In this talk from the Spirit Rock Meditation Center Fall 2019 retreat, Phillip explores the unfolding of the path in the context of the origin story of the Buddha. When we have a clear understanding of what the Buddha set out to do, then we can have a clearer orientation to how and why we practice.

One key understanding is that the Buddha did not seek to cure all afflictions of the mind. Therefore we can help ourselves on the path by not getting into any kind of perfectionism. Phillip emphasizes that what we need is “good enough commitment to the path” and to be realistic with ourselves about the fact that at times, we each choose suffering. Instead of perfectionism, we clean things up in our lives enough and use the rest as stimulus, as teachers, and as purification as we go along the path.