Dhamma Talks
Acquiring Breath Awareness
During this dhamma dialogue, Peter fostered discussion of the preceding guided "acquiring breath awareness" meditition practice, posted just prior to this posting. He explained the importance of the practice of vitakka and vicara, that is intentionally bring focus to...
Guided Acquiring The Breath Meditation
This is a guided meditation that supports the practice of mindfulness of breathing, particularly the "mindful of the long...and short...) stanzas at the beginning of the instructions for anapanasati practice. The recording of a guided 45 minute meditation on...
Why Breath Awareness Is Important
This is the second in a series of discussions regarding the Anapanasati Sutta, (mindfulness of breathing), a core teaching for Buddhist meditation practitioners. During this talk, Peter described several aspects of mindfulness of breathing that supports increasing...
Guided Walking Meditation
This guided meditation was recorded on January 10, 2015 during a one day mindfulness retreat led by Peter. During the recording, two alternative walking meditations were described: walking with breath awareness and walking tracking the changing sensations noted in...
Anapanasati and Community
During this first dhamma dialogue of the new year, Peter began a series of explorations of one of the core teachings of Buddhism, the Anapanasati Sutta, the discourse on mindfulness of breathing (See notes.) It was pointed out that this discourse is perhaps the only...
Peter’s 2014 Year-end Retreat Report
During this talk, Peter reviewed his experience on the recently completed 2 week self retreat. Emphasis was placed on consistent breath awareness, using the notion of "channeling energy" to the breath, rather than trying to "make the internal narrative stop". This...
Weekend Meditation Retreat Report
It is the custom of the Orlando Insight Meditation Group to provide the opportunity for those of us who have participated in a retreat to talk about the retreat experience. Much of what transpires in a retreat is subtle and out of conscious awareness, so talking...
Weekend Meditation Retreat Day 2
During this second evening of the weekend retreat at the Franciscan Center, Peter summarized the previous talks and instructions during the retreat, fostering increasing skill in the practice of anapanasati, mindfulness of breathing. He read an excerpt from the...
Weekend Meditation Retreat Day 1
This recording was made during the first night of the weekend retreat at the Franciscan Center, a delightful retreat facility on the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida, from December 5th to the 7th. This recording is extraordinarily long, almost 95 minutes. The...
Practice Questions II
During this dialogue, Peter described the basic principles and practices associated with cultivating lovingkindness, as a manifestation of the Noble Eightfold Path factor of Right Intention. Following this, the practice of vipassana (insight) was described as the...
