Dhamma Talks
The First Noble Truth – Dharma Talk by Allie Vaknin
Allie Vaknin discusses the meaning and implications behind the First Noble Truth. Deepening one's understanding of the first truth is essential for understanding the subsequent truths, which collectively represent the Buddha's core teachings. As a Counselor Intern,...
The Buddha’s Life Before His Enlightenment – Dharma talk by Lezlie Laws
Lezlie Laws gives us background on the historical period that shaped the Buddha’s early life up to the point of his Enlightenment in 528 BCE. She reviews the predominant characteristics of what is now called the “Axial Age” and show how this unique time in history...
Dharma Books Review
This talk focuses on reviewing some of my personal collection of Dharma books, divided into various categories. This recording provides my comments about the books, and the accompanying notes provide specific titles and suggestions for either purchasing copies or...
Understanding Buddhist Emptiness
A core concept within Buddhist psychology is sunnata, translated as emptiness; this talk reviews this often mystified and misunderstood aspect of Buddhist doctrine. Early Buddhist schools emphasized that sunnata is synonymous with anatta, the absence of an...
Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence
This talk reviews the Buddhist underpinnings of the book "Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ", by Daniel Goleman, who has practiced mindfulness meditation for over 50 years. Emotional intelligence, often termed as EQ, has been considered a more...
Lezlie Laws Reviews A Combined Ashtanga Yoga And Mindfulness Meditation Retreat
It is our custom to provide an opportunity for anyone who recently completed a significant retreat to reflect upon their experience, because "thinking out loud" about it helps integrate their insights. Lezlie has practiced Ashtanga Yoga for decades and is certified...
Reviewing the Anapanasati Sutta’s 16 Stanzas
This talk focuses on reviewing the 16 stanzas of the Anapanasati Sutta, one of the core teachings of Buddhism. The stanzas are typically organized into four tetrads, which mirror the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, another key Buddhist discourse. The talk of March...
Reviewing the Functions Regarding Mindfulness of Breathing Meditation
This talk provides a review of how the practice of mindfulness with breathing meditation changes the structure of those areas of the brain that beneficially affect consciousness for better mental health and to promote the process of Awakening. There is an...
Guided Mindfulness With Breathing Meditation
This meditation provides training for cultivating persistent attention to breath sensations, ending with a contemplation of spaciousness.
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...
