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Dharma Talks
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2016-08-18
Holding the Lotus to the Rock
42:43
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Ayya Medhanandi
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Sariputta said (SN 21.1): “There is nothing in the world with whose change there would arise in me sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair.” It is hard to remember the Buddha’s teachings when the mind is beset with fear and anxiety. But we can escape from these bonds by disempowering the hindrances, calming the mind and seeing with greater wisdom. For this process to bear fruit, we have to fully trust the path alone and not put our trust in the world. A talk given at a 7 day SIMT retreat in the Chapin Mill Zen Retreat Centre, Batavia, Rochester, NY.
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Satipanna Insight Meditation (SIMT)
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2016-08-16
Who’s Sitting Under the Bodhi Tree
33:52
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Ayya Medhanandi
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The mind is so easily duped by its own delusion. By holding perceptions, views and opinions - our own, as well as others - as "uncertain", and being circumspect, we can bear witness to experience as the Knowing Mind, unburdened by its conditioning. When the five faculties are strengthened through practice, this knowing mind can arise in its utmost purity. We can overcome delusion by stripping our experience of any packaging; only when we know things authentically for what they truly are, can we let them go. We practice fearlessness, harmlessness, selflessness, until there is nothing to fear, except delusion itself. If we are awake to that Truth, then we can be sitting under the Bodhi Tree in the truest way. A talk given during a 7 day Satipaññā Insight Meditation Toronto retreat at Chapin Mill Retreat Centre, Batavia, Rochester, NY.
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Satipanna Insight Meditation (SIMT)
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2016-08-16
Under the Canopy of Dhamma
17:16
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Ayya Medhanandi
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Where is safety in a world burning with greed, hatred, fear and violence? It is within us. Under the protective canopy of Dhamma, with unshakeable faith in the Buddha's awakening, we purify the heart – emulating his tactical strategies for training the mind to abandon unskillful physical and mental habits. We look for 'nothing' apart from how to wisely observe and truly see with penetrating discernment, and how to let go the delusion of self-identity. Secluded from the world, awareness knows imperturbable peace. This is the path of selflessness, of generosity, of great compassion, of harmlessness.
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Satipaññā Insight Meditation Toronto
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2016-08-15
Reading: Ajahn Chah – In the Dead of Night
15:27
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Ayya Medhanandi
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Ajahn Chah describes his process of overcoming fear while staying in a charnel ground in Thailand and urges us to try it out! What he means is not in the charnel ground, but right here wherever we are and with the ghosts of our own minds. A reading given during a Satipaññā Insight Meditation Toronto retreat in 2016.
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Satipanna Insight Meditation (SIMT)
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2016-07-17
Measureless Liberation of Mind
15:42
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Ayya Medhanandi
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Nature is begging us to wake up especially when we find ourselves at the mercy of fear arising like ghosts in the dead of night. What will protect us from these intruders? At the moment of ambush, can we see their true qualities in the light of suffering and its cause? Know that truth of suffering, its cause, its cure and the truest way of healing to break out of the prison of delusion. Now enter the measureless liberation of mind.
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Satipanna Insight Meditation (SIMT)
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2016-07-16
Across the River of Pain
28:03
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Ayya Medhanandi
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We long to be free from this wandering, to go beyond all suffering. The body is our raft to cross from one side of the river of pain to the other. And there we leave the raft. But we don’t leave it until we cross, until we realize the Deathless – when no one ‘dies’ but we know the death of greed, of anger, of delusion. As we cross, we end the pain, grief, rage, vulnerability, fear – every form of distress. And where we were once inflamed by these troubles, they give way to the infinitudes of love and compassion.
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Canmore Theravada Buddhist Community
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2016-06-22
Reconnecting with our Lives - Healing from Dissociation
1:14:29
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Tara Brach
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Dissociation is the universal mechanism for pulling away from the pain of “too much.” While it’s necessary and natural for enduring certain situations, the ongoing habit of dissociation cuts us off from our full aliveness, creativity, and capacity for love. This talk explores the process by which we disconnect from our bodies and feelings - individually and collectively - and the practices that directly enable us to include the “unlived life" - the fear and shame, passion and loneliness - that we’ve pushed away. By including the raw energies we’ve been avoiding, we come home to a fullness that can embrace others and the whole of life.
