Archive of Talks

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

This week Joey led our reflections through different modes, beginning with a guided body scan; here is a link to the body scan by Koshin Paley Ellison, Soto Zen teacher and Co-Guiding Teacher of the New York Zen Center of Contemplative Care (also the author of Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up). Scroll down past… Read more

Patrick guided our reflections this week, focusing on the ways we can use the current circumstance to strengthen our practice, drawing on excerpts from a talk by Zohar Lavie. Dharma can be a refuge, a resource, and a call to action. Lavie offers practical wisdom for using this unique time we have in the best possible… Read more

The idea of a Buddha Nature that is inherently ours, waiting to be discovered, is both powerful and elusive. Over time, teachers have offered various ways of awakening to it.  Michael guided our reflections and meditations this past Sunday, as we explored ways of encountering this often undiscovered dimension of experience that  is always here. There was… Read more

From the first noble truth onward, the dharma invites us to be comfortable with what makes us uncomfortable—and in these times, uncertainty looms large for many.  This week, Ginny guided our reflections on meeting uncertainty, drawing on the words and work of Pema Chodron, Katherine Thanas and angel Kyodo Williams.  As Thanas reminds us,  “Working… Read more

The focus of this week’s gathering was on Equanimity, sometimes referred to as the crown jewel of the four Bhrama Viharas. Denise drew on the insights of Christina Feldman for our discussion. In Christina’s book Boundless Heart, she states: “Like kindness, joy and compassion, equanimity is not a state but describes a relational way of being… Read more