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Dharma Talks
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2014-04-02
Reflections On A Month Retreat
59:39
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Donald Rothberg
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Just returned from a month of retreat practice, i offer various reflections on retreat theme, including impermanence and death, working with inner guidance, and taking all experiences in a learning context, and on core practices, (concentration, insight, metta, and open spacious awareness), ending with a brief song.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2014-01-25
Radiant Stillness
42:43
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Leela Sarti
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It is transforming to simply pause, sense and listen instead of immediately filling up the space. When we become sensitive and attuned to the neutral tone in life it can become an entry to the stillness of the ground of being. With the help of poetry and stories, unfabricated silence and the power of not knowing is invited into the practice space. An invitation to shift our weight, more profoundly than the mind can imagine, to the unfabricated, the unconditioned, the deathless.
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Gaia House
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The Liberating Intimacy of Being Who You Are
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2013-11-26
Dependent Origination: Death
56:14
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Rodney Smith
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Birth and aging inevitably lead to dying and death. The Buddha suggests this pattern can be broken by waking up to the sequencing of Dependent Origination. We cannot prevent the body from dying but we can opt out from the paradigm in which "I" die along with it. When we live encased within the idea of "me," with the "me" as real as the physical form we embody, then as the body ages we will fear our death. Interestingly enough, by eliminating everything that lives within the cycle of birth and death, we find our way out of death. Investigating what remains after death or what cannot be born or age can begin to move us away from dependency on form. We cannot rest our answer on the visible world because all we see will be taken away. If _what_ we see dies, perhaps the invisible _seeing_ itself holds the deathless. What is it that sees out of our eyes? Again, not what we see, but the seeing or awareness itself. Awareness gives us the capacity to see, but awareness cannot be seen. Though awareness cannot be seen, it can be intimated through a felt-sense of the body.
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Seattle Insight Meditation Society
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In
collection:
Dependent Origination
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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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2012-01-10
Fundamentals of the Dharma: Death and Denial
59:49
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Rodney Smith
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In this series we open an exploration of a few fundamental dharma principles. Students will already have some familiarity with many of these topics, and some may seem trivial. But the reality is there is no trivial truth. Any and all truths can only take us as deeply as we allow them to enter. Most of us reach a comfort level with these fundamentals and then build our practice on top of that partial understanding. If our practice is to move forward these principles must be reexamined and thoroughly realized, then the simplest truth can have a profound impact. This first homework is looking at death as an expression of denial - the unwillingness to face facts. Death is an example of the many ways we refuse to face life on its terms, the many ways we turn away and pretend life is other than what it is. But the dharma rests on facing facts without distortion, and unless we renew our commitment and trust to doing just that, our understanding will remain superficial.
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Seattle Insight Meditation Society
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In
collection:
Fundamentals of the Dharma
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2011-11-26
Open the Gates to the Deathless
35:14
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Ayya Medhanandi
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The Eightfold Noble Path is the Buddha's map to freedom. His directions how to proceed are precise, rigorous and breathtaking - the better for our faith and diligence. Though we may falter or feel unworthy, we discard delusion of a self - the better for purifying our hearts. Wise, surefooted and joyous, we open the gates to the Deathless.
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Satipaññā Insight Meditation Toronto
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2011-10-12
Openess Merging Into The Deathless
24:58
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Different maps are given to track the trajectory from suffering to non-suffering. The themes are similar – finding resources to come into the present, meet what arises, not get stuck, know that no matter how pleasant or unpleasant this will pass – and we’re left with this openness. Trust the openness, where things end by themselves. This is the deathless.
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Cittaviveka
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Vassa Group Retreat
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2011-06-12
Guided Meditation - Life and Death
39:49
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Death contemplation triggered the Buddha's search for the deathless. It is a recommended regular recollection that helps sieve the relative from the more profound. Guidance is given to contemplate various aspects of living and dying with questions for deeper reflection.
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Cittaviveka
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2011-04-17
Coming to Terms with Birth and Death
49:09
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Stephen Batchelor
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Reflections on the nature of 'religion'; the Buddha's awakening as a resolution of the questions posed by life itself; Zen as a 'direct pointing to the heart, independent of scripture'; the aim of Buddhist practice is the achievement of autonomy; towards the possibility of a 'secular religion'.
