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Dharma Talks
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2018-07-22
22 The Comfort Place Is Here
57:24
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Ajahn Sucitto
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The end of retreat provides the occasion to experience endings and separation. Check the tendency to rush into the future, the desire to get out of the uncomfortable and move towards the comfort zone. These boundaries of entering something unknown are important places to pause and notice what’s happening. The comfort place is here, don’t leave it. Feel the disturbances, and meet them with mindful and loving acceptance.
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Madison Insight Meditation Group
:
Madison Vipassana Retreat: A Detox for the Heart
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2018-06-27
Inquiring into Our Relationship to and Ideas around Desire
25:32
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Catherine McGee
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Please Note: This series of teachings is from a retreat for experienced practitioners led by Rob Burbea and Catherine McGee. Although they attempt to outline and elaborate a little on some of the basics of Soulmaking Dharma practice, still the requirements for participation on the retreat included some understanding of and working familiarity with practices of emptiness, samatha, metta, the emotional/energy body, and the imaginal, as well as basic mindfulness practice; without this experience it is possible that the material and teachings from this retreat will be difficult to understand and confusing for some.
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Gaia House
:
Foundations of a Soulmaking Dharma
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2018-06-27
Wisdom and Desire
52:39
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Rob Burbea
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Please Note: This series of teachings is from a retreat for experienced practitioners led by Rob Burbea and Catherine McGee. Although they attempt to outline and elaborate a little on some of the basics of Soulmaking Dharma practice, still the requirements for participation on the retreat included some understanding of and working familiarity with practices of emptiness, samatha, metta, the emotional/energy body, and the imaginal, as well as basic mindfulness practice; without this experience it is possible that the material and teachings from this retreat will be difficult to understand and confusing for some.
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Gaia House
:
Foundations of a Soulmaking Dharma
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2018-02-09
Soulful Attitude to Dukkha in Twoness
5:15
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Catherine McGee
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-09
Nothing Happens By Itself
8:35
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-08
A Temenos Exercise (in threes)
56:22
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Catherine McGee
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-08
Discernment in Soulmaking (Q & A)
57:05
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-08
The Rhythms of Soulmaking and Elements of the Imaginal (23 - 28)
40:00
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-07
A Temenos Exercise (in threes)
1:23:19
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-07
Destiny, Autonomy, Love, and Soul (Q & A)
39:46
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-07
The Soulmaking Dynamic and Elements of the Imaginal (19 - 22)
25:03
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Catherine McGee
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-06
Elements of the Imaginal (15 - 18)
31:09
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-06
Soulmaking Rivers (Q & A)
51:32
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-06
Inquiry - Deepening One's Relationship with an Imaginal Element
46:41
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Catherine McGee
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-06
Elements of the Imaginal (11 - 14)
26:18
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Catherine McGee
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-05
A Temenos Exercise (in fours)
64:27
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-05
Transformation in Soul (Q & A)
36:42
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-05
Soulful Movement and Elements of the Imaginal (6 - 10)
43:52
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-04
The Miracle of Twoness
7:36
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Catherine McGee
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-04
Trusting in Soulmaking (Q & A)
34:27
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-04
Chanting and Elements of the Imaginal (3 - 5)
39:34
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Catherine McGee
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-04
To Sense with Soul
12:08
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-03
Elements of the Imaginal (1 - 2)
35:54
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2018-02-03
Body and Soul (Q & A)
32:43
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Rob Burbea
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The talks and exercises from this 'Tending the Holy Fire' retreat are intended for experienced practitioners who already have a working familiarity with this particular Soulmaking paradigm, as outlined, for example, in the following retreats: 'The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course)'; 'Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception'; and 'Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire'. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course. Without this practice and knowledge base, the material from this retreat may be confusing and unhelpful.
