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

Please visit our website at audioderma.org. Hello everyone and welcome. Welcome.

And one of the

One of the emphasis. Emphasis for in Buddhism and that kind of Buddhism we practice for

insight meditation is being with or seeing things as they are, being with things

as they are. And that means being with things in the present moment as they are.

And what's directly visible, immediate.

But there's a subcategory of things as they are, which is often overlooked in this practice,

and which partly because if we focus on it too much it causes a lot of problems.

But from time to time it's invaluable to be present for this as well. And this is things as they could be. In the

present moment there is potential.

And to be aware of that potential

is encouraging.

It can be inspiring if the potential we're focusing on is wholesome, is good.

And the particular things as they could be,

that this tradition emphasizes, is that you could be free.

There could be an experience of

thoroughgoing freedom, freedom of the heart, freedom of the mind.

And what freedom?

Freedom from all the ways in which the heart, the mind is contracted, constricted, all the ways in which it's limited

by clinging and grasping and desire, greed, hatred. and things could be the mind,

be different, the heart could be different.

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