by Peter Carlson | Aug 29, 2024 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Peter has decided to open one meeting each month to discussion in response to any questions or observations by the participants at that meeting, focusing on Dharma and practice oriented issues. Questions and comments focused on the importance that the practice of mindfulness of feelings, along with the role of concentration in the practice of vipassana, insight into the conditioned nature of experience. Peter shared some insights he experienced on a retreat that revealed the moment-by-moment arising and passing away of mental phenomena, and the powerful impact it has had on his dedication to daily, diligent mindfulness of breathing meditation.
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by Peter Carlson | Feb 5, 2026 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Occasionally, Peter provides an opportunity for open questions or comments about Buddhist doctrine or practice experiences. During this talk there are comments about retreat experiences, specifically one organized through the teachings of S. N. Goenka. There are also questions about practices such as full body scans. Peter responds to a question regarding any similarities between Buddhist Madhyamaka concepts and Advaita Vedanta, a Hindu view on non-self.
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by Peter Carlson | Aug 7, 2025 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter responds to questions from those attending, focusing on the importance of establishing mindfulness of breathing as a stabilizing reference point, because the intention to remain aware of the sensations experienced while breathing as other mental phenomena occur provides a “distancing” effect, enabling us to be less affected as craving and clinging occur and thereby enabling us to understand the impermanent and impersonal nature of subjective experience. He also describes how he uses his body scanning practice to open to experiencing the absence of an enduring/autonomous self.
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by Peter Carlson | Jun 19, 2025 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Once a month, Peter provides an opportunity during the meeting for those participating to ask questions regarding Buddhist concepts and practices. The questions posed during this meeting focus on the “Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse”, for example the “noting” method for cultivating insight, compared to practices that first emphasize the cultivation of high levels of concentration called jhana (jah-nah), before developing insight. He reviews the development and integration of the Seven Awakening Factors, facilitated through whole-body meditation practice. He also describes different approaches to cultivating and making use of concentration and the characteristics of what has been termed “big sky mind” and his way of using relaxed curiosity–letting go with every out-breath with a concentrated mind–to have a deeper understanding of sunnata (soon-yah-tah), translated as emptiness–the absence of a separate, enduring self.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:34 — 54.5MB)
by Peter Carlson | May 22, 2025 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this meeting, Peter responds to questions posed by those participating, such as describing the “Middle Way” as a dynamic balancing of mental energy–not too energized or too tranquil–along with mental acuity–not too rigid or too “sloppy”. He also commented on the benefits of deciding to cultivate equanimity when confronted with very noisy and variable social events.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:26 — 54.4MB)