Dhamma Talks
The Commitments Of Mind Training
This talk reviews the training aphorism "Keep three points in mind", which emphasizes the cultivation of virtue through the five precepts, the value of avoiding self defense or self gratification, and the importance of patience. This included some discussion about...
Proficiency Of Mind Training
This talk covers four of the lojong mind training aphorisms, "All dharma has a single purpose", "Of the two judges, rely on the principal one", "Always have the support of a joyful mind", and "You are proficient if you can practice even when distracted". Peter...
Living A Life For Awakening
This week's talk focuses on the value of building a lifestyle around daily meditation practice and integrating the lojong aphorisms into daily life routines. Peter talked of how his spiritual growth matured over the 33 years as a householder committed to realizing...
Training The Agile Mind
This talks reviews the lojong mind training aphorism "In order to take unexpected conditions as the path, immediately join whatever you meet with meditation". The emphasis of this practice is to train the mind to become quickly, mindfully aware of what is emerging in...
Agile Mind Guided Meditation
This is a guided meditation to accompany the next posting on training the mind to be agile and accurate.
Four Applications For Spiritual Growth
This talk reviewed the progressive steps from initial establishment of stable focus and internal tranquility through to last week's exploration of how to work with confusion. The new aphorism involves four applications to further spiritual development: cultivating a...
Working Through Confusion
During this talk, the Lojong training aphorism "Confusion is to be expected as the result of craving and clinging; use the quiet mind to resolve the confusion." This was related to the progression from cultivating a quiet, stable state of mind, through the...
Cultivating Self Responsibility
During this talk, Peter reviewed the progressive development this training represents: first establishing stable focused attention informed by benevolent intention, then using vipassana skills to see the transient nature of internal self-states, followed by the...
Turning Poison Into Medicine
During this talk, Peter introduced one of the lojong aphorisms, classically stated "When evil fills the world and its inhabitants, change adverse conditions into the path of awakening." He suggested an alternative: "Be mindful whenever possible so everything...
Training The Heartmind
During the second talk about the Tibetan Buddhist training called Lojong, the first 8 training aphorisms were described. Peter reported the classical rendering of the aphorism, then his contemporary understanding of the practice. The core of Lojong training involves...
