Joy is both a Factor of Enlightenment and one of the four Divine Abodes. Today, as we are bombarded with news that heightens our fear and sadness about the world, more than ever it’s vital to understand the importance of joy as a central aspect of spiritual practice. We need to remember how to stay connected to that place inside that makes life worth living. In this session we explore principles and practices from the teachings to incline the mind towards true well-being.
With James Baraz recorded on January 13, 2019.
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Discover more from the Dharma Library
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The Practice of the Beautiful: Moving Beyond Fragmentation and Stability
Recorded :
June 2, 2024 Allowing the beautiful to guide us in our practice opens up possibilities beyond our conditioned habits. Awakening to beauty involves being with the messiness and the challenges of our lives. Beauty does not belong to anyone. As we orient away from that which is pleasing to that which is beautiful in ourselves and in our communities, we align ourselves with a path that blossoms into liberation for all beings.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nirmala Werner – Week of Nov 27 – 1 Dec, 2023
This week’s topic is “Longing for Belonging; Becoming Intimate with Expansion and Contraction”. Although people are more connected than ever through technology, there seems to be a global trance of “not belonging”. In this week’s sessions we will explore how we separate from our own selves and from others, and above all how we can come home to all our parts and sink back into a sense of belonging.
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This Dharma I Have Reached
Recorded :
March 4, 2018 Without a doubt, Buddhism is recognized as one of the world’s great religions. For almost three millennia these ancient teachings have spread rapidly around the globe influencing humanity in a variety of ways. Needless to say, the historic Buddha, (Siddharta Gotama) did not teach Buddhism, he taught the Dharma as a means to overcome suffering…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Christine Kupfer – Week of 30 June, 2025
We’re grateful to have Christine Kupfer guiding our Daily Meditation sessions this week. May they support and enrich your practice.
This week’s theme is: Meditating on the Five Elements : A Journey into Interconnectedness
This week, we explore how the classical elements – earth, water, fire, air and space – invite a meeting between our inner landscape and the living world. Each session offers a meditative gesture of presence, revealing that we are never separate: we are the breath, the body, and earth becoming aware of itself.
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Sajja: A Practice for Everyone
Recorded :
April 28, 2019 Vince writes: “In 2003 I took a one-month temporary ordination at Wat Thamkrabok, a unique monastery in central Thailand. My intention was to explore Buddhism and meditation, but what I got was not what I expected. I was given a ‘Sajja’ or a ‘truth’ to practice for 4-hours per day for the next 2-years. My…
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Buddha’s toolbox: a spectrum of skilful means.
Recorded :
June 28, 2015 In this class we explore the various ways to diffuse difficult emotions, see through mental patterns, re-direct our attention, and understand the nature of experience.
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Protecting the Mind
Recorded :
April 20, 2025 The encounter with sensory experiences can lead to insight and calm, or reactivity and suffering. How do you guard your mind in the midst of a daily barrage of sensory input? How do you protect your mind so that tranquility and wisdom will be well established? The Buddha encouraged restraint of the senses, but this…
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Danna / Generosity: It’s More than Just the Talk at the end of the Retreat
Recorded :
November 17, 2024 Generosity, be it material or spiritual is universal across cultures and spiritual practices. In today’s talk we explore Buddhist and other teachings, as well as deeper neuroscience behind why generosity makes us happier and more resilient, even touching on whether science can validate karma as it relates to kindness and generosity. We’ll take the time…
Discussion