Dhamma Talks
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...
The Value Of Virtue
Virtue is a basic component of any spiritual tradition found in the world. As regards Buddhism, virtue, that is Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood are key elements of the Noble Eightfold Path, and are derived from the Wisdom aggregate of the Path,...
Understanding Intention
During the discussion of January 10, 2018 "Understanding Karma", the importance of cetana, intention, was mentioned. This talk elaborates on cetana, which is one of the "universal mind conditioners" that function in every moment of consciousness. Peter quoted...
Understanding Karma
During this talk, Peter describes the Buddhist concept of karma, the intentional application of various mental conditioning factors that form the sense of self. The traditional concepts about the various attributes of karma were described, then compared to current...
