Archive of Talks

Mike Blouin led our discussion this past Sunday on the concept of Śūnyatā, or emptiness, from a few different angles including natural history, poetry, and Buddhist philosophy. We looked at the phenomenon of emptiness through poetry and prose, and read and talked about the Heart Sutra as well.  There was no audio, but this article… Read more

Patrick’s presentation this past week included a talk from Gil Fronsdal called Social Equanimity. In the talk, he reviews the Brahma Viharas in general, talks about the role that equanimity plays in relation to the others, and its application in everyday life, including consideration of the limits of equanimity and how to apply it in… Read more

This past Sunday, Jeffrey presented the 10 Stages of Meditation by Culadasa, a particular path of practice designed to foster insights and Awakening [complete detachment from “Self”].  Jeffrey provided a brief overview of Culadasa’s stages and guided the discussion to the idea of stages in general. How do people feel about progressive stages? Is this… Read more

Based on her recent retreat at the IMS, this past Sunday Margaret shared some of Christina Feldman’s reflections on karma, within the Buddhist framework.  (Recall that karma appears as the fifth of the five recollections:  http://www.leighb.com/5drult.htm ) Karma simply means actions. The focus of the reflections was karma as ethical choices in the present;  karma as contribution,… Read more

Although insight into the absence of a Self seems elusive, Joseph Goldstein outlines three practical ways in which we can glimpse this insight in daily life.  Sam guided our reflections on Joseph’s strategies this past Sunday. Read more

This Sunday Ginny guided our reflections, focusing on practice as the ground for, and source of our capacity to be present to and show up for the fullness of life in community.  As James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” Read more