Archive of Talks

Last week our focus was on Anatta/non-self. This week Joey built on that topic, drawing from a tradition of somatic meditation developed by Reggie Ray and articulated in a dharma talk by Adam Baraz. The talk includes exercises in somatic meditation that allow for a sense of expansion and spaciousness beyond the tight ‘selfing’ many… Read more

This past week, Sam guided the Sangha’s discussions. We listened to a talk by Joseph Goldstein, as well as one of his guided meditations, on the Buddha’s second discourse. In particular, we considered how dukkha arises as a consequence of identification with the body and with consciousness. “Dukkha and Non-Self” by Joseph Goldstein,  2/9/18, IMS… Read more

This Sunday, Payton led the Sangha’s discussion on the topic of the Five Hindrances, and how they might be more like teachers rather than problems in our life. The talk he played was by Vinny Ferraro at Against the Stream Meditation Center and is available here: https://www.againstthestream.org/podcasts/the-five-hindrances-6/ “Our neurosis and our wisdom are made out… Read more

This Sunday, Patrick guided our reflections, exploring how awareness of feeling tone (pleasant, unpleasant, or neither; called vedana in Pali) can help cultivate a warm heart and a greater internal awareness. A short talk by Gil Fronsdal helped to illuminate this understanding of both worldly and spiritual feeling tones, and the benefits of distinguishing between… Read more

This past Sunday, Mike Blouin led our reflections, continuing to explore other dimensions of the relationship between engaged buddhism and personal practice. Sharing his own perspectives as well as drawing from “The Way of Tenderness” by Zen priest Zenju Earthly Manuel, who brings her own experiences as a lesbian black woman into conversation with Buddhism… Read more

This week Jeffrey continued our investigation of racism and buddhism with a review of basic concepts and definitions about racism. This was followed by a discussion of how the self is constructed by both social elements, e.g, racial identity, and personal experiences, e.g., experiences in our families. All of these elements are similarly conditioned and… Read more