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The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
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Dharma Talks
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2026-06-28
Doing and Not-Doing in Meditation and Daily Life: Talk and Discussion
62:13
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Donald Rothberg
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We explore the nature of doing and not-doing, both in meditation and more generally. We begin with emphasizing the importance for the Buddha of diligence, skillful effort (one of the factors of the Eightfold Path), and doing. Yet there also is a clear place for what we can call “not-doing,” for example, in cultivating mindful receptivity to experience. We examine as well how being a “doer” is so central to many of our identities, whether in our roles or work or even in our meditation. We also look to how we often experience a kind of not-doing in everyday life in “flow” experiences in different aspects of life. Finally, we show how accessing the depths of human experience commonly requires a profound not-doing, as we find brought out, for example, in Taoism, some of the Buddha’s teachings, and Tibetan Mahamudra and Dzogchen. The talk is followed by discussion.
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Benicia Insight Meditation
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2026-06-27
Q&A
50:31
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Ajahn Sucitto
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0:53 Q1 I'm very impulsive and I find that smoking grounds me. I'd like to quit but it's not the proper time or the moment. Do you have any suggestions? 07:29 Q2 I have a question about recognizing not self, anatta. It's difficult to maintain this perspective over a longer period of time. I feel quite content but my personality keeps popping up and I struggle with egg handling me anxiety of aging and losing my job. How can I handle living in the real world? 18:40 Q3 Some questions on measureless States: a) I was attending a retreat with Ayye Anandabodhi what arose was a sense of gratitude. Is gratitude a prerequisite for cultivating the brahmaviharas? b) A local sangha leader often mentions "it's like this now'. Sometimes I find this just frustrating. Can you say something about this? c) 27:29 Q4 Sometime ago you talked about the fruition of karuna / compassion as boundless space, muditha/sympathetic joy as boundless consciousness and upekkha / equanimity as no-thing-ness. Can you speak more about this? 33:17 Q5 Resignation and acceptance. I can only accept my life situation at this moment is to resign myself to the circumstances. I experience a lot of direct and indirect rejection but feel sorry and defeated. 44:12 Q6 I'm 54 and I'm feeling in a kind of bardo, an in-between space in my life. My question is not about ambition but how do I want to spend the rest of my life. What can you advise?
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Dhamma Stream Online Sessions
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2026-06-23
The 4 Elements, Earth as Creator (Retreat at Spirit Rock)
45:24
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Tere Abdala-Romano
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We are nothing but Earth inlcuding all its elements, not separete from her/them, Inviting to honor, revere it, seeing clearly the interdependence. Inviting to shift from seeing Earth as a resource to recognizing it as our creator, sustainer, healer, and home. By remembering that we are not separate from the living world—but an expression of it—we cultivate humility, gratitude, ethical responsibility, joy arises from a deeper sense of belonging, inspiring both inner transformation and compassionate care for all life.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Awaken the Elements: Connect with Joy
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2026-06-20
Dhammapada Verses 146-156: Old Age
1:36:31
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Ayya Santussika
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This dhamma talk, comments, questions and responses was offered on June 20, 2026 for East Bay Dhamma.
Dhammapada verses 146 -156 Old Age was discussed.
The text can be found here:
https://suttacentral.net/dhp146-156/en/buddharakkhita?lang=en&reference=none&highlight=false
00:00 - 1:36:32 DHAMMA TALK, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS & RESPONSES
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Karuna Buddhist Vihara
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2026-06-19
Juneteenth and Our Practice
53:13
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Donald Rothberg
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We begin with a short account of some of the history of Juneteenth and its origins in Texas, as well as how it developed in the decades after 1865, including under Jim Crow. We ask how consideration of Juneteenth and the ensuing history informs our practice, considering the three main elements of our practice: Training in wisdom (particularly in understanding the roots of racism in greed for power and wealth and a "divide and conquer" approach); meditation (both in examining our conditioning and working with difficult emotions), and ethical practice (developing care and addressing harm, for the benefit of all beings). The talk is followed by discussion.
