Dhamma Talks
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...
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...