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Freely Given Retreats
:
Tending the Holy Fire
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2017-12-09
The Peace of Not-Clinging: A Guided Meditation
20:23
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Shaila Catherine
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Shaila Catherine offers this 20-minute teaching on impermanence and not-clinging in the mode of guided meditation instructions. We practice being unattached to pleasant and unpleasant feelings and releasing all clinging connected with sensual desire or aversion. To cultivate non-clinging, first notice the experience of clinging, perhaps by observing physical tightness, mental contraction, or a sense of separation. As you become mindful of the changing nature of experiences, allow yourself to deeply accept this fact of impermanence. Allow experiences to arise and be known, and also let them end.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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2017-10-17
Mahakaccana: Clarifying the Most Cryptic Teachings
42:18
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Shaila Catherine
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Shaila Catherine concluded our lecture series on the Great Disciples, with a talk about the Venerable Mahakaccana. He was a monk famous for explaining difficult and perplexing teachings. The Buddha sometimes gave brief teachings that left the listeners confused. Sometimes the disciples did not ask the Buddha questions to clarify their doubt. Instead they sought out another monk to elucidate the matter and explain the detailed meaning. The Pali Canon preserves several insightful discourses in which initial enigmatic teachings by the Buddha are systematically explained by Venerable Mahakaccana. He addresses profound topics including the construction of I-making and mine-making, craving, conceit, views, mindfulness of sense perceptions, obsession with thoughts of past and future, and overcoming desire and lust. His methods of exposition became the basis of early commentary, and Mahakaccana became known as the first Buddhist commentator.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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In
collection:
The Great Disciples: People and Personalities in the Buddha's Community
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2017-07-10
Buddhist Studies Course - Week 1 - The Five Hindrances
1:27:49
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Mark Nunberg
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This seven-week course examines the Buddha’s teachings on the five hindrances that undermine the clarity and stability of mind. These afflictive states are often regular visitors for meditators. With practice, sense desire, aversion, dullness, restlessness, and doubt can be more quickly recognized with a non-judging awareness in a way that neutralizes their disturbing and obscuring effect on the mind. Developing these skills goes to the heart of calming the mind and living in a skillful and compassionate way
Here are some study resources that you can use:
-Gil Fronsdal’s new book, Unhindered: A Mindful Path Through the Five Hindrances, is now available. Of course, you can order a copy through Amazon. But you could support one of our local independent book stores. I have asked Moon Palace Books at 3260 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis (612) 454-0455 to order some copies for us. It might take them several days to have them in stock. I'll send an email when they are in. Gil's book provides a detailed discussion of each of the five hindrances. The book also provides instruction on how to turn the light of mindfulness directly on the hindrances so to transform them from obstructions to steps along the path of freedom. Overcoming the hindrances reveals the beauty of our hearts and the wisdom of a clear mind.
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Common Ground Meditation Center
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Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances
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2017-03-29
Opening to Desire and the Imaginal (Q & A)
40:24
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Rob Burbea
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Please Note: This series of talks is from a retreat led by Rob Burbea and Catherine McGee for experienced practitioners. The requirements for participation included some understanding of and working familiarity with practices of emptiness, samatha, metta, the emotional/energy body, and the imaginal, as well as basic mindfulness practice. Without this experience it is possible that the material and teachings from this retreat will be difficult to understand and confusing for some.
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Gaia House
:
Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire
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2017-03-29
Instructions: Opening to the Current of Desire
30:12
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Rob Burbea
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Please Note: This series of talks is from a retreat led by Rob Burbea and Catherine McGee for experienced practitioners. The requirements for participation included some understanding of and working familiarity with practices of emptiness, samatha, metta, the emotional/energy body, and the imaginal, as well as basic mindfulness practice. Without this experience it is possible that the material and teachings from this retreat will be difficult to understand and confusing for some.
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Gaia House
:
Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire
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2017-03-26
The Problem of Desire
58:16
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Rob Burbea
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Please Note: This series of talks is from a retreat led by Rob Burbea and Catherine McGee for experienced practitioners. The requirements for participation included some understanding of and working familiarity with practices of emptiness, samatha, metta, the emotional/energy body, and the imaginal, as well as basic mindfulness practice. Without this experience it is possible that the material and teachings from this retreat will be difficult to understand and confusing for some.
