Beth Upton's guest appearances

Beth Upton

Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge: dharma talks and meditation instruction

Guru Viking Podcast

Insight Myanmar

Medima - Meditáció, ima és egyéb elmélyülési módszerek

OwlTail

In this interview I am once again joined by Beth Upton, meditation teacher, ex-nun, and student of renowned meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw.Beth shares her emphasis on meditation with the natural rhythms of the body and reveals how she deals with students who experience low motivation, psychological challenges, and even psychosis as a result of meditation practice.Beth also discusses her own relationship difficulties after disrobing as a nun, why she embarked on special communication trainings to address them, and explains why erotic feeling diminishes as one becomes more enlightened.…Video version: www.guruviking.com/podcast/161-natural-meditation-beth-upton-2  Also available on Youtube, iTunes, &amp; Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.…Topics Include:00:00 - Intro 00:43 - Beth’s Sanditthika meditation community in Spain 04:16 - Different modes of community07:36 - Meditation with one’s natural rhythm 10:45 - The structure at Pa Auk monastery 12:04 - Resting for the first few days of retreat 14:35 - Working with low motivation to practice 17:30 - Facing challenging mental and emotional states during retreat19:47 - Psychosis on retreat 21:34 - Common teacher mistakes when dealing with emotional states and psychosis 23:12 - Fear of litigation and criticism 27:14 - Scandal, transparency, and patriarchal models31:57 - Living in harmony with nature 33:12 - Relationships after leaving monasticism  40:12 - Does enlightenment eliminate erotic function?41:58 - Begin in a relationship with an enlightened person 43:49 - Tantric and kundalini practices 47:05 - The value of relational and communication practices 48:14 - Meditation isn’t enough to heal relational patterns52:04 - Beth’s training in relational practices 53:20 - Truth in relationship 55:32 - Balancing retreat practice and practice in life58:51 - Off-cushion meditation toolkit01:01:09 - Beth’s personal practice rhythm 01:03:48 - Sense restrain is a gift to oneself01:06:00 - The consequences of indulgence…Previous episode with Beth Upton:- https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep138-trained-as-a-nun-beth-upton…To find out more about Beth Upton, visit: - https://bethupton.com/ - https://www.sanditthika.org/ … For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com

In this interview I am once again joined by Beth Upton, meditation teacher, ex-nun, and student of renowned meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw. Beth shares her emphasis on meditation with the natural rhythms of the body and reveals how she deals with students who experience low motivation, psychological challenges, and even psychosis as a result of meditation practice. Beth also discusses her own relationship difficulties after disrobing as a nun, why she embarked on special communication trainings to address them, and explains why erotic feeling diminishes as one becomes more enlightened. … Video version: <a href="http://www.guruviking.com/podcast/161-natural-meditation-beth-upton-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.guruviking.com/podcast/161-natural-meditation-beth-upton-2</a>   Also available on Youtube, iTunes, &amp; Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 00:00 - Intro 00:43 - Beth’s Sanditthika meditation community in Spain 04:16 - Different modes of community 07:36 - Meditation with one’s natural rhythm 10:45 - The structure at Pa Auk monastery 12:04 - Resting for the first few days of retreat 14:35 - Working with low motivation to practice 17:30 - Facing challenging mental and emotional states during retreat 19:47 - Psychosis on retreat 21:34 - Common teacher mistakes when dealing with emotional states and psychosis 23:12 - Fear of litigation and criticism 27:14 - Scandal, transparency, and patriarchal models 31:57 - Living in harmony with nature 33:12 - Relationships after leaving monasticism 40:12 - Does enlightenment eliminate erotic function? 41:58 - Begin in a relationship with an enlightened person 43:49 - Tantric and kundalini practices 47:05 - The value of relational and communication practices 48:14 - Meditation isn’t enough to heal relational patterns 52:04 - Beth’s training in relational practices 53:20 - Truth in relationship 55:32 - Balancing retreat practice and practice in life 58:51 - Off-cushion meditation toolkit 01:01:09 - Beth’s personal practice rhythm 01:03:48 - Sense restrain is a gift to oneself 01:06:00 - The consequences of indulgence … Previous episode with Beth Upton: - <a href="https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep138-trained-as-a-nun-beth-upton" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep138-trained-as-a-nun-beth-upton</a> … To find out more about Beth Upton, visit: - <a href="https://bethupton.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://bethupton.com/</a> - <a href="https://www.sanditthika.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.sanditthika.org/</a> …  For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - <a href="http://www.guruviking.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.guruviking.com</a>

