Author: Payton Swick

Faith in Buddhism can be a touchy topic.  Is that a bad thing? Or a spur to investigation.  People come to this tradition with a wide range of notions about what faith is and how it relates to their practice. How does that unfold?     

Max’s talk explored notions of faith we might bring as we enter Buddhism, how faith might look in our practice, how faith might be harmful, and how faith might be of benefit, nurturing our practice, particularly when our suffering seems overwhelming.      

As we take our tea, our conversation explored how these questions arise in our own practices, and with what effects.  

This Sunday, Steve turned our focus to Wise Effort, the sixth “fold” of the Noble Eightfold Path.

When the Buddha spoke of wise effort, he wasn’t asking us to strain, to push, or to grind our way toward awakening. He was pointing to something much more subtle: the quality of energy we bring to each moment.

Wise effort is the energy that supports freedom, not the exertion that tightens the knots.

After an overview of key teachings, we listened to a talk by Jack Kornfeld, who explored how Wise Effort can be grounded in Love.

This week we listened to a talk on the Four Noble Truths, in part building on Michael’s talk last week that included references to the Buddha’s first teaching, the core principles they pointed to, and the path to which they led.  All these were laid out in his very first sermon, offered to his five fellow seekers at Sarnath.

That core endures till today as the heart of the teaching. 

So it is always useful to return to the initial teachings that continue to be the bedrock of practice.

Ellen started our meditation with a few questions and then shared a talk by Ajahn Amaro on the four noble truths. These teachings provide guidance for living a life in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings day to day, as well as a particular focus for meditation we can return to at many points in our lives.

The talk is here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/87557.html

The dharma is most familiar to us in the words of the sutras.  Less explored and of real value are the gestures that characterize the Buddha, as captured in tiny pendants to massive statues hundred of feet high. 

Here we can find a world of physical movement and contemplative pause,  which embody particular mind states of the buddha, and show us strategies by which to cultivate them.     

Michael guided our reflections on these images and gestures this Sunday.

For many people, fear is a constant companion. Not completely paralyzing fear, just the low-level anxiety that everyone will judge you for your actions or that you’ll fail. It’s an emotion that’s there to protect us from real danger, but which has been over-activated by our environment. Sometimes this is just an inconvenience but at other times it can completely prevent us from doing things that we really want to do.

It is likely that to some degree everyone experiences this feeling, even if we don’t always admit it or even recognize it in ourselves. It’s the little voice in the back of our heads that says, “I could never do that”.

In many ways, Buddhist practice is about confronting those little voices in our head, seeing what they need, and inviting them in for tea. Can we do that for these hidden fears? Even though it’s scary? Payton brought this topic to the Sangha this Sunday accompanied by a recorded talk from Andrea Fella.

You can listen to Andrea’s talk here: https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/10958

Returning to the most basic instructions – awareness of the body, feelings, heart-mind and dhammas reveals how these instructions feel differently under different conditions. and open different insights.

Darryl guided our reflections, drawing from a talk by Dawn Scott and a guided meditation from Yahel Avigur. Both presentations examine reactivity, body awareness and ways of noticing and responding to reactivity.

Dawn’s talk is here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/83495/

Given the environment we now find ourselves in, more extreme than ever, it can become difficult to maintain our path and practice.  How do we best work with whatever dysregulation we are experiencing?  How can we be there for others who are going through their stress?

Jackie guided our reflections, drawing on a talk by James Baraz and a guided meditation by Jack Kornfield to frame our sangha conversation.

Absorption in a concentrated state may be a goal as we sit on the meditation cushion.  But it can in some degree be achieved, and utilized, in everyday life as well.  And the calm steadiness it offers can stabilize our lives and our thoughts, as can spending time in nature.  

As Ajahn Sucitto points out, this cultivated calm, rather than being a prime goal to achieve, may be most useful when it is framed in a mindfulness practice.  Don guided our reflections on absorption this Sunday.

You can listen to the talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/63611/

What is time? With our phones and watches, we live in a world that often feels constrained by time. But different cultures and traditions experience time differently.  In the Tibetan tradition, Kala, the god of time, represents change as a force that consumes all things—and eventually itself.         

Here, today, we often feel there’s not enough time, rushing to be more efficient, or worrying about the future while replaying the past. In this way, time can become entangled with wanting, clinging, and aversion.

Yet when we bring careful attention to the present, time can also feel almost weightless—expansive, effortless, like floating on water. 

Important questions: What is our attitude toward time? How does our relation with time connect to our perceptions of self, our suffering and impermanence? Is there another way to relate to time that invites more freedom?   Sonia guided the group in exploring these questions this week.

Here are the links to the 2 talks she played for the theme:

Gil Fronsdal: https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/17026

Nikki Mirghafori and Sayadaw Jagara: https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/7632

As we move through our lives, our experiences may seem widely various, or tediously repetitious – but at root they are all composed of the five dimensions – Kandhas (Pali) Skandhas (Sanskrit), Aggregates (Bad English Translation), Bundles, heaps, etc. In the end nothing lies outside the field of Form, or Attraction, Dislike or Neutrality of Feeling, Perception, Mental Formations (the biggest box of all), and Dharmas (which offer explanations for everything).  Since this 5 card game is the only game in town, careful attention to how they work can bring considerable insight into the shifting or repeating shapes of our lives.        

John guided our reflections this Sunday, drawing on the insights of dharma teacher Donald Rothberg. and looking with curiosity and insight into the textures of all our experiences . . . every one.