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Dharma Talks
2009-01-08 Wisdom,Happiness and Renunciation 43:22
Ajahn Sucitto
Renunciation and restraint return us to our innate happiness, happiness not reliant on external objects or conditions. Wisdom helps us discern what kind of happiness takes us out – or brings us back to ourselves.
Cittaviveka Winter Retreat

2009-01-07 We Need Metta To Do Metta 53:13
Heather Martin
To handle the 'rowdy prisoners' which invariably arise in practice, Metta nourishes and reassures us, so we can relax, calm down, and release the burden of struggles with them.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Metta

2009-01-07 The Three Refuges 1:26:28
Tara Brach
The spiritual path can be understood as forgetting and remembering. We suffer when we lose sight of truth, of love, of awareness. And we touch freedom in the moments of remembering. This talk includes guided reflections on three gateways to remembering: three refuges--buddha, dharma and sangha--that are the foundation of classical Buddhist teachings and profoundly relevant in our contemporary lives.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2009-01-07 Why Meditate 58:23
Mark Nunberg
Dharma Talk
Common Ground Meditation Center

2009-01-07 Politics 35:40
Ajahn Sucitto
Cittaviveka

2009-01-06 How Metta Works Through Us 66:12
Donald Rothberg
Metta works, partly in a clear way, partly mysteriously, to help us lead with our hearts, develop deeper concentration, unergo an often challenging process of purification and touch the depths of our being. As we practice, we work through a number of challenges - distraction, sleepiness, the restless mind and body, and the near and far enemies of metta - attached love and ill-will for enemies, particularly harsh judgment of self and others.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Metta

2009-01-06 Pull Your Foot Out Of The Stirrup 45:43
Ajahn Sucitto
Cittaviveka

2009-01-06 Themes of meditation 30:49
Ajahn Sucitto
Through referencing the parable of the cook (S.47:8), we are encouraged to get to know the mind in order to choose the meditation theme that suits it best. There are a range of themes you can use to counteract hindrances: such as death contemplation, unattractiveness of the body, lovingkindness, Buddha and breathing. Through trial and error, find out what is needed.
Cittaviveka Winter Retreat

2009-01-05 Are You Brave Enough To Be Transformed By Lovingkindness? 59:58
Sylvia Boorstein
Lovingkindness is presented as a "subset" of mindfulness: Attention to the third foundation of mindfulness, specifically the presence (or absence) of good will in the mind. Meditation is presented as a technique for letting go of all limiting stories (fixed views) that inhibit us from becoming the fully loving (and tolerant) people we could be.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Metta

2009-01-05 Reflections On Tudong 48:24
Ajahn Sucitto
Cittaviveka

2009-01-04 The Heart Of Dharma 49:52
Yanai Postelnik
The liberating heart of the dharma is revealed when we come to rest, in the realization that what we are looking for has been here all along.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Resolutions of the Heart: New Year’s Retreat

2009-01-04 The Beauty Of Right Intention 35:13
Ajahn Sucitto
Cittaviveka

2009-01-03 The One Thing You Can Do 49:52
Ajahn Sucitto
Cittaviveka

2009-01-02 Being In The Ocean Of Life 49:31
Yanai Postelnik
Learning to let go asks us to trust in the uncontrollable fluidity of life as a medium which holds us, and in which we can open to our deepest nature, which is indestructible.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Resolutions of the Heart: New Year’s Retreat

2009-01-02 Big Mind Meditation 40:07
John Travis
Spirit Rock Meditation Center New Years Retreat

2009-01-02 Ready Or Not 62:58
John Travis
Spirit Rock Meditation Center New Years Retreat

2009-01-02 Tidying Up 34:13
Ajahn Sucitto
Cittaviveka

2009-01-02 Journey to a Bow 48:22
Christina Feldman
This talk explores the conceit of self-superiority, inferiority and equality. The conceit of self impacts upon our lives - the understanding of it liberates the heart.
Gaia House Stillness and Insight - The New Year's Retreat

2009-01-01 Dignity and the Qualities of a Ruler 48:56
Bhante Bodhidhamma
date estimated
Satipanya Retreat Centre

2009-01-01 Giving & Receiving-The Seamless Circle Of Generosity 1:11:31
Marcia Rose
An inner wealth of generosity is a powerful medicine. As our heart heals and opens the wholesome energies of giving and receiving grow and flow within us. We begin to live this seemless circle quite naturally as who we are.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge January 2009 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2009-01-01 Knowing Limitless Freedom 54:58
Sharda Rogell
What is left when we let go of the mental activity of objectifying, and solidifying our reality? What happens when we see into the empty nature of conditioned phenomenon?
Spirit Rock Meditation Center New Years Retreat

