Dhamma Talks
2019 Shaila Catherine Retreat Report March 6 2019
Our community has a tradition allowing folks who attended a significant retreat to "think out loud" about the experience among others who have some idea of the issues discussed, in order to consolidate and clarify the benefits gained and to share their insights with...
The Unwholesome Mind Conditioners February 20 2019
Every moment that the mind is afflicted with dukkha some combination of Unwholesome Mind Conditioners is cooperating to produce distress (emotional upheaval--from desire to hatred) and confusion (not understanding impermanence and the absence of an enduring and...
The Universal Mind Conditioners February 13 2019
This is the first of a series of discussions describing the cetasikas, those factors that condition the selfing process. In the context of the Anapanasati Sutta, investigating and calming the mind conditioners are two of the sixteen stages in the process of Awakening...
Calming The Mental Formations February 6 2019
The last several talks investigated how the cultivation of anapanasati, mindfulness of breathing, creates the mental and emotional circumstances allowing for the onset of vipassana practice, that is, the ongoing observation of the ever-changing mental processes that...
Breath Awareness and Joy January 30 2019
This talk focuses on how persistent investigation of the breath frees up "mental energy" from the hindrances, thereby releasing subjective awareness of piti (joy) and sukha (happiness). After describing the classical Buddhist definitions of these qualities of...
Cultivating Breath Body Tranquility January 23 2019
This talk continues exploration of the Anapanasati Sutta, the Mindfulness of Breathing Discourse, with specific focus on the 3rd and 4th stanzas, describing how cultivating breath awareness integrated with full body awareness through a variety of methods, fosters...
Breath Awareness And Diligence January 16 2019
This is the second of a series of talks reviewing the Anapanasati Sutta, the Mindfulness of Breathing Discourse. The first two of the 16 steps in the process of observing the breath involve the application of atapi, a Pali word translated as diligent, or often as...
Reviewing The Anapanasati Sutta January 9 2019
This is the first of a series of talks about the Anapanasati Sutta, the Mindfulness of Breathing Discourse, MN118. Mindfulness of breathing is reportedly the meditation practice that Siddhattha Gotama used in achieving Awakening to become the Buddha over 25 centuries...
The Dharma Of Loving A Dog January 2 2019
It is customary during the Wednesday night meeting after a significant retreat experience to allow participants to "think out loud" about what gains in understanding and living the Dharma might result from that retreat. This talk reflects the two-week year-end...
A Different View Of Rebirth Part 2 December 12 2018
This is the second of two consecutive talks exploring how the Buddhist concept of rebirth can be applied to the necessity for individuals and cultures to "reinvent" personal and societal identities while adapting to the radically transformative and stressful...
