Category: Uncategorized

What maintains and what strengthens a healthy Sangha? How does practicing in Sangha support us on the path to liberation, in our practice and in our life generally?  As Sangha members become our dharma friends, might we meet for other events beyond Sunday mornings?  Darryl framed our discussion this week with a talk by Jill Shepherd and a few words from Larry Ward.

You can listen to Jill’s talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/69792

You can hear Larry’s talk here: https://forthewild.world/listen/dr-larry-ward-on-healing-the-colonial-mind-296

     This Sunday’s In-person Meeting of the Sangha featured Tea and Cookies to accompany the discussion circle around the coffee table, all provided by Stephanie, our presenter.  

     In a world in which our media and politics often deploy Fear as a primary motivator, Stephanie will share a talk by

The recorded talk was by Ayya Medhanandi, guiding teacher of Sati Saraniya Hermitage in Perth Ontario, Canada. Her talk explores the false, fierce tyranny of fear, and how by emptying the mind of fearful thoughts, we stop clinging to anything in the world – one moment at a time.

You can listen to the talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/81711/

     Each of us knows the experience of having our minds hijacked by extraneous thoughts that whisk us far away from the present.  Among the ways we seek to correct course is to draw upon the capacities of our individual minds, by trying to ‘concentrate harder.’  

     We rarely seek balance outside ourselves.  

But as we sit together, we may be embedded in the solution – the sangha itself.   Practicing with sangha can strengthen our mindfulness, thin our perceptual distortions, and help us find our ground again.  

     Darryl guided our reflections this Sunday, drawing on excerpts from talks by Christina Feldman and Jill Shepherd.

You can listen to these talks here:

Christina’s talk: https://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/player/78898.html (part of a series that starts here: https://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/player/78895.html)

Jill Shepherd’s talk: https://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/player/69426.html

     It is sometimes noted that the Early Buddhist teaching tradition, in which our sangha mainly operates, is not entirely intuitively persuasive about anatta, non-self.  

     Other related traditions can provide experiential and intellectual support for the context out of which anatta arises.  This week, Eric brings to us a guided meditation from Richard Lang and a talk from James Low, a Scottish teacher in the Dzogchen practice of Tibetan Buddhism, who invites us to zoom out and notice the no-thingness of any arising phenomena.  Even trees.

Listen to the full talks here (we heard excerpts from the first two): https://simplybeing.co.uk/audio-records/year/dissolving-attachment-18-2017/

Some may be familiar with the poet Matsuo Basho’s haikus, each a literary snapshot of a moment in time.  One of his most famous is “The old pond,” here translated by Robert Hass:

The old pond–

a frog jumps in,

sound of water.

The more we look into it, the more remarkable it becomes. Artistic expression has a long-standing history in Buddhist tradition, with mindfulness and creativity feeding one another and resulting in an increased sense of presence and aliveness. Andrea hosted this week’s talk with a recording by Anne Cushman that elaborates on the role of creativity in our mindfulness practice.  

You can listen to today’s talk here:

https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/15870.html

The year’s beginning is a good time to renew our practice – and going back to basics with a fresh perspective can be a good way to do that.

Jackie guided our session this Sunday, drawing on the approaches taught by dharma teacher Tuere Sala, known for her emphasis on meeting overwhelm and stress with grounding in somatic experience.

You can listen to the talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/80508.html

Doubt is the fifth of the Five Hindrances, which the Buddha taught. Phillip Moffitt considers doubt to be the most devastating of the hindrances because when it arises and overwhelms the mind, the mind ceases to work to understand itself. Doubt also undermines effort. In this talk, Moffitt deconstructs doubt and suggests ways of applying mindfulness practice to it. Stephanie shared the talk this Sunday and guided a lovely New Year’s Eve discussion.

You can listen to the talk here: https://dharmawisdom.org/doubt/

At the height of this season when so many are wishing each other joy and happiness, Jane presented a talk by Sharon Salzberg which unpacks the relationship between the four qualities of heart she thinks of as “our best home.” She describes key perspectives about the Brahma Viharas of Metta, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity, which can nourish our potential to go a step beyond wishing each other well, increasing the possibility of generously offering those qualities to life in the ways we show up.

You can listen to Sharon’s talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/2850/

There are many injuries, pains, and limitations that we must contend with as we age. Buddhist dharma advises us to see these things just as they are and remember our true nature. But what happens when our memory itself is injured? How can we practice and progress when we forget? This week, Payton tried to tackle this difficult topic in our in-person Sangha gathering.

Payton played a talk by Amita Schmidt, which you can listen to here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/41205/

Also referenced was a talk by Gil Fronsdal, which is available here: https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/8570

It is said that we have 86,000 thoughts per day, almost all of which we also had yesterday.  When we examine our habitual thought patterns, do we see the roots of self-generated suffering? 

     How we shape and frame our incessant “stories” profoundly affects not only our own happiness, but that of those we contact, and ultimately our world. The effect of savoring moments of goodness and beauty ripple into our communities, and are themselves acts of peacemaking.  

     This Sunday we listened to brief and focused teachings by two modern buddhists, Bhante Buddharakkhita and Tara Brach, on how to rewire our own brains to experience more happiness.  Lorilee then facilitated a reflection where we each will have the chance to do a bit of that rewiring ourselves.

You can listen to Bhante’s talk here: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/81321.html

You can listen to Tara’s talk here: https://www.tarabrach.com/part-1-rewiring-happiness-freedom-2/