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The greatest gift is the gift of the teachings
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Dharma Talks
2009-03-21
Volition and The Rut of i am
46:09
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Generally, mind becomes tangled with concerns for the future, planning, wanting things to be completed, finished. But nothing is solid or definite; it’s never quite right. This is the First Noble Truth. In meditation we take attention off the topic to how am I handling the topic: how am I affected, does this lead to more suffering or less? Open, soften, let it travel through.
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Cittaviveka
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Winter Retreat
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2009-03-20
Unencumbered
19:12
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Ayya Medhanandi
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Fire is our teacher - the fire of pain, the fire of persevering through difficulty and the fire of going beyond what we think we are capable of. For we are greater that we know and our journey is one of learning to trust what is right and true. When the heart’s compassion, wisdom, and generosity mature, there is no space for fear. All the dross of the world melts away in the silence of pure presence. Here is the absolute sanctity of awareness, unencumbered, and joyous in the knowledge of pure love itself.
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Ottawa Buddhist Society (Sisters of St. Joseph Convent)
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2009-03-19
Ice Melts
40:57
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Ayya Medhanandi
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We can know freedom from suffering when the light of dhamma (or truth) arises. This illumination will melt the impurities formed by unwholesome mind states. Oh, what a freedom! A talk given during a 10 day Ottawa Buddhist Society retreat at the Sisters of St. Joseph Convent, Pembroke, Ontario, Canada in 2009.
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Ottawa Buddhist Society
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2009-03-19
Ice Melts
28:52
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Ayya Medhanandi
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Within us is the seed of awakening. And yet we are so blind. Can we free ourselves by seeing through clouds of delusion, greed and hatefulness? Do we have the resolve and patience to begin and the humility and forgiveness to keep going in hard times? Vigilance in ethical practice, unremitting mindfulness, inner stillness, and sharp discernment melt ignorance and purify the mind. Not only that – joyous and aware, we radiate a fearless unequivocal compassion. When the sun rises, darkness disappears. Just so, we emerge from our blindness, at peace with all conditions
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Ottawa Buddhist Society
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2009-03-18
Fierce Gifts
36:07
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Ayya Medhanandi
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When life presents fearsome obstacles, be your own spiritual ally and turn those obstacles into windows that open to the depths of the heart. There, cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, radiant joy and the wisdom of discernment, behold the fierce gifts of the Dhamma that defy delusion and rescue us from the mire of every perceived burden.
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Ottawa Buddhist Society
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2009-03-18
Fading and Dispassion
47:07
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Cultivation is both about doing and not doing. Sometimes it’s about restraining and letting the roots of old habits die out. This requires the ability to step back and witness, and to stand firm against emotional pressure. When we can remain as the witness, there is the immediate fruit of freedom in that moment, and the long-term fruit of changing the tendency.
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Cittaviveka
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Winter Retreat
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2009-03-17
Niagara Falls
13:45
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Ayya Medhanandi
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How can we sharpen awareness of thoughts that gush forth in the mind like Niagara Falls? Observe them gently, not clinging and with diligent focus. Our present moment awareness and unstoppable attention, when sustained inwardly, have the transformative power of a Niagara to cleanse the heart of all impurities. Therein is the path to freedom.
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Ottawa Buddhist Society
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Pembroke 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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2009-03-16
Stay Tuned - Radiant Mind Untainted By Ego
26:45
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Ayya Medhanandi
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We hear in the Udana, Verses of Uplift, about the Venerable Meghiya’s wish to practise in the beautiful Mango Grove before his mind was mature enough. Even when we are on retreat and conditions for practice seem perfect, hindrances plague the mind and overcome it with impurities. So we hold fast to the Buddha’s instructions to know for ourselves the radiance of mind that is untainted by ego.
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Ottawa Buddhist Society
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2009-03-15
Through the Eye of the Needle
45:54
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Ayya Medhanandi
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We may travel to the most beautiful setting, and yet if there is no silence on the inside, how can we find peace? But to empty and purify the mind, we enter a sacred space, and we taste only sacredness. We experience a dimension of being that is vast - without boundaries. Like pilgrims, we sit in awe at the wondrous quality of the silent heart. A talk given during a 10 day retreat at the Sisters of St Joseph Convent, Pembroke, Ontario.
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Ottawa Buddhist Society
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2009-03-11
Without Anxiety About Imperfection
1:17:06
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Tara Brach
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The nature of being human is that we get caught in anger and judgment, hurt and fear. This talk explores what it means to be without anxiety towards this universal emotional conditioning as it appears in ourselves and others. Condemning imperfection binds our identity with an imperfect self. As we learn to pause and open to the direct embodied experience of emotions, we discover a space of presence that is filled with compassion and wisdom. Like the ocean, we can include difficult waves of experience and yet remember our inherent vastness, mystery and wholeness.
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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