Archive of Talks

It has been said that there is no such thing as an exceptionally creative human; all humans are exceptional because it is our nature to be creative.  If there is truth in this, is it surprising that the Buddha taught little to  nothing about art or creativity?   How do we consider art and the creative… Read more

Many of us tend to think of the mind and the body as mostly separate phenomena. Of course we know they’re connected and depend on one another but in most practical situations we are dealing with either “my mind” or “my body”, not both together. In fact, when we’re overly tired or hungry and the… Read more

As we emerge from this global pandemic, we will have the opportunity to encounter people that we may find challenging.  Now it’s time to put our meditation practice to work.  We can draw upon the teachings of Wise Speech to deepen and to steady these encounters.  Drawing on a talk by Donald Rothberg, Lorlilee guided… Read more

Minds think. Sometimes minds think a little too much. Sometimes minds think a lot too much. The mind can get lost in a loop which affects our behavior and our relationships. One potential path leads to anxiety. Anxiety differs from fear in that is tends to be generalized. Fear is fear of something. Anxiety is more… Read more

As we practice living our lives, we are beset with the constant need to wisely discern which actions to take, and which to refrain from. In the historical teachings of the Buddha, we find a number of examples of people asking for instruction on how to make the correct choice. Most of the time the… Read more

Most of us have experienced the frustration of the disconnect between our intentions, and the way our days and lives actually unfold. In our gathering this Sunday Margaret guided our exploration of the connections between intention and citta. Citta is the third foundation of mindfulness in the Satipatthana Sutta.  Citta is sometimes translated as “heart-mind”, or… Read more