Dhamma Talks
2018 Deerhaven Second Night Talk:Understanding And Overcoming Dukkha
During this talk, Peter described dukkha as distress and confusion rather than the traditional term suffering, as he believes the alternate terms are more specifically targeted on craving (distress) and clinging (confusion), the causes of dukkha. The development of...
2018 Deerhaven Fourth Night Talk: The Selfing Process
During this talk, Peter described the self as a process, selfing, a verb rather than a noun. During the talk, the Mind System Model developed by Culadasa in his book "The Mind Illuminated", was drawn on to help understand how different functions in the brain operate...
2018 Deerhaven Third Night
This talk focused on a more in-depth exploration of Samma Samadhi, Right Concentration. Peter modified the understanding by including passadhi, tranquility, as characteristic of an effective balance of stable attention and internal calmness and non-reactivity. ...
2018 Deerhaven First Night: Taking Refuge
During this talk, Peter described the traditional Three Refuges: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha from a contemporary perspective, as a commitment to cultivating the Path to Awakening. This included a contemporary view of the Five Precepts as well. These commitments are...
2018 Deerhaven Retreat Report
Following the custom of the Orlando Insight Meditation Group, those members who attended the one-week retreat at the Deerhaven Retreat Center were provided the opportunity to "think out loud" about their experience and their adaptation to returning to normal life...
Understanding NamaRupa
NamaRupa is an important concept in Buddhist psychology. Nama represents the conditioning functions of the mind as Rupa, the experiencing of sensations is transformed into meaningful self-state organizations. NamaRupa is another way to describe the Five Aggregates,...
Investigating The Mind
One of the key factors involved in the process of Awakening is Dhamma Vicaya, translated as Investigation Of Mental Phenomena. It is the second of the Seven Awakening Factors, and the cultivation of this factor is described in the Satipatthana Sutta, the Four...
Understanding Wisdom
This talk explores the crucial Buddhist concept of Wisdom. In the Noble Eightfold Path, Wisdom represents two qualities: Right Understanding and Right Intention. Mastering these two qualities is the goal of the fundamental path towards Awakening. Peter emphasized...
Understanding Dukkha
Dukkha is one of the key concepts of Buddhist practice, considered as one of the three characteristics of existence, along with anicca (impermanence) and anatta (the absence of an autonomous and enduring self). It is traditionally translated as suffering; however,...
Understanding Renunciation (or Let Go, Let Dharma)
This talk explored the meaning and practice of nekkhamma, renunciation, an important capability to cultivate on the path of Awakening. Renunciation is manifest in the various "12 Step" groups as "Let Go, Let God"; this was rephrased as "Let Go, Let Dharma", and...