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2016-05-03
Scared-in-the-Woods to Liberated
46:03
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Kim Allen
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Kim Allen gave the fourth talk in a seven-week series on lesser known Buddhist teachings titled "Thus Have I Heard." This talk explores how practice can be difficult, especially when it helps us become aware of the dark corners of our minds such as fear and dread. Fortunately, the Buddha taught us to train our minds so we won't give in to those tendencies, and instead live a skillful life with wholesome qualities such as generosity, virtue, and loving kindness.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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In
collection:
Thus Have I Heard
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2016-04-29
Proliferation of Planning
47:38
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Shaila Catherine
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Shaila Catherine gave this talk on planning tendencies of the mind. Papanca is a Pali term that means proliferation. A lot of our planning is not preparation for action. Rather, it's a form of dukkha: chronic planning may be a manifestation of anxiety, restlessness, worry, or obsessive thinking about "who I will be." Planning is fuel for self-becoming, self-grasping; restless planning perpetuates the fantasy of a future we think we can control or predict, but such future may never happen. Instead of habitually indulging in planning tendencies, we can train our attention to be mindful of life as it actually unfolds. We can thus learn to calm fantasies that distract the mind, let go of expectations, and gradually strengthen concentration to be more fully present. We can also curb the tendency to become lost in imagined scenarios of hope and fear about life's events.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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2016-02-21
Trust
60:07
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James Baraz
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With so many strategies and messages about how to practice, how do we know the "right" way to practice?
The Buddha said ultimately you should "be a lamp onto yourself." This comes down to trusting the wisdom inside.
How can we discern the wisdom voice from the voices rooted in fear and confusion?
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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February Month-long
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2016-01-07
Group C Interview 1
40:09
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Ajahn Sucitto
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1. The Wandering Mind; 2. Dealing with physical pain; 3. Dealing with fear, 4. Energy; 5. Moving into Daily Life, open eyes ad normal mode
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2015-12-20
Peace Without Fear - Seven Lights to Freedom
29:18
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Ayya Medhanandi
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The Buddha teaches us about seven lights to gain true freedom. They are none other than the factors of enlightenment. Three are dynamic skills that deeply cleanse the mind. In turn, these give rise to four 'septic friendly' brightening agents that lead us to inner wisdom. We learn how to practice forgiveness and compassion, and how to awaken to a selfless benevolence - an unassailable joy, peace and complete freedom of heart.
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Sati Saraniya Hermitage
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2015-12-12
Workshop - Relating Wisely to the Uncertainties of Environmental Health and Climate Change
2:52:24
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Mark Nunberg
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It is not uncommon for us to feel confused, numb, angry or overwhelmed when we hear about environmental change and uncertainty. The health of our planet, our homes, our bodies and minds all depend on the continuous balancing of so many interdependent natural processes. It is no surprize that we often prefer distraction and denial rather than an honest acknowledgement of this uncertain dynamic. In this workshop we will explore how a fearless opening to uncertainty can be the cause for a more wise and compassionate response to this world we share together. These Living the Practice Workshops include talks, guided meditations, guided reflections, and large and small group discussions designed to reveal the essential art of awakening wisdom and compassion in our actual lives.
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Common Ground Meditation Center
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2015-11-22
In the Domain of No Fear
18:32
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Ayya Medhanandi
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The Buddha himself touched the Truth with his own mind. And so can we. It’s a purifying, intimate process - internal, invisible and crossing many intersections. At each one, we patiently examine the state of the heart, discerning what is harmful and what is wholesome in everything we face. The way opens for us to enter the domain of no fear and receive the gifts of wisdom, peace, and the heart’s unshakeable freedom.
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Toronto Theravada Buddhist Community (TBC)
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2015-11-22
Fictitious Noodles
21:21
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Ayya Medhanandi
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What are we doing on this planet? How do we cope with feelings of fear? Can we observe wisely and penetrate through the fictions of the mind? To abandon them, we must understand them. Ayyā Medhānandī coaches us to investigate emotions like fear and anger, viewing their characteristics as tiny fragments of physical sensation and learning how to refresh the mind in one instant. Then we touch the space of non-fear, serenity and joy within us. A talk given at Toronto Theravada Buddhist Community in 2015.
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Toronto Theravada Buddhist Community (TBC)
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2015-11-21
Why Do Beings Live In Hate?
