(The occasion of Magha Puja) The Buddha established the Great Assembly (male/female monastic/lay) to preserve the ongoing transmission of Dhamma. Patiently bearing with conditions is the way to curtail negative engagement - and relate more wisely. Thus one acknowledges what arises as objects - and thus reveal the open knowing. With this, a purer relationship to what arises, rather than identifying with it, is established.

Wise speech is an integral part of the traditional Buddhist path of awakening and a powerful way to energize our daily life practice, but is often underdeveloped in Western Buddhist practice. We’ll look in a very practical way at three aspects of wise speech: (1) developing presence in the midst of communication; (2) working with the four guidelines for skillful speech developed by the Buddha; and (3) becoming more mindful of and skillful with thoughts and emotions occurring during communication. For each of the foundations, a number of ways of practicing are offered. The talk is followed by discussion.

In an old Zen story, a student comes to see his beloved teacher who is on his death bed and asks: Tell me, what is the teaching of your entire lifetime? And the teacher replies: An appropriate response. Tonight's talk will explore what it means to respond appropriately to a world on fire. To support San Francisco Insight Meditation Community, please go here: sfinsight.org/donate

A response to a question about feeling joy during difficult times. The student was concerned that feeling joy might decrease connections with others who are suffering. They also felt some guilt about feeling joy when others were in pain.

This is a meditation will help you connect, regulate, repair, and soothe parts of yourself during difficult times. It includes principles from Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Metta (lovingkindness).