by Peter Carlson | Nov 26, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Each year, when the Orlando Insight Meditation Group meets on Thanksgiving Eve, the topic for review and discussion is gratitude. After a brief review of how Buddhism regards the issue of gratitude, the psychologically beneficial cultivation of a daily gratitude inventory is also described. Following this, Peter describes his gratitude for how dedication to Buddhist principles and processes have benefited his life for over 3 decades, along with his discovery of how intricately beautiful and wondrous life can be when enhanced by the cultivation of mindfulness. This was followed by the shared experience of gratitude expressed by all of those attending the meeting.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Contemplating Gratitude
Next week’s talk will focus on a review of a core concept of Buddhism, Dependent Origination, which explains how each moment of self-creation is formed and then dissolved into the next moment of self-creation. This provides a way to understand the concept of karma, that is, the way that we can create a future self that is less afflicted with distress and confusion.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:23 — 106.9MB)
by Peter Carlson | Dec 10, 2020 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk reviews the Seven Awakening Factors: Mindfulness, Investigation of Mental Phenomena, Energy/Effort, Joy/Enthusiastic Interest, Tranquility, Concentration/Stability of Attention and Equipoise/Balance of Factors. Each factor is briefly reviewed, describing its characteristics and function. The intention originally was to include a review of the Progressions of Insight, a Theravadin system for identifying states of mind that are increasingly subtle, oriented toward realizing directly the characteristics of impermanence (anicca), the absence of an enduring/autonomous self (anatta), and the distress and confusion that results from the mind’s subjugation by craving and clinging (dukkha). Regrettably, due to the complexity of the reviews, there was insufficient time to adequately review the Progressions of Insight. You are invited to download and review the extensive notes regarding the Seven Awakening Factors and the Progressions of Insight prepared for this talk in order to more fully comprehend these important concepts that allow the mind to be liberated, with the potential for realizing the ultimate attainment, Nirvana.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Cultivating The Factors For Awakening
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:31 — 110.8MB)
by Peter Carlson | Jan 15, 2021 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Most current non-scholarly reviews of the life of the Buddha repeat the mythological attributions that are contained in the Suttas and Commentaries, which has some value. This review is an attempt to describe the life of this remarkable person in a way that is de-mythologized, attempting to provide a cultural context for his life and the revolutionary concepts that were developed to create what we call Buddhism. The Intention is to make his life and teachings more understandable and applicable to current life circumstances, with the hope that this will inspire more commitment to train the mind to deal more effectively with the stresses of contemporary life. Future talks will review the development of the various schools of Buddhism over the centuries following his death, the discovery of Buddhism by Westerners and its introduction into 20th century cultures, and finally the more recent neuropsychological and sociological research of the last 25 years regarding the beneficial effects of mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation, with the implications for our lives going forward.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Early Buddhist Life
As mentioned above, next week’s talk will focus on the development of the various Buddhist schools over several centuries and on several continents.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:12:15 — 132.3MB)
by Peter Carlson | Feb 4, 2021 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk continues a review of the development of the different Buddhist traditions as the cultures they operated within were affected by the intrusion of European mercantile powers, especially the British Empire during the 19th and 20th centuries. The primary area of focus is on how Theravada Buddhism was forced to adapt to the intrusion of Christian missionaries into Sri Lanka, Burma (modern day Myanmar) and Siam (modern day Thailand). Key leadership personalities such as Ledi Sayadaw of Burma are reviewed, as they had a significant impact on several 20th century Western Teachers who were influential in Peter’s practice of mindfulness meditation.
The recording of this Zoom talk was significantly impaired by disruptions in the streaming signal, an unusual occurrence during the series of talks recorded since March of last year. Hopefully this will not recur.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Buddhism and Colonialism
The topic for the next talk will be on how Buddhism has spread throughout what we loosely call “The Western World” in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:04 — 75.2MB)
by Peter Carlson | Mar 25, 2021 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk reviews the stresses we all endured during 2020, and how they affected most people, as related to mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and addiction. These disorders were reviewed during the talk, as Peter has been a mental health professional for over 35 years and has integrated his psychotherapy practice with Buddhism. These problems were associated with the First and Second Noble Truths, Dukkha and the Causes of Dukkha, identified as attachment to a view that life should be predictable and controllable, which was significantly affected by the societal disruption resulting from the pandemic and the political controversies. This was followed by discussion among those participating in the Zoom meeting, including an individual who was made severely ill by the COVID-19 virus. The talk next week will focus on the Third and Fourth Noble Truths, Liberation from Dukkha and the Noble Eightfold Path and will associate mindfulness meditation to addressing the mental health problems mentioned above.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Buddhism and Mental Health
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10:53 — 129.8MB)
