Archive of Talks

Our intentions align our interests, our focus, our efforts and our actions.  They can be felt in our bodies, emotions, thoughts, daily lives, and in our practice.  Clarifying our intentions is central to living a meaningful life.  Drawing on a talk by Brian LeSage and on the Five Mindfulness Trainings of Plum Village, Darryl guided our investigation of… Read more

Mudita is described as feeling an inner wellspring of joy, delighting in the positive experiences of others without jealousy or envy. It is the third of the four “divine abodes” or brahmaviharas, the highest qualities of the heart. It is described as always available, no matter what the circumstances may be.   However, how do we… Read more

Although meditation techniques for quieting the mind are widely taught, it sometimes seems that we are left on our own to find specific paths to  insights that could change our own particular lives.  Yet there exist practices which encourage and support the development of such insights, life-clarifying and life-changing.  This week, Michael guided our reflections on, and… Read more

There are many moments during each day where our mind brings upthoughts of resentment, greed, fear, or doubt. These thoughts can seem wildly random, coming from nowhere at all; what can we do? But the teachings tell us that these experiences are lawful: there is always a cause and effect. Buddhist practice is about observing… Read more

This Sunday, Don again took us on an excursion into the jhanas, those states of deeper concentration that were touchstones for the Buddha and his disciples.  These progressive levels of focus can be accessed in well-defined progressive stages, and a high level of jhana is the subject of the dharma talk by Leigh Brasington which anchored our… Read more

Is there a better moment than this moment? That is a key question that Narayan Helen Liebenson posed during a recent Dharma talk devoted to liberation realized as always already in the present moment. Sam hosted this week as we explored this insight using excerpts from Narayan’s talk, along with more input from John Peacock. Sam quoted from the Middle… Read more