Archive of Talks

This week, Lorilee led our Sangha discussion based on her current exploration of identity and bias in all types of relationships. She began by playing a brief video illustrating the layers of judgement we place on people and situations. The video showed unsuspecting couples coming into a movie theater filled with tough-looking biker dudes and… Read more

Mike Blouin led our reflections this past Sunday, aided by a talk by Michele Macdonald, with whom he attended retreat this May.  Difficulties such as pain and overwhelm can prompt in us a response of compassion rather than evasion, if we have come to understand the spirit of Kwan Yin (Guanyin), the buddhist patron of mercy.… Read more

Following the recent theme of Anatta and letting go of self, this week Joey guided an experiential meditation based on Will Johnson’s work The Posture of Meditation and ended with comments by Rev. angel Kyodo williams to spark a discussion. The played talk is available here: https://onbeing.org/programs/the-world-is-our-field-of-practice-apr2018/ Read more

This week, Zac led our Sangha examining the concept of “nothing to do”. He played a talk by Gil Fronsdal, available here: https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/8989.html Here are some of Zac’s other notes: Saṁyutta Nikāya 12:15: That things exist, O Kaccayana, is one extreme of view. That things do not exist is another. Rejecting both these extremes, the… Read more

This week, Payton took a different look at the concept of not-self which we have been discussing by considering the classic Zen koan, “Original Face”. It is first presented in the Platform Sutta, This very moment, before thinking good or bad, show me your original face. Payton began with excerpts from a talk by Max… Read more

This week Sam led our discussions as we have continued on the theme of anatta (not-self), but also have sought to reconcile this abstract truth with the plain truth of everyday life. Sam played excerpts from a talk by Eugene Cash entitled “The World of Dew: A Talk on The Two Truths”. It is available… Read more