by Peter Carlson | Feb 26, 2013 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this first Dhamma talk of the one-week retreat, Robert reviewed the five Precepts: Avoiding hurting others, avoiding hurtful speech, avoiding dishonesty and theft, avoiding hurtful speech avoiding hurtful sexual behavior, and avoiding dulling the mind with intoxicants. He also talked of the three Refuges: Buddha (the potential for all of us to wake up from our delusions), Dhamma (the ways and means for waking up) and Sangha (the supportive community of like-minded people). Then Peter talked of the progressive course of training during the week, that is, increasing concentration and tranquility, then the practice of vipassana, often called insight. He also described two stages of development: first, that of the integration of self-states, then, when the personality is more integrated, the development of spiritual transcendence.
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by Peter Carlson | Jun 28, 2012 | Listen to Dharma Talks
As is our custom, after a retreat, the participants have the opportunity to “think out loud” about their retreat experiences, and how being at home has been affected by the intensive meditation practices. It’s also hoped that the folks who weren’t at the retreat might benefit from the insights of the retreatants, and perhaps inspired to go on retreat themselves. This year’s retreat, called “A Peaceful Abiding”, lasted from Friday night until Sunday lunch, and had the most participants ever on a retreat sponsored by OIMG.
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by Peter Carlson | May 3, 2012 | Listen to Dharma Talks
With the hope that verbally describing his retreat experience will help integrate the experience and perhaps inform and inspire others to go on retreat, Peter describes his recent 2 week self-retreat, during which he got a staph infection and had to get medical treatment. We often have agendas for our lives, and unexpected events like this on a retreat may seem like a setback, but the practice is to help establish ways and means to see how the mind creates suffering, in this case illness, and learn how to deconstruct the suffering self to find peace and clarity.
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by Peter Carlson | Oct 20, 2011 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This discussion begins a two-part exploration of the remaining three Factors of Awakening. The three factors were described and the ways of cultivating them were explained. Next week’s talk will relate the Seven Factors of Awakening to the practice of jhana and vipassana.
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