Scientists have documented some significant and measurable changes that occur as a result of meditation. But Buddhist practice is not limited to calm, pleasant, relaxing states of meditation. The liberating path includes a broad range of practices that produce a wide variety of benefits. We learn how we encounter the world of the senses; we unravel distortions of perception. We weaken defilements. We learn to let go. In this talk, Shaila Catherine points to the liberating potential of the path.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of Jan 24, 2022
Daily meditations with Martin Aylward.
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The Dharma and the Drama of Sex: Everything you Wanted to know about Dharma and Sex but were too Spiritual to Ask
Recorded :
November 18, 2018 Sex is everywhere. It’s how we got born, it teases us from advertising boards on every city street, it drives some of the biggest industries, and it provokes some of the most intense stimuli in body, heart and mind. Yet dharma teachings, even in a lay context, mostly ignore sex. It is not spoken about…
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Wisdom and Heart Together
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July 27, 2025 The connection between wisdom (paññā) and the heart qualities, such as goodwill (mettā) and compassion (karunā), can be a delightful discovery in Buddhist practice. The clear, nonjudgmental awareness of wisdom can feel like warmth, inclusion, and safety when fully received. In turn, the truly open heart is free of the distortions of ill will and…
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Becoming Content with Emptiness and Voidness
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June 28, 2026 Shaila Catherine asks “Will nothing be enough?” as she explores how identification with our experience can create discontent with the basic fact that matter and mind is empty of self. Mindfulness will not demolish ego; instead, we mindfully recognize…
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Loving Awareness: Finding Freedom Within
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February 26, 2023 “This thing person called “me”, the one who is sensing, thinking and perceiving right now….who or what is it? This is an age old question that the traditions of the East, especially Buddhism and Hinduism, have held as the heart of their traditions. The answer to that question, in some scriptures, is “awareness”, a part of us that is already wakeful, attentive, open, free and loving. In this Sunday teaching, we consider what it means to encounter awareness, and why it might be important, not only for our practice of meditation, but for the fulfilment of our life’s purpose.
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Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind
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April 24, 2022 Shaila will be sharing teachings from her new book, Beyond Distraction. This talk will introduce five pragmatic strategies to help you overcome distraction in meditation and develop clarity in relationships, work, and daily life. The strategies are: replacing, examining, ignoring, investigating, and resolving. You can learn to unlock the incredible capacities of your mind to think…
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Grief, sorrow and the intertwining of ethics with meditation practice.
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April 19, 2015 Worldwide Insight talk from Michael Stone: “Grief, Sorrow and the Intertwining of Ethics with Meditation Practice”. Guided meditation, Dharma talk and Q&A.
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The Unshakeable Heart: Liberation as the Ultimate Resilience
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November 15, 2020 Is it possible to live and love freely amidst the greed, aggression and dysfunction of the world?Amidst so much suffering, can you nourish joy, lightness and laughter?When it feels as if you’re drowning, might it be that you are floating in an ocean of blessings?In times of political polarisation and dysfunction, broken societal modelling, a…
