Dhamma Talks
Final Night: Taking The Practice Home
During this final night discussion, after Tommy talked about gratitude and generosity, Peter talked about how to continue to develop the practices of cultivation concentration and insight after leaving the retreat. He referred to several areas of lifestyle...
Tommy’s Generosity Talk
During this talk Tommy gave some background information about the Buddhist concept of dana, translated as generosity. He related this as an outgrowth of gratitude for the clarity and relief brought about through intensive meditation practice. He emphasized the...
Sixth Night: Personality Integration, Then Transcendence
During another extensive Dhamma dialogue, Peter explained that the cultivation of concentration (samadhi) creates a platform of non-reactivity around the emergence of self-states that might otherwise cause strong craving and clinging tendencies. The unintegrated...
Fifth Night: Awakening Factors
During this second discussion of the seven awakening factors, more emphasis was placed on the integrative function of the factors and how this process transitions from personality integration to spiritual transcendence. As the "demons" of the hindrances are starved...
Fourth Night: Awakening Factors
During this extensive Dhamma talk, Peter described satibojjhanga, the seven awakening factors: mindfulness, investigation of phenomena, energy/effort, joy/enthusiastic engagement, tranquility, concentration and equanimity. Once the five hindrances have been set...
Third Night: How The Self Is Formed, Deformed And Reformed
During this rather extensive Dhamma talk, Peter reviewed the concept of paticca sammupada, usually translated as dependent origination. He explained why he prefers to name the process "contingent provisional emergence". This concept is key to the Buddhist...
Second Night: Five Hindrances
Pursuing the development of a more integrated personality prior to spiritual transcendence, Peter described sentient beings as "energy transformation" beings, emphasizing that the five hindrances (sense desire, aversion and ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and...
First Night: Precepts and Retreat Perspectives
During this first Dhamma talk of the one-week retreat, Robert reviewed the five Precepts: Avoiding hurting others, avoiding hurtful speech, avoiding dishonesty and theft, avoiding hurtful speech avoiding hurtful sexual behavior, and avoiding dulling the mind with...
Why We Go On Retreat
During this dialogue, various sangha members who have had retreat experience described why the intensive immersion in meditation practice that occurs on retreat is valuable for nurturing personal satisfaction and spiritual advancement. [s3mm type="audio"...
The Third Turning Of The Wheel
During this dialogue, Robert described the developmental arc of Buddhism from the primary cultivation of ethical balance and transcendental insight through the realization of the absence of a separate self, finalized in the manifestation of compassion in the Mahayana...