29:37
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Ayya Medhanandi
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Has there ever been a time when the world was not filled with fear and violence? Millenia ago just as now, humans have been bound in a cycle of delusion, fear, and harm. The way out is within us – learning to find the still-point in the mind, where fleeting conditions subside. Awake to the present, anxiety and clinging bow to an inner contentment and peace. We are on the Middle Way.
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Satipaññā Insight Meditation Toronto
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2015-11-04
Compass of Our Heart
50:26
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Tara Brach
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All of our actions, our entire life experience, arises from the energy of intention. While it’s natural that our intentions are shaped by egoic wants and fears, when we bring this into conscious, compassionate awareness, we can discover the deep aspiration that guides and energizes our awakening hearts and minds. This talk explores the movement from egoic intention to liberating intention…the movement from “my will” to “my hearts will."
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2015-09-02
Learning to Respond, Not React
1:19:00
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Tara Brach
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When stressed, we often react with looping fear-thoughts, feelings and behaviors that cause harm to ourselves and/or others. This talk offers three interrelated strategies that can serve us when we’re triggered by stress, and help us find our way back to our natural wisdom, empathy and wholeness of being. By de-conditioning habitual reactivity, we are increasingly able to respond to our life circumstances in ways that serve healing and awakening.
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2015-08-19
Transforming Two Fears: FOF and FOMO
1:13:31
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Tara Brach
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There are two common fears that can block us from our full potential - fear of failure (FOF), and fear of missing out (FOMO). This talk explores how to meet these fears with mindful presence, and discover within them the essence energies of loving awareness and full aliveness.
Note: This talk is dedicated to Tim Ferriss, who turned me on to the phrase FOMO. Tim exemplifies the creative aliveness of FOMO energy when it’s living through someone who’s dedicated to being awake, caring and real. (check out his podcasts, http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast/)
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Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
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IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
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2015-08-15
Unsurpassed Treasure
26:23
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Ayya Medhanandi
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The Buddha is our unexcelled guide on the journey of a lifetime – to the end of suffering. We look within and enter the silence of the heart, leaving behind our ideas, fears, attachments, and identities to discover the treasures of pure presence – an unsurpassed happiness and freedom.
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Satipaññā Insight Meditation Toronto
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2015-07-21
Precepts: The Gift of Fearlessness
28:24
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Shaila Catherine
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This talk by Shaila Catherine is the first in a speaker series titled Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts. It offers an over view of the five precepts (sila) as training tools for bringing mindfulness and restraint into our actions, relationships, and daily life activities. These basic guidelines for living an ethical life, and the power of restraint are as relevant in the modern world as they were in ancient India. Taking care with our actions can be a source of joy and happiness. When our actions are clear, the mind is free from regret, guilt, and remorse; we gain self-respect, self-esteem, and confidence. The four bases of success (iddhipadas) can be used to strengthen these training precepts. With the support of desire, energy, consciousness, and investigation we can fully commit to abstain from unwholesome actions, and develop wholesome states, thereby gaining sovereignty over our own mind.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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In
collection:
Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts
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2015-05-06
Othering & Belonging 1
58:06
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Donald Rothberg
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In the contexts of our practice of examining the nature of self and of a recent conference on "Othering and Belonging," we look at ways that we create an "other." We may do this in terms of social groups (according to race, age, gender, religion, ability/disability, educational level, etc.), interpersonally, or in terms of parts of oneself (I "other" my fear or shame or brilliance). This week we focus on "othering" (the "other" is often noticed, but not really known or seen), how to track our own ways of othering, and how to work with and transform othering, opening to greater compassion, wisdom, and connection.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2015-04-30
Mindfulness of Pain, Illness, and Death
44:11
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Kim Allen
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This talk was given as part of the series “Strengthening Mindfulness.” Dukkha, or suffering, includes pain, illness, and death; yet these are inevitable visitors to our lives. It is our practice to gently turn towards what’s difficult and painful in our lives, and understand truly these human experiences. When we are mindful, we become aware that there are the bodily sensations of pain and discomfort that we may not control, and there are our mind’s reactions to these sensations that we may observe and change. Mindfulness of death can lead us to a sense of spiritual urgency, and help us to cultivate compassion for this shared experience among all human kind. This knowledge of commonality can also help us to overcome fear.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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In
collection:
Strengthening Mindfulness
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