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The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
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Dharma Talks
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2026-07-13
Monday Night Talk: The Foundations of Our Practice
60:25
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Donald Rothberg
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A main way to understand generally our practice is by seeing it as combining (1) avoiding “unskillful” or “unwholesome” actions and states of mind (and knowing how to practice when they arise), and (2) developing skillful or wholesome qualities. We explore different aspects of this way of seeing our practice: Understanding its relationship to the teaching on wise effort; seeing the core unskillful quality as reactivity (dukkha) in its two forms as grasping after the pleasant and pushing away the unpleasant, each in myriad ways; and developing positive qualities like concentration, mindfulness, kindness and compassion, generosity and the other paramis, and the Seven Factors of Awakening. We examine some of the complexities of practicing with reactivity, with a main one being that reactivity is often enmeshed with discernment; I can be judgmental and caught in reactivity, for example, as an activist who sees injustice clearly, with discernment. This calls therefore for transforming the reactivity, so we can make use of the discernment skillfully. We also look into some examples of both forms of practice, both in meditation and in the flow of daily life. 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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2026-07-08
Fierce Compassion
45:54
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Lila Kate Wheeler
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When news of the world is challenging and there is uncertainty for everyone, letting reality in can feel impossible or scary. Yet Buddhist practices are designed to support exactly this, though maybe not all at once. Supported by each other and those who have gone before, bolstered by an innate determination to be free, we practice skills and arts of goodness. Compassionate ethics protects ourselves and others. Meditation turns awareness toward direct experience, open to its textures. Things might start to shift a bit. One practitioner may sense honesty and compassion growing as they admit some limitation. Another might see space for choice where they hadn’t imagined choice was even possible. There are lots of possibilities.
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Cambridge Insight Meditation Center
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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 the 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
A talk by Sister Jayavira
23:25
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Born into a Buddhist family in Malaysia, she began practising more seriously after she became a Chartered Accountant. She received the Going Forth as a Sīladharā in July 2019 at Amaravati where she resides.
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VipassanaGruppen (Sweden)
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Embody the Heart
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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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2026-06-17
Q&A
53:04
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Q1 Can you please explain once more what you mean by 'widen and expand attention around a tight solid object in the body'; 23:00 Q2 I'm afraid to leave the retreat. The world I return to is not made for the fine tuned sensitivity of awareness. Can you please advise? How can I live with my demanding small children, giving them what they need but not losing myself. 35:25 Q3 What are the differences and similarities between sampajanna (thoroughly completely knowing), dhamma vicya (exploring phenomena ) and yoniso manisakara (attention that goes to the origin); 43:35 Q4 Is it possible for a lay person to ordain when they are retired/ in old age? 47:34 How can I be with extreme fear of death? What happens when body and breath cannot be anchors for the period around death?
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VipassanaGruppen (Sweden)
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Embody the Heart
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2026-06-16
Q&A
55:43
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Q1 I've been living with unpleasant piti stuck in my head for 13 years. I've accepted it but I'm curious and would not want others to suffer this. I think my willfulness and forcefulness in my meditation, not knowing what to look for is a problem. Can you comment please? 11:53 Q2 With samadhi deepening would you recommend any kind of inquiry or to stay receptive and view how experience naturally unfolds; 15:12 Q3 If samadhi is being in the whole of the body, is there still room for samatha practice using a one-pointed object like the breathing? 17:46 Several similar questions on protecting oneself: Q4 a) There is protection around the heart because it's afraid of being attacked with insults or aggression. How could I manage situations like these? b) Could you please elaborate on how to avoid other people's emotions getting stuck in your system? c) Could you please talk more about breaking the patterns of acquired behaviours from other people or society in general. 42:32 Q5 The inner tyrant shows up during meditation telling me I'm not doing enough and that I should be more mindful, more dedicated. How can I distinguish from what might be encouragement to practice more, from criticism? 46:36 Q6 Can you say more about bringing the energy of thoughts into the body?
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VipassanaGruppen (Sweden)
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Embody the Heart
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2026-06-15
Q&A
52:53
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Q1 What is meant by the knowing the body, internally /externally from the Satipatanna sutta? 26:01 Q2 When observing the breath, should the meditator focus on the touch, the movement, the energy or the knowing? 19:09 Q3 I experience rushes of heat when sitting which finds tense areas, making them more tense and me angry. What is your advice? 21:27 Q4 You mentioned that the hands are a good place to release energy. Is this true for deep patterns arising in the heart? How do you move energy through your hands? 26:36 Q5 Yesterday you said that piti cannot be generated. I've been taught before to try to develop it. Is there a problem with trying to intentionally develop it? 30:38 Q6 Is cetana only dependent on the karmic blend and the conditions it meets? Are there other factors at play? 41:25 Q7 What can you say about the existence of devas... gods in Buddhism in general. 42:00 Q8 How important is it to collect punya? 44:40 Q9 How can we practice to dissolve the ego and with not noticing the ignorance of the ego?
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VipassanaGruppen (Sweden)
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Embody the Heart
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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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