Lama Kathy Wesley begins her teaching by demonstrating that all mental afflictions arise from a “stampede” of thoughts. Shamatha meditation provides the foundation for transforming mental afflictions by giving us control over our minds, allowing us to accept or reject thoughts and emotions as they arise. She then presents Slow Reversal, a mindfulness-based post-meditation method for transforming mental afflictions. In talk two Lama Kathy teaches that cultivating loving kindness through the Mahayana practice of Tonglen provides a beneficial other-oriented antidote that we can adopt in the gap created by Slow Reversal. Lama Kathy devotes all of talk three to discussing anger, explaining the sources and negative aspects of anger and showing how to transform anger using Slow Reversal and Tonglen, and by looking directly at anger. This three-yana approach to transforming emotions culminates in talk four, where Lama Kathy describes the symbolism of Chenrezig as a foundation for explaining how vajrayana deity practices transform mental afflictions. All four talks are lively and humorous and include extensive Q & A sessions.

Transforming Mental Afflictions in the Three Yanas, 4 Talks on 8 audio CDs, Lama Kathy Wesley, Vajra Echoes, $35.00