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The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
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Dharma Talks
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2013-09-05
The Illusion of Self, Equanimity and Beyond the Abyss
53:01
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Leela Sarti
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To ask 'who am I?' is not a theoretical or esoteric question, but a practical question to ask in the midst of life. A steadiness of awareness makes it possible to trace the process of identity in relationship to body, mind, our belief, our roles, our situations in life and beyond any sense of self. When we are less identified we become more spacious and easy going. The radiant heart quality of equanimity - upekka - is essential when it comes to loosening fixed identity and living a life that embraces form and emptiness in a natural and authentic way.
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Gaia House
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Embodying the Awakened Heart
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2013-09-03
Five Preconditions for Insight: Wise Effort (the fourth precondition)
33:04
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Shaila Catherine
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The Buddha taught that there are five preconditions necessary for the development of meditation practice in seclusion—good friends, virtue and restraint,
engaging in talk on the Dhamma, wise effort, wisdom. These preconditions, presented in the Meghiya Sutta, are developed progressively and support one another. This talk explores the role of effort and energy on the path of awakening. We make the effort to avoid and abandon unwholesome states, and to cultivate and maintain wholesome states. We apply our energy with diligence and balance. If too lax we will fall short of the goal and permit obstructions to distract the attention; if there is too much striving and forced effort we will exhaust ourselves and become discouraged. Right effort is balanced between relaxation and vigor; it is appropriate to the situation—applying just enough strength to meet the current conditions with wisdom and clarity. Skillful effort requires the commitment to endure difficult and painful situations without becoming disheartened. We persevere on our path, adjusting the quality of effort with mindfulness and sensitivity.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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Tuesday Talks
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2013-08-27
Dependent Origination: Grasping and Clinging
57:24
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Rodney Smith
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When the energy of self-formation moves through desire to clinging, there is a dramatic change in intensity. The grasping feels like a compelling need of the organism. We may feel that we must have this experience in order for life to be worthwhile, and we are usually willing to do whatever is needed to obtain it. The energy is very tightly bound to the sense of survival. The Buddha grouped the areas of clinging in four broad categories: (1) pleasurable experiences, (2) views and opinions, (3) rites and rituals, and (4) belief in self. When we see the ferocity of our need to procure and defend our right for pleasure, our personal and political opinions, the indoctrinated beliefs in our religious views and practices, and the obstinate way we defend our self-image, we begin to understand the entrenched positions our egoic state stands upon.
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Seattle Insight Meditation Society
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In
collection:
Dependent Origination
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2013-08-22
Follow Your Heartbreak
51:12
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James Baraz
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Inspired by Andrew Harvey's book A Guide to Sacred Activism. The journey of transformation, both personal and global, includes our hearts opening to all the suffering we encounter and letting our heart be shattered and break open to new possibilities. This is a natural and essential component of true awakening. This process is explored on different levels: our own dharma practice, the classical Progress of Insight and what Harvey calls "The Dark Night of the Species."
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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IMCB Regular Talks
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In
collection:
One Earth Sangha
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