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In Memoriam: Rick Woudenberg


The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
 
Donald Rothberg's Dharma Talks
Donald Rothberg
Donald Rothberg, PhD, has practiced Insight Meditation since 1976, and has also received training in Tibetan Dzogchen and Mahamudra practice and the Hakomi approach to body-based psychotherapy. Formerly on the faculties of the University of Kentucky, Kenyon College, and Saybrook Graduate School, he currently writes and teaches classes, groups and retreats on meditation, daily life practice, spirituality and psychology, and socially engaged Buddhism. An organizer, teacher, and former board member for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Donald has helped to guide three six-month to two-year training programs in socially engaged spirituality through Buddhist Peace Fellowship (the BASE Program), Saybrook (the Socially Engaged Spirituality Program), and Spirit Rock (the Path of Engagement Program). He is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World and the co-editor of Ken Wilber in Dialogue: Conversations with Leading Transpersonal Thinkers.
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2024-09-04 Practicing with Mystery 2 64:53
In this second talk on practicing with mystery, we begin by talking more generally about the nature of mystery. We then review seven ways of practicing with mystery explored last week, while bringing in further examples of these ways of practicing, and add an additional two further ways of practicing. Reading of poems and excerpts from poems support this sense of multiple ways of practicing with mystery. The talk is followed by discussion.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks
2024-09-04 Guided Meditation on Practicing with Mystery 34:13
This is a fairly lightly guided meditation on ways to practice with a sense of mystery, linked with the talk on this theme. After grounding in posture and intentions, basic instructions in developing stability and concentration, and then in mindfulness, are given, with later periodic suggestions on ways to practice with a sense of mystery.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks
2024-08-28 Practicing with Mystery 1 59:56
Inviting a sense of mystery as we practice can bring further aliveness, presence, and openness, and help us go beyond our habitual patterns of thinking and practicing. In the talk, we explore seven ways of practicing with mystery, with the aid of a number of poems. The talk is followed by discussion.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks
2024-08-25 A Community Program on Palestine/Israel: Session 3: A Buddhist Toolkit for Skillful Response 1:33:32
with Donald Rothberg, Ronya Banks
In the final session of this series, teachers Ronya Banks and Donald Rothberg offer a number of resources that can help one navigate these times and the conflict between Israel and Palestinians. After a brief period of meditation, we offer four teachings and practices, each first explored through teachings and then briefly guided experientially: (1) the teaching of the Two Arrows and Dependent Origination pointing to the nature of reactivity--habitual and often unconscious grasping after the pleasant and pushing away the unpleasant or painful; (2) the teachings about attachment to views; (3) the cultivation of wise speech and empathy, increasingly pointing toward universal empathy and what Dr. King called the "beloved community"; and (4) practicing with difficult emotions, body states (including traumatic reactions), and thoughts. These teachings and practices are followed by a period of discussion, closing intentions, and the dedication of merit.
Southern Dharma Retreat Center A Community Program on Palestine/Israel
2024-08-14 The Shared Heart of Spiritual Teachings and Practices 60:03
The Dalai Lama has said, “My religion is kindness," suggesting that the core of spirituality is both beyond any particular religion and does not require religion. We explore, in a similar way, how the basics of Buddhist teachings and practices-- related to ethics, kindness and compassion, wisdom, and touching nibbana--can be understood and expressed in ordinary, everyday language and at its heart is both shared by other spiritual traditions and potentially beyond any particular tradition. The talk is followed by discussion.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks
2024-08-14 Guided Meditation Exploring Several Foundational Practices 35:31
Related to the talk given after the guided meditation on the foundational practices and how we can talk very simply about them, we begin remembering our grounding in ethics, and then develop concentration, then mindfulness and wisdom, and later the kind and compassionate heart.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks
2024-08-11 A Community Program on Palestine/Israel: Session 2: A Dialogue between Teachers and Friends (with Ronya Banks and Donald Rothberg) 1:31:09
with Donald Rothberg, Ronya Banks
In session 2 of this series, Donald Rothberg and Ronya Banks will engage in dialogue around their Jewish and Palestinian identities, their family histories, and their own experiences of being Buddhist teachers navigating the complexities of the conflict in Palestine/Israel. During the course of the conversation, they will offer reflections on what has been most helpful to each of them in dealing with painful truths, strong emotions, and difficult conversations. In the last part of the session, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer reflections.
Southern Dharma Retreat Center A Community Program on Palestine/Israel
2024-07-31 Living from Our Depths 2 62:08
We continue with our exploration of how we contact what is "deep" in our lives and in life, and how we stay connected with our depths in our practice. We initially give a review of some of what we explored last week, recalling some of the many metaphors used for deepening in our lives in spiritual traditions, including awakening, being on a journey, liberation, seeing clearly whereas previously we didn't see clearly, coming to wholeness, among others. We recall the Buddhist emphasis on wisdom (especially the three ways of seeing that liberate--seeing into impermanence, dukkha or reactivity, and not-self; as well as touching nibbana); compassion; and skillful action. We hear also from several people sharing their experiences of their depths. We then explore a number of ways to stay connected in daily life with our depths, including several not mentioned last week. The talk is followed by discussion, including sharing of some ways that people in the group find helpful in terms of staying connected with their depths, including using phrases like "Begin again" and "Keep coming back."
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks
2024-07-31 A Guided Meditation Supporting "Living from Our Depths" (related to the Talk Today): Developing Concentration, Exploring Mindfulness (including of Impermanence and Reactivity), and Practicing Lovingkindness 35:55
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks
2024-07-24 Living from Our Depths 1 62:53
How do we live from the depths of our being? We explore this question in a number of different ways. We begin by looking at some of the metaphors for "spiritual practice" (itself involving metaphors), including the sense of touching and living from our depths, becoming a "big person" (a Mahaatta in the Buddha's phrasing), awakening, being on a journey, and seeing through our conditioning, delusions, and the 70,000 veils (as is said in Islamic tradition). In Buddhist tradition, we especially connect, as in the image of the bird with two wings, with wisdom and compassion, and with ways to bring these qualities into our actions and interactions. After inviting several people to share experiences of their depths, we then explore a number of different ways to stay connected in daily life with our depths. The talk is followed by discussion.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

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