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The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
 
James Baraz's Dharma Talks
James Baraz
I try to convey that the wisdom and compassion we are looking for is already inside of us. I see practice as learning how to purify our mind and heart so we can hear the Buddha inside. In doing so, we naturally embody the dharma and help awaken that understanding and love in others we meet.
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2021-03-28 Befriending Ourselves Daylong 4:26:41
with Eve Decker, James Baraz
When we develop a basic kindness towards ourselves we not only learn to accept the difficult parts, but in the process embrace our humanity and see more clearly the beauty that's inside. As we do that we allow our goodness and True Nature to shine through. This becomes a gift to everyone we meet, a healing energy that awakens the goodness in others as well.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2021-03-18 Honeyball Sutta: The Buddha's Teaching on Papanća 56:36
Have you ever wondered how your mind can move from one thought to getting lost in a complex story without you knowing how you got there? The Buddha describes this process in his Honeyball Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya #19) where he explains the phenomenon of papanća or proliferation of thought. The more we understand this porcess and work with it as practice, the less we get caught up in the stories the mind creates.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2021-02-25 Gratitude 52:46
In the Mangala Sutta, the Discourse on Blessings, the Buddha teaches: "To be content and grateful is a blessing supreme." Gratitude is a particularly potent ally in awakening true happiness because it helps expand the mind as well as the heart. With a grateful heart we have a larger container and more space to hold the difficulties we encounter. When we pause to notice what we usually take for granted a new world of possibilities opens up. It's as if we've changed the station instead of being stuck on our own little "drama channel."
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2021-02-18 The Secret Ingredients of Dharma Practice 37:59
One of the lesser known lists are four different qualities of heart, The Four Iddhipadas, that are present in people with differing temperaments, that are powerful motivators for practice.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2021-02-11 Intention from the Heart 49:58
The Buddha taught "Intention is karma". We will look at two manifestations of intention and how we can work with this powerful energy to increase well being.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2021-02-11 Brahma Vihara: Equanimity 51:38
Equanimity is the last of the 4 Brahma Viharas. It holds the other three--metta, compassion/karuna, and mudita--with spaciousness and balance. Equanimity reminds us to allow for life to unfold as it will. We can let go of control, which we never had in the first place, meeting life's up and downs with balance and the possibility of a wise, skillful response.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center February Insight Meditation Retreat: A Retreat for Experienced Students with James Baraz, Sally Armstrong, Kamala Masters, Andrea Fella, Dawn Scott, Bob Stahl, PhD, Louije Kim and Martha "Rasika" Link
2021-02-10 Guided Instructions: Incorporating Awareness as a Meditation Object (including Choiceless Awareness) 22:36
Morning Sit with Instructions
Spirit Rock Meditation Center February Insight Meditation Retreat: A Retreat for Experienced Students with James Baraz, Sally Armstrong, Kamala Masters, Andrea Fella, Dawn Scott, Bob Stahl, PhD, Louije Kim and Martha "Rasika" Link
2021-02-09 Trusting Your Buddha Knowing 59:37
With so many instructions and ways to practice, how do we know which is the "right one"? Similarly, with all decisions we need to make in our lives, how can we access the wisdom right inside?
Spirit Rock Meditation Center February Insight Meditation Retreat: A Retreat for Experienced Students with James Baraz, Sally Armstrong, Kamala Masters, Andrea Fella, Dawn Scott, Bob Stahl, PhD, Louije Kim and Martha "Rasika" Link
2021-02-05 Forgiveness 50:26
An important support for metta practice is forgiveness that softens the contracted heart that is stuck in aversion or ill will. This guided meditation practice first focuses on forgiveness towards ourselves--our body, mind, and heart--and then opens to both asking and extending forgiveness with others.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center February Insight Meditation Retreat: A Retreat for Experienced Students with James Baraz, Sally Armstrong, Kamala Masters, Andrea Fella, Dawn Scott, Bob Stahl, PhD, Louije Kim and Martha "Rasika" Link
2021-02-04 Guided Meditation on Refinement of the Breath 48:10
This meditation is a support for exploring the subtleties of the breath as an aid to deepening concentration.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center February Insight Meditation Retreat: A Retreat for Experienced Students with James Baraz, Sally Armstrong, Kamala Masters, Andrea Fella, Dawn Scott, Bob Stahl, PhD, Louije Kim and Martha "Rasika" Link

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