"This is a talk given at James Baraz's Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley."
James recently sat with Ven. Bhikkhu Analayo, an extraordinary Buddhist scholar and meditation teacher. He shares some of the teachings and practices that he learned on the Brahma Viharas and how they can help lead to deeper perceptions of emptiness including infinite space and infinite consciousness.
The talk gives a glimpse of the value of experimenting and playing with the mind. With Ven. Analayo's permission, James' takes us on a quick journey through some rather profound terrain. So let whatever your experience or non-experience be okay. For a deeper dive into the material the listener is referred to Ven. Analayo's book: Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation:
Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation.
The Third Precept is: I undertake the training precept to refrain for sexual misconduct. After Christine Blasey Ford's moving testimony at the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, this talk explores this cultural moment together. The impact of sexual assault, importance of courage, especially of women, to speak the truth in the face of animosity and criticism and the power of fierce compassion are discussed.
James and Kate Munding, co-guiding teacher of Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley co-led this evening exploring the power and importance of like-minded friendship and community especially in these times.
At the beginning of the talk James reads a moving letter written to the community by a 31-year old woman from Australia named Stephanie whose story of sexual assault James shared in his talk from two weeks before entitled: "The Third Precept: Trauma, Respect and Cultural Wake Up".
See:
https://dharmaseed.org/talks/52436/