Ep161: Natural Meditation - Beth Upton 2

From deep meditative absorption with Pa Auk Sayadaw, to sitting in caves in southern Spain in the company of drug addicts and criminals, Beth Upton has led a most amazing spiritual life!  In 2008, Beth went to Pa Auk Monastery in Myanmar to take a deeper plunge into the spiritual life, and she remained there for five years. She cultivated deep states of jhāna under his tutelage, and enhanced powers of perception. Beth describes the peace and happiness of jhānic states in compelling terms. She contrasts the fleeting happiness born of satisfying sense desire, with the deep blissfulness of jhānic states that develop with a mind of non-clinging. In the Pa Auk system, one turns the deeply concentrated mind towards seeing beyond concepts, into the moment-by-moment change of materiality and mentality, which leads to some quite unusual experiences.After leaving Myanmar, Beth—still in robes—ended up living in a series of caves in southern Spain. These caves “were inhabited by addicts and criminals. It's like the Gypsy suburb!” But no one gave her any problems, and eventually some even approached her asking to be taught meditation. After she disrobed in 2018, the transition to lay life was not completely smooth. Around this time, she became involved in a non-sexual, but abusive relationship, which Beth opens up about in a vulnerable and honest way. It was the most suffering she ever experienced, and at the time did not see how any of the skills she had learned on the cushion could help her. She had spent so long practicing to dissolve concepts of self, that her “self” did not know how to respond when the abuser crossed the line. Eventually, she worked her way out of that challenging relationship, and in retrospect learned a lot. Now, both as a meditator and as a teacher, she is trying to integrate meditative skills with life skills, balancing a “soft inner, trusting core” with a “harder, protective, outer layer.”Pa Auk Sayadaw has encouraged her inclination to teach in the West, and told her to go with the flow and teach from her heart, which provides more flexibility. In that spirit, she bases her teaching on the Pa Auk method, but tailors her instruction to individual meditators. 

From deep meditative absorption with Pa Auk Sayadaw, to sitting in caves in southern Spain in the company of drug addicts and criminals, Beth Upton has led a most amazing spiritual life!  In 2008, Beth went to Pa Auk Monastery in Myanmar to take a deeper plunge into the spiritual life, and she remained there for five years. She cultivated deep states of jhāna under his tutelage, and enhanced powers of perception. Beth describes the peace and happiness of jhānic states in compelling terms. She contrasts the fleeting happiness born of satisfying sense desire, with the deep blissfulness of jhānic states that develop with a mind of non-clinging. In the Pa Auk system, one turns the deeply concentrated mind towards seeing beyond concepts, into the moment-by-moment change of materiality and mentality, which leads to some quite unusual experiences.After leaving Myanmar, Beth—still in robes—ended up living in a series of caves in southern Spain. These caves “were inhabited by addicts and criminals. It's like the Gypsy suburb!” But no one gave her any problems, and eventually some even approached her asking to be taught meditation. After she disrobed in 2018, the transition to lay life was not completely smooth. Around this time, she became involved in a non-sexual, but abusive relationship, which Beth opens up about in a vulnerable and honest way. It was the most suffering she ever experienced, and at the time did not see how any of the skills she had learned on the cushion could help her. She had spent so long practicing to dissolve concepts of self, that her “self” did not know how to respond when the abuser crossed the line. Eventually, she worked her way out of that challenging relationship, and in retrospect learned a lot. Now, both as a meditator and as a teacher, she is trying to integrate meditative skills with life skills, balancing a “soft inner, trusting core” with a “harder, protective, outer layer.”Pa Auk Sayadaw has encouraged her inclination to teach in the West, and told her to go with the flow and teach from her heart, which provides more flexibility. In that spirit, she bases her teaching on the Pa Auk method, but tailors her instruction to individual meditators.

