Our founding and guiding teacher Martin Aylward reflects on the importance of being nourished and uplifted by our practice. He looks at the nature of happiness and our sometimes difficult relationship with pleasure; explore opening up to joy, and point to ways in which dharma practice is fulfilling and freeing.
With Martin Aylward recorded on September 24, 2017.
Found our teachings useful? Help us continue our work and support your teachers with a donation. Here’s how.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nirmala Werner – Week of 22 June, 2026
This week’s theme is: The Joy of Missing Out: Finding Happiness in Enoughness . Stepping out of the pressure to keep up, we turn toward the simple joys of presence, gratitude, and generosity. Together we explore how contentment and letting go can open the heart to a more quiet and sustainable happiness. Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.
-
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…
-
The Harvest of Goodness
Recorded :
September 8, 2024 The harvest is a beautiful and important part of life each year. A time when our good work bears fruit and people are fed. A time of thanksgiving and prayers. How do we participate in the harvest with our spiritual practice? In this Sunday Sangha session with Drs Larry Ward and Peggy Rowe Ward, we…
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of 16 December, 2024
We’re delighted to have Martin Aylward guiding our Daily Meditation sessions this week. May they bring peace and depth to your practice.
This week’s theme is: Peace and Love!
Our last week of daily meditation for 2024, led by Martin and exploring nuances of the spiritual heart, in our own lives and as we navigate the complexities of the world.
Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of 19 May, 2025
We’re honored to have Martin Aylward offering our Daily Meditation sessions this week. We hope they are nourishing for your practice. This week’s theme is: Slow Down, Open Up: Ways Into Being Where You Already Are
-
The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings
Recorded :
January 31, 2021 On a Full Moon in the early years after the Buddha’s awakening, 1250 enlightened disciples spontaneously gathered to be in the presence of the Blessed One. His succinct teachings on that occasion, known as the Ovada Patimokkha, distill the essence of the Path leading to Nibbana.
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of Nov 15, 2021
Daily meditations with Martin Aylward.
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Zohar Lavie – Week of May 2, 2022
This week’s theme is: Opportunities for Deepening Compassion and Wisdom. Dharma teachings and practices invite us to use our difficulties and problems to awaken our hearts. Rather than seeing the unwanted aspects of life as obstacles, we can relate to them as the raw material necessary for awakening genuine wisdom and compassion.
The cultivation of wisdom and compassion for ourselves leads naturally to compassion for others. True compassion does not come from wanting to help out those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings.
Discussion