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Dharma Talks
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2012-02-21
Danger of Fixation
36:05
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Shaila Catherine
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How does suffering manifest in attachment to views? This talk explores right view and addresses the danger of attaching to a position, philosophy, belief, or opinion. Primary sources are the teachings from the Middle Length discourses numbers 72 and 74. Recognizing the dangers of attachment and clinging to beliefs and opinions, we directly investigate what can be known in the mind and body. This is a pragmatic path of mindful awareness that results in actions that are immediately liberating.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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Tuesday Talks—2012
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In
collection:
Buddhist Perspectives on Right View
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2011-07-19
A Raft to Nibbana
29:08
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Ayya Medhanandi
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What else is there to do in this life but know the truth of what we are and deepen in wisdom and compassion. Our spiritual map leads us out of the darkness to a purity and clarity of understanding. Here we are, secure in the raft of the heart, braving the tempestuous currents of the world. Yet we are forever tuned to awareness of our true nature. We carefully examine our attachments and let go, guided to freedom from the poisons and dangers of the world. At last, we shall know the irreversible and liberating joys of the Way.
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Ottawa Buddhist Society
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2011-05-21
Habits, Action and Personality
46:13
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Shaila Catherine
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Underlying tendencies (toward greed, hate, and delusion) fuel habits that obstruct our freedom. Tendencies toward irritation, anger, craving, and ignorance may arise in times of stress when our mindfulness is weak, and they distort our perception of things. But tendencies arise in both luxurious and modest environments, in situations of comfort as well as pain. How we relate to experience reinforces patterns and conditioning. Greed, hate, and delusion are causes for the arising of kamma (karma). The simile of the two darts describes the difference between simply enduring bodily feelings of pain, and proliferating reactions of anger and aversion that add suffering to our pain. This talk explores the primary tendencies of sensual desire, anger, and ignorance, and shows how we can free the mind from their influence in our everyday life.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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Everyday Dhamma—Teachings for the Lay Life
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2011-02-23
When We are Lost
1:19:30
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Tara Brach
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It's part of our make up to get lost in the trance of thinking-- to believe our thoughts to be real and to live in the story of a separate, endangered self. It is also our capacity to recognize our trance and choose presence. This talk explores how the practice of pausing and arriving in the aliveness of our senses opens us to our natural compassion and wisdom, and enables us to experience the great mystery we are part of.
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2009-06-17
Practicing with Anger, pt II
59:58
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Donald Rothberg
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We review and fill out some of the themes from part I, why it is important and yet often confusing to work with anger; and several guidelines and tools (mindfulness, reflection, heart practices) for practicing with anger individually. We add an overview of how to practice with anger in relational an social contexts with others, focusing especially on skillful speech.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2009-06-10
Practicing with Anger, Pt I
60:12
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Donald Rothberg
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For many of us, it is hard to know how to practice with anger. We explore some of the reasons for confusion about anger, including the mixed messages we get about anger in many settings, the different connotations of what is translated as "anger" East and West, and the conditioning around anger. We then outline three ways of more "inner" work with anger, through 1) mindfulness, 2) reflections and 3) heart practices like lovingkindness, compassion and forgiveness.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2009-03-11
Without Anxiety About Imperfection
1:17:06
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Tara Brach
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The nature of being human is that we get caught in anger and judgment, hurt and fear. This talk explores what it means to be without anxiety towards this universal emotional conditioning as it appears in ourselves and others. Condemning imperfection binds our identity with an imperfect self. As we learn to pause and open to the direct embodied experience of emotions, we discover a space of presence that is filled with compassion and wisdom. Like the ocean, we can include difficult waves of experience and yet remember our inherent vastness, mystery and wholeness.
