Equanimity the noble quality of the heart that allows us to meet an unpredictable world, complex relationships and change without being shattered. Also explores the way the Buddha used equanimity as a description of liberation.

Can we not give vent to the wanting mind, not blame conditions nor allow discontentment to grow? Develop patience and persevere on the path. Know things as they are and accept them. Patience is the highest austerity. So change gears, and move away from old habits of mind by rubbing the dust out of your eyes. Weather difficult conditions. See the beginning of your suffering and end it in the ways of Dhamma. Plant good seeds.

One of the more common emotional responses to practice is that at times we feel like we are failing in meditation. Nothing seems to be going according to the instructions. We try diligently and then hear that striving will not get us anywhere. We want to like ourselves but are full of self-contempt. We would like to wish everyone lovingkindness, but we do not feel that in our hearts. All of this has us feeling like a spiritual failure. One way to sidestep the thought that our practice is not going well is to remember that our practice is about self-knowledge, and self-knowledge is always working. Like a mirror that always reflects what it sees, it may not be showing us what we want to see, but it is always reflecting back what it sees. The practice is to accommodate what we see, no matter what is reflected back. Just let the reflection show us the state of affairs. Now comes the hard part. Do not attempt to change, judge, or get over what we see. If we want to do something, relax with what we see. Let the built up tension be dispelled. If we try to get over a problem before we understand what the nature of the problem is, we will further complicate our struggle. Much of our struggle is arising from the sense of being a personal failure. In a culture built upon evaluations and comparisons, many of us feel like we are defeated before we begin. We lead with self-uncertainty and for a Dharma practitioner that is the worst possible assumption. Awakening needs everything from us, and self-uncertainty holds us back in timidity. We have to address this assumption head on to end its tyrannical rule.

This talk explores how to work & live with the changing nature of life...

This talk explores an ancient Tibetan method to confront your fear and turn it into an ally. She reviews the method from Lama Tsultrim book "Feeding your demons" in the context of the first three of the four noble truths. search words: four noble truths, feeding your demons, fear, anxiety, gratitude, change your brain

How do we accept ourselves or others when our actions are causing harm? Does acceptance mean passivity? Does it undermine our efforts towards change? This talk responds to these questions with a simple, illuminating and challenging principle about genuine transformation: Acceptance is the prerequisite of true healing and awakening. Only when we've paused to recognize and allow this moment's experience to be fully as it is, can we respond from our intelligence and compassion to prevent future suffering.

Impermanence

The change from unhappiness and dissatisfaction to happiness and contentment does not come about by trying to get better but through the cultivation of wisdom and compassion

Explaining how to be mindful of "pain", "changes"; on different realms in the sensuous world.

reflecting on change - the doorway into the changeless - maintaining well being in the face of change through wisdom

Encouragement about walking meditation as an important aspect of spiritual practice, life, pilgrimage and social change.

Right view is of the dynamic interdependency of all experience - except Nibbana. When all is relative and changeable, there is the potential for change for the better, and for release.

The talk outlines the Three Characteristics (change - suffering - not self) and the Three Subtle Characteristics (emptiness - suchness - not with the object). Teachings on the 4 Seals and the 5 Aggregates are also offered.

Transition talk for two month retreatants. Change and the loss of one monthers. Supporting the stillness.

The Buddha once said that his teaching directed us toward three principles: sila (ethical conduct), panna (wisdom), and samadhi (firmness of mind). Samadhi is the fundamental principle of a steady and harmonious mind. During samadhi, consciousness is not wavering with each thought but firm and stationary, allowing attention to be bare and free for observation. There is a component of wisdom within samadhi since the mind is resolute and unperturbed by states of mind, yet there is a difference between samadhi and awareness. Awareness is not a state of mind and samadhi is a conditioned state that changes over time; awareness is more easily acknowledged when the mind is firm and steady.

The heavenly messengers that changed the Buddha's life. The cultivation of samadhi. A clear mind, seeing the way things are, leads to liberation.

How mindfulness and compassion facilitate change. Change can be external or internal and be of three types.

Some reflections on whether unhelpful habitual tendencies can be changed and what gets in the way.

How to change and enhance the quality of our mind with samadhi. How this will give us different views and angles to see life. How as a result, our attitude to life may change.

We live on the edge of uncertainty. But do we have to live with anxiety about this fact? The Dharma shows us we are the dynamic change and becoming. This is our own nature. Can we trust this and let go into it?

How to change and enhance the quality of our mind with samadhi. How this will give us different views and angles to see life. How as a result, our attitude to life may change.

this talk also includes Paul Burrows

Through silence and song, sitting practice. Dharma talks, and interactive exercises, we will affirm our capacity to take part in the healing of our world. Each of our lives is played against a backdrop of war-making, hunger, mass extinctions and increasing climate chaos. The Buddha's teachings show how we can respond to the suffering of our time in ways that bring courage, gladness, and deep community. Our day together will draw on the Work That Reconnects, developed by Joanna over the last 35 years, and on Jennifer's soul-expanding music, that has empowered activists the world over. Joanna Macy is known worldwide as a Gaian teacher whose trainings strengthen movements for global justice. Her books include Dharma and Development, Coming Back To Life, Mutual Causality in Buddhist Teachings and Systems Theory, and her memoir Widening Circles, as well as translations of Rilke's poetry. Jennifer Berezan is a renowned singer/songwriter whose work is informed by Buddhist and indigenous teachings as well as her adventures at the forefront of social change. Her concerts and recordings include Praises for the World and her most recent release In These Arms, a Song for All Beings, based on practices of loving kindness and compassion.