Dhamma Talks
Understanding Equanimity
Equanimity is the quality of present-moment awareness and behavior that is highly valued in all spiritual endeavors. Theravada Buddhism has developed an extensive analysis of equanimity to support the process of Awakening conceptually, and this talk reviews those...
2023 Shaila Catherine Retreat Review
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...
Working With Sympathetic Joy
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...
Working With Compassion
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...
What Is Secular Buddhism?
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...
Understanding Dukkha
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...
Introducing Additional Teachers
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...
Guided Gratitude Contemplation
This guided contemplation begins with integrating mindfulness of breathing meditation with the repetition of a "short form" lovingkindness meditation. After this practice is established, a series of gratitude contemplations are offered, for example, the benefits of...
Guided Short Form Lovingkindness Meditation
This guided lovingkindness contemplation uses this mantra: "May I be wise, happy and peaceful, with an ease of well-being", and was recorded during the 2022 Deerhaven retreat.
Deerhaven 2022 Retreat Review
In following a long-established tradition, this meeting is dedicated to providing those who attended the recent one-week residential retreat to review their experience during the retreat. After such an event, it is difficult to be able to express the insights gained...
