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The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
 
Tara Brach's Dharma Talks
Tara Brach
A pervasive but often invisible source of suffering in our culture is self-aversion. We are a busy culture, and we move through our life feeling anxious and dissatisfied, but not fully conscious of how we neglect or judge our inner experience. We suffer from a lack of belonging: to our own bodies, to each other and to the earth. When we practice Buddhist meditation, we learn how to listen deeply and hold our life tenderly.
2009-10-26 Self-Compassion 58:31
(retreat talk) We can only find love and peace in this life if we are able to hold our inner life with compassion. This talk explores the subtle and therefore often unseen ways that we turn on ourselves, and the pathways to a forgiving heart.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC 2009 - IMCW Fall Residential Retreat - "Intimacy with Life"
2009-10-21 Behind the Mask 49:00
The development of a mask or persona based on our activities and roles is a natural way the ego tries to protect and enhance itself. Yet unless we wake up from our identification with the mask, we are unable to discover the truth and wholeness of what we are. This talk investigates how our masks manifest and the process of wise attention that can free us from a limiting sense of separate self. Includes a guided meditation.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-10-14 Question and Response 58:09
Tara responds to questions from the sangha.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-10-07 Skeleton Woman 45:55
If we can embrace the whole of our nature with unconditional presence - including the inevitability of change and loss--we discover deep wisdom and enduring love.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-09-30 Two Wings of a Liberating Attention 49:46
The attention that serves spiritual awakening is based on the capacity to recognize clearly what is happening in the present moment, and to regard what arises with a kind heart. This talk explores the challenges to a clear and honest presence, and how we cultivate understanding and compassion.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-09-23 Wise Effort and Spiritual Freedom 51:12
In the Buddhist tradition, wise effort, or the purposeful dedication of our energy, is an essential part of the spiritual path. While the attitudes of grasping or fear can contract the quality of our effort and create suffering in our lives; when our effort arises from sincerity and wisdom, it creates the conditions for liberation.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-09-16 Embracing the Unlived Life 43:55
This talk explores how we cut off from the energetic parts of our inner experience and the healing and spiritual freedom that is possible when we bring awareness to the life of the body.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-09-02 The Grounds of Living Compassion 53:04
A critical question on the spiritual path is how we can bring the loving presence awakened by meditation into every facet of daily life. This talk explores the conditioning that keeps us in reactive trance and the ways we can deepen our attention and align our lives with our hearts.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-08-26 Genuine Acceptance 69:43
Our capacity to accept this life is key to our freedom, yet there are many misconceptions about acceptance: People wonder, if acceptance makes us a doormat in relationships? Isn't acceptance akin to resignation? Doesn't it make us passive when what is needed is action? This talk explores some of the misunderstandings about acceptance and offers teachings on the nature of genuine and liberating acceptance.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks
2009-08-19 Enchantment and Freedom 1:20:28
When caught in suffering we are perceiving reality through a distorted lens. We are unable to see what we really are, and we latch on to the surface appearances of others. By training our minds to pay attention we begin to recognize the conditioning that entraps us, and the love and awareness that shines through these changing forms.
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC IMCW Wednesday Evening Talks

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