Dhamma Talks
Thanks Giving
Since we meet on Wednesday evenings, the night before Thanksgiving has been focused on a Buddhist perspective on gratitude and the increasing spirit of generosity that emerges from dedicated mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation practices. The participants in the...
Practice Questions
During this talk, Peter answered questions from the sangha members attending the meeting, with an emphasis on practical applications of mindfulness meditation to daily life routines, particularly the benefits of slow walking meditation. Next week's talk is on...
The Bodhisattva Vow and Korean Zen
During this talk, Robert Lockridge, a dharma teacher in the Kwan Um school of Korean Zen, describes the four vows for fulfilling the Bodhisattva ideal: "Sentient beings are numberless; we vow to save them all. Delusions are endless; we vow to cut through them all. ...
Understanding Nirvana
This is the final dialogue focused on the Four Noble Truths for this year, culminating with a discussion of the various definitions of Nirvana and the difficulty with describing such an extraordinary experience. Here are the notes for the discussion: Understanding...
Stages Of Awakening
During this talk, Peter described satta visuddhi, the stages of awakening developed to provide "markers" of spiritual attainment after the time of the historical Buddha. Beginning with fulfilling the precepts and setting aside the effects of the hindrances, the...
Self State Transcendence
During this talk, Peter reviewed the Four Noble Truths, emphasizing the ultimate development of the Noble Eightfold Path, Right Knowledge and Right Release, the transformation of Right Understanding and Right Intention from concept to direct realization. This...
Self State Integration
During this talk, Peter summarized the effect of overcoming the five hindrances through the cultivation of the seven factors of awakening. The interaction between the mind's idealized expected outcome and the self organization that emerges, producing stress, was...
Awakening With Equanimity
During this talk, Peter explained upekkha bojjhanga, the equanimity awakening factor. In the process, equanimity was described as the result of effective, dynamic interactions between the other six factors of awakening, which produces the most appropriate balance...
Awakening With Tranquility
This dhamma dialogue continues the exploration of the seven factors of awakening, focused on passadhi, tranquility. During the discussion, Peter explained the different categories where tranquility is placed in addition to a factor for awakening. It's function of...
The Joy Of Awakening
During this talk, the awakening factor of joy was described as the consequence of combining the factors of mindfulness, investigation of mental phenomena, energy/effort and concentration. As these factors operate to set aside the "energy dumps" of the five...
