Archive of Talks

  • Dukkha

    At the foundation of the Dharma is an ever-shifting relation to Dukkha.  Though simply being human means that dukkha will be a part of our life, the ways in which we meet it vary widely.  Even recognizing it can be a challenge, not to mention dealing with it, practicing with it.  And if we vow to free all… Read more

  • Dignity Embodied

    Somewhat surprisingly, the Buddha listed the Four Dignities of the Human Being as Sitting, Standing, Walking, and Lying Down.  Sitting and Walking have been extensively explored as meditation postures. What of the other two?      Suzuki Roshi (of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind) encouraged his students to study Sensory Awareness of Standing and Lying Down as ways… Read more

  • The Mula Sutta

    The Mula Sutta is a very concise teaching by the Buddha about the root (mula) of all the diversity of human behavior, and the insight by which we may wake up in virtually any situation. Guiding our session this Sunday, Ellen used a talk by Thanissara to frame our conversation. You can listen to the talk here:… Read more

  • Embodiment

    Drawing on the work of poet, naturalist, translator David Hinton, Sam guided our reflections on the role of the body as a key stage for the first Noble Truth (dukkha), and for the fourth Noble Truth, the Path to liberation, as well. In addition to Hinton’s translations from the great Daoist Chuang Tzu, Sam shared excerpts from several dharma talks… Read more

  • Suffering: What can be avoided and what cannot

    A big part of the Buddhist teachings concerning suffering is the discovery that real life has pain, discomfort, sadness, and other events that we cannot avoid. The other part is the discovery that suffering coming from our relation to these events is often larger than the experience itself. But it seems so natural to fear… Read more

  • Living in the cycles of Deep Time

    This Sunday Ron guided our reflections, launching our discussion from a talk by Jack Kornfield, who offers us the invitation to change the perspective in which we view the phases of our lives, and the ways we discover and re-shape meaning as time unfolds. As he so often does, Jack reframes our approaches to our… Read more