In this interview I am joined by Beth Upton, a meditation teacher, ex-nun, and student of renowned meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw.Beth reveals why reading economics at Cambridge caused her to fracture with today’s economic system and eventually led to her ordaination as a nun in Myanmar.Beth details her rigorous training under renowned meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw, addresses skepticism of the Visuddhimagga, and criticises so called ‘soft jhana’ teachings as watered down dharma. Beth contrasts popular soft jhana teachings with how she was trained at Pa Auk, discusses the 10-fetter model of enlightenment, and explains how samadhi can be used to remember past lives and generate siddhi such as the ability to see devas and ghosts.…Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep138-trained-as-a-nun-beth-upton Also available on Youtube, iTunes, &amp; Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.…Topics Include: 00:00 - Intro 00:51 - Upbringing and and reading economics at Cambridge 03:56 - The problem at the heart of money 05:44 - Money as a monastic vs a lay person 09:32  - Beth’s current thinking on money  16:14 - Encountering Buddhism19:21 - Becoming a nun and meeting the meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw23:26 - Is the Visuddhimagga overblown? 25:03 - Soft Jhana teachings are watered down 28:43 - Hard jhana vs soft jhana distinctions 31:42 - Is there duality in jhana? 34:11 - Is jhana necessary for effective vipassana? 36:06 - Is progress possible without retreat? 38:57 - Beth’s 1-1 mentorship 40:14 - The curriculum of Beth’s training as a nun 44:10 - How to remember past lives48:45 - Observing the causal links of karma 50:45 - How to develop siddhi via deep samadhi 53:44 - Opening the divine eye to perceive devas and ghosts 56:11 - Not claiming attainments 01:00:42 - Choosing the right meditation object01:03:36 - Beth’s dislike of Dharma talks01:05:57 - 1-1 mentorship with Beth 01:08:10 - Change technique after stream entry?01:19:14 - Beth on the 10 Fetters and 4 Path Model…To find out more about Beth Upton, visit:- https://bethupton.com/… For more interviews, videos, and more visit:- www.guruviking.com…Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

In this interview I am joined by Beth Upton, a meditation teacher, ex-nun, and student of renowned meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw. Beth reveals why reading economics at Cambridge caused her to fracture with today’s economic system and eventually led to her ordaination as a nun in Myanmar. Beth details her rigorous training under renowned meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw, addresses skepticism of the Visuddhimagga, and criticises so called ‘soft jhana’ teachings as watered down dharma. Beth contrasts popular soft jhana teachings with how she was trained at Pa Auk, discusses the 10-fetter model of enlightenment, and explains how samadhi can be used to remember past lives and generate siddhi such as the ability to see devas and ghosts. … Video version: <a href="https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep138-trained-as-a-nun-beth-upton" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep138-trained-as-a-nun-beth-upton</a>  Also available on Youtube, iTunes, &amp; Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include:  00:00 - Intro 00:51 - Upbringing and and reading economics at Cambridge 03:56 - The problem at the heart of money 05:44 - Money as a monastic vs a lay person 09:32 - Beth’s current thinking on money 16:14 - Encountering Buddhism 19:21 - Becoming a nun and meeting the meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw 23:26 - Is the Visuddhimagga overblown? 25:03 - Soft Jhana teachings are watered down 28:43 - Hard jhana vs soft jhana distinctions 31:42 - Is there duality in jhana? 34:11 - Is jhana necessary for effective vipassana? 36:06 - Is progress possible without retreat? 38:57 - Beth’s 1-1 mentorship 40:14 - The curriculum of Beth’s training as a nun 44:10 - How to remember past lives 48:45 - Observing the causal links of karma 50:45 - How to develop siddhi via deep samadhi 53:44 - Opening the divine eye to perceive devas and ghosts 56:11 - Not claiming attainments 01:00:42 - Choosing the right meditation object 01:03:36 - Beth’s dislike of Dharma talks 01:05:57 - 1-1 mentorship with Beth 01:08:10 - Change technique after stream entry? 01:19:14 - Beth on the 10 Fetters and 4 Path Model … To find out more about Beth Upton, visit: - <a href="https://bethupton.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://bethupton.com/</a> …  For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - <a href="http://www.guruviking.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.guruviking.com</a> … Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

Ep138: Trained as a Nun - Beth Upton

Beth spent five years training diligently in meditation in the Theravada tradition under the guidance of Pa Auk Sayadaw, then a further five years training in other meditation methods and doing long solo retreats. She founded Sanditthika Meditation Community in the caves of Almeria, Spain. In 2018, after ten years of monastic life, Beth decided to disrobe in order to integrate some of the challenges of western life into her Dhamma practice. Beth has been teaching meditation since 2014 both in Almeria and in meditation retreats around the world.Selected links from the episode:https://medima.hu/beth-upton-anuttara/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/medimapodcast

Beth spent five years training diligently in meditation in the Theravada tradition under the guidance of Pa Auk Sayadaw, then a further five years training in other meditation methods and doing long solo retreats. She founded Sanditthika Meditation Community in the caves of Almeria, Spain. In 2018, after ten years of monastic life, Beth decided to disrobe in order to integrate some of the challenges of western life into her Dhamma practice. Beth has been teaching meditation since 2014 both in Almeria and in meditation retreats around the world. Selected links from the episode: <a href="https://medima.hu/beth-upton-anuttara/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://medima.hu/beth-upton-anuttara/</a> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/medimapodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/medimapodcast</a>