Practice can sometimes feel complicated with so many different techniques and instructions on how to extricate oneself from identifying with our experience. Using approaches from Tibetan Dzogchen and other non-dual teachings this talks explores the profound simplicity of letting go of all trying as a way to come back to our true nature.

James has been offering reflections on the Dhammapada, the Buddha's collection of pithy teachings, and how they can be practically applied in our lives. Dhammapada Verse #165 emphasizes that individuals are responsible for the direction of their own spiritual unfolding. No external force or person can do it for us. This talk explores the implications.

This talk continues exploring teachings from the Dhammapada, the most well-known collection of the Buddha's words. It shares the Buddha's teachings on harmlessness and the consequences of causing harm or threatening to cause harm. These verses seem relevant to current times.

The Dhammapada is the most well-known collection of the Buddha's words. Consisting of 26 chapters in 423 verses, it contains pith teachings from discourses that are found throughout the Pali Canon. This talk explores some verses that are relevant in these times.

This talk shares a teaching from the great 10th Century Tibetan master, Tilopa. Tilopa and his succession of Dharma heirs formed the core of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He passed his teachings on to Naropa, whose student Marpa transmitted them to Milarepa, who then gave transmission to Gampopa. Tilopa's teaching is summed up in his timeless "Six Words Of Advice" which are instructions on how to stay connected to the present moment. These instructions are explored in this talk.

We often need something to be special to catch our attention. It takes practice to be mindful of ordinary experiences like the breath, a sound or a sensation. When we practice looking at reality through the lens of Sacred Perception, however, everything becomes holy and worthy of our attention. This talk explores Sacred Perception as a practice that makes even the mundane come alive.

This guided meditation shifts the subject of attention from objects to the awareness that knows.

Letting go is the direct instruction to move from the Second Noble Truth (there is a cause of suffering) to the Third Noble Truth (there is an end to suffering), Letting go on many levels within practice and in our lives is explored..

By Incorporating intention in our practice we see the connection between mind and body. The body moves when the mind has an impulse. And the mind is affected by bodily needs and discomforts. This addition to practice leads to a deeper subtlety of awareness of the mind-body connection.

Guided forgiveness practice beginning with ourselves- forgiveness towards our body, our mind, and our heart- then opening to include forgiveness for past actions, including extending and asking forgiveness.

Learning how to shift the awareness from the primary object toother physical sensations and back.

The Five Spiritual Faculties is a central teaching of the Buddha that explains how the practice develops and unfolds. This classical list of five qualities expresses both the importance of balance, as well as a natural progression of development with one quality leading to the next.

This talk discusses the Buddha's words on holding to fixed views from The Paramatthaka Sutta (Sn 4.5) followed by an open Q&A. While the Buddha warned against attachment to views, some views are clearly aligned with the Dharma such as: causing harm will lead to suffering for oneself or another. How can we reconcile not holding to fixed views when you're clear that it is appropriate to take a strong stand against harm? After reflections on this topic there is a Q&A session on this theme and other practice questions are explored.

It seems with every day of news, there is more uncertainty, deep concern and unease. As much as we would like to, we can't control reality. However, the great gift of practice is that we can choose how to skillfully relate to our experience. This is a time for our practice to hold us. Instead of reacting impulsively in ways that just contract us more or with actions we later regret, we can respond effectively with a wise heart. This talk discusses teachings and practices that help us make that wiser choice.

This talk will 1. Look back at 2025 reviewing what we've learned 2. Open to where we are in the present 3. Get in touch with our intention for the 2026 envisioning the qualities that will be most needed for us to deepen our understanding and inner peace We will also share a New Year's ritual of letting go and cultivation. If you're at home bring a candle. Please pause the audio to perform the exercises.

As we head into the darkest period of the year we are processing dark forces of ignorance and hate in the news each day. The light and loving awareness can hold all the forces of ignorance-- both inside us and around us--with compassionate understanding This is a time to remember all that is good.

A look at how Equanimity can be applied to oneself, help in our relationships and support active engagement in a troubled world.

An overview of the importance of cultivating Mudita or happiness at the happiness of others with instructions for practicing with various categories.

In this Equanimity retreat, instructions are given to include the breath and body with a special focus on seeing the impermanent nature of experience as a support for cultivating Equanimity.

An overview of Equanimity: why it holds a special place in all the qualities of mind, its relationship to the other 3 Brahma Viharas and how it is cultivated.

The capacity to be touched by and love goodness is, in some sense, the heart of spiritual practice. Something in us loves the truth and is drawn to goodness around us. It makes us yearn to activate the good inside. It requires commitment to choosing wholesome qualities as our default instead of being drawn to the forces of attachment, aversion and ignorance within us.