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Gaia House
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The Zen Retreat
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2010-09-19
Navigating the Inner Sea
18:59
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Ayya Medhanandi
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We are on a miraculous voyage in the fragile vessel of a body that ultimately dies. This is the Noble Truth of our suffering. To unravel its mystery and rescue ourselves, we must navigate the inner sea of the heart. We explore how in the world of objects, devices, ideas and experiences – whether exotic or excruciating, we are bound up with joy, fear or any point between. But there is a freedom from this cycle and it comes when we brave the great quiet of that vast interior universe. Blessed is the silence that opens our eyes to the Deathless, the Truth of what we are.
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Toronto Theravada Buddhist Community (TBC)
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2009-10-05
Impermanence
61:16
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Guy Armstrong
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A lot of understanding can come from reflecting on the way impermanence shows itself in our lives both outwardly and inwardly, including our vulnerability to aging and death. But even more penetrating insight comes to the mind that has become still through meditation. Through this way of seeing, the truth of impermanence sinks into our bones and the wisdom of non-clinging becomes very obvious.
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Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center
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Two-Month Retreat
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2009-07-13
Five Faculties - Indriya
22:07
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Ajahn Sucitto
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The indriya (faith, energy, mindfulness, collectedness, discernment), sometimes called the governing faculties, are capacities we already have and operate through in some rudimentary form. This teaching gives a description each, and how they can be developed to become supportive faculties. When they come together, they merge in the deathless.
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Cittaviveka
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Vassa Retreat
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2009-03-16
Barefoot and Empty-handed
40:41
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Ayya Medhanandi
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Developing awakened wisdom is an organic process, the unbinding of all problems that leads to indestructible peace and harmlessness. We undertake and persevere through training the mind so that we can renounce our attachments and stop the interior whirling of the world. No longer caught in its duality, we rest in knowing the liberating truth of this moment, cessation of suffering and a transcendent healing that takes us to the Deathless.
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Ottawa Buddhist Society
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2009-02-15
The Unfabricated, The Deathless...
67:13
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Rob Burbea
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Please note that these talks are from a 4 week retreat for experienced meditators. The talks and meditations can be listened to in any order or individually, but as they progressively unfold different levels of understanding of Emptiness, they will probably be more fully understood and the practices more easily developed if taken in series
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Gaia House
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Meditation on Emptiness (2009)
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2009-02-03
Pure Consciousness
35:34
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Kittisaro
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The Shurangama Sutra, Matangi’s daughter & Ananda’s enlightement
Sky Like Mind
Those who delight in mental proliferation (papanca) never know Nibbana
The end of birth and death
Apartheid of the mind
Nisagardatta’s method
What Remains - What doesn’t move
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Dharmagiri
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Original Brightness Retreat
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2009-01-31
Change of Lineage
44:43
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Kittisaro
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Direct knowing of emptiness
Between existence and nihilism
Emptiness isn’t empty, wonderful existence doesn’t exist
Grasping & papanca is the root of birth and death
Surface & depth of ocean is all water
Change of lineage from reliance on papanca to pure knowing
Angulimala and original hua t’ou – STOP
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Dharmagiri
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Original Brightness Retreat
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2009-01-29
The Shurangama Samadhi
45:01
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Kittisaro
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The Dharma door of Chan / Zen
The King of Samadhi’s – the Shurangama – Durable – Samadhi
The context of the Shurangama Sutra – Ananda, Matangi’s daughter, Manjushri, the Buddha & Avalokitesvara
Kuan Yin’s favoured meathod – ‘returning the hearing’
The pure, bright and primordial essence of consciousness
Anuruddha seeks out advice from Sariputta – ‘Turn your mind to the Deathless’
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Dharmagiri
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Original Brightness Retreat
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2009-01-27
All Beings are of One Substance
34:57
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Kittisaro
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Avalokitesvara – the Lord of Ease
Ekayana – All streams lead to the ocean - all Dharma doors lead to the One Heart
All Dharma doors are connected to Mindfulness
Crossing over beings of the self nature – being kind is being Kuan Yin
All Beings have been our mother, father, relative and are potential Buddha’s
Kittisaro’s mother’s death and his tribute to her
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Dharmagiri
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Original Brightness Retreat
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2009-01-06
Themes of meditation
30:49
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Ajahn Sucitto
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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.
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Cittaviveka
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Winter Retreat
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2008-07-12
The Great Passing
60:33
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Stephen Batchelor
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This is the seventh of a series of seven talks from the Study Retreat that interweaves reflections on Siddhattha Gotama's life, with critical interpretations of his teachings as recorded in the Pali Canon. In this seventh talk we conclude with his last years and death.
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Gaia House
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Meditation And Study Retreat
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