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East Bay Meditation Center
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2026-06-18
On Love, Shame and Human Belonging with Adam Baraz
50:53
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James Baraz
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Adam will give the talk. Over the past seven months, Adam traveled through Bali, Nepal, and Japan on a pilgrimage that became both an outer journey and an inner exploration. At the heart of this journey was a simple question: What allows a human being to feel truly at home within themselves?
Drawing from meditation, spiritual pilgrimage, and somatic practice, Adam reflects on how love transforms shame and restores our innate dignity and belonging. He will share how he sees the journey through the lens of the five elemental stages of SomAwaken that he teaches.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2026-06-14
Q&A
48:24
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Q1 A few questions for some clarification regarding the three kinds of suffering and suggestions for meditation. 06:22 Q2 My mind often worries more about other people than about myself. I've heard you say that we take care of other people as we take care of ourselves. But I think sometimes we spend more time taking care of other people than taking care of ourselves. Can you elaborate on this? 13:28 Q3 Could you speak on skillful versus unskillful thoughts. 18:05 Q4 Can you speak about centering and arousing good mental qualities at the time of a migraine or brain fog or when the attention is very jumpy. 21:11 Q5 Is there a wise and skillful way to transform a life in pursuit of the fulfillment of big desires and pleasure i.e. lust and wealth into a spiritual practice? 27:22 Q6 How how can I practice non- self in other people's projections of me? 28:58 Q7 Who is the witness, the one being aware? 43:31 Q8 I get glimpses of the sensing presence and awareness, but as soon as it happens I get conscious of it and make it into an object. Then I get frustrated and start to make all kinds of ideas about awareness. How to allow longer glimpses? 42:30 Q9 I feel I have quite a lot of calm and not grasping, choices awareness kind of mind. Sometimes I experience negative stuff being flat, withdrawn and indifferent why does that happen? How do I develop my practice in aliveness and compassion?
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VipassanaGruppen (Sweden)
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Embody the Heart
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2026-06-13
Q&A
17:40
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Questions are précised. Q1. [The first question is missing from the recording, but appears to be:] Can you comment on the heart and body connections and their functioning. To what extent are they the same and different? How do they manage the body's strong cravings, desires and wants? 07:26 Q2 I had an accident and fell 8 m to the ground. At that moment a bright white beam came towards me and I experienced great sadness to leave my wife and daughter behind. Can you comment on this please? 09:53 Q3 My wife would like stop taking antidepressants after many years of using them but is afraid of all the negative emotions she has suppressed with her medication. How can I help her in the best way ?
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VipassanaGruppen (Sweden)
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Embody the Heart
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2026-06-11
Fireside Chat on Awareness (Retreat at Spirit Rock)
67:13
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Phillip Moffitt
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In this talk, you are invited into a relaxed, fireside chat exploring awareness as the mind-heart’s capacity to know without grasping, fixing, or becoming entangled in what is known. Through reflections on aspects of the Naturally Arising Practice Method (dharmaground.org/teachings) including: inward-staying (from Upasika Kee Nanayon's pointer), knowing experience from within experience, and letting go of the mind’s habitual leaning toward objects, the talk points toward the fruits of stillness, coming home, wellbeing, equanimity, and joy. This exploration of awareness supports a more spacious and wise relatedness to daily life, where even difficulty can be met with greater presence, choice, and a quiet freedom.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Exploring Awareness: A Retreat for Experienced Practitioners
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2026-06-10
Buddhist Practice and Transforming Social Conditioning 2
62:17
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Donald Rothberg
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We begin by reviewing briefly last week's session, including how contemporary practice can expand the traditional focus on ignorance to include contemporary psychological and social perspectives on further dimensions of ignorance, including our initially unconscious social conditioning. We look again briefly at how the Buddha related both to caste and to women's roles in the sangha, and the basic of social conditioning, including how this is related to "in-groups," "out-groups," and "implicit bias." Most of the talk is devoted to suggesting the basic ways that we can explore and transform social conditioning. We focus on the main supports for such practice, including working with groups and guidelines, knowing the history of a particular form of conditoning (we give the examples of gender and race), using different forms of inquiry, mindfulness in meditation and daily life (including being mindful of the judgmental mind, anger, sadness, shame, etc.), the heart practices (including the importance of self-love, compassion, forgiveness, and joy), and other practices, such as involving ritual. The talk is followed by discussion.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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