Donate  |   Contact


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.
     1 2 3 4 ... 19 20
2023-02-13 Big Mind Meditation (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 58:31
Download Listen
This guided meditation, originally created by Joseph Goldstein, shifts the subject of attention from objects to the awareness that knows.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation One Month Retreat
2023-02-09 Transforming suffering into happiness (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 58:51
Download Listen
Every moment of mindfulness we are weakening the forces of greed, hatred & delusion (roots of suffering) and strengthening the forces of non-greed (letting go & generosity), non-hatred (loving-kindness) and non-delusion (wisdom). This talk explains how that works.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation One Month Retreat
2023-02-01 Wise Effort: Finding Balance and Inclining toward the Wholesome 60:23
Download Listen
Two aspects of Wise Effort are explored: 1) how do we know if we're doing too little, too much or just enough with regard to effort in practice? and 2) the four aspects of wise efforts are discussed with particular emphasis on the importance of cultivating and increasing wholesome states.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation One Month Retreat
2023-01-26 Why Intensive Practice 54:25
Download Listen
Going through the process of sitting in silence over a long period of time is a unique and profound experience. What happens on a month-long retreat and why do people do it? Though it is not possible for everyone to get away for that length of time or have the desire to do it, the principles shared can be applied to shorter retreats as well
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2023-01-12 Motivation from the Heart: The Place of Devotion in our Practice 53:50
Download Listen
Devotion is not a topic often spoken of in our Buddhist community. Yet it plays a significant role in monastic communities and Tibetan practices. The Buddha spoke of Saddha, one's heartfelt connection to practice as one of the Five Spiritual Faculties and Powers. Devotion can be a major source of inspiration which can fuel our practice. How can we access it and have it moisten and bring juice to our practice - even for those not naturally inclined that way.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-12-29 Endings and Beginnings: A Ritual for the New Year 39:30
Download Listen
An end of year reflection and ritual that includes letting go of the past--not the lessons but the baggage that may come with them--and visioning the future--what we want to create for ourselves moving forward.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-12-22 Celebrating Solstice: Honoring the Duality of Light in the Midst of Darkness 53:41
Download Listen
We explore going through the dark as an essential element of coming into the light. How can we grow through our own journey of facing challenges while staying committed to facing in the direction of greater light.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-11-17 Confidence and Humility: It's Not about Me 51:07
Download Listen
The Buddhist writer Wei Wu Wei wrote: "True humility is the absence of anyone to be proud." We are often humbled by life. How we handle it can either lead to defeat or profound growth. We explore how being humbled can deepen our capacity to open to all of our experience and strengthen our confidence and trust as we align ourselves with something greater than ourselves.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-10-20 Anything Can Happen at Anytime: Holding Loss with a Tender Heart 53:46
Download Listen
Our Dharma community is processing sad news this week that has sent a shock wave through the sangha. One of our respected teachers who led movement at many Spirit Rock retreats and mentored many students in the practice took her life after a long bout with health issues that affected her mental well-being. A truism of the law of impermanence is that "anything can happen at any time." I want to use this event as an opportunity to explore how the practice can help support us when a sudden major loss happens.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-10-13 It's Never Too Late: Responding Wisely with Unskillful Habits 26:17
Download Listen
Do you ever act on behaviors that you know don't support well-being but you choose to act on them anyway? I'm sure we all do. But how can we skillfully relate to that after the fact without self-judgment or self-recrimination? What are practices and teachings that help us to be patient as we go through this process of purification?
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-10-06 From Heartbreak to Compassionate Action 55:06
Download Listen
Kaye Cleave is a sangha member and film producer of the award-winning movie Catherine's Kindergarten. Catherine’s Kindergarten is the story of Kaye's emotional journey to confront her grief after the death of her only child, juxtaposed with her physical journey to a Nepalese mountain village to open a school in memory of her daughter. It is a truly moving experience. I'm proud to be part of Kaye's journey and in the film. Kaye will share some of her story of how the practice helped her process her grief and transform it into compassionate action. We share a clip of the movie and discuss the process of how we can turn heartbreak into meaning.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-09-29 The Time is Now: Engagement as Practice 49:39
Download Listen
Practice is more than stress reduction or finding calm within ourselves. A natural expression of a wise heart is the wish to relieve suffering not only in ourselves but in others and in our world. As Thich Nhat Hanh teaches: "Compassion is a verb."