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Gaia House
:
Of Hermits and Lovers: The Alchemy of Desire
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2017-03-15
Realizing Your Deepest Desires
52:19
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Tara Brach
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This talk differentiates between egoic intentions (driven by wants and fears), and our true aspiration (deepest desires) to manifest our full potential for awake awareness and love. We explore ways to realize and open to our deepest desires when we are stuck in self-promotion, grasping and conflict, so that our aspiration becomes a compass of the heart that can guide us in living with wisdom and compassion.
“What’s my deepest intention. What really matters?”
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
:
IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2017-02-18
Opening The Dharma of Desire (Part 2)
1:19:13
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Rob Burbea
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PLEASE NOTE: This series of talks is intended for experienced practitioners who have already developed some understanding of and working familiarity with practices of emptiness, samatha, metta, the emotional/energy body, and the imaginal, as well as basic mindfulness practice. In particular, it is strongly recommended that before approaching this set you study and work with the material from the following talks and series: The Theatre of Selves (Parts 1 - 3); Approaching the Dharma, Part 1 (Unbinding the World), and Part 2 (Liberating Ways of Looking); the three-part series Questioning Awakening, Buddhism Beyond Modernism, In Praise of Restlessness; Image, Mythos, Dharma (Parts 1 - 3); An Ecology of Love (Parts 1 - 4); The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course); and Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course.
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Gaia House
:
Eros Unfettered - Opening the Dharma of Desire
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2017-02-17
Opening The Dharma of Desire (Part 1)
68:38
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Rob Burbea
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PLEASE NOTE: This series of talks is intended for experienced practitioners who have already developed some understanding of and working familiarity with practices of emptiness, samatha, metta, the emotional/energy body, and the imaginal, as well as basic mindfulness practice. In particular, it is strongly recommended that before approaching this set you study and work with the material from the following talks and series: The Theatre of Selves (Parts 1 - 3); Approaching the Dharma, Part 1 (Unbinding the World), and Part 2 (Liberating Ways of Looking); the three-part series Questioning Awakening, Buddhism Beyond Modernism, In Praise of Restlessness; Image, Mythos, Dharma (Parts 1 - 3); An Ecology of Love (Parts 1 - 4); The Path of the Imaginal (Longer Course); and Re-enchanting the Cosmos: The Poetry of Perception. Integrating that previous material and also taking the talks in this new set in their intended order will, for most, support a better and fuller understanding of the teachings from this course.
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Gaia House
:
Eros Unfettered - Opening the Dharma of Desire
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2016-09-19
Buddhist Studies Course - Understanding Sensuality - Week 1
1:26:32
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Mark Nunberg
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This first part of the course is emphasizing the actual experience of sense gratification. In other words, we are learning how to be interested, intimate and discerning as the sensitive heart connects with the reality of this world of sensuality. Are we willing to meet this sense world honestly, with real interest in order to better understand the experience of gratification?
Here are some reflections for week two in preparation for small group discussions:
What have you learned in specifically observing, being intimate with experiences of gratification of sense experience.
How have you experienced happiness in the past? How much of this happiness has been related to the gratification of desire?
Reflect on the experiences of gratification and disappointment. What is the ongoing effect of these past successes and failures on your life?
Honestly map out those places in your life where you see enchantment with sense experience. For example, desires that seem to promise real lasting happiness for oneself.