We all have teachers who've inspired us to see life in a new way. Who have been your inspirations? What have you learned from them? I thought I'd share some ways that instructions from two of my teachers--Ram Dass and HWL Poonja (Papaji)-- have shaped how I see the world and how I practice. The talk includes a recording of a significant dialogue from 1990 with Poonjaji that reconnected me with my joy. Here is a link to the dialogue of the Poonjaji satsang where James asked the question https://docs.google.com/document/d/16TnL2Zev-6r_mZPrgdSxSTaYLoyzdLOg3CnJ2U3D6C8/edit?tab=t.0 Here is a link to the video on Youtube that is over an hour long https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrjspK5fHiQ. James is at 23:38

Suffering is the Buddha's 1st Noble Truth. Sometimes it can feel like it's all too much, especially in these days of extreme unpredictability. Legitimate reactions of anger, confusion and discouragement can lead to feeling of hopelessness or resigned acceptance. How can we use the practice to not only skillfully hold those feelings, but to transform them into wholesome uplifting responses such as courage, trust and compassionate action?

This talk explores the place of Devotion in practice and what it means to look at reality through the lens of Sacred Perception.

Seeing sacredness, not only around us, but focusing inside the one who is perceiving. This mind/body (YOU) that is interacting with the world around it. I use Ram Dass's practice of seeing beyond this mind/body by abiding in the perspective "I Am Loving Awareness". This is where the devotional and non-dual meet. To aid in this exploration James shares some powerful cuts from the album Ram Dass, a collaboration of Ram Dass's voice and teachings with background music by East Forest, who will be offering a hybrid concert "Echoes of Ram Dass" at Spirit Rock October 19, 2025.

With so much violence and insensitivity all around us, we can lose touch with our love for what is sacred. All that is required is a heightened sensitivity to tune into what is always around us.

Most of us like to have some sense of security thinking planning ahead or knowing what to expect can help us be more at ease. But the real freedom comes from realizing we really don't know how things will unfold. Although that might seem unsettling, it can allow us to be more at ease with the fundamental unpredictability of life.

Your practice affects everyone around you. When you see your practice in this wider context, it evokes a whole dimension of inspiration and “joyful responsibility“ to cultivate wisdom and compassion within us. In this world with so much suffering—including the climate crisis and injustice in the world—more than ever we need to keep this in mind and see ourselves as “bodhisattvas in training“.

Practices to hold our suffering and to see our innate goodness

Working with the Anapanasati Sutta in some depth. There are 16 steps in four tetrads that the Buddha lays out regarding how to practice this way. It is more than simply keeping one's attention on the experience of breathing. Some of the steps will likely surprise you. I thought it would be interesting to hear how the Buddha himself practiced using the breath and then practice together as he suggested. Anapanasati Sutta Majjhima Nikaya #118 https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html Anåpånasati- Summary of the Four Tetrads (16 steps) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yE2GiJtr3nnMGR_2YYOEA7eZ9W02ti52PD5abYF_Ius/edit?tab=t.0 Thich Nhat Hanh Video TNH explaining the 16 steps (28 minutes) https://youtu.be/inPkOzo_8XQ?si=nKp94lysBPxn4od_ Ven Analayo Audio guided meditations successively building on the tetrads. Last one includes all four. Mindfulness of Breathing with Bhikkhu Anālayo https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/resources/breathing-audio/ Written Overview Analayo - Understanding and Practicing the Ānāpānasati-sutta https://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=30301 Bhikkhu Bodhi's videos going through the sutta in detail. https://www.youtube.com/@BAUSChuangYenMonastery/search?query=Bhikkhu%20Bodhi%20Majjhima%20Nikaya%20118

This talk explores Bhava, one of the 12 links on the Wheel of Dependent Origination also called the "Wheel of Samsara." Bhava comes right after Craving and Grasping and is usually translated as "Becoming." Bhava or Becoming is something that that most of us find ourselves caught in. However, bringing kind awareness to this tendency can be a major support for living our lives fully in the present moment.

We may think some experiences are better than others to support awakening, but the Buddha said otherwise. This talk explores the liberative quality of mindfulness and the implications of this understanding.

