Dhamma Talks
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...
Lojong Introduction
This talk introduces a new topic, the Tibetan Buddhist Lojong trainings. These trainings were developed around the year 1,000 C.E. to support integrating Buddhist principles and practices into daily life routines. The core of Buddhist teaching is compassion, that...
Unwarranted Shame, Guilt, and Forgiveness
This talk is a continuation of a series of explorations of the psychological value of healthy relationships, from the perspective of psychotherapy and Buddhist mindfulness and lovingkindness practices. When a parent's interactions with a young child are lacking...
No-self and Relationships
During this talk, Peter combined insights from contemporary research on the importance of relationship quality during early childhood for cultivating an integrated sense of personality, and how this relates to the Buddhist concept of no-self, that is, the absence of...
Buddhism and Addiction
During this talk, Peter described the characteristics of addiction, emphasizing the similarities between the functions of addictive behavior beyond substance abuse and the Buddhist realization of the power of craving and clinging to produce suffering. A graphic...
Mindfulness and Depression
Continuing to explore how Buddhist mindfulness and lovingkindness practices can help address mental health issues that are epidemic in our culture, this week's topic is about the nature of depression from both a modern and Buddhist perspective. Peter described the...
