The Robert Beatty Podcast

Awakening through Seeing, Hearing, Sitting and Touching:

This Guided Meditation by Robert Beatty introduces the listener to the teachings of the Venerable Taungpulu Sayadaw.
Robert spent a week with Ven Taungpulu Sayadaw over 44 years ago.  Getting a one week visa to Burma was almost impossible at that time.  
Robert ordained as a novice monk and spent five days in intensive practice.  The practice was very different from that of usual Mindfulness teachings at the time.  Robert was instructed to spend every waking moment attending to one of the following:
Seeing 
Hearing
Sitting and Touching.
The fifth day practice consisted of a slow rotation between these sense doors.
This is an illuminating practice making presence and lostness in the trances of the wandering mind very obvious.
 
 
 

An Invitation to Awakening and for Living With the Realities of Life: with music

Atum O'Kane was the founder and director of the Spiritual Guidance Wisdom School. He passed away recently. The first section of this recording is an invocation that came to him while sitting with his students in Padmasambhava's Cave in Bhutan.  
The central section of the recording is a teaching from the Buddha known as "The Five Daily Recollections.
The verbal presentation is offered by Robert Beatty.
The music was created by Saffire Bouchelion.
Both live in Portland Oregon. 

It Was Like This: You Were Happy a Poem by Jane Hirschfeld

Robert Beatty performs this poem to the original music by Saffire Bouchelion
An exploration of life's constant and utterly out of control nature.
The poles of life alternate and contentment arises from acceptance. 

Embracing the Present: A Journey Through Aging, Sickness, Death and Karma

Robert Beatty leads this invocation and Reflection
The Invocation comes from Atum Okane who recently passed away. One day he sat with a group of students for a long time in Padmasambhava's cave in Bhutan.  The next day he shared with his students that this invocation had come to him in the cave.   
Drawing from the teachings of Buddha 2,600 years ago, we delve into the great mantra of truth, reflecting on the inevitable truths of human existence: aging, sickness, and death. This episode encourages us to intuitively embrace these truths, rather than intellectualize them, in order to fully experience the living moment.
Through the exploration of karma and intentional actions, we are reminded of our intrinsic connection to our deeds and their consequences. Join us as we journey into this introspective meditation, aimed at revealing the profundity of simply being in the present moment.

Embracing the Present: A Journey into Mindful Awareness

In this enlightening episode, we delve into the essence of meditation, exploring the practice of being fully present in each moment. The episode challenges the common misconception that meditation is about self-improvement, offering instead a perspective of acceptance and awareness.
Listeners are guided through a reflective meditation, encouraging them to embrace their natural state of being awake to sensations, thoughts, and emotions. Drawing inspiration from the teachings of Ajahn Chah and the Buddha, the episode emphasizes the beauty of simply being and the spontaneous nature of awareness.
Through gentle guidance, the episode invites listeners to notice the aliveness within their bodies, the rhythm of their breath, and the miracle of awareness. By resting in the present moment, the episode reveals how mindfulness and love intertwine, allowing us to dissolve into the life that already exists.
Join us as we journey into the heart of mindfulness, where the simple act of being becomes a profound practice of connection and presence.

The Divine Encounter: Reverend Baumgartner's Awakening

In this captivating episode, we delve into the life of Reverend Calvin Baumgartner, a passionate preacher whose Sunday sermons ignite the hearts of his congregation. Known for his heartfelt connection with God, Calvin is faced with a life-altering decision when representatives from the Evangelical Broadcasters Network offer him a platform to reach millions.
However, an unexpected visitor challenges Calvin's understanding of faith, presenting him with profound truths that transform his perspective on religion. As Calvin grapples with the weight of his newfound enlightenment, he must choose between the comfort of his established life and the radical path of spiritual awakening.
Join us as we explore Reverend Baumgartner's journey of self-discovery, faith, and courage in the face of divine revelation. This episode offers a thought-provoking exploration of the essence of spirituality and the true meaning of following one's calling.

Being Here Recent Poems of Awakening by Hal McCartor

These clear and concise poems bring one to the brink of awakening. 
They point to the present moment and the realization that there is experience but no one experiencing. 
They are poems about freedom and being. 

Paiin Release Through Love and Compassion

This guided meditation will help the listener find relief from pain. It is particularly useful for pain that is chronic, or difficult to bear.  Using the recording teaches one how to approach the experience of pain and to learn how to suffer less and less. Becoming deeply intimate with the PAIN reveals itself as bare sensations that can become quite bearable.  

The Extraordinary Rightness of Being

In this meditation, Robert takes the meditator on a guided tour of the various mental phenomena that populate the inner world in meditation; and he gently guides the meditator through an appreciation of the reality of those phenomena, and how to be with them in ways that will reduce suffering, increase understanding, and form the building blocks of lasting happiness. This meditation was offered on September 10, 2024.

You are already OK.

In this meditation, inspired from a poem by the Indian Hindu sage, Ramana Maharshi, Robert skillfully guides the meditator through the steps of understanding the basic principles of anicca, dukkha and anatta, not as a matter of thought or intellect, but experience. We intuitively come to understand that we need do nothing more than accept what is here now.  He closes the meditation with the Buddhist parable:  The Two Brothers Wake Up.  This guided meditation was from September 16, 2024, with the Portland, Oregon Insight Meditation Community.

Lie Back in the Arms of Love

Love and mindfulness are synonyms. In both of them there is room for everything; nothing is excluded. With awareness of the present moment, it becomes clear that the past is a class of thoughts occurring in the present moment. This makes it possible to lie back in the arms of love, and allow the wounds of the past to be healed.

A Lifetime of Love and Self Blessing

This guided meditation includes an inner journey back in time to your own birth and childhood.  "Let yourself imagine being present at your birth and being the first one to hold the baby.  What would you say? What are the words you have always longed to hear?"  The meditation traverses your entire life to the present, and onward to your death.  You can bring love and compassion into your most distant and faint memories, allowing love to replace fear, self-hatred, and holding back from life. This meditation was from a retreat on 6/24/24 at Breitenbush, Oregon.

The Life of The Buddha: Robert Beatty tells the ancient archetypal story of the life of the Buddha.

All cultures have at their core an archetypal and powerful story, or myth. These myths are actually "true" in that they provide maps of the inner life that are relevant thousands of years later. The Buddha was an historical person, who actually walked the earth. His spiritual journey and awakening provide countless points of inspiration to anyone interested meditation and living life fully. Robert Beatty tells this story with inspiration in great depth, with humor and accompanied by varying rhythms on his hand drum, the Middle Eastern Tar. This Dharma talk was given at Breitenbush in Oregon on June 28, 2024.

Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta (Impermanence, Unsatisfactoriness and No Enduring Self)

Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta are known as the Three Characteristics of Existence.  Everything that occurs and "exists" since the Great Flash which was the beginning of our universe has these characteristics.  Of course this includes ourselves, our loved ones, our possessions, and achievements.  The Buddha suggested that we use the scientific method and carry out the experiment with ourselves as the object of study: Is anything permanent?  Does anything enduringly satisfy?  Can I find an enduring self? This quest sets us free from clinging and leads us to freedom and contentment. This Dharma talk was from a retreat held in June 2024.

The Five Precepts: The foundation of a happy and productive life

In this podcast, Robert Beatty explains in a simple, down-to-earth fashion, the Buddhist Five Precepts, which are the guidelines for a happy and successful life in the world. The guiding precepts are very simple and powerful understandings of how the world works, and how we can each create a more satisfying life for ourselves and others. This Dharma talk was given at the Portland Insight Meditation Center on July 7, 2024.