Use code SUMMERPRACTICE for a 25% discount on all On Demand Courses through August 31.

Search Sangha Live

Inner Peace in a Chaotic World

With Ronya Banks recorded on November 25, 2018.

Found our teachings useful? Help us continue our work and support your teachers with a donation. Here’s how.

In this session Ronya leads us on a journey of exploring the Buddhist principles and practices specifically designed to promote “inner peace” – even amidst a chaotic world.

“Everybody wants a happy life. This goal is entirely dependent on our inner peace… We are trying to seek a joyful, happy life from the outside — that is a mistake.” – His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Many fellow humans find themselves stuck in seeking happiness and peace by attempting to create the conditions for the “perfect life”. This often becomes a very painful, disappointing, and futile endeavor as we realize that not only is it impossible to fully control our outer world, but that life is inherently imperfect.

Thankfully, ancient Buddhist teachings and practices help us cultivate a profound “inner peace” independent of external conditions.

During this “Inner Peace” session, Ronya covers:

The value in practicing Mindfulness to form an intimate connection with present personal experience.
Implementing counterforce measures to purify negative mental forces that rob us of inner peace.
Transmitting our newly cultivated inner peace and wisdom to the outer world.

Listen to the audio version below, or click here to download the mp3.

Discussion

Leave a Reply

Discover more from the Dharma Library

  • Dave Smith

    Liberation through the Heart (Citta Vimmuti)

    Recorded : June 28, 2020

    Most people associate Dharma practice with the concept of Wisdom. Here, the idea is that we need to “know” something that we don’t already know. For English thinking minds this can become very problematic and can turn our practice into a cognitive or intellectual endeavor. With the earliest teachings of the Dharma we see that…

    Read More

  • Pamela Weiss

    The Human Face of the Buddha

    Recorded : February 28, 2021

    Most of us know the Buddha as a revered spiritual sage. Less is known about the person, Siddhartha Gautama, who was also a social revolutionary. In this talk, we will explore how Gautama upended the caste system in India and examine his problematic relationship to women. We’ll see how understanding the Buddha as a human…

    Read More

  • Wiebke Pausch

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Wiebke Pausch – Week of December 4, 2023

    This week’s topic is “Exploring the Art of Radical Rest”. Conditioned and surrounded by a restless culture, we are constantly driven towards self-optimisation and self-improvement. Our practice is often affected by the striving and the effort to become a perfect meditator. We will explore together how to rest in the midst of all that is unfinished and imperfect. When we allow ourselves to rest deeply, experience can unfold naturally and we come into contact with the very essence of being alive. 

    Read More

  • Jessica Morey

    The seven factors of awakening.

    Recorded : September 11, 2016

    Jessica discusses the seven factors of awakening (mindfulness, tranquility/relaxation, piti/joy, concentration, investigation, viriya/courageous energy, equanimity) and how to work with them in meditation practice to balance the mind and support insight through specific meditative techniques.

    Read More

  •

    Practice as a Way of Remembrance

    Recorded : October 18, 2020

    Many are referring to this time as apocalyptic. Fair enough. It can seem as though everywhere we turn a dismantling of some sort is in the works. While we might intellectually feel able to embrace the change upon us, for many it can be easy to fall into overwhelm, hopelessness, even despair. What do the…

    Read More

  •

    Becoming a Bodhisattva

    Recorded : November 9, 2025

    This talk will explore the archetype of the Bodhisattva— a being dedicated to waking up and cultivating wisdom and compassion for the sake of all beings. We will first see how it manifests itself in Buddhist history and teachings, and then tackle important questions: How is it relevant to the suffering in our current times?…

    Read More

  • Wiebke Pausch

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Wiebke Pausch – Week of October 31, 2022

    This week’s topic is “Awaken Self-Compassion”. For many of us it is easier to be friendly and compassionate with others than with ourselves. Old conditioning, limiting beliefs of not being worthy of love and are confining our hearts. Compassion is an essential part of our true nature. We all know how to be gentle and compassionate with ourselves – this is how we survived situations of suffering and loss in our lives. This week we will be exploring how to awaken Self-Compassion, allowing our hearts to soften and open with care. With a tender heart we begin naturally to respond to the world around us with clarity and compassion.

    Read More