Archive of Talks

This Sunday, Steve turned our focus to Wise Effort, the sixth “fold” of the Noble Eightfold Path. When the Buddha spoke of wise effort, he wasn’t asking us to strain, to push, or to grind our way toward awakening. He was pointing to something much more subtle: the quality of energy we bring to each moment. Wise effort is the… Read more

This week we listened to a talk on the Four Noble Truths, in part building on Michael’s talk last week that included references to the Buddha’s first teaching, the core principles they pointed to, and the path to which they led.  All these were laid out in his very first sermon, offered to his five fellow seekers at Sarnath.… Read more

The dharma is most familiar to us in the words of the sutras.  Less explored and of real value are the gestures that characterize the Buddha, as captured in tiny pendants to massive statues hundred of feet high.  Here we can find a world of physical movement and contemplative pause,  which embody particular mind states of the… Read more

For many people, fear is a constant companion. Not completely paralyzing fear, just the low-level anxiety that everyone will judge you for your actions or that you’ll fail. It’s an emotion that’s there to protect us from real danger, but which has been over-activated by our environment. Sometimes this is just an inconvenience but at… Read more

Returning to the most basic instructions – awareness of the body, feelings, heart-mind and dhammas reveals how these instructions feel differently under different conditions. and open different insights. Darryl guided our reflections, drawing from a talk by Dawn Scott and a guided meditation from Yahel Avigur. Both presentations examine reactivity, body awareness and ways of noticing and… Read more

Given the environment we now find ourselves in, more extreme than ever, it can become difficult to maintain our path and practice.  How do we best work with whatever dysregulation we are experiencing?  How can we be there for others who are going through their stress? Jackie guided our reflections, drawing on a talk by… Read more