Dhamma Talks
The Benefits Of Perfecting Right Effort And Persistence
This week's talk focuses on the perfection of viriya, typically translated as Energy/Right Effort/Persistence. Peter described contemporary understanding of energy as the provision of glucose and oxygen to the neural pathways associated with wholesome or unwholesome...
The Benefits Of Perfecting Wisdom
This discussion continues to explore the qualities of mental functioning called Paramis (or Paramitas in Sanskrit), and the focus is on Wisdom (Panna, pronounced pahn-yah). This quality represents the product of the application of the Noble Eightfold Path, that is,...
Renunciation Exercise
This evening's project is to use the worksheet attached below to list various beliefs, values and expectations we experience on a hierarchical scale, in order to practice noticing how craving and clinging occurs as well as how to activate and strengthen nekkhamma,...
The Benefits Of Renunciation
This talk explores the benefits of the Parami of renunciation, which is the ability to disregard any self-state organization that interferes with the process of liberation from distress and confusion. Peter quoted excerpts from an article that describes different...
The Value Of Virtue
This continues a series of discussions regarding the Paramis, the qualities of the mind to be perfected in support of the awakening process. Tonight's topic is Sila (pronounced shelah), virtue. During the talk, Peter read excerpts from the Sigalavada Sutta, within...
Letting Go Of Things
This talk follows up on the talk last week involving the Parami of Generosity. Each person attending was given a worksheet, (the .doc file posted below) to review, creating a hierarchy of valuing possessions, from relatively unimportant to the most important. This...
The Benefits Of Generosity
This is the second of a series of talks exploring the Paramis, translated as the qualities of mind to be perfected during the awakening process. The topic for this talk is dana, generosity. Some references to how the Buddha's teachings were reported, followed by...
Perfecting Wholesome Mental Qualities
This talk begins a series of explorations of the paramis, qualities of the mind to be perfected during the process of awakening. The word parami is translated from Pali as perfection; in Sanskrit, the word is paramita. These qualities emerge as the frequency and...
Mike’s Retreat Report
One of the Sangha members, Mike Maldonado, recently completed a one week retreat at the Insight Meditation Society Retreat Center in Massachusetts. It is customary for a person who has completed a significant retreat to describe his experience in order for him to...
Four Clear Comprehensions
This talk focused on a commentarial addition to the Mindful Comprehension stanzas of the Satipatthana Sutta, (sati sampajanna), which emphasize integrating mindfulness into all activities, walking, eating, dressing, and other behavioral routines of daily life. The...