The Anguttara Nikaya is one of the five Nikayas (collections) that constitute the Sutta Pitaka, which is part of the Pali Tipitaka, the Theravada Buddhist canon. It is also known as the "Numerical Discourses" or "Gradual Collection". The Anguttara Nikaya is organized numerically, with suttas grouped into eleven books (nipatas) based on the number of items discussed within them. For example, the "Book of the Ones" contains suttas about a single topic, the "Book of the Twos" contains suttas about pairs of things, and so on

Dharmettes & Q&A - James Baraz, Kerstin Deibert and Jean Leonard Cultivating a Joyful Resilient Heart

Following the Spiral-Going Forth - Cultivating a Joyful Resilient Heart

This talk takes a dive into Gratitude as a way to hold suffering. The Jewish holiday of Passover began on Saturday. Passover is a holiday of liberation. One of the most joyous parts of the holiday is singing the song Dayenu, which translates as "It would have been enough." The song's lyrics list one blessing after another, 15 in all. After each verse the refrain is "if that was all, it would have been enough. But then there was this (next blessing)." When we look at our lives through this lens it gives us inspiration to see and appreciate all the good in our lives as we process all that is challenging.

It's hard to keep up with all the disorienting changes we are processing each day. We can easily get lost in confusion trying to make sense of it all. As a result, we can draw conclusions based in despair and fear, thinking that we know where this is heading. We can find strength from Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn teaching: "Keep Don't Know Mind." In this "Don't Know Mind" we let go of knowing how things will turn out. This frees us from the tyranny of our mind-created stories and allows us to see many possibilities.

This talk explores the view that the wide and profound perspective of Non-Duality sees that everything belongs. One is not creating divisions between "good and bad" or "right and wrong". It is all part of the dance of life. However, in the relative level of reality these categories are real and shape our thoughts, reactions and actions. The Buddha advises us to not be attached to views and opinions. How can we reconcile this paradox and live with this wise non-dual perspective while taking a courageous stand against the forces of greed, hatred delusion that are creating suffering?

It seems like many are feeling either a low-level anxiety or fear these days. Fear about their safety, about disasters like fire or floods, about what the future holds. While this is natural and understandable, when our minds get hijacked by fearful thoughts, it is almost impossible to have a wise or appropriate response. In this talk we explore practicing and skillfully working with fear so that it can transform into courage, compassion and wisdom.

This talk is about what the Dalai Lama called our greatest protection: our sincerity of motivation. What is sincerity? How do we know when we are truly sincere? How can we cultivate it?

The subject of this talk is the opening verse of the Dhammapada, the famous collection of the Buddha’s teachings. The verse starts out with these words: “We are what we think. With our thoughts we make the world.” This teaching can be truly transformative in one’s meditation practice as well as in one’s life.

Talk originally given on December 12, 2024 I’m happy to share the evening with my son, Adam Baraz, who will reflect on the recent completion of his fifth Darkness Retreat, a 49-day “Bardo Retreat” in Tuscany, Italy. Adam will discuss the psychological, physical, emotional, and spiritual journey of “being alone in the dark” for 7 weeks. He will describe the practical aspects of preparation, meditation practice, challenges, and benefits of extended darkness retreat practice.

At this time, US citizens are going through a major adjustment to a new reality after the election. A large part of the population is happy at the outcome. And another large part is confused by that fact. A whole host of feelings are likely to arise--disorientation, confusion, fear, numbing out to name a few. In order to respond wisely to the moment, we first need to be present for and honor our experience. A key question to ask oneself is "What do I need right now?" We will explore this in the context of our Dharma practice.

This week has been a test for anyone who values kindness, compassion, and equanimity. It's understandable to get lost in fear, confusion and despair. This is when spiritual practice is needed most. How can we use our practice to develop a balance of mind in unpredictable circumstances, and relate to those who have very different perspectives from ours without getting caught in "othering"?

This Thursday is Halloween night. It's definitely scary times so I thought we could explore working with fear. Join us online.

Alan Watts wrote a classic book The Wisdom of Insecurity. With the election in the States a few weeks away, dealing with significant uncertainty is on the minds of most everybody. Join us as we explore the topic of dealing with major uncertainty as Dharma practice together.

How might you let Life play you like an instrument? In this talk James shares the evening with Sarah-Marie Hopf, a good friend, dedicated practitioner, coach and meditation teacher who shares about her journey of progressively deepening trust in the dharma and our True Nature and opening to what wants to flow effortlessly from the mystery into form. Becoming an unexpected singer-songwriter, she shares the origin story of her first album “Modern Mantras” which was inspired by songs that came through her spontaneously during a month long Spirit Rock retreat.

The title of the evening is "Love, Serve, Remember". On October 13th, Spirit Rock hosts a special event Celebrating Ram Dass: Love Serve, Remember with Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Krishna Das and others. Those three words were the instructions Neem Karoli Baba, Ram Dass' guru gave to him: "Love Everyone, Serve Everyone, and Remember God."