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-09-22 You've Got a Friend: The Buddha's Advice on Good Friendship 55:07
Download Listen
The Buddha said, "Good friends are the whole of the spiritual life." But what does it mean to be a good friend? In the Sigalovada Sutta the Buddha describes different kinds of friendship including what a true friend is, what it is not, and how a true friend supports you in your spiritual practice. We will explore being there with others in a way that helps you and them grow.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-09-08 Refuge in the Buddha Within 55:07
Download Listen
This talk explores the deeper meaning of "Taking Refuge in the Buddha." This is not simply honoring or being inspired by the historical figure who lived 2,500 years ago. Until we see the Buddha right inside of us we are missing the point of what that teacher was trying to have us awaken to. We will look at various teachings that point to discovering the Buddha within.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-09-03 Metta Instructions (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 32:10
Download Listen
Some aspects of metta practice along with metta for self, loved one, neutral and all beings
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Labor Day Insight Meditation Retreat
2022-09-02 Morning Sit with Instructions (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 63:15
Download Listen
Opening the meditation filed to include breath, sensations and sounds
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Labor Day Insight Meditation Retreat
2022-09-01 Five Spiritual Faculties (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 61:06
Download Listen
A description of how the meditation practice unfolds
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Labor Day Insight Meditation Retreat
2022-06-16 Amazing Grace: Why Do Some People Turn Their Suffering into Compassion While Others Become Embittered? 50:41
Download Listen
In one discourse the Buddha taught that suffering can be a causative factor for faith to arise. However, that is not always the case. In fact, often suffering leads to bitterness, fear, and ill will. Why is it that, for some people, suffering is the catalyst to begin their spiritual journey and for others it's leads to negative patterns that contribute to a society filled with divisiveness, fear and "othering." We'll explore this mysterious process
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-06-12 The Five Daily Reflections 52:53
Download Listen
A follow up to a recent talk that focused on death and dying. This talk explores the other four of the Five Daily Reflections (also known as the Five Remembrances): aging, illness, loss and karma. It includes practices and discussion on how we can include them regularly in our Dharma practice, which the Buddha highly recommended.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-06-09 5 Methods to Work with Troublesome Thoughts: MN #20: Vitakkasanthana Sutta 49:43
Download Listen
The Buddha gave a teaching on five different methods he recommended to work with disturbing thoughts. When we are mindful of the thinking process it's possible to see thoughts simply as mental fabrications. However, when we get caught in them and the body gets activated, we spin out in the story and are caught in a negative emotional response. We become identified with those mental formations and can more easily get lost. When that happens, the Buddha offers these five strategies as skillful techniques to deal with the confused mind.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-05-30 Metta for Self (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 38:01
Download Listen
Sometimes the hardest person to send metta to is oneself. This guided meditation invites us to see ourselves through a loved one's eyes to see who we really are.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Awakening Joy and Wellbeing
2022-05-29 Including body sensations and sounds in the field of awareness. (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 57:58
Download Listen
After establishing our anchor or home base in the meditation we can expand the field beyond the breath to skillfully include other body sensations and sounds.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Awakening Joy and Wellbeing
2022-05-28 Awakening Joy as a Practice (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 58:17
Download Listen
In his teaching on The Four Wise Efforts, the Buddha taught us to maintain and increase wholesome states (kusala) when they arise. This talk explains how to make that a central part of our practice.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Awakening Joy and Wellbeing
2022-05-19 The Problem with Resisting Reality: The Possibility of Real Freedom 52:21
Download Listen
