Dhamma Talks

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...

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...

Buddhism And Anxiety

During this talk, Peter provided an overview of the diagnostic categories related to anxiety, describing the common characteristics and symptoms of modern psychological understanding regarding anxiety disorders, which are at an epidemic level in this culture.  This...