2009-01-01 Hindrances 42:58
Ajahn Sucitto
Cittaviveka

2009-01-01 Intimacy and Stillness 41:10
Catherine McGee
Gaia House Stillness and Insight - The New Year's Retreat

2008-12-31 Stilling The Constructions Of Mind 48:16
Gil Fronsdal
Spirit Rock Meditation Center New Years Retreat

2008-12-31 Beyond Impermanence 59:16
Rob Burbea
Gaia House Stillness and Insight - The New Year's Retreat

2008-12-30 Generosity 58:31
Adrianne Ross
The beautiful gifts of pure presence, acceptance and relinquishing as antidotes to greed, aversion and delusion as a pathway to liberation.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center New Years Retreat

2008-12-30 A Taste of Freedom 51:22
Christina Feldman
The Buddha encourages us to find a taste of freedom in the contemplation of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. It is a teaching that encourages the deepening of insight in the classroom of our lives.
Gaia House Stillness and Insight - The New Year's Retreat

2008-12-29 Lost In Flight - Heart, Faith 62:15
John Travis
Spirit Rock Meditation Center New Years Retreat

2008-12-29 Dukkha 57:37
Catherine McGee
Gaia House Stillness and Insight - The New Year's Retreat

2008-12-28 Seeing Through The Storyteller 55:52
Sharda Rogell
There is a storyteller in our minds that thinks it knows who and what we are suppose to be and do. We stay very busy trying to mold ourselves into that person believing something is wrong with the way we are. Through the practice of sensitive attunement, we rediscover our intrinsic nature as we enter a path of healing.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center New Years Retreat

2008-12-28 The Meaning of Refuge 55:25
Rob Burbea
Gaia House Stillness and Insight - The New Year's Retreat

2008-12-27 Seven Factors Of Awakening 57:49
Gil Fronsdal
Spirit Rock Meditation Center New Years Retreat

2008-12-27 Opening Talk for Stillness and Insight Retreat 56:46
Christina Feldman
This talk also includes Catherine McGee, and Rob Burbea
Gaia House Stillness and Insight - The New Year's Retreat

2008-12-26 Mudita - Sympathetic, Empathetic, Contagious Joy 66:04
Marcia Rose
Exploring and recognizing the joy that has no 'self' at the center of it... the momentary joy of the pure heart for/with another's happiness, another's success.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge December 2008 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2008-12-24 Renewal In Our Practice And Lives 57:58
Donald Rothberg
In this time of darkness between Solstice and the New Year, it is a wonderful time for reflection, quiet and renewal - in our practice and in our lives generally. We explore a number of factors and practices that support renewal and post three questions at the end to help open us up to what renewal means for each of us
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2008-12-19 The Four Domains Of Mindfulness - Part 2 53:46
Marcia Rose
Are you looking in the right place and in the right way for the happiness that you are seeking? Mindfulness of feelings: pleasant, unpleasant or neutral feeling tone Mindfulness of the mind: mental factors/the colorations of consciousness Mindfulness of Dhammas: seeing & knowing experience through the doors of the truth/the way of things
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge December 2008 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2008-12-19 Solstice Heart 34:24
Ayya Medhanandi
With the advent of the Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year - comes the promise that the light will return. We can honour this principle in our practice by turning towards the light that is revealed in our own minds. The goodness and purity of this light can connect us to unconditional peace and love. A talk given at the Ottawa Buddhist Society in 2008.
Ottawa Buddhist Society

2008-12-18 James' Son, Adam's, First Dharma Talk 57:34
James Baraz
Reflections on the 3 months Adam has just spent sitting at IMS.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley IMCB Regular Talks

2008-12-17 The Undefended Heart 1:21:40
Tara Brach
Our dedication to not pushing anyone--or any part of ourselves--out of our hearts, serves the healing of our world. This talk includes a short guided meditation on opening to our human vulnerability and forgiving another person.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2008-12-17 Peace Offering 14:54
Ayya Medhanandi
Hospice
Sati Saraniya Hermitage Hospice Talks and Guided Meditations

2008-12-16 Parami Series #10 Equanimity: The Unshakable Heart 53:46
Myoshin Kelley
Finding a balance of mind that can include all aspects of life.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge December 2008 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2008-12-14 Realizing Freedom in Our Lives 55:44
Mark Nunberg
Dharma Talk
Common Ground Meditation Center

