Archive of Talks

Wendy guided our reflections today, anchoring our focus in excerpts from Pema Chodron’s talks in “No Time to Lose: a Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva,” which is also available in print from Shambhala publications.   Pema’s presentation is structured around the provocative epigrammatic observations of Shantideva, the 8th century Indian Buddhist teacher… Read more

Jackie traced for us the historical connections of Yoga and Buddhism, beginning from the Vedas and moving forward through the Upanishads, the teachings of Gautama Buddha, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, which contain among the offered methods of contemplation some of those that Prince Siddhartha would have studied and practiced before… Read more

Rebecca guided our reflections this morning, centering them around a recent talk by Jack Kornfield: Who Am I?  the Question of Identity, which explores how the practice of loving awareness allows a profound shift of identity from a small limited sense of self to spacious wisdom. http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/85/talk/18757/   Read more

This morning, Nancy led our reflections on the four Divine Abodes.  We first listened to excerpts from a talk by Sylvia Boorstein  alerting us to the distinctions between loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity  and their near enemies. http://rogernolan.blogspot.com/2010/06/near-enemies.html After a discussion, and tea, we ended with a guided meditation on loving kindness by Aya Khema… Read more

Chris and Shery prepared the elements which guided our reflections for the day.  Excerpts from Tara Brach’s talk on Practical Dharma for Stressful Times set our discussion going, and we closed with her guided meditation on setting intention.  Both are available at http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/175/talk/17654/ Read more

Nancy led our practice for this meeting of the sangha, focusing on Anatta, or Non-Self, and drawing from several teachers.  Beginning with an understanding of Anatta as framed by Ayya Khema, in her book Who Is My Self?. Wisdom Publications, 1997. p 153- 154, we then moved to an extended guided meditation by Ayya Khema,  drawn from her… Read more