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2008-11-06
The Dharma Practice Of Facing The Crises Of Our Times
1:10:19
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Donald Rothberg
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The challenges and crises of our times are immense - at the current time, there are economic, political, ethical and ecological crises, among others. To face these crises as practice demands, however, the same qualities demanded by the immensity of awakening -- (1) wisdom expressed as the ability to hold together opposites, (2) a deep listening for our calling, (3) a toolbox of skillful means, (4) a heart to transform difficult emotions, such as anger, fear and sadness, and (5) continual persistence and growing confidence in liberation.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Path of Engagement #4
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2008-08-13
Let Everything Happen To You
1:16:40
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Tara Brach
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The ways we try to control our life imprisons us in a contracted, fearful sense of self. Yet when we contemplate letting go of control, there is a sense that we will be endangered, that we will fail, that something will go wrong. This talk explores how, if we have the courage to "let everything happen" we discover a presence that is healing and freeing. As we learn to live from this allowing presence, our actions become naturally wholesome and wise.
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2007-10-31
Practicing With Thoughts And Emotions
61:22
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Donald Rothberg
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Mindfulness of thoughts and emotions gives us one of our great resources for applying our practice in daily life -- in the midst of work, relationships, and family. Here we explore some general qualities of mindfulness, then explore the guidelines of "RAIN" -- recognition, acceptance, inquiry and non-identification -- applying this approach to the experiencing of anger. Next week we explore skillful action with thoughts and emotions.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2007-09-15
The Wilderness of Anger
69:48
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Ayya Medhanandi
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Why does anger cause us so much misery? As long as we feed it, anger insidiously undermines our spiritual work. Mindful and aware, we learn to refrain from feeding that angry dog and we loosen its foothold within the mind. By the power of loving-kindness and compassion, we disarm anger's toxicity and restore peace. These are the supreme medicines that will guide us through the wilderness of anger.
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National University of Singapore Buddhhist Society
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2007-05-01
Metta Chants In Pali, Burmese And English
41:53
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Ariya B. Baumann
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Why Do We Chant?
While the Buddha was alive his words were recorded by monks and nuns who recited or chanted them and in this way, stored them in their memories. In time, and especially after the Buddha’s Parinibbāna, these chants became not only times to check the teaching, but also occasions to express one's devotion and confidence in the Buddha and an inspiration for one’s own practice and aspirations.
Over the centuries, additional verses have been composed by those teaching and transmitting the Dhamma as an aid to understanding the essence of the Dhamma. These verses are also regularly chanted by devoted Buddhists and practitioners.
When done with the right attitude, chanting is beneficial to one's practice. It reminds one of the Dhamma, and one is less likely to forget it. When meditation is not possible due to inner or outer disturbances, chanting can produce calm and peace within, as well as arouse energy and inspiration. One's confidence increases, and as a result, one feels lighter in body and mind.
The main body of the chants on this CD are mettā chants. They are preceeded by the verses of paying homage, going for refuge, and contemplating the attributes of the Triple Gem. The various mettā chants are followed by verses of dedication and sharing of merit and a blessing.
Mettā means loving kindness, friendliness, or goodwill. Mettā meditation aims to cultivate these qualities in one's heart and mind. Through the repeated development of these wholesome qualities, one becomes more compassionate and loving, thus reducing unwholesome qualities such as anger, ill will, or hatred.
Dedication and Aspiration
This CD is dedicated to the well-being and happiness of my parents, my teacher Chanmyay Sayadaw, my other spiritual teachers, my spiritual friends, and all living beings.
May the sounds of these chants echo throughout the entire world, so that they are heard in every corner of the three worlds. May everyone's heart be filled with strong and genuine mettā, and in this way, contribute to harmony, kindness, and peace among living beings.
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2007-03-12
Ethical Footprint
27:47
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Ayya Medhanandi
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How can we calm the mind in order to not be overwhelmed by thoughts and emotions? We can learn to live skillfully by realizing how the mind and body really work. Don’t be angry with your anger, don’t be caught up with your desires, don’t be overwhelmed by your delusion. But, go beyond and find an island of peace that can result in the ethical perfection that is known as enlightenment. A talk given during an Ottawa Buddhist Society 10 day retreat in Arnprior, Ontario, Canada.
