The communicative loop of listening and speaking forms a powerful karmic workshop. Language taps into our karmic archive, sankhara. It reaches other people and, if they are listening, there is mind-to-mind contact. Relational contact is intrinsically powerful because humans are intrinsically relational: when we engage together, our mutual responsiveness amplifies our efforts. Speaking and listening together empowers us to do good works, or drives us towards anger and fear. Sila. It empowers our development of mindfulness and calm concentration, or it is a channel for distraction. Samadhi. It carries wisdom and deep inquiry or driveling trivia. Panna. All of these are enfolded in meditation in which the doorway to speech is opened.
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Wake up to your Life: Cultivating Courage & Compassion in the Everyday
Recorded :
March 23, 2025 Awakening to Life means harmonizing our values and our actions. Many of us merely go through the motions, sleepwalking through the hours, without actually feeling alive. Cultivating courage and joy entails slowing down, paying close attention, and practicing being fully engaged with what each moment has to offer. Koshin Sensei will share Zen teachings and…
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This is, because that is
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October 29, 2017 “This is, because that is. This is not, because that is not. This comes to be, because that comes to be. This ceases to be, because that ceases to be.” – The Buddha When conditions are sufficient things manifest. But if there aren’t enough conditions, things cannot yet manifest. How can we skilfully live in…
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Patience: In Praise of an Undervalued Helper
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December 4, 2022 Patience can be one of those qualities which we think of as being theoretically helpful but feel little motivation to actually cultivate and strengthen. So much emphasis in our busy world of achieving goals and getting tasks done is about doing, taking action and fixing problems. We will spend this session exploring the benefits of…
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Finding Forgiveness: Processing the Past to Open the Present
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July 2, 2023 The Buddhist path is one of liberation through letting go. But when there’s been disappointment, betrayal, or harm, letting go can seem like a very tall order. Join us as we explore the spectrum of heart qualities on the way to forgiveness, and find a new relationship to the past that brings you more freedom in the…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of May 8, 2023
This week’s theme is “Shedding Light on Darkness”. In the Buddhist tradition, we find three psycho-physical dynamics which bring together suffering, stress and dissatisfaction. Beside aggression and wanting, the root of moha, often translated as ignorance, delusion or blindness, can be tricky to understand and practice. What are we blind to? What do we need to see and understand? How can we potentially see our blind spots? How can we prepare ourselves for that which we might discover? We dedicate this week of practice to discovering the different aspects of ignorance and learn practical steps to look deeply yet with kind eyes.
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Growing the Good, Moment by Moment
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January 11, 2026 Goodness does not appear all at once; it grows through small, intentional acts. In this Sangha Sunday, we explore how mindfulness helps us recognize and tend what is already wholesome within us, offering a preview of the practices and reflections that will be covered in the course Growing the Good. Further resources from Kaira Jewel:…
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An Appropriate Response
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July 9, 2017 What does it take to respond rather than react to the increasing complexity and divisiveness of our world? This talk will explore Buddhist teachings that illuminate the sources of our fundamental reactivity, and reveal ways to help us see and see through it.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Zohar Lavie – Week of May 6, 2024
This week’s topic is “Finding Balance in the Midst of Uncertainty”. Dharma teachings support us in meeting the wholeness of our lives with interest, gentleness and creativity. Acknowledging the inconstancy and flux of our experience, both joys and sorrows, with sensitivity and care nourishes a deep wellbeing. Through the week we will cultivate a nurturing environment through which to connect with challenging aspects of the human condition. By prioritising spacious tenderness over contraction and demand, we can find the liberation of the true heart’s release.
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