We’re fortunate that Leela Sarti has generously offered to lead our daily meditation sessions for Europe and the UK. To find out more about Leela, and to view her other contributions to Sangha Live, click here.
This week’s theme is “Timeless Presence in the Midst of Daily Life”
Recordings are posted 24 – 36 hours after the live session runs.
Letter: Within our Reach: Joy – Fra Giovanni Giocondo
Poem: On the Journey to Ithaka – Constantino Cavafry (an adapted version was read during the talk)
Recorded :
With Earth Day here, James reflects on the preciousness and generosity of our wonderful planet, the current situation of climate change and how our Dharma practice can help us transform despair into meaningful and inspiring action.
Recorded :
Shodo Harada Roshi is known as a “teacher of teachers”, with masters from various lineages coming to sit with him in Japan. If you went to Harada’s monastery, the main meditation technique you’d learn involves slowing the out breath to last one minute. This drastically slows down your physiology, which in turn settles the mind.
Recorded :
During this session we discuss the teaching on ‘wisely directing one’s attention to the roots’ (yoniso manasikāra). It is a remarkably pragmatic approach to contemplative practice and one of Early Buddhism’s unique contributions to the human emancipatory effort from suffering.
Recorded :
Worldwide Insight talk from Shaila Catherine: “Overcoming Obstacles”. Guided meditation, Dharma talk and Q&A.
Recorded :
So much of what we hear and learn about within Dharma practice places an arguably unnecessary emphasis on suffering (dukkha). While the acceptance of suffering (dukkha) is an important and essential aspect of the path, it is by no means the end of the story. In one of the Buddha’s oldest descriptions of what it…
Recorded :
Finding a comfortable body posture when meditating is a crucial element in our practice. We can use our bodies as a way of experiencing change and impermanence. In this session, we will be looking at ways to make our bodies comfortable for meditation – both standing (if appropriate for your body) and sitting. We will examine various postures and do various techniques that can be helpful for meditating.
Recorded :
Discover a “concentration algorithm” that transforms your practice. Instead of fighting distractions, this approach teaches you to work with them skillfully. When your concentration wavers, notice what captured your attention, then make that distraction your new meditation object. This process reveals two valuable insights: first, that any sensory experience can serve as a meditation anchor…
This week’s topic is “In the Midst of it All”. Sanity, serenity and sangha in the silly season.