Every moment of mindfulness we are weakening the forces of greed, hatred & delusion (roots of suffering) and strengthening the forces of non-greed (letting go & generosity), non-hatred (loving-kindness) and non-delusion (wisdom). This talk explains how that works.
In this introduction to a daylong on Wise (or "Right") Speech, there is a focus on the importance of Wise Speech for our practice and on the core ethical guidelines for wise and skillful speech given by the Buddha.
The course of practice is explored: how mindfulness works, willingness to open to our suffering, discovering our wholesome qualities & the Buddha within, dealing with forgetting who we are, then sharing our love & wisdom with the world.
This meditation scans the body and directly invites the awakening of key energy centers (chakras) in our body. We then rest in the openhearted awareness that includes this ever changing creative flow of aliveness (a special meditation from the archives).
We each live with uncertainty and the fear of rejection and loss, and we each are conditioned to avoid feeling or expressing that vulnerability. Yet intimacy with this unlived life is the gateway to connecting authentically with others, full aliveness and spiritual realization. These talks explore the ways that we defend ourselves, and the pathway to gently, wisely and intelligently disarming and freeing our hearts. (a special talk from the archives)
The practice of the Dhamma is a powerful protection that comes about by wholeheartedly applying mindfulness, the four protective meditations, restraint, virtue, going for refuge, patience, or the parittas.
The development of samadhi, a collected and unified mind, is central in the Buddha’s meditation training. This talk looks at how we can skillfully deepen concentration, as well as the place of concentration in various suttas and lists that guide us in the development of concentration, and then the function of concentration to lead to transformative insight.
Confidence is crucial for any undertaking, also for our spiritual journey. Our confidence in the teaching, the actual practice, and in our ability to do the practice grow and deepen as we move along the way.
Description: We first explore how concentration practice is both helpful and important for insight practice, and how the two practices are related. We then look at the nature of insight practice, and in particular examine three ways of liberating seeing in insight practice, namely practices in which we cultivate seeing anicca (impermanence), dukkha (reactivity or unreliability or suffering), and anatta (not-self).
