Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia has been offering instruction in Theravada Buddhist teachings and practices since 1990. She is a student of the western forest sangha, the disciples of Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Chah, and is a Lay Buddhist Minister in association with Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California. She served as resident teacher of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts from 1996 through 1999. Taraniya teaches at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and at Dhamma centers in the United States.
If we only understand the practices of dana, sila and bhavana (generosity, morality and meditation) conceptually, we may miss the deep meaning and purpose of these practices and may never quite experience their benefits.
Reflections upon (1) the importance of having a common value base and actively living by those values. (2) the great support that living in community offers, and (3) the importance of making an emotional connection with the teachings through devotional practices.
This talk examines the nature of the sense realm and considers how we give rise to craving in relation to sensory experience. It also examines the distortions that self-view sets up and the relationship between craving and the wrong-view of self.
This talk examines generosity, the quality of heart that takes us from self-absorption to open-heartedness. Generosity is one of the principle antidotes for the suffering states of greed, hatred and delusion.
Though it's role in the process of waking up is pivotal, intention is very subtle, rarely conscious, and outside the control of self. Purification is made possible through the appropriate use of mindfulness to the things we do and say.
This talk describes the use of contemplation and reflection in the meditation practice and explains the difference between reflective and discursive thought.
