|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
|
|
|
| |
|
Dharma Talks
|
2020-09-17
"Contributing Effectively in Times of Crisis" Part 1
53:47
|
|
James Baraz
|
|
|
In this time of great chaos and confusion we look at wisdom thinker Roger Walsh's new essay: "Contributing Effectively in Times of Crisis". We start by looking at four crucial questions:
1) What can I do? 2) What do I feel called to contribute? 3) What's the most strategic thing I can do?
4) How can I live my life so as to be an optimal instrument of service? The talk ends with Melanie DeMore singing I'm Sending You Light"
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
|
|
|
2020-09-17
Buddhist Practice and Nonviolent Action: Transforming Inner and Outer Reactivity, Cultivating Love in Action
45:21
|
|
Donald Rothberg
|
|
|
We explore the deep resonance between Buddhist practice and nonviolent action (in the tradition of Mohandas Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Cesar Chavez, and others). We first examine the core of Buddhist practice as expressed in the Buddha's statement: "I teach dukkha and the end of dukkha; we explicate dukkha as "reactivity." We then show how the nonviolence of Dr. King follows the same core understanding of developing non-reactive and nonviolent responses--for him especially to the institutionalized reactivity of greed and hatred. We identify six basic themes of such nonviolent action, which, in the words of John Lewis, is ultimately "love in action."
|
|
Insight Meditation Tucson
|
|
|
2020-09-16
The Four Remembrances
50:42
|
|
Tara Brach
|
|
|
When we attune to the reality of impermanence and death, we remember what most matters to us. But in daily life we can lose precious swaths of time in a reactive trance, on our way somewhere else, and lost in problem solving, judgment and worry.
This talk reflects on four remembrances or practices—Pausing, Yes to life, Turning toward love, and Resting in awareness—that help us awaken from trance and live true to the loving presence that is our essence.
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
|
|
|
2020-09-10
Holding a Positive Vision
53:47
|
|
James Baraz
|
|
|
It seems like an accomplishment just getting through such tumultuous times--wildfires on the West Coast, storms around the country, coronavirus lockdown and the US in daily chaos. It would be understandable to succumb to anxiety and overwhelm. But as the Buddha taught, practice is about overcoming negative thoughts when they arise and cultivating wholesome thoughts and mind-states. We will explore the importance of holding a positive vision even through the storm.
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
|
|
|
2020-09-09
Awakening from the Trance of Bad-Othering
46:31
|
|
Tara Brach
|
|
|
Great spiritual leaders of social movements teach that true transformation arises from realizing our interconnectedness, and the light of the divine in each being. Sadly, through human history, much suffering has come from perceiving others as bad-others, flawed humans who are excluded from our heart.
This talk looks at how our stories and mistrust of others—in personal relationships and in our society—can lead to cycles of violence, harm, and deepening alienation. We then explore the inner process that helps us shift to “bad behavior, not bad human” and allows us to respond to suffering with love-in-action.
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
|
|
|
2020-09-06
Practicing Dukkha and the End of Dukkha in a Time of Crisis
67:21
|
|
Donald Rothberg
|
|
|
The Buddha said, “I have taught dukkha [usually translated as “suffering”] and the end of dukkha.” This teaching is the heart of our practice, yet it is often misunderstood or even confusing to people, primarily because there are at least four different understandings of dukkha in the teachings. We’ll explore the nature of the teaching, emphasizing particularly the interpretation of dukkha as "reactivity" (particularly linked to the teaching of the Two Arrows or Two Darts), which comes in two forms--grasping or greed, and compulsive pushing away or aversion. We'll point to how we might practice with the teaching at this time of crisis--in our formal practice, in our practice in daily life, and in our work, service, and/or activism.
|
|
White Heron Sangha
|
|
|
2020-09-03
The Buddha as a Social Activist.
43:20
|
|
James Baraz
|
|
|
Sometimes the teachings seem to suggest a life of withdrawing from the world. But the Buddha himself was an example of engagement and could even be called a political revolutionary. As we try to sort out how to apply the teachings, (including duties of a good ruler) to contemporary issues, it can help to see his teachings in that light.
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
|
|
|
2020-09-02
Meditation: Relaxing Back into Awareness
21:28
|
|
Tara Brach
|
|
|
When we are in our daily trance, we are often leaning forward, on our way somewhere else. In this meditation we are guided to relax back into the awareness that is always, already here. We explore relaxing back through a body scan, and then with all our senses wide open. With practice we increasingly find our pathway home by relaxing the clench of doings, and resting in what is.
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
|
|
|
2020-09-02
Transforming Your Relationship with Anxiety
1:19:29
|
|
Tara Brach
|
|
|
Strong anxiety frequently triggers fight-flight-freeze, our survival brain’s strategy for dealing with threats. This can become a trance that dominates our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and deepest experience of who we are. This talk explores how we get caught in this reactive trance, and ways of calming anxiety and radically shifting our way of relating to the experience of threat. The gift is discovering an inner freedom in the midst of life, and the capacity to respond to what arises with love-in-action.
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
|
|
|
2020-08-31
talk: Right Livelihood
36:43
|
|
Jill Shepherd
|
|
|
Expanding the traditional understanding of Right Livelihood to include all aspects of how we live, including what we produce and what we consume
|
|
Sydney Insight Meditators
|
|
|
|
|
