Dhamma Talks
Guided Just Sitting Meditation
This guided meditation does not represent Zen shikantaza, translated as "just sitting"; instead using persistent mindfulness of breathing practice to stabilize focused attention on the cycle of inhalation/exhalation, with emphasis on exhalation, to facilitate...
Andy Quinn’s Post-Retreat Report February 10, 2021
It is customary for our Sangha to provide opportunities for those who have completed a residential retreat to have the opportunity to share their experience, as this integrates what they learned for themselves and offers inspiration for those not on retreat to further...
Guided Letting Go Meditation
This recording focuses on letting go as part of effective meditation practice; various suggestions are offered periodically to foster relinquishing attachment to mental objects that arise as the result of craving and clinging. One suggestion for practice is to recall...
How Western Colonialism Affected Buddhism February 3, 2021
This talk continues a review of the development of the different Buddhist traditions as the cultures they operated within were affected by the intrusion of European mercantile powers, especially the British Empire during the 19th and 20th centuries. The primary area...
The History Of The Buddhist Schools January 27, 2021
This talk further develops understanding of how the primary Buddhist schools of the present--Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Chan, Seon and Zen-- originated over the millennia since the time of the Buddha. This dynamic process was a manifestation of sociological and...
Guided Present-Moment Breath Awareness Meditation
One of the benefits of mindfulness of breathing meditation is the neutral feeling tone of the sensations stimulated as air moves in and out of the nostrils. Another is the fact that this awareness is always focused on present-moment experience, whereas thought...
History of the Buddhist Schools January 20, 2021
This is the second in a series of reviews of the history of the Buddhist religion. The focus of this talk is on the development of the various schools of Buddhism--Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Chan, and Zen--over the centuries after the time of the Buddha and...
Guided Quiet Consciousness Meditation
This guided meditation offers training to use mindfulness of breathing as a stabilizing point of reference, comparable to how an anchor attached to the bow of a boat anchors the hull in the current of a river in a streamlined way. Attention is then directed to...
Reviewing The Life Of The Buddha, January 13, 2021
Most current non-scholarly reviews of the life of the Buddha repeat the mythological attributions that are contained in the Suttas and Commentaries, which has some value. This review is an attempt to describe the life of this remarkable person in a way that is...
Guided Diligent, Mindful, With Clear Comprehension Meditation
This guided meditation provides training in noticing three essential qualities of attention described in the Satipatthana Sutta and the Anapanasati Suttta: Diligence (Persistent, dedicated application of attention), Clear Comprehension (Attention to the details of...