Below are Study Materials for Week 1 and Week 2:
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Common Ground Meditation Center
:
Buddhist Studies Course - Understanding Sensuality
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Attached Files:
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Dhamma - A Gradual Training
by Access to Insight
(Link)
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Buddha's discourse (sutta MN 13) The Great Mass of Stress
(Google Doc)
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Buddhist Sexual Ethics by Winton Higgins with a Rejoinder by Ajahn Brahmavamso, Ajahn Nanadhammo,
(Google Doc)
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Worldly Happiness / Buddhist Happiness: What the Buddha really taught by Mu Soeng, Parabola
(Google Doc)
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Sallatha Sutta: The Arrow (The Dart), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
(Google Doc)
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2016-06-09
Mindfulness with Breathing
1:13:48
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Shaila Catherine
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Shaila Catherine gave the first talk in a four-week series titled "Cultivating Mindfulness." This talk focused on using the breath as the meditation object. When we observe our breath, our mind is free from unwholesome states, such as anger, greed, or doubt, because we are simply connecting with the very ordinary experience of breathing. We are not being pushed or pulled by desire or aversion. In fact, when we connect with the breath, we experience ease and happiness.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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In
collection:
Cultivating Mindfulness
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2016-04-14
Sacred Activism Part 4: Holding a Vision
54:31
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James Baraz
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Besides learning how to work with various emotions and reactions that come up in response to various events, it's important to hold an inspiring vision of possibilities so that we are motivated to work toward that desired outcome. Dharma concepts such as Clear Comprehension of Purpose can be applied to help us create an inspiring vision. Joanna Macy's Active Hope and Andrew Harvey's outline of current positive developments that give one hope are included.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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IMCB Regular Talks
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2015-12-09
Desire: A Current of Homecoming
1:13:53
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Tara Brach
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Desire is intrinsic to our aliveness, yet when we have unmet needs, it can possess us. This talk explores how to relax open the grip of wanting and heal the suffering of addiction. You will learn how to bring mindfulness and compassion to the roots of desire, and be carried home to open loving presence.
“Recovery is also about spirit – about dealing with that ‘hole in the soul’ … so how does this hole get filled and become holy space?”
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2015-10-19
Bowing to Instinct and Embracing Desire
51:54
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Leela Sarti
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A gnawing sense of incompleteness underlies much of our experience. Desire is thehuman response to the discontent described in the first noble truth.
Desire and human istinctual nature cannot be supressed, so what does it mean to bow
down to our nature and practice in a way that truly embraces the fact that we are
animals, with a hunger for life and experiences? We must learn to use desire, not be
used by it, but in our practice we have to take to heart that there is more to desire
than suffering. There is a yearning that is as spiritual as it is sensual and there is a drive
for trancendence that is implicit in the most sensual of desires.
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Gaia House
:
Embodying the Awakened Heart
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2015-08-06
Three Poisons
44:02
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Bob Stahl
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This talk by Bob Stahl is the fifth in a speaker series titled Fundamental Buddhist Principles 2015. The Three Poisons are greed, hatred and ignorance. They are called the three poisons because they fuel suffering. For example, the nature of desire keeps us wanting something that we can’t quite get. The suffering is the misconception that we need to get that something outside of ourselves in order to be whole. Fortunately, the antidote is simply the relinquishment of the poison. By relinquishing greed, in its place arises contentment. By relinquishing hatred, in its place arises open heartedness. By relinquishing ignorance, in its place arises clear seeing into the nature of things and into the causes of suffering and the path to freedom.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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In
collection:
Fundamental Buddhist Principles 2015
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2015-07-21
Precepts: The Gift of Fearlessness
28:24
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Shaila Catherine
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This talk by Shaila Catherine is the first in a speaker series titled Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts. It offers an over view of the five precepts (sila) as training tools for bringing mindfulness and restraint into our actions, relationships, and daily life activities. These basic guidelines for living an ethical life, and the power of restraint are as relevant in the modern world as they were in ancient India. Taking care with our actions can be a source of joy and happiness. When our actions are clear, the mind is free from regret, guilt, and remorse; we gain self-respect, self-esteem, and confidence. The four bases of success (iddhipadas) can be used to strengthen these training precepts. With the support of desire, energy, consciousness, and investigation we can fully commit to abstain from unwholesome actions, and develop wholesome states, thereby gaining sovereignty over our own mind.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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In
collection:
Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts
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2014-12-15
Some points to notice about the Mind
57:29
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Review thoroughly how your mind works; the world is created by the mind in this very body; seeing uncertainty; using the body to receive and allow the citta to calm; see how the citta sits on its worry and flies on its desire and is carried along by its fear; the citta sankhara never stops creating reasons why it has to keep going just a little bit further; watch how craving paints the world with beautiful but very thin paint. You can do it, you can see it. Pause, check, be aware.
