Archive of Talks

Payton led this the discussion this past Sunday on the topic of the concept of Mara as a personification of the Hinderances in traditional Buddhist thought, as well as how the Buddha used the recognition of Mara in his liberation. There were excerpts from three talks played. Below are the talks and some notes for each:… Read more

Payton lead our reflections on the aspect of Saddhā, usually translated as Faith, Trust, or Confidence. There are many kinds of Faith in Buddhist practice, but we explored the concept of “borrowing faith” and verifying it for yourself as discussed in a talk by Andrea Fella. The Pali term is literally, “to place one’s heart upon”.… Read more

Wendy led our reflections on exploring aloneness and how it can bring, not isolation and withdrawal, but connectedness.  Anchoring her presentation is a talk by Christina Feldman. The talk is available here: http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/44/talk/263/   Read more

Michael led our reflections on the third link in the chain of Dependent Arising, Consciousness (Pali Viññana; Sanskrit Vijñana).  After a framing talk, our explorations took the form of guided meditation in which we explored the differences between Consciousness, Attention and Awareness, seeing something of their relations and uses in meditation, as well as daily life.… Read more

Chris and Shery shaped today’s exploration of the centrality of relationship in our practice, as a way of uncovering the deep truths of spirit. As the dhamma moved beyond the monastic community, relationship has moved to an every more central place in dhammic practice.  Tara Brach’s talk on this topic, drawn upon for today, can be found… Read more