by Peter Carlson | Aug 15, 2024 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This talk reviews the characteristics of compassion from a Buddhist perspective, including the “near enemy” and “far enemy” of this manifestation of lovingkindness which is focused on relieving the mind from distress and confusion. Compassion is described as the combined effects of cultivating the “hardwired” experience of empathy, supported by mindfulness, investigation of mental phenomena, and Right Effort, and associated with equanimity, which provides a balanced manifestation of this wholesome state of mind. Preceding this talk of August 14, 2024, Peter provides a guided meditation titled “Guided Compassion With Equanimity Contemplation”, the recording of which is posted within the Guided Meditations page of the website.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Integrating Compassion with Equanimity
The topic for the next meeting will provide a review regarding the integration of Sympathetic Joy with equanimity. Sympathetic Joy describes the empathetic enjoyment of the happiness and success of another, balanced by equanimity.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:28 — 59.0MB)
by Peter Carlson | Aug 22, 2024 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Sympathetic Joy is one of the Four Divine Abidings, and this guided meditation provides instructions on how to integrate Mindfulness, Investigation of Mental Phenomena, and Right Effort to cultivate Equanimity, another of the Divine Abidings, which functions to bring balance and clarity to the experience of appreciating another beings happiness and success in unselfish ways. This recording is intended to provide experiential support for the Dharma talk delivered the same night entitled “Cultivating Sympathetic Joy With Equanimity”. Both recordings are posted within the archives of this website.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:02 — 41.2MB)
by Peter Carlson | Aug 22, 2024 | Listen to Dharma Talks
Sympathetic Joy is listed as the third of the Four Divine Abidings, and Equanimity is the fourth. During this talk, Peter reviews the characteristics of Sympathetic Joy as a celebration of another’s success and happiness in an unselfish way. It represents the spiritual development of empathy, which is hard-wired into the bodies of humans, but can be distorted when not effectively monitored by Mindfulness and Investigation of Mental Phenomena, and regulated by Right Effort. The result of this skillful application of attention and action is Equanimity, which provides balance, avoiding what are called the “near enemy” or “far enemy” of Sympathetic Joy.
This talk is intended to be supplemented by a recorded guided meditation posted in the archives of this site titled “Contemplating Sympathetic Joy With Equanimity”, which was presented by Peter just prior to this talk.
Here are the notes prepared for the Dharma talk: Cultivating Sympathetic Joy With Equanimity
The next talk, scheduled for August 28, 2024, will provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions about Buddhist concepts and practices, with discussion provided by Peter, who has been studying and practicing Buddhism for over 40 years.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:34 — 52.7MB)
by Peter Carlson | Nov 7, 2024 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, April reviews how the cultivation of mindfulness can be understood as an art form that creates a more beautiful self-experience. This is supported by contemporary research regarding how the hemispheres of the brain interact and how meditation training benefits the art of living.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: The Art and Science of Meditation
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:49 — 57.5MB)
by Peter Carlson | Apr 24, 2025 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, April describes how important it is to integrate the benefits of formal mindfulness meditation with walking, particularly while outdoors in nature. She shares her own experience and insights that emerge in a variety of settings during normal daily routines from this practice and invites others participating in the meeting to share their insights as well.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: Stillness in Motion – Google Slides (002)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:55 — 56.7MB)
