by Peter Carlson | Feb 16, 2023 | Listen to Dharma Talks
After anyone in our community participates in a significant retreat experience, the meeting that follows is dedicated to providing an opportunity for those attending to “think out loud” about her or his experience. It is well-known that much of what is experienced during a retreat is more thoroughly integrated when a person attempts to describe what insights occurred to a well-informed and supportive audience. This recounting might also remind others who were at the retreat of insights that occurred for them, and additionally provide inspiration for others to commit to a residential retreat in the future. Shaila Catherine is a very well respected teacher and author regarding Buddhist psychology and meditation training. Peter, who has been on dozens of long retreats, reports on the powerful impact her Dharma talks had on his practice experience and insights during the retreat. His comments are followed by others, several of whom report this to be their first retreat, who then describe their own insights.
The topic for next week’s talk will review the characteristics of equanimity, which functions to balance the practice of lovingkindness, compassion and sympathetic joy, collectively known as “The Four Divine Abidings”.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:04 — 51.3MB)
by Peter Carlson | Jan 26, 2023 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Sympathetic Joy, Mudita in Pali, is the quality of consciousness that happily celebrates the success and happiness of others, regardless of any material or status benefit for oneself. The cultivation of mudita involves integrating lovingkindness with the in-born capacity we all have for empathy. This talk reviews the classical understanding of mudita and how contemporary psychological research supports how this awareness is formed in the brain through the practice of mindfulness, investigation of mental phenomena and Right Effort.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Working With Mudita
Next week’s talk will be provided by Lezlie Laws, one of the teachers who is being mentored by Peter. The topic she reviews will focus on how the core teaching of Buddhism about impermanence affects our contemporary issues of time management.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:15 — 54.2MB)
by Peter Carlson | Jan 19, 2023 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk reviews the characteristics and cultivation of compassion, which results from the developed application of mindfulness, investigation and Right Effort on the built-in capacity of humans for empathy. Contemporary research shows that the parts of the brain associated with internal awareness and interpersonal empathy, essential components of compassion, are developed and matured through ongoing mindfulness meditation practice. Following the talk, there was discussion about the usefulness of cultivating compassion in one’s life.
here are the notes prepared for this talk: Working With Compassion
The topic for next week’s review will focus on the intersection between empathetic joy and generosity.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:03 — 60.5MB)
by Peter Carlson | Jan 12, 2023 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk provides a review of a contemporary non-religious practice of Buddhism called Secular Buddhism, which represents an attempt to understand the original teachings of Buddhism without the cultural religious add-ons that have accumulated over the centuries that are not appreciated as relevant for these transitional times. It is well-known that the percentage of the population who identifies with current religious traditions is diminishing significantly, especially among younger people, while this population largely identifies with spiritual inclinations. An important aspect of this practice that is being reviewed includes the close association between contemporary concepts and practices involving mindfulness and lovingkindness that are being taught and current neuroscientific and psychological research that largely validates the beneficial effects of regular meditation practice for physical, mental and social well-being. Also reviewed is the impact of the internet on the world-wide dispersal of this information.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: What Is Secular Buddhism
The topic for next week’s talk will be a review of how Buddhism understands and practices cultivating compassion, including contemporary research that demonstrates the benefits derived from this training.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:23 — 52.5MB)
by Peter Carlson | Jan 5, 2023 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Typically, the meeting after Peter’s annual year-end retreat is dedicated to his recounting of the retreat experience, with the hope his review will help him integrate the experience as well as provide others more insights about what can happen on retreat. This retreat was significantly disrupted by the unusually 3-day freeze that occurred over Christmas, as the plants in the yard where the retreat cottage is needed to be covered, and then uncovered after the freeze. This created the opportunity for Peter to contemplate the nature of dukkha, the First Nobel Truth, a fundamental concept within Buddhism. There are three aspects of dukkha that are reviewed during the talk: The dukkha of inhabiting a body, the dukkha of experiencing unexpected changes, and the dukkha of how the mind fabricates a self. The third aspect is the primary focus of mindfulness meditation.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Understanding Dukkha
The topic for next week’s talk will focus on reviewing what is called Secular Buddhism.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:47 — 60.2MB)
by Peter Carlson | Dec 2, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk introduces several new teachers who are either certified or entering certification training as Dharma teachers: Lezlie Laws, April Koester, Alli Vaknin and Lili Fernandez. Peter has been looking for additional teachers for our group for quite awhile and expresses gratitude for this opportunity to increase the benefits of Secular Buddhist concepts and practices in Central Florida. The expanded geographic and demographic advantages of additional teachers is described. Following this, each person is given the opportunity to describe her background and motivation for teaching the Dharma.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:53 — 47.5MB)
