Archive of Talks

Do human needs undermine the Buddhist path, or provide the stone on which our practice is sharpened? What does it mean to have needs as a human being on a path that seems always to teach letting go, non-attachment, and non-self?   What does it mean to have dreams, aspirations, and deeply held values on this path?  Read more

Ellen shared some thoughts and explorations of equanimity this week. It appears in the Brahma Viharas, the 7 factors of awakening and the 10 perfections/paramis. Equanimity has roles to play in our meditations and in our day to day lives.  This exploration was be followed by a brief talk by Heather Martin introducing an equanimity Read more

It seems as if big questions about social justice and equity are arising every day, with big consequences for large numbers of people.   How does our individual personal karma intersect with interest in social justice?   Does understanding causality as described in the Buddhist idea of dependent arising illuminate the unfolding of social action as well Read more

 “Metta”  is one of the four Bhramaviharas or Divine Abodes, and is most often translated as loving-kindness. In a world with seemingly stark polarities, metta invites us to love without exception, even when it feels impossible.  Yet, through the training of the heart, there is discernment: to love wisely, not blindly. Can metta be an act of Read more

This week, Sam shared parts of a video recording of a recent talk by Joseph Goldstein on “Why we meditate”.   He discusses how it’s not just for peace of mind but also for understanding how our mind works,  how habits dominate our minds, how the mind can be trained, and how the mind can be made our Read more

Every moment of life is filled with a constant stream of experience. Some pleasant, some unpleasant, some neutral, and we aren’t really AWARE of most of it. We just “wake up” every so often and discover a world around us that has a particular bearing on our heart. Then we struggle through that world until Read more