Archive of Talks

Zac’s talk and reflection this past Sunday revolved around the story of Buddha touching the Earth. It is said that at the moment of his awakening he reached down with his right hand and touched the Earth. Depictions of this moment have become one of the most widespread images in Buddhist iconography. We visited the story… Read more

This Sunday Jeffrey presented the topic, “Thoughts Think Themselves”. He presented a quick review of the work of Robert Wright, Why Buddhism Is True, and an article by Max Bertolero and Danielle Basset, “How Matter Becomes Mind”, Scientific American, July 2019. These sources describe “modular” models of the mind, with the overall “managing” function performed… Read more

This week, rather than listen to a talk, Stephen moderated a deep discussion within our gathering. The topics began with how we were drawn to Dharma practice and opened up into practices, experiences, and questions about our paths. A recurring theme was that anything we can do to make our practice a more enjoyable experience… Read more

Lorilee led our exploration of ways in which the dharma can illuminate our intimate relationships this past Sunday.  Drawing on the work of Israeli teacher Zohar Lavie, as well as Americans Tara Brach and Steven Cope, we explored ways in which intimate relationships can offer a clear lens with which to examine the nature of… Read more

This Sunday Patrick guided our reflections, turning to the topic of living in and with uncertainty.  Anchoring in a talk by  Zohar Lavie called “Anicca, Equanimity, and Bodhicitta,” we explored the roles these three have in working with the uncertainties we experience everyday. We discussed how uncertainty can bring a new way of seeing, and how it… Read more

This Sunday Denise guided our reflections on vedana, the sensation or “feeling tone” that arises when our senses come into contact with something.  We focused on the challenges and benefits of working specifically with vedana as a part of one’s spiritual practice. Here’s the references from Denise’s talk: Analayo. 2018. Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide.… Read more