The encounter with sensory experiences can lead to insight and calm, or reactivity and suffering. How do you guard your mind in the midst of a daily barrage of sensory input? How do you protect your mind so that tranquility and wisdom will be well established? The Buddha encouraged restraint of the senses, but this restraint does not require avoidance of sensory contacts or control of the external environment. In this talk, Shaila Catherine will describe how mindfulness allows us to meet the experiences of sensory contact – of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and thinking with a mind free of reactivity. Mindfulness protects the mind so that it does not come under the sway of defilements. Mindfulness is a special quality of attention that is balanced in the moment of observing experience. Before looking, before reaching, before speaking, before any activity, we can establish the intention of mindfully meeting the experience without giving rise to anger, irritation, lust, fear, or any defilement. The practice of sensory restraint leads to a life of happiness and joy, and lays the foundation for experiences of deep concentration and awakening.
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Dzogchen Meditation: Spacious Ease Cultivating Stillness, Thought Activity and Awareness
Recorded :
January 14, 2024 Dzogchen (Sanskrit: Ati Yoga) is the most simple, direct, and profound Vajrayana Buddhist path to reveal the sky-like nature of our own mind which is clear, vast, and unobstructed by the clouds of afflictive emotions. Join Lama Justin for an introduction to Dzogchen meditation in which we will explore how to feel into the mind’s…
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The Dharma of Sex and Intimacy
Recorded :
February 23, 2025 Do your dharma insights seem to fall apart in the face of romantic connection? Are you wondering what mindfulness means when it comes to sex and intimacy? As a monastic, the Buddha had little to teach on this topic, but as modern practitioners we can engage our practice to deepen our relationships and experience a…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Milla Gregor – Week of 26 May, 2025
We’re delighted to have Milla Gregor leading our Daily Meditation sessions this week. May these sessions support and deepen your practice.
This week’s theme is: Being Grounded: Five+ Ways
What is it, to feel grounded, for you? Contact with the earth, with fundamental interrelatedness, your body, values or lineage; with the histories of the land? What’s the opposite of being grounded? We’ll explore such ideas, grounding our reflections in embodied meditation practice.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Sophie Boyer – Week of March 27, 2022
This week’s topic is “Movement in Stillness”. The flow of life is unpredictable, and its instability and the changes it presents often throw us off balance. The Buddha suggests adopting an approach where beauty and freedom can emerge at the center of this “movement in stillness.” Throughout this week, we will explore the challenges that arise when facing the realities of birth, life, and death, and how open, stable attention and clear perception can support a deeper understanding of the natural flow of all things.
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Refugia: Finding Sanctuary in Times of Crisis
Recorded :
September 1, 2024 We live in challenging times. Biologists speak of micro-systems where species sequester during times of crisis. They are called refugia. In times of uncertainty and fear, we too need refugia, places of spiritual safety where we can put down roots, grow and thrive. In this Sunday teaching, Willa invites us to explore the concept of…
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Light on the path: pleasure, joy, fulfilment and free-ness.
Recorded :
September 24, 2017 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.
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How can I Sink when I am the Ocean?
Recorded :
June 10, 2018 In this session we explore more precisely the different individuals we think we are through the days. We will try to recognize them better, with their own feelings, sensations, emotions, thoughts and states of mind. We’ll also try to hear more clearly all the different judgemental voices that take place in us, about the way…
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Beautiful and beloved communities in the Dharma – the practice of inclusive and diverse sanghas.
Recorded :
January 14, 2018 Worldwide Insight talk from Larry Yang: “Beautiful and Beloved Communities in the Dharma: The Practice of Inclusive and Diverse Sanghas”. Guided meditation, Dharma talk and Q&A.
Discussion