Dhamma Talks
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...
Contemplating Gratitude Thanksgiving 2021
Since we meet Wednesday evenings, one meeting each year occurs on Thanksgiving Eve, so we dedicate that time to provide opportunities for those participating to reflect on how Buddhist concepts and practices support the cultivation of gratitude, which I believe is...
Reviewing the Progressions of Insight
This talk provides conceptual understanding of an important aspect of Theravada Buddhism derived from the Visuddhimagga, an ancient and extensive treatise on vipassana and the process of Awakening. The Progressions of Insight are stages of insight awareness that can...
