by Peter Carlson | Apr 21, 2022 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk is the first of several that reviews what is considered to the be the first teaching of the Buddha after his Awakening. The historical context of the teaching is reviewed as developing during a time of significant cultural transformation, on a much less impactful level than what is occurring in today’s world. Using quotes from the discourse as reference, the values established by this first development of what would become known as Buddhism are discussed. A key progression of the discourse describes how the Four Noble Truths are to first be conceptually understood, then developed through meditation and integration into one’s lifestyle, and then ultimately establishing liberation from dukkha. The Four Truths and their value for adapting to the significant personal and sociocultural changes that confront humanity on into the future will be reviewed in greater depth during the upcoming series of talks, with extended emphasis on the the Fourth Noble Truth, the Noble Eightfold Path.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS CONCEPT
The focus for the next talk will be on the First Noble Truth, Dukkha, the distress and confusion that permeates every person’s life.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:36 — 50.0MB)
by Peter Carlson | Jan 26, 2023 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Sympathetic Joy, Mudita in Pali, is the quality of consciousness that happily celebrates the success and happiness of others, regardless of any material or status benefit for oneself. The cultivation of mudita involves integrating lovingkindness with the in-born capacity we all have for empathy. This talk reviews the classical understanding of mudita and how contemporary psychological research supports how this awareness is formed in the brain through the practice of mindfulness, investigation of mental phenomena and Right Effort.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Working With Mudita
Next week’s talk will be provided by Lezlie Laws, one of the teachers who is being mentored by Peter. The topic she reviews will focus on how the core teaching of Buddhism about impermanence affects our contemporary issues of time management.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:15 — 54.2MB)
by April Koester | Apr 27, 2023 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Lezlie Laws gives us background on the historical period that shaped the Buddha’s early life up to the point of his Enlightenment in 528 BCE. She reviews the predominant characteristics of what is now called the “Axial Age” and show how this unique time in history created a context for the Buddha to shun the political life that was planned for him and to take up the life of a “renouncer,” a spiritual seeker. By examining his early life, we see how his core teachings were taking form in his mind long before he became one of the most influential spiritual teachers of his age.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Buddha’s Early Life
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (60.8MB)
by Peter Carlson | Jul 27, 2023 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Lezlie Laws initially provides an overview of the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Mindfulness of Mental Phenomena. She then describes how the Five Hindrances are recognized and effectively set aside. This talk also includes a period of time for questions to be discussed.
The focus for the next talk will be the next category of the Fourth Foundation, the Five Aggregates.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:09:03 — 63.2MB)
by Peter Carlson | Jan 11, 2024 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter provides a brief speculative review of Siddhartha Gautama’s life experience, before he became known as the Buddha. The intention here is to consider the sociocultural stresses of his time in comparison to the stresses of contemporary life. He lived in what were the most comfortable and hedonistic circumstances of the day, which pale in comparison to what conditions our self-identities and expectations currently. Despite all the lifestyle securities and comforts, he decided to dedicate his life to spiritual development rather than self-indulgence. How might this apply to our current life circumstances and motivations for spiritual development? This is followed by Peter’s description of what motivated his interest in Buddhist meditation when he began practicing and what continues to motivate him currently. Others present also contributed their motivations for meditating.
The topic for next week’s talk will be an overview of the Four Noble Truths, the core teaching within all the various Buddhist traditions. This will be an introduction to an extended exploration reviewing each of the Four Noble Truths over a series of talks throughout the year.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:19 — 54.3MB)
