Donald Rothberg: Buddhist Practice and Transforming Social Conditioning 2

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We begin by reviewing briefly last week's session, including how contemporary practice can expand the traditional focus on ignorance to include contemporary psychological and social perspectives on further dimensions of ignorance, including our initially unconscious social conditioning. We look again briefly at how the Buddha related both to caste and to women's roles in the sangha, and the basic of social conditioning, including how this is related to "in-groups," "out-groups," and "implicit bias." Most of the talk is devoted to suggesting the basic ways that we can explore and transform social conditioning. We focus on the main supports for such practice, including working with groups and guidelines, knowing the history of a particular form of conditoning (we give the examples of gender and race), using different forms of inquiry, mindfulness in meditation and daily life (including being mindful of the judgmental mind, anger, sadness, shame, etc.), the heart practices (including the importance of self-love, compassion, forgiveness, and joy), and other practices, such as involving ritual. The talk is followed by discussion.