Archive of Talks

  • Generosity

    This Sunday Joey led our reflections, focusing on Generosity, which is considered the cornerstone of all Buddhist training in the East: without this, nothing. Joey utilized a talk by Gil Fronsdal, available here: http://www.audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/6798.html Read more

  • Non-self and a center of Narrative Gravity

    Inspired by the notion of self as the  “center of narrative gravity” that arose in the talk by Matthew Brensilver presented by Payton the previous Sunday, this Sunday we revisited the notion of Anatta, or “no-self” in Buddhism.    Margaret led the discussion using another talk by Matthew Brensilver in which, as part of a… Read more

  • Thinking

    This past Sunday Payton guided the discussion around the thinking mind. To quote Matthew Brensilver, whose talk we heard: I think, therefore I am slightly ashamed The talk touched on the most common misconception about meditation: that we should somehow be banishing thought. The talk is here: http://www.audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/6448.html Read more

  • Samadhi

    This past Sunday, Margaret revisited the idea of Samadhi, and its role in Buddhist practice. Although Samadhi is often simply translated as concentration, this perhaps does not fully capture the notion. With no intention of exploring Samadhi in the context of Jhanas, we reflected on the role of pleasure in Samadhi. She used excerpts from… Read more

  • Freedom and Release

    Payton led the discussion this past Sunday on the topic of Freedom: Relief vs. Release. The discussion was centered around a talk by Gil Fronsdal, available here: http://www.audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/6816.html Gil brought up the social/philosophical tensions that exist in all our lives and how perhaps the “middle way” isn’t just choosing a place on that spectrum. Just… Read more

  • Hiri and Ottappa

    This past Sunday, Mike shared parts of a dharma talk by Sean Feit on the original Buddhist ideas of hiri and ottappa – sometimes translated as Conscience and Concern. Called “The Guardians of the World”, often these terms are translated as Shame and Moral Dread, which perhaps accounts for how little they are discussed in the… Read more