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Sati Saraniya Hermitage
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2005-04-14
The Guests Come and Go
23:11
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Ayya Medhanandi
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“Being human is a guest house” wrote Rumi. Every day we greet new arrivals – joys, sorrows, hostilities and more; and moments of awareness too. We bow to the present moment and greet them all, be they thorns or unruly monsters like malice, shame, fear, anger or greed. Can we see them all just as they are, painful or pleasant – impermanent, not ours, not who we are? Can we let them come and go, and be grateful? Treat whatever passes through the heart as empty. After all, these are karmic messengers from beyond bearing unique spiritual gifts. For in their presence, we strengthen our practice. Wisely attentive, reflective, and aware, we are on the magnificent path of waking up.
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Bodhinyanarama Monastery, Stokes Valley, New Zealand
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2004-01-01
The Present Moment
66:01
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Thanissaro Bhikkhu
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GET REAL
Reality is threatening when we try to live in our stories and preconceived notions. But when the mind is free of the falsity of delusion, things that are real pose no danger to the mind.
RIGHT NOW
What you're doing right now is very important -- a principle that applies to any 'right now,' because what you're doing right now is always shaping 'right now' as well as the future.
JUST THIS BREATH
In one breath you've got everything you need for the practice, so be fully aware right here, and the fullness of your awareness will develop over time without your having to pace yourself or to plan ahead.
SHAPING YOUR LIFE
As meditators, we can easily slip into the attitude that we're like people watching T.V. -- passive consumers, watching a reality that's ready-made -- but that's not what's really going on. We've always active, always shaping things, even when we seem to be perfectly still. The purpose of the meditation is to be more careful about our intentions, more alert about how we're shaping things.
DEVELOPING YOUR POTENTIAL
The simple things we already have in the present can be put together in such a way that they can lead to true happiness. We don't have to go searching outside. All we need is to develop what's right here.
FIVE TALKS ON ONE CASSETTE OR CD
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Metta Forest Monastery
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2004-01-01
Exploring The Breath
1:11:52
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Thanissaro Bhikkhu
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INTRODUCTION TO BREATH MEDITATION
Learn how to enjoy keeping the mind with the breath. If you spend time with the breath, you get sensitive not only to the breath, but also to what the mind is doing in the present moment and to the way it causes unnecessary suffering for itself.
GETTING TO KNOW THE BREATH
We live with the breath, and yet we don’t know it, and as a result don’t get as much out of it as we could. The breath can provide food, clothing, shelter, and medicine for the mind if you take the time to get to know it well.
INSIGHT FROM THE BREATH
The type of insight that’s going to make a difference in the mind has to come from the mind’s being solidly based. So, until your mindfulness of the breath is really solid, this is where you want to focus all your efforts.
WHY THE BREATH
The breath is like a mirror for the mind. When there’s greed, anger, delusion, they’ll show up in the breath. And you find that not only does the breath reflect the mind, but you can use the breath to have a positive effect on the mind as well.
THE FULLNESS OF THE BREATH
When the breath in the body is full, you find that it’s really resilient and eases your burdens in lots of ways. So experiment to see what a “full breath” is.
THE BREATH'S POTENTIAL
The mind is like an animal: that if it hasn’t been trained it’s difficult to live with. Once we train it, though, it stops creating so much suffering for itself. So we begin by staying in one place with something really simple: the breath.
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Metta Forest Monastery
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2003-12-13
I Just Wanted Some Toothpaste
35:17
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Ayya Medhanandi
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The way out of pain is not in sense pleasure. But suffering can be a ticket to Nibbana – maybe not the one we asked for, but it's in our hands. So we try. Taste the moment just as it is. Choose love when there is every reason to hate. Trust when there is every reason to despair. Be patient when anger is burning within. Faced with terror or far from peace, let go. Being still in the very midst of fear, we can know non-fear. All is fleeting, not what we are, and nothing to hold onto. There, in the silent flow of the breath, the heart will soften in a tender wave of unconditional love.
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Bodhinyanarama Monastery, Stokes Valley, New Zealand
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1991-01-21
In-Breathing and Out-Breathing, Samyutta Nikaya, Maha Vagga, Book X, Chapter 1 Insight Steps: Dissolution, Terror, Danger, Desire for Deliverance, Disenchantment Loving-Kindness Meditation (Love without Cause or Conditions)
1:25:17
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Ayya Khema
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Khema Archive (Buddha Dhamma Hermitage, Bundanoon, Australia)
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Retreat @ Bundanoon
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