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Young Buddhists Association of Thailand
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Ajahn Sucitto YBAT Silent Retreat
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2014-10-14
Many Kinds of Thoughts
41:01
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Shaila Catherine
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This talk was given by Shaila Catherine as a part of the series "Enhancing Mindfulness Skills: A Seven-Week Series Dedicated to Cultivating Transformative Insight."
Mindful of the thinking process, we explore how thoughts function in our lives. Unwholesome mental patterns can reinforce obsessive desires, identification, rigid opinions, and attachment to belief systems. What patterns are most common for you—planning, rumination, fantasy, rehearsing, daydreaming, judging, comparing, fixing, instructing? We observe the types of thoughts that arise, and reflect on whether those thoughts support our values and purpose. We learn to let go of unskillful thoughts and then focus our attention so that we use the mind skillfully. Buddhist tradition identifies three sources for proliferating thought: craving, conceit, and views. By examining the sources of conceptual proliferation, we can curb the wandering tendencies of mind.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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2014-01-24
Equanimity
67:31
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Marcia Rose
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Equanimity is the equipoise…the balance or equilibrium between the opposing forces in the mind of the desired and the undesired. It is that point of balance in the middle of the see-saw of life and is based on a clear presence of mind. Two insights that are the basis of equanimity are the understanding of karma and insight into the nature of not-self.
Both of these understandings are explored in this talk in relationship to equanimity.
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Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge
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January 2014 at IMS - Forest Refuge
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2013-11-05
Dependent Origination: Aging
58:27
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Rodney Smith
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As we move from birth to aging, the sense-of-self is dragged along in time, and we begin to notice the effects of memory and accumulated experiences on consciousness. Aging can create a burdened and heavy toll, but when used correctly this maturation process can culminate in wisdom and help us understand Dependent Origination. Maturation brings perspective and when coupled with dharma practice, it reveals the limitations and struggles inherent in our desires and aversions and begins to free us from many of our youthful oppressive states of mind. It can also slowly season our intention toward moving into the here and now. But aging can also be a time of great protest and bitterness. Our life did not turn out the way we wanted, and we now see only death in front of us. We must close this bitterness gap quickly, or it will define our later years. If bitterness arises, ask, "In the present what is left unfulfilled? What is left to do? In the present, how has the past betrayed me?" Our bitterness cannot enter the present, because the present sees the past and future as thoughts arising in the present. Here then is the final step of our maturation. Do we want to carry ourselves through time and arrive at our death with all the scar tissue time gives us, or do we want to enter the timeless present and leave ourselves behind?
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Seattle Insight Meditation Society
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In
collection:
Dependent Origination
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2013-10-22
Dependent Origination: Birth
56:54
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Rodney Smith
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Becoming, the previous link in Dependent Origination, is not continuous; it moves from birth to birth to birth as the necessary conditions come together that foster its arising. It is useful to get a sense of the birthing experience of self and what the conditions are that bring this about. Instead of trying to catch your origin, which is a little like trying to observe the first moment after your mind wanders, get a sense of how you inflate, relative to the strength and intensity of the thoughts you have. Notice in times of relative quiet how the egoic sense of you is markedly diminished, and at times of reactivity or heightened enthusiasm, the sense of you is large and noisy. Don't explain this away by saying that "you" became noisy and self-righteous because you care about the issue. Take the personal out of the observation and just notice your relative size as a phenomenon related to the noise of your thoughts and emotions. As this increases, so does that; as this diminishes, so does that. Now contemplate this question: how does the noise of your inflation move in accordance with desire and clinging?