As much as we would like things to be a certain way, we have limited control over the way things are. Even though that may be apparent to all Dharma students who have some practice under their belt, the mind still gets caught in the habit of attachment to things being a certain way. This week we will explore what gets in the way, how we can open to the way things really are and the radical shift that can occur within us when we see through this self-created prison.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-04-29 The possibility of awakening and taking action 14:09
Download Listen
London Insight Meditation :  James Baraz – The Dharma as Medicine for Our Planet
2022-04-29 Transforming anger and acting from love 14:09
Download Listen
London Insight Meditation :  James Baraz – The Dharma as Medicine for Our Planet
2022-04-29 Five Dharma principles that are needed for our shift of consciousness 11:45
Download Listen
London Insight Meditation :  James Baraz – The Dharma as Medicine for Our Planet
2022-04-29 Reflections on your practice not being just for you 22:13
Download Listen
London Insight Meditation :  James Baraz – The Dharma as Medicine for Our Planet
2022-04-21 Gratitude for Our Home: Celebrating Earth Day 51:34
Download Listen
This Earth Day week we share an evening of gratitude and celebration for our natural world. When we get in touch with our love for something we are more motivated to care for it. Rather than going into the dire situation that most of us are all too familiar with, we can get connected with the beauty of the world that is our home We share a clip on the natural world and the experience of gratitude, which starts with an adorable little girl talking about the wonder of exploring nature instead of watching a screen followed by Brother David Steindl-Rast on gratitude. Although it is audio only you can still here the magic in the words. To see the video here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpkEvBtyL7M
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-04-14 Maranasati: Practice with Death and Dying 50:31
Download Listen
The Buddha suggested reflecting regularly on five aspects of life called the Five Reflections (also called the Five Remembrances). This talk focuses on what he called "the most supreme of all meditations": mindfulness of death or maranasati. Although contemplation of one's death might seem unsettling or scary, when undertaken as a conscious practice it can be extremely enlivening and even liberating.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-04-11 Your Practice is Not Just for You 50:54
Download Listen
Spirit Rock Meditation Center
2022-04-07 Clear Comprehension: The Buddha's Teaching on Four Different Elements of Practice 48:53
Download Listen
This talk explores the topic of Clear Comprehension (sampajañña in Pali) a powerful Dharma teaching on four different aspects of practice. In the Satipatthana Sutta the Discourse on the Four Foundation of Mindfulness, with regard to each foundation, the Buddha says the following: "Here, bhikkhus (practitioners), a bhikkhu (practitioner) lives contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief..." Clear comprehension means more than just having bare attention. Understanding and applying these four facets of Clear Comprehension can support a real deepening of our Dharma practice.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-03-17 Calming the Anxious Mind: Skillful Practices for Anxiety 52:02
Download Listen
Many people are experiencing stress and anxiety these days. Heartbreaking scenes of victims of the Ukraine invasion and other conflicts, potential escalation of war, political divisiveness or personal challenges all create an atmosphere of tension that is in the air. How can we use our practice to calm the mind and create space to hold it all without getting overwhelmed?
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-03-10 The Dharma of Good Leadership 57:27
Download Listen
When a leader has the welfare of the people as a priority the country prospers. When a leader cares only for themselves the country declines. This talk explores the Buddha's teaching on the qualities that make a good leader, the influence a leader has on the people and the story of an actual leader who underwent a transformation from a feared merciless ruler to one of great wisdom and compassion. We discuss how these teachings apply to our contemporary world.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-03-03 Sad Heart, Breaking Heart: Working with the Invasion of Ukraine 58:10
Download Listen
The news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is particularly sad and disturbing Although there are conflicts like this happening around the world, an unprovoked invasion from one of the strongest military countries in the world into a European country that could feasibly escalate into another world war is deeply unsettling. We explore as a community how our practice can help us hold all the feelings that may be arising. Includes a 7 minute clip of Joanna Macy explaining her Spiral from her "Work that Reconnects."
