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 refugia, and how it can help expand our conventional understanding of what “refuge” means in the Buddhist context. Refuge, an ancient Buddhist practice of finding sanctuary in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, is not a ritual or initiation. It involves a deep exploration of the role of safety in spiritual life. Refuge is an ongoing inquiry into what refugia looks like for each of us, into our crisis-sanctuaries and how they become a catalyst for our spiritual evolution.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nathan Glyde – Week of January 25, 2021
We’re fortunate that Nathan Glyde has generously offered to lead our daily meditation sessions for Europe and the UK. To find out more about Nathan, and to view his other contributions to Sangha Live, click here.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nathan Glyde – Week of May 10, 2021
This week’s theme is: Invitation to Awaken.
The Buddha adopted a medical model to express the seminal and accessible four noble truths. We can see a diagnosis, a cause and symptoms, a cure, and a treatment. Namely dukkha (stress), taṇhā (thirsting), nibanna (freedom), and the noble eightfold path of release. This can be taken as a simple direction of how to understand and treat the human condition. It’s also an invitation into the depths and intricacies of the dharma.
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Learning to Be Ok… With Not Being Ok
Recorded :
February 22, 2026 How? By cultivating the 7 Factors of Awakening. These are mental qualities that give us capacity to meet suffering with wisdom.
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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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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of September 14, 2020
We’re fortunate that Martin Aylward has generously offered to lead our daily meditation sessions for Europe and the UK this week. To find out more about Martin, and view his other recordings on the platform, click here.
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Dancing with Dukkha and Sukha: Meeting the 10,000 joys and sorrows of our daily lives
Recorded :
May 7, 2023 In this ever-changing landscape of living, the buddha dharma and psychological inquiry offer us skillful ways to pause and soften into the things that bring pain and suffering, while also reminding us to fully embrace the many contentments and connections life also beautifully and innocently offers. In our time together, Sarah will invite us to…
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The Gap and The Second Noble Truth
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June 7, 2026 There’s a moment before craving takes hold – a gap. In that space, we gradually cultivate choice in how to respond. This talk explores the Second Noble Truth: how reaching and pushing