Dhamma Talks
Cultivating Compassion
This talk reviews the second of the four Divine Abidings, Karuna, which emerges from the cultivation of lovingkindness. Compassion involves developing mindful awareness of empathy regarding the experience of dukkha, distress and confusion, in one's subjective...
Guided Compassion Contemplation
This guided meditation provides a review of how to cultivate compassion through developing targets of focused attention: First, establish stability of attention and emotional tranquility through mindfulness of breathing meditation; second, cultivate lovingkindness;...
Cultivating Lovingkindness
This talk is the third in a series that review what are termed the "Divine Abidings". The first talk is entitled "Reviewing the Brahma Viharas", and the second "Manifesting Equanimity"--both can be found in the archive. Lovingkindness is an over-arching...
Guided Cultivating Lovingkindness Contemplation
This guided meditation is intended to accompany the Dharma talk entitled "Cultivating Lovingkindness" recorded on January 26, 2022 and posted on the website. During the meditation, a series of suggestions are offered that cultivate focusing benevolent intention...
Balancing Lovingkindness, Compassion and Sympathetic Joy With Equanimity
This is the second of a series of talks reviewing the Divine Abidings, with emphasis on understanding the characteristics of Equanimity as a balancing factor, to avoid what are called the Far Enemy and Near Enemy of the four factors. The talk also includes...
Reviewing The Brahma Viharas
The Brahma Viharas are better known as the Four Divine Abidings and include lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. Future meetings will review each of these qualities of consciousness individually, while this talk reviews the factor of skillfully...
Peter’s 2021 Year End Retreat Report
Peter has committed to two-week self-retreats for the last 15 years. This talk reviews that experience during the retreat last December, using excerpts from Analayo's "Mindfulness of Breathing--a practice guide and translations" to complement what occurred during the...
Cultivating An Intentional Life
This last Dharma talk of 2021 builds on the previous week's review, "Working With Intentions", recorded on December 5th, 2021. That talk emphasizes the core importance of intention, which can be associated with wholesomeness or unwholesomeness, depending upon the...
Working With Intention
This talk reviews the function of intention, which coordinates and initiates each moment of self-experience, whether wholesome or unwholesome. The ability to monitor and effectively manage intention to promote liberation from greed, hatred and ignorance is considered...
Understanding Buddhist Faith
Buddhism presents a perspective from other religions regarding faith as a characteristic of a spiritually wholesome mind, emphasizing validation through direct experience rather than faith in an externalized Higher Power. This view places value on developing mental...