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Seattle Insight Meditation Society
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In
collection:
Dependent Origination
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2013-09-29
Contentment with Voidness
39:14
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Shaila Catherine
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This talk explores the concepts of self and not-self, and how we conceive of a self by clinging to sensory experiences. How do you construct the sense of being a someone, and the notion that you possess something? The process of selfing is addressed as a form of thought. We can intentionally investigate how the identification forms, what it depends upon, and liberate the mind from it's hold.
Restless thinking often fuels self concepts with thoughts about me, what I desire, or the projects I am planning. The formation of identity is seductive, and even jhana states and meditative attainments can become the basis for clinging if the meditator is not watchful. As we awaken to the empty nature of mind, we might ask: will nothing be enough? Do you experience in seeing, only seeing; in hearing, only the hearing; in sensing, only sensing; in cognizing, only the cognizing? Or does the habit of conceiving of a self in experience complicate perception and cause discontent with the basic truth of emptiness?
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Insight Meditation Center of the Mid-Peninsula
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2013-09-17
Dependent Origination: Becoming
52:31
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Rodney Smith
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With the link of Becoming the sense-of-self is now fully alive within the dynamics of the mind. It does not exist outside of the mind as it likes to believe but as a working confluent whole with the other links of Dependent Origination. The sense-of-self wants to assume the "someone" who is receiving the desired object so it can chase after them, but to do so it has to spin the deception that it is the owner of the mental phenomena. To be perceived as the owner, the sense-of-self fractures the perception into the subject and object: me and my mind, or me and the object I want. Once the deception is complete it must continue to think in terms of past and future to keep the illusion going. If the mind becomes quiet, the past and future ends and the whole of the mind falls into the present where sparation cannot be maintained.
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Seattle Insight Meditation Society
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In
collection:
Dependent Origination
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2013-08-27
Dependent Origination: Grasping and Clinging
57:24
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Rodney Smith
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When the energy of self-formation moves through desire to clinging, there is a dramatic change in intensity. The grasping feels like a compelling need of the organism. We may feel that we must have this experience in order for life to be worthwhile, and we are usually willing to do whatever is needed to obtain it. The energy is very tightly bound to the sense of survival. The Buddha grouped the areas of clinging in four broad categories: (1) pleasurable experiences, (2) views and opinions, (3) rites and rituals, and (4) belief in self. When we see the ferocity of our need to procure and defend our right for pleasure, our personal and political opinions, the indoctrinated beliefs in our religious views and practices, and the obstinate way we defend our self-image, we begin to understand the entrenched positions our egoic state stands upon.
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Seattle Insight Meditation Society
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In
collection:
Dependent Origination
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2013-08-13
Dependent Origination: Desire
61:24
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Rodney Smith
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We think of desire as a spiritually undesirable state of mind. Because it holds such power over our actions and thoughts, we are reluctant to thoroughly take it on and explore what it is. Desire is not just one simple state of mind. It is the composition of all the links that preceded it in Dependent Origination, the confluence of ignorance, mental formations, consciousness, name and form, six sense base, contact, and feelings. It holds all of that and the idea of "me" as well. As an analogy, think of snow as being the composite of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, etc. Snow seems like something separate and different from the conditions that form it, but it is those conditions. We can enter and examine the energy of desire through any of these composite conditions. Encouraged by our thoughts, desire also has a strong sense of becoming something, something essential to us. But when we look at desire, it is a future thought holding the wish of a different life. Sad, is it not? When properly seen, we can you feel the grief of the unfulfilled desire?
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Seattle Insight Meditation Society
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In
collection:
Dependent Origination
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2013-05-19
What Do I Really Want?
