Archive of Talks

A recent and increasingly popular trend in Buddhism is “pragmatic” or “hardcore” Buddhism as exemplified by the teachings of Daniel Ingram.    Sam guided our exploration of this development by playing excerpts of video interviews with Ingram as well as some short readings from his book “Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, An Unusually… Read more

This week’s Sangha explored Samatha, which, broadly speaking, is the practice of meditation with the intention of developing calm and tranquility.  Samatha is one of the key approaches to Samadhi, often translated as “concentration”, but better be thought of “a state of collectedness”.  Margaret skillfully led the session, including a guided meditation by Chas Dicapua,… Read more

When we endeavor to practice metta, we may be drawn to the gentle side of lovingkindness.  However, there is another face of kindness that perhaps gets overlooked but merits a deeper exploration and attention: fearlessness.  This Sunday, Jessica built on last week’s discussion on kindness and compassion, sharing a talk by Christina Feldman who offers that the… Read more

How do we stay present to the suffering around and within us and not lose heart?  This time needs us – the world needs us.  As we navigate the many unknowns in this time of pandemic and experience the world around us grasping for assurance and stability (often through blame and judgment) it can be difficult… Read more

In struggling with the many current unknowns, we are reminded that we can face anything if we focus on the present moment and meet what comes our way with equanimity.  Equanimity is a key spiritual faculty which allows us to face the known and the unknown, the ecstasies and the despairs, with steadiness and lightness. Equanimity helps… Read more

As we live our daily lives, in times of health and happiness or in times of great fear and uncertainty, we will encounter the Buddha’s classic Hindrances. Indeed, any experience we really notice is probably infused with a Hindrance of some kind. But the name of these phenomenons may be misleading. By paying a more… Read more