coming out of self view; bringing forth energy; recalling the spiritual faculties; applying wise energy regardless of the system used; calm as a consequence of faith and confidence; two recollections; don’t let the citta be bound by historical or domestic considerations; willingness to do the work; feeding the citta; mindfulness of the body, the inevitable decay of the body; what is it that evades or finds truth uncomfortable; differing views of Samadhi; the” I-am” looking for support; learning to push away the hindrances through experience; noticing craving, ill will and resistance; using metta, compassion, mudita, upekkha to approach unification of the citta by removal of the 5 hindrances; now is the time to rise up to it; restlessness, boredom, doubt; know them as they are not as myself; this is not worthy of this citta; using the wisdom factor to find appropriate attention; who is that?; feel how it is; going beyond thought; discernment of the release of grasping; the shift moment and the growth of confidence in it; noticing the struggle to find something; what about the measurelessness/ the sign-less?

Using our body to understand the 4 Noble Truths.

This talk explores the traditional refuges of awareness (buddha nature), truth (dharma) and love (sangha) that are at the heart of Buddhism, and found in many spiritual and religious traditions. It includes a look at our false refuges - strategies that seek to comfort and gratify, but are temporary fixes - and moves into reflections that help us remember, trust and live from our true nature. (Concludes with a ceremony tying red cords in remembrance of the refuges.)

metta (good will/ loving kindness –the experience of the lovability of beings), karuna (compassion – sees the vulnerability of beings), mudita (sympathetic joy - experience of the enjoyment of one’s own and others’ good states)and upekkha (equaminity – the ability to be present with the ups and downs of phenomena); the citta has 2 inputs – feelings(from body or mental perception) and associations/ images/ impressions; skillful intention and the associated joy; volition and sustaining volition as a characteristic of the citta; to others as to myself; the citta adopts various clothes, one of which is “me”; the citta is abundant, rich, calm, exhaulted, measureless/ suffusing, free from hostility and ill will; the significance of the metaphors of language; the measureless empathy of the Buddha; “just like me”, we are all like this as a source of the volition; it’s not so much object oriented as cultivating states of mind and freeing the citta from any state of ill will; identifying the signs that lead to the bonding with / settling of the citta and unification of the mind; find one that works for you; the object one chooses to facilitate this is not important; pitfalls and sidetracks to be avoided in the cultivation – the story of other particular people and of the self, thinking of the past and the future ; finding satisfaction and comfort; the wisdom faculty sees it has been identified and sustained and not owned personally

1. On energy and breathing; 2. On 'traffic lights' 3. Moderating the practice 4. On dealing with rapture; 5. On world-weariness & death; 6. On choiceless awareness; 7. Mindful responses to sense contact; 8. On 'not being good enough'; 9. On fatigue

Includes 30 minute meditation

Ajahn suggests how to prepare a question

1. Ache, pains, and aging 2. “Choiceless awareness”; 3. Is intensity necessary? 4. How to let go; 5. The nature of the citta 6. Benefits of each the four main postures; 7. Progress in terms of abandonment?

need to take a long view of spiritual development; caution with idealism; moving from head to heart; the importance of checking in with yourself; listening sympathetically internally; trusting the retreat form; taking it steady to steady the citta; patience; recalling, it’s like “this” now; dukka is not personal, not ‘mine ‘; good will points to the exit; Christian sin /guilt and Buddhist “bap”/ bad karma; going into the head closes down the heart; gestures and offerings of courtesies to others; dana – the spirit of the heart; sila – manufacturing mutual harmlessness; metta, karuna, enjoying gladness and goodness; anumodana; dissolving the boundaries of self and other; seeing what the citta responds to; equanimity – it’s like this now; the citta can be bigger than the conditions it meets; the measurelessness of awareness; living in the wide sphere; thanking mistakes as a necessary way of learning

Wanting and not wanting it like this; What’s helpful now without finding a word; the essential stepping back; conditions that change; good will towards oneself; waking up the citta from its numbness; pausing and checking in; what’s helpful now? [sound quality issues]

Cultivating the path of skillful action

How we get caught in comparing and judging and skillful ways to work with this practice challenge.

early group issues; dealing with energies; developing and using awareness of the body; pausing; concentrating and noting; taking only the “oh yeah!” from talks and instructions; guidelines for investigating traumatic experience; allowing energy to rest and come back; reclining meditation

a standing taster - posture basics and refinements of attention; healing processes; walking – composed. flowing, balanced movement

Right view; qualities of the citta; recognizing awareness and attention; the mutual support of body and mind; difficult mind states /letting go; using the internal body sense to deal with “this”; tuning into incremental subtleties

Orientation to chanting; suggestions for sitting; importance of posture; using pause moments

Monday Night Meditation Class Dharma Talk from January 4th, 2016

Recognizing a mind state within a continuity of awareness, rather than a construct of self

This is a recorded dialog between Shaila Catherine and John Kelly. Shaila is a Dharma Teacher in San Jose, California who leads local and online sutta study courses; John Kelly is a Pali Scholar in Australia. John assisted Bhikkhu Bodhi on the production of the English translation of the Numerical Discourses. Shaila and John share their impressions and insights regarding of this ancient text, highlighting the practical relevance of these teachings for contemporary lay people.

Reflections on how we see through the appearance of separation and, experientially correct, with the non separate nature of life.

Includes chanting, recognizing space can be balancing and intimately tender.

This day of Insight Meditation will follow the Buddha's Way of Mindfulness, Concentration and Love, illustrating how each of us can move from clinging and attachment to freedom, from confusion to clarity and from tension to ease of well-being.

This day of Insight Meditation will follow the Buddha's Way of Mindfulness, Concentration and Love, illustrating how each of us can move from clinging and attachment to freedom, from confusion to clarity and from tension to well- being.

Attending to experience through the lense of the elements, fire, water, earth, air and space. Expanding the range of ways of knowing and seeing experience returns us to the sacred.

Instructions and guided meditation

This daylong retreat focuses on beginning the year with a clear vision of our path, whether we are just establishing our recovery, renewing our commitment or maintaining our program and practice.

This daylong retreat focuses on beginning the year with a clear vision of our path, whether we are just establishing our recovery, renewing our commitment or maintaining our program and practice.

This one slogan can be a reminder of how to sustain mindfulness as we leave the retreat. What we’ll notice is that most of the time, right now there is dukkha caused by the underlying ‘me’ sense. Meditation is an essential part of our spiritual training, but not the only part. Working in community is an invaluable aspect of spiritual training – it provided a context where we can get past the ‘me’ sense and get to the ‘we’ sense.

Grasping occurs when the citta is not comfortable. It gets overwhelmed by feeling and experience. The difference between sati and clinging – they both apprehend things – is sati is very patient. It simply bears things in mind with no particular goal. Sati can spread and expand to include the grasping, clinging reflex when it arises in the experience of embodiment. This is the place for realization.

New Year's Retreat

How to work with sexual desire/energy; self-guilt; what does ‘body in the body’ mean; mindfulness while sleeping; stepping back is a precursor to meditation; is inner chatter harmful; doing without tanha; what to do when mind becomes quiet; balancing doubt and faith

The merging of wisdom and compassion. How to unite the heart and the mind.

date estimated

This talk explores some of the many facets of this beautiful and liberating quality of heart and also offers some different ways of approaching metta as a meditation practice.