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-02-24 Your Practice is Not Just for You 60:30
Download Listen
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“.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation 1 Month Retreat
2022-02-21 Guided sit with brama vihara (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 55:54
Download Listen
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation 1 Month Retreat
2022-02-18 Equanimity 61:28
Download Listen
Equanimity is always the last on every list, which shows its importance as the culmination of the mind that can be with all things. Cultivating a balance and centeredness in the midst of our joys and sorrows, we can know the peace that the Buddha encourages us to experience.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation 1 Month Retreat
2022-02-15 Mudita Practice 48:27
Download Listen
Mudita for a friend who is having great happiness, self, benefactor, and neutral categories
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation 1 Month Retreat
2022-02-11 Awakening Joy: The Buddha’s Teaching on the Gladness of the Wholesome (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 62:14
Download Listen
The Buddha taught that one should cultivate and, when possible, maintain wholesome states. This talk explores teachings on cultivating states of well-being and how to deepen them in our practice.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation 1 Month Retreat
2022-02-05 Loving the Moment: Opening to it All (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 63:07
Download Listen
Being in the present requires us to open to all experience, the beautiful moments and the challenging ones. This talk explores essential qualities that help us not only accept the moment, but embrace and even love it as our true refuge.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation 1 Month Retreat
2022-02-04 Guided Bramavihara Meditation (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 42:23
Download Listen
In order to open the heart and extend kindness and compassion to others we need to soften the places of contraction through practicing forgiveness. This guided meditation invites us to practice forgiving ourselves– our body, our mind, and our heart – and then extending it towards others as well.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation 1 Month Retreat
2022-02-01 Morning instructions: Focusing and unifying the mind 58:45
Download Listen
A guided meditation on deepening concentration using the breath as the primary object.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation 1 Month Retreat
2022-01-31 How The Practice Unfolds: The Five Spiritual Faculties 63:32
Download Listen
The Five Spiritual Faculties in the Buddha's teaching give a clear description of the natural unfolding of practice unfolds over time. It also describes the process over the course of a month-long intensive retreat.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  February Insight Meditation 1 Month Retreat
2022-01-27 Remembering Thich Nhat Hanh 51:02
Download Listen
The great Vietnamese Master, Thich Nhat Hanh, passed away on January 22nd at the age of 95. Thay, as he was known to his students, was one of the most influential Buddhist masters in modern times.We spend the evening exploring his teachings and honoring his spirit. A short clip of him teaching is included as part of the evening.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2022-01-20 Equanimity with Uncertainty: Finding Balance in Difficult Times 51:13
Download Listen
Equanimity or Upekkha is a highly valued quality in Buddhist teachings. It is one of the Four Divine Abodes, one of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, one of the Ten Perfections and on a number of other lists. When highly developed it is the precursor to the experience of awakening. But what is equanimity? How can we cultivate it in our meditation practice? Even more, how can we access it in our daily life, especially in times like these with so much uncertainty, fear and sadness over the suffering in the world? We will explore various aspects of equanimity that can be pragmatically applied to our life off the cushion.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2021-12-30 New Year's Gathering: Letting Go and Moving On 51:53
Download Listen
As the year comes to an end, we mark and celebrate this transition point by reflecting on where we are in our lives and consciously get in touch with our vision for the coming year. The Buddha talked about the power of having Wise Intention and "Clear Comprehension of Purpose" to keep us facing in the right direction. As a community we can support each other through reflecting on what we've learned in 2021 and share a ritual to call forth our vision for the coming year.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2021-12-23 Winter Solstice and Holidays: A Time to Keep the Heart Open 53:11
Download Listen
When the days are shortest and darkness is all around, we have holidays to help us remember the light. In this talk we reflect on the heart practices of gratitude, forgiveness and love that help us stay connected to the light inside and around us.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2021-11-11 Letting Your Heartbreak Open to Active Hope 53:05
Download Listen
How can we keep open and stay engaged when our hearts are breaking and we just want to shut down? How can we cultivate a "no-matter-what commitment" as Terry Patten teaches? How can we develop "Active Hope" as Joanna Macy calls it. That is the topic of this week's exploration. The talk includes a powerful 20-minute conversation between Joanna Macy and Thanissara that took place a month before this recording.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
2021-11-04 Showing Up for Reality with Humility and Grace: Terry Patten's Last Teaching 50:16
Download Listen
Beloved Philosopher, Teacher and Sacred Activist Terry Patten sadly passed away a few days before this talk. His last book, A New Republic of the Heart, is an inspiring teaching on how to face the global crises we are in. As he went through his own final journey he shared how one can face death with courage, wonder, grace and trust. It was a blueprint for how to meet the pain and sorrow of the world with those same qualities. This talk includes a powerful, clear, deeply moving clip excerpt of Terry's last teaching a week before he passed plus some of his teachings that have touched so many.
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley

     1 2 3 4 ... 19 20
Creative Commons License Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Dharma Seed is a 501(c)(3) Non-profit organization. email: contact@dharmaseed.org