2008-12-14 Collaborative Talk: Students & Eugene Cash 43:54
Eugene Cash
San Francisco Insight Meditation Community

2008-12-13 Six Places To Rest The Mind 54:24
Mary Grace Orr
The Buddha gives 6 places for the mind to dwell, 6 protections for our practice: Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, our virtue, our generosity and the devas. This talk explores how we can use them in our everyday lives.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Insight Meditation

2008-12-13 Mindfulness, Peace and Happiness 52:10
Yanai Postelnik
Gaia House Mindfulness, Peace and Happiness

2008-12-12 Constructions And Their Fading 56:18
Gil Fronsdal
A core part of Dharma practice is bringing to peace our mental construction, the talk discusses this in context of three aspects of the present experience: what is happening, our relationship to what is happening, and the subject who experiences all of this.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Insight Meditation

2008-12-12 Opening Talk for Mindfulness, Peace and Happiness Retreat 69:25
Yanai Postelnik
Gaia House Mindfulness, Peace and Happiness

2008-12-11 Against The Stream 56:42
Howard Cohn
Distraction, "swimming" against our habit of distraction, our practice helps us open to the truth of dukkha, let go of its causes, realize its end and cultivate the the path of liberation, a version of the Four Noble Truths.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Insight Meditation

2008-12-10 Relaxed Attentiveness 1:14:34
Tara Brach
While the heart of meditation is resting in open awareness, our conditioning to be distracted and reactive can keep us on the wheel of suffering. We awaken from trace by developing skillful ways of paying attention that create the environment for natural presence. This natural awareness, while sometimes hidden, is always here: It is our true home.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2008-12-10 Practicing With Fear - part III 58:49
Donald Rothberg
After a review of four guidelines for practicing with fear, we explore more deeply the nature of fear, including many of the more unconscious ways that we carry fear, as well as the biological basis of fear. We also examine the relationship of fear to a sense of self, and of opening into fearlessness.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2008-12-09 Practice Q and A 44:27
Rodney Smith
Seattle Insight Meditation Society

2008-12-08 Parami Series 9 Metta; The Heart That Is Inclusive" 56:51
Myoshin Kelley
Breaking down the barriers of separation to live a life recognizing the interconnection of all beings.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge December 2008 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2008-12-07 The Three Centers 41:40
Eugene Cash
San Francisco Insight Meditation Community

2008-12-07 The Retreat Never Ends 35:36
Eugene Cash
Going home, we take the understanding of that the Dharma is our lives. We enter through various Dharma Gates, Sangha, Service, Meditation
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Three Centers Retreat: Eye of Wisdom; Heart of Compassion; Body of Awakening

2008-12-07 Karma And The End Of Karma 59:31
Guy Armstrong
Understanding how karma works gives us clear guidelines to find simple human happiness or the highest happiness of liberation, which is described as the end of karma. The talk also describes how the working of karma depends on the truth of not-self (anatta).
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 2

2008-12-06 Integrating The Three Centers: Wholeness 50:22
Pamela Weiss
As we access and begin to integrate the qualities of head, heart and belly (shimmering awareness, warmth and contactfulness and grounded presence), we remember and return to our innate wholeness.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Three Centers Retreat: Eye of Wisdom; Heart of Compassion; Body of Awakening

2008-12-06 Kamma - Make A Choice 42:42
Ajahn Sucitto
Cittaviveka

2008-12-06 Compassion 48:01
Christina Feldman
Gaia House Heart of Kindness, Mind of Kindness

2008-12-05 The Fourth Foundation Of Mindfulness 59:09
Sally Armstrong
The Satipatthana Sutta (usually translated as the Foundations of Mindfulness) offers a complete description of the practice of mindfulness, beginning with the direct awareness of the breath and the body, progressing through mindfulness of vedana or feeling tone, to the more subtle object of the Third Foundation, mindfulness of mind states. The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness represents the culmination of this series of practices, and can be seen as a direct pointing, again and again, to the possibility of freedom through direct awareness of where we get caught, and how to turn the mind towards liberation. This talk is an overview of the practices of the Fourth Foundation, which can be seen as both the last in the sequence of practices, and as a progression in itself. It also covers how the Fourth Foundation can actually be skillfully interwoven into our practice of the other foundations.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 2

2008-12-05 Cultivating The Heart Center: Listening And Loving Everything 59:40
Pamela Weiss
The Heart Center brings the qualities of openness, receptivity, sensitivity and kindness to experience
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Three Centers Retreat: Eye of Wisdom; Heart of Compassion; Body of Awakening

2008-12-05 Opening Talk for Heart of Kindness, Mind of Kindness Retreat 54:22
Christina Feldman
Gaia House Heart of Kindness, Mind of Kindness

2008-12-04 Samvega - The Urgency To Awaken 53:55
Marcia Rose
What is it that moves and inspires us towards practice? What along the way of our practice keeps urging us towards sustaining and deepening our practice? Exploring the roots of SAMVEGA from the time of the Buddha on up into present time.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge December 2008 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2008-12-04 Befriending Oneself 32:42
Mary Grace Orr
Insight Santa Cruz

2008-12-03 Beginner's Class - An Island of Safety 19:57
Ayya Medhanandi
Hospice
Sati Saraniya Hermitage Hospice Talks and Guided Meditations

2008-12-03 Medicine Heart - Guided Meditation 14:40
Ayya Medhanandi
Hospice
Sati Saraniya Hermitage Hospice Talks and Guided Meditations

2008-12-03 Practicing With Fear - part II 52:04
Donald Rothberg
We continue to explore the nature of fear and how to practice with fear, with several stories and a deeper look at how fear appears. Fear is not the problem - our unskillful way of reacting to fear with confusion and repetitive negative stories is what we explore and transform.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2008-12-03 Getting Unhooked 55:36
James Baraz
Smaller footprints
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley IMCB Regular Talks

2008-12-03 The Embodied Journey 61:00
Phillip Moffitt
Opening to mindfulness of the body is both the beginning of practice and the vehicle that carries you through the practice as the "felt sense." Embodied presence through awareness of the body is one of the fruits of practice.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Three Centers Retreat: Eye of Wisdom; Heart of Compassion; Body of Awakening

2008-12-01 Towards a whole life practice 47:56
Bhante Bodhidhamma
date estimated
Satipanya Retreat Centre

2008-12-01 Paramis Series #8 Resolve Of The Heart 59:34
Myoshin Kelley
Finding the tenacity to stay on the path.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center December 2008 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2008-12-01 Metta 66:37
Jack Kornfield
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2008-11-30 From Ignorance Come Impulses 61:21
Guy Armstrong
The first two links of dependent origination say that ignorance gives rise to volitional formations, or impulses. This talk describes successive layers of obscurations that form from ignorance, to a belief in self, to afflictive emotions, to unskillful actions. The path undoes these layers by focusing, in order, on virtue, meditation, and wisdom, finally penetrating to Nibbana.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 2

2008-11-29 The Four Types Of Food 48:14
Ajahn Sucitto
Cittaviveka

2008-11-29 The First Buddhist Nuns 56:57
Greg Scharf
Stories and poems of the first Buddhist nuns drawn from the Therigatha and other sources within the Pali Cannon.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 2

2008-11-29 Ego And The Fall From The Garden 48:34
Robert K. Hall
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Thanksgiving

2008-11-28 Insight, Views, And Opening To The Mystery 62:39
Carol Wilson
Walls we may hit in our path of practice.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 2

2008-11-28 Be Here Wow #3 66:18
Wes Nisker
Evolution and dharma - mystery of life.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Thanksgiving

2008-11-27 Practicing Gratitude And Joy 56:49
Sally Armstrong
On this day of thanksgiving, it is important to remember what we are actually celebrating: the generosity of Native Americans to the early settlers, and all that they have given us. It is also a day to be grateful for all the blessings in our lives, and to bring a sense of appreciation to the beauty and joy that is all around us. As we incline the mind towards noticing what we are grateful for, we find an increased sense of well-being and happiness in our lives.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 2

2008-11-27 Pilgrimage Of Awakening 64:10
John Travis
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Thanksgiving

2008-11-27 Maya and Nirvana (Beyond the Measure of Mind) 63:48
Rob Burbea
What did the Buddha mean when he said that the world is 'like an illusion or a magic show' and that 'only nirvana is real'? This talk explores some of the Buddha's teaching of Dependent Arising, and how, through right practice, the illusion may be untangled, revealing the true nature of things, of mind, and of Nirvana.
Gaia House Solitary Month Retreat