44:03
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Martin Aylward
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Avoiding fixed positions and judgements about desire, Martin encourages an open inquiry into wanting. He examines the root of all desire; wanting things to be different, and explores how we can use wanting as a mirror to learn from our reflected experience. The talk points towards the deep desire to give up our endless interventions and manipulation of our experience, and discusses the freedom of undemanding, undefended, undistracted awareness.
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Gaia House
:
Right Now It's Like This...
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2013-04-16
Dependent Origination: Formations of Mind (2)
66:18
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Rodney Smith
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We continue our exploration of the second link of Dependent Origination, Mental Formations. Mental formations consist of everything "formed" by the mind. We can understand why some spiritual traditions call these displays "dreamlike" and "illusory" when they come from nothing and seem to form into something meaningful, but the meaning is an internal response to the image and not intrinsic to the image itself. We can directly observe their transparency, and yet at the same time be fooled by their presentation. In the same way we become mentally enmeshed in the rapid succession of two dimensional celluloid still pictures (called a movie), likewise we translate our mental formations into our life's story. The reality we give life is derived from these mental images. They form us and the world and establish a hunger (called desire) to reconnect with what is true and lasting. At first we attempt to discover this through our worldly pursuits, but we eventually awaken to the fact that what is true and lasting cannot be found within those images. <br />
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Seattle Insight Meditation Society
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In
collection:
Dependent Origination
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2012-05-29
Fundamentals of the Dharma: Wise Intention
58:43
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Rodney Smith
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Wise intention is the energy that moves all spiritual practices forward. We mistakenly think it is our willpower, but it is always and only our intention. There are two expressions of intention: the primary intention associated with the longing to be free and the secondary intention for gain and acquisition. The secondary is formed by the mind from the primary intention, and that is the reason we believe that satisfaction can come through desire. The mind tells us that. For the energy to be reinvested back into the primary we have to prove to ourselves that secondary gains will never be truly fulfilling. That is what is left for many of us to do.
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Seattle Insight Meditation Society
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In
collection:
Fundamentals of the Dharma
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2012-02-14
What Must Be Known
34:58
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Shaila Catherine
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What do we need to know, understand, investigate, and realize through our meditation practice? In the Anguttara Nikaya. VI, 63, the Buddha described six things that should be known in six ways. The six things to be known include desires, feelings, perceptions, taints, kamma (actions of body speech and mind), and suffering. Each can be known through their presence, conditioned origin, diversity, outcome, cessation, and way to cessation. This talk explores the structure and details of this brief sutta teaching, and proposes a practical approach to investigating the mind and our relationship with life.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
:
Tuesday Talks—2012
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In
collection:
Buddhist Perspectives on Right View
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2012-01-30
A Mind Free
50:54
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Mark Coleman
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The Buddha's teaching on Papancha - the proliferating tendency of mind - obscures a natural freedom and peace. This talk explores how proliferation happens conditioned by desire, aversion, views and the sense of personal identity and how awareness is key in understanding this pattern and freeing it.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
:
Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2012-01-27
Psychotherapy and Meditation
1:47:01
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Mark Epstein
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This evening’s talk will address the overlap between psychotherapy and meditation, from the perspective of a Western psychiatrist whose introduction to the study of the mind came through Buddhist meditation. Discussion will center on how primal emotions like aggression and desire are handled. While it is often assumed that Buddhism counsels suppression or eradication of such energies, Mark Epstein will propose another model. Drawn from his studies of both D.W. Winnicott and the Buddha, this evening’s presentation will use the Buddha’s own inner struggle as a model for our own. Meditation instruction will be offered.
Mark Epstein is a Harvard trained psychiatrist with a private practice in New York City. A longtime student of Joseph Golstein and Jack Kornfield, he is the author of a number of works about the overlap of Buddhism and psychotherapy, including Thoughts without a Thinker, Going to Pieces without Falling Apart, and Psychotherapy without the Self.
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New York Insight Meditation Center
:
NYI Regular Talks
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