by Peter Carlson | Feb 25, 2026 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this first of a series of talks reviewing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse, a key teaching in all the Buddhist traditions. Peter describes the repetitive passages in each of the foundations were required for centuries in a pre-literate culture. He reviews how some of those passages have profound importance for understanding and practicing what is in the discourse.
Here are the notes prepared for the talk: Overview of the Satipatthana Sutta
Here is an excellent translation of the Sutta: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta by Thanissaro
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by Peter Carlson | Mar 28, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This is the last of the series of dhamma talks provided during the retreat. At the beginning, Tommy Harrison gave a brief talk on the power of generosity and gratitude for the teachings and the practice. After that, Peter reviewed the week’s progression of practice and described various ways that the process of awakening can be furthered after the retreat ended and regular life routines resumed.
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by Peter Carlson | Jan 16, 2014 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this guided meditation practice, the participants were introduced to vedanupassana, the meditation practice taught by U Ba Khin and S. N. Goenka. More understood as body sweep or body scan, this involves a systematic, in-depth examination of whatever sensations are evident over the body. Due to the amount of time available for the demonstration, only the areas of the head were explored. The purpose of the practice is to enhance the “aiming and sustaining” process, supporting increasingly precise and insightful awareness of body sensations; this investigation can then be used to bring emerging thoughts and impulses into awareness sooner and with more clarity.
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by Peter Carlson | Oct 31, 2019 | Listen to Dharma Talks
It is our custom to offer opportunities for Sangha members who have just completed a significant meditation retreat to “think out loud” about their experience as it is believed that this helps clarify and integrate what they gained from the retreat; it may also inspire those who listen to the talk to attend a retreat. This one-week retreat was themed around the “craft” of mindfulness meditation, using a sequence of talks during the seven nights to cultivate the skills for applying the concepts of Buddhism to their lives. There were 7 of the 17 folks who participated in the retreat who were able to show up for this talk and each shared what they learned and how they are applying the skills and insights at home. Here is the sequence presented during the retreat:
First night–Taking Refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha in contemporary terms.
Second night–Setting aside the Five Hindrances
Third night– Understanding the Five Aggregates
Fourth night–Developing the Seven Awakening Factors
Fifth night–Understanding Dependent Origination
Sixth night–The process of Awakening
Seventh night–Taking the practice home
Each night of the retreat was recorded and will be posted for review, with a few days between each posting to provide time for listening to the recording and reviewing the notes Peter prepared for most of the talks.
Next week’s Dharma talk will begin a series on the Four Noble Abidings: Lovingkindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity. The Emphasis for each talk will be on how the practices affect the mind and bring benefit to those who mindfully cultivate them.
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by Peter Carlson | Oct 17, 2019 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This is the last of a series of talks about how current cultural stress affects us and what the principles and practices of Buddhism have to offer in reducing the dukkha of a particular topic. In this case it is the distress and confusion around how the environment is being affected by current population growth, which is producing global warming and degradation of the environment. Peter cited current observations about the unprecedented growth of human population since the onset of the industrial revolution early in the 19th century. The population of the world is predicted to grow exponentially (nearly a vertical track on a growth chart graphic) to 9 billion people by 2050! The earth’s environment is already strained by current pressures for resource extraction and utilization and is bound to be significantly more stressed over the next few decades. There are political stances about whether global warming is attributable to human CO2 production, but whether or not this is true, the impact of increasing population will continue to degrade the atmosphere, the earth and the water, and this has and will continue to create political and social stresses for the rest of our lifetimes on the planet. Many people respond either with denial about what’s happening or despair regarding whether humanity can survive what is coming. Peter suggested these views represent either aversion or skeptical doubt, and that we as individuals can commit two what we can do with our limited resources as gifts to the next generation, establishing role models of effective action in the face of adversity.
Peter talked about his decisions regarding the environment stemming from reading “Diet For A Small Planet” several decades ago and how the impact of this created a commitment to living a more environmentally responsible life as demonstrated by his current home life (You have to listen to the talk for more details) and how Buddhist principles and practices strongly supported whatever success he has realized. He then invited the participants in the talk to comment on what they might consider to be a commitment to “reduce the environmental dukkha” by their individual lifestyle choices–a form of Right Livelihood. Peter further invites those who are reading this and listening to the talk to consider what lifestyle choices they can commit to that can make an individual difference to the environment with the support of regular mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation practice.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: The Dharma And The Environment
Since Peter and others will be on retreat at Deerhaven next week there will not be a posted dharma talk for Wednesday the 23rd; Daniel Logan will provide a talk entitled “My Favorite Hindrance” at that meeting. Here is the description Daniel provides:
My Favorite Hindrance
Everyone experiences the hindrances, both on and off the cushion. In this week’s dharma discussion we’ll explore our own personal history with a hindrance of our choice through the lens of currere. Currere is an autobiographical method of reflecting upon one’s experience through a subjective and narrative framework. Participants will be guided through the process of reflecting upon past, present, and future experiences related to their experiences with a single hindrance (aversion, doubt, sensual desire, sloth & torpor, restlessness & worry / agitation & remorse) and they will be encouraged to frame these experiences in a manner that serves to strengthen their practice. So come prepared to share your story with a fellow meditator and perhaps with the group at large.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:19 — 97.6MB)