2008-11-26 Thanksgiving 2008 - Living The Life Fully - Gratitude And Generosity 1:19:19
Tara Brach
While generosity and gratitude are natural capacities, our conditioning to want life different can often keep us from living from a free and open heart. This talk explores three gateways to awakening and expressing love in our daily life.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2008-11-26 Keeping the Moment in Mind 57:45
Mark Nunberg
Dharma Talk
Common Ground Meditation Center

2008-11-26 Miracle of the Breath - Beginner’s Guided Meditation 17:31
Ayya Medhanandi
Hospice
Sati Saraniya Hermitage Hospice Talks and Guided Meditations

2008-11-26 The Radiant Heart 59:54
Yanai Postelnik
Gaia House Solitary Month Retreat

2008-11-25 Ego Formation And Emotion 49:48
Robert K. Hall
A description of emotion's beginnings in ego distinctions of pleasant and unpleasant experience - with stories of the speaker's emotional life.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Thanksgiving

2008-11-25 Non-Self 35:58
Christina Feldman
Gaia House Solitary Month Retreat

2008-11-24 Compassion 69:31
Jack Kornfield
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2008-11-23 The One Dimensional Polity 46:52
Jose Reissig
When ruled by the I, we see the world around us -- politics included -- through the narrow focus of whether "our side" wins or loses. What a waste!
Dominican Sisters center at Saugerties :  Rhinebeck Sitting Group

2008-11-22 Mindfulness Of Breathing 48:43
Ajahn Sucitto
Cittaviveka

2008-11-22 Dana - The Practice Of Generosity 51:40
Greg Scharf
Cultivating generosity a foundation for insight and liberation - including discussions of merit and the practice of gratitude.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 2

2008-11-22 The One Dimensional Self 42:03
Jose Reissig
The goal of the I is self-evaluation. Evaluation -- like a yardstick -- leads to unidimensionality. We end up losing sight of our inner fullness.
Dominican Sisters center at Saugerties :  Rhinebeck Sitting Group

2008-11-21 Unity Of Compassion And Emptiness 61:24
Carol Wilson
Lots of stories exploring Compassion and Emptiness
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 2

2008-11-21 Who's The Decider? 37:24
Jose Reissig
Decisions are not made by an all powerful I, but through a process of inner (and at times also outer) deliberation.
Dominican Sisters center at Saugerties :  Rhinebeck Sitting Group

2008-11-21 Living in the Truth 66:18
Rob Burbea
A life dedicated to discovering the Truth of things is a life lived beautifully, and leading organically to freedom from suffering. Yet we frequently approach our seeking with hidden attachments to assumptions, preconceptions and views (often about Truth or the ways it is realised) that hinder a really complete, far-reaching, open and radical inquiry. On every level, from the personal to the mystical and ultimate, how can we give free reign to the heart's longing to live the truth?
Gaia House Solitary Month Retreat

2008-11-20 Dependent Origination: An Overview 57:49
Sally Armstrong
The Buddha considered Dependent Origination to be his most profound insight. This teaching shows us how we get caught in the cycle of suffering, and how it is possible to free ourselves. When we’re not aware of this process, we are blinded by our ignorance and get caught in craving again and again. We create different identities that we cling to, and that limit our ability to be free in the moment. When we’re aware of this process, we can make wiser choices about how to respond, and perhaps even break the cycles of becoming altogether. This talk gives a brief overview of the 12 links of Dependent Origination, and then describes how it works on a practical, moment-to-moment basis in our lives.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 2

2008-11-20 Anapanasti 55:30
James Baraz
Mindfulness of breathing
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley IMCB Regular Talks

2008-11-19 The Three Characteristics - part 3: No-Self 1:15:27
Tara Brach
At the center of the Buddhist teachings is the understanding that the passing phenomena of this world--sounds, sensations, thoughts, bodies and minds--have no self at the center, no self as owner, and are not happening to a self. In other words, our familiar sense of self is an illusion. When there is full presence, a presence not filtered by thoughts, this illusion dissolves, freeing us to realize our true nature. This talk exploring the teachings of no-self, or emptiness, includes several reflections and practices that guide us in awakening to this essential and liberating truth.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

2008-11-19 Maintaining Wholesome States 57:02
Mark Nunberg
Dharma Talk
Common Ground Meditation Center

2008-11-19 Ethical Connection 27:33
Ayya Medhanandi
Hospice
Sati Saraniya Hermitage Hospice Talks and Guided Meditations

2008-11-19 The Point Of Practice 57:22
Sylvia Boorstein
Inspired by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
Spirit Rock Meditation Center

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