Archive of Talks

The Buddha said that he taught the nature of suffering and the end of suffering.  But many have found that his teachings take us far beyond that, and into shaping lives that are more meaningful to us — and even to others.  And some have discovered, along the way, a relation with continuing suffering can be… Read more

Rather than seeking the certainty of answers, we can mature authentically by staying with the great questions.  This past Sunday, Michael guided our reflections as we explored three zen koans which directly meet the question of authenticity in practice. We did not record the session, but Michael gave a very similar talk another time, which… Read more

Many of us have a tendency to be critical and judgmental of ourselves and others. This habit can seem quite strong and can create a lot of suffering. Mindfulness is a wonderful tool to enable us to see these thoughts for what they are, so we can begin to bring wisdom and understanding to them. The… Read more

In the Ball of Honey Sutta (MN 18), the Buddha stated that the cause of “conflict lies within, in the unskillful habits of the mind, rather than without.” He identified this unskillful habit of the mind as papanca. The  Pali term papanca does not have direct English equivalent and is often translated as proliferative thinking… Read more

 In this time of stress—political, racial, economic, familial, and certainly mental—the Buddha’s teachings are particularly useful, even precious.  Ordained Bhikkhuni Ayya Medhanandi, who directs a Hermitage in Ontario, recently offered a talk titled “When Fear Dies,” in which she presents the Buddha’s teachings on how we can respond to anxiety, fear, impatience or aggression, whether… Read more

What can we learn about our habitual patterns of whiteness so that we do not perpetuate racial harm? This Sunday, Joey utilized a podcast of Sharon Salzberg interviewing Ruth King about her book, Mindful of Race: Transforming Race from the Inside Out. Joey read some excerpts from King’s book, referencing the Six Hindrances to Racial… Read more