The following talk was given at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California.

Please visit our website at audiodharma.org.

Hello and welcome to this Monday where we began a new

theme for 7 a.m. teachings or 7 a.m. explorations.

And I'll be here for the next two weeks.

And then I go back to teach another week-a-long retreat.

So in these two weeks, it's ten of these weekday morning sittings.

And so I'm inspired to teach, to use the basis for these ten days,

what's called the ten protectors, the ten supports.

And this word, not the, can mean someone who really is a protector, someone who's safeguards others.

And also someone who helps, someone who supports.

And the idea is that there are these ten protectors that we have in how we live,

how we act in the world, how we, the attitudes we have, the motivations we have,

and that these ten protectors that we have are something we can call upon,

something we can have as a protection.

And this assumes that there is something worth protecting.

And it's not, you know, ourselves in the kind of general way we might be concerned about ourselves,

because we have all kinds of complicated relationships with ourselves, all kinds of complicated,

maybe some, not so helpful attitudes about me, myself, and mine,

and even selfishness that comes along.

And we're not trying to protect our selfishness, but to protect a deep source within.

And I use the word source, maybe it should be, the idea, the word should be,

...