Dhamma Talks
Mindfulness of the Body
This talk focuses on the practice of Right Mindfulness in the Noble Eightfold Path discourse. Peter emphasizes how finding a neutral feeling like breath awareness provides a stabilizing point of reference that can interrupt the escalation from an initial stimulus...
The Precepts As Commitments
During this dialogue, Peter reviewed previous dialogues on The Power Of Commitment and the Five Precepts, hoping to foster a different perspective on the precepts. In the history of Buddhism, the precepts are worded as "abstentions", that is, behaviors that are to be...
Bok Tower Metta Retreat Report
It is our custom to provide some opportunity for most retreat participants to talk about their experience in the group, as this allows them the chance to "think out loud" with others who understand the retreat process. This helps to integrate the experience and makes...
Revisiting The Five Precepts
During this dialogue, the classical five precepts of Buddhist practice are reviewed, with an intention to explore their relevance in this culture, which is much more complex than that of the eras during which Buddhism was developed initially. The core of the precepts...
The Power Of Commitment
During this dialogue, Peter reviewed how certain of the cetasikas (mind conditioning factors) can be associated with the word "commitment". The purpose of these comparisons is to set the stage for revisiting the Buddhist precepts in order to understand the core...
Benevolent Effort
This dialogue initiates several discussions of the practice of Right Effort on the Eightfold Path. During this talk, Peter described the classical rendering of the Four Noble Efforts, placed into the context of 21st century neuroscience. He quoted the statements of...
Ecology and the Eightfold Path
During this dialogue, Peter described the extraordinary complexity of our material culture, compared to the time of the Buddha. He also emphasized how easy it is to just think about pollution, global warming, and resource scarcity in the abstract, at a distance from...
Brian’s Retreat Report
It's our custom, after anyone has participated in a retreat, for the next meeting to be devoted to hearing a report about his or her retreat experience. This process of "thinking out loud" about the retreat supports a further integration of the experience, during and...
Clear Comprehension And Valuing Choices
Using U Silananda's commentary on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Peter described satisampajanna, the Four Clear Comprehensions. This quality of consciousness sets a worthy goal, suitable means for realizing it, monitors the four foundations of mindfulness and...
Money And Value
This is the first of two talks focused on this topic. In this era, money and material possessions seem to have overridden the value of personal relationships and self-care. Peter facilitated a lively discussion of the confusion and distress surrounding the issues...
