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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When the Path Becomes Natural
Recorded :
January 12, 2025 Much of the time, the path of meditation and awareness must be worked with intention, realigning ourselves with the teachings, with practice, lovingkindness and compassion. Other times, the path may become an effortless, natural part of our lives. We will explore the ways our practice feels easeful and our intentions metabolized and also how we…
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Muditā: Appreciative Joy
Recorded :
November 20, 2022 Of the four traditional heart qualities in Buddhism, appreciative joy – muditā – gets less attention than lovingkindness (mettā), compassion (karuṇā), or equanimity (upekkhā). But the cultivation of sincere joy at the success of another greatly enriches our well-being and happiness. We will explore this powerful form of joy together, as well as what blocks…
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Dharma, Desire and Eros
Recorded :
May 9, 2021 Eros is life force, the energy that animates our being. Eros fills our spiritual life with vitality, our minds with creativity, our ideas with embodiment and our relating with rich intimacy. To live full lives we need access to eros; without it we become dry, rigid, flacid and withholding. Yet what place does it have…
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Embodying the dharma: contact, curiosity and care.
Recorded :
February 1, 2015 Worldwide Insight talk from Martin Aylward: “Embodying the Dharma: Contact, Curiosity and Care”. Worldwide Insight inaugural session. Guided meditation, Dharma talk and Q&A.
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Post-election trauma: embracing fear, extending love.
Recorded :
November 27, 2016 It has been a distressing and disorienting time for many of us, and to different degrees. Following recent political events in the US and Western Europe our practice is being challenged in new ways. Spurred by a Trump victory, violent attacks on individuals in marginalized groups are on the rise. The three poisons of Greed,…
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The Spectrum of Awareness Practices
Recorded :
February 2, 2020 This session will explore different ways in which attention works and associated meditation practices: from focused awareness, to flexible awareness, to natural awareness. We’ll do a number of fun experiential practices in hopes of understanding a variety of ways to meditate and how we can refine our own practice. Diana draws from her latest…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of 13 October, 2025
We’re delighted to have Ulla Koenig guiding our Daily Meditation sessions this week. May these gatherings enrich your practice.
This week’s theme is: Metta in Action
To be met with metta is to be received with basic respect and a sense of intrinsic worth-simply because we exist. It’s not something we earn or measure; it’s a fundamental recognition of our being. This week, we explore how to extend such warmth toward ourselves. And we’ll look at how metta supports accountability, nurtures integrity, and helps us respond to criticism with clarity and compassion-opening the door to deeper self-understanding and genuine growth.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Christine Kupfer – Week of July 15, 2024
This week’s topic is “Freeing The Heart-Mind From Doubt”. Doubt is like any other mind state. But it is a tricky one and can be a sticky one. It’s questioning component is a means for liberation, but it can also suck us into a maze. Lets explore doubt and free the heart-mind this week in the light of the Buddha’s teachings, presence and meditation.
