Archive of Talks

Today, Michael brought our series on the 12 links of dependent arising to its conclusion, examining the ways in which Craving and Clinging lead almost inevitably to Becoming (taking on a personality style, which we then defend), Birth (inhabiting that style of being so completely that we can’t imagine seeing beyond it), and finally Old Age… Read more

This Sunday, Nancy led our investigation of the Four Great Elements of Nature and their relation to our own fundamental nature, Anatta.  As part of our exploration we spent time quietly and fully taking in the gardens outside the Studio, the wind, the sounds, the earth beneath our feet.   Read more

Michael guided our reflections as we explored Craving and Clinging, the next links in the chain of Dependent Arising.  Here we enter the real thicket of what makes for unsatisfactoriness in life.  The Buddha went well beyond the usual commonplaces here, distinguishing three different kinds of craving, and four distinct types of clinging.  Not only… Read more

This Sunday Joey guided our reflections on the dharma through a guided meditation by Guy Armstrong on expansive awareness and an excerpt from his talk on fear and fearlessness. the guided meditation is about 45 minutes long and can be found at http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/79/talk/22397/ and the complete talk on Fear and Fearlessness can be found at http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/79/talk/22258/… Read more

Rebecca led our reflections this morning, centering them around readings from Joseph Goldstein’s new book, Mindfulness. Read more

If the self is in some way an illusion, and if it causes so much difficulty, why do we create it.  Sam guided our reflections on this tantalizing question, anchoring us in a talk by Akincano Marc Weber titled “Setting to sea in the leaky boat of self”, recorded at a recent IMS retreat. http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/360/talk/24014/   Read more