Archive of Talks

The Buddha spoke of Craving as the primary cause of our suffering in this life, and while we can intellectually understand that wanting things to be other than they are can be problematic, really noticing what that Craving feels like is not so obvious. That level of awareness is particularly challenging when the ancient texts… Read more

This Sunday Mike B. led our Sangha discussion and played a talk and guided meditation by Pascal Auclair. The topic was on the changing nature of the self, experience, and memory. A feeling, thought, or self-image can seem so real and permanent in the moment, but then the next moment (or many moments later) it… Read more

The Dhamma draws each of us for a variety of reasons and as we commit ourselves to practice, our intentions and experiences change and develop over the course of our lives. This Sunday Andrea guided our reflections drawing on a talk given by Anusjka Ferandopoulle via Cambridge Insight entitled “Refreshing the Heart, Living with Wisdom.”… Read more

Our sangha continued its master class this Sunday on how to respond to challenges in our lives and in our world. Lorilee offered a lecture by Ajahn Sucitto, delivered during winter retreat this January, which took us into the subtle, deep layers of how our sankhara or mental conditioning is created, and how as yogis and buddhist… Read more

Continuing a particular thread of our exploration from last week, Sam guided our reflections this Sunday on Intimacy and Vulnerability, drawing on the teachings of Ajahn Sucitto, Christina Feldman, and Pamela Weiss. As we open to experience our lives more fully, we become both more intimate and more vulnerable, and can use a path of wisdom that… Read more

Although Investigation is known as the Second Factor of Awakening (after Mindfulness), it is often overlooked in practice as our meditative lives unfold.  Drawing on Early Buddhism, Zen, Advaita, and related traditions, Michael guided our reflections and experiments in Meditative Inquiry this Sunday,  as we explored ways to investigate our sense of what counts most… Read more