Talk: Dancing Between Self and Not Self. One of the discoveries that can open up to us is the discovery that there is not just one, true self, but the arising of many different selves at different times, depending on context, depending on mindstates. We understand the relational and dependent nature of self. This is the middle way between the views of eternalism and annihilationism.
Dharma Talk: How is our sense of self being created? One major way is our tendency to constantly compare and measure ourselves against others. The conceit (mana) that arises, that is, the feeling of being better than, worse than, or the same as others, is the source of much suffering. The talk discusses different forms of conceit based on birth, knowledge, beauty, etc., and shows ways in which we can practice with it skilfully.
