Archive of Talks

Today Mike B. led our Sangha by playing a talk on the topic of Upadana, or “clinging” by Akincino. Here is a link to the talk: https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/360/talk/54064/  The focus on Upadana starts at about 21 min.   Below are some notes Mike created while listening to the talk (spelling of Pali words is almost certainly incorrect in… Read more

This past Sunday, Britt led our Sangha discussion using her recent long retreat as a basis for sharing some wisdom on tension in the body and mind. She played a guided meditation by Rodney Smith entitled “Tensionless Sitting”, which is available here: https://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/148/talk/53726/ Read more

This past week Margaret guided our reflections, focusing on those particular insights which lead to awakening.  Excerpts from the teaching of Culadasa (John Yates), an ordained monk and a buddhist practitioner for 40 years – and also a neuroscientist – were used to focus the discussion, thus extending our exploration of the contributions of neuroscience… Read more

Lorilee guided our reflections this past Sunday, investigating the source of Skillful and Unskillful Actions.  Shantideva said “We are like senseless children who shrink from suffering, but love its causes.”     Through unskillful action, we often create suffering in our attempts to be happy.  From eating too much ice cream, to incessant activity, to avoiding… Read more

This past week, Jeffrey presented an overview of  the work of evolutionary psychologist Robert Wright, with a focus on Wright’s provocative book, Why Buddhism is True. His notes follow. Wright claims that the Buddha’s path to become free from suffering actually addresses the inherent insatiable imperatives of our brain that developed through natural selection. The discussion… Read more

On this last session of 2018, Michael led the Sangha discussion on the topic of vows. Below are his notes. At this time of year many are formulating resolutions for the next 12 months. Research has shown that while these intentions are admirable their average duration is short, and they falter and disappear as enduring… Read more