Summary: Episode Description: This third lecture of the program is entitled A Fourfold Task. Stephen begins by offering a brief review of his two lectures from the first day of the program (parts 2a and 3a of this series). He then elegantly lays out the core of the buddha's teaching on how care, this foundational ethical stance toward life, can be "refracted into a complex of four tasks." Stephen first discusses the buddha's description of his own awakening, found in the text The Noble Quest, from the Sutta Nipata. The buddha speaks of "seeing" a twofold "ground," which includes the ground of "conditioned arising" and the ground of "nirvana." For Stephen, conditioned arising refers to the "animating principle of life," the very fact of the impermanence of the world. Nirvana refers to those instances in which we are no longer under the sway of toxic states of mind such as greed and hatred. Through seeing this twofold ground, the buddha experienced a radical "shift in perspective" from being attached to narratives and identities to living freely, with care. However, this two-fold ground, which is the "foundation for a life lived with care," is a principle. How to translate this principle into a practice, into a way of life? The practice following from this principle is generally known as the Four Noble Truths. Stephen here, however, speaks of a fourfold task. This fourfold task represents the buddha's suggestion for how to live from our "ground" with care. The task involves first, "comprehending suffering," second, "letting go of the arising," third, "beholding the ceasing," and finally, "cultivating the path." In essence, the fourfold task is a recognition of our innate tendency toward "reactivity" and a prescription to instead, cultivate an appropriate "response." When we respond rather than react to life, we are more apt to live with care and thus, to cherish and protect our world. For Series description and Teacher BIOs, please visit Part 1. To access the entire series, please click on the link below: A Culture of Awakening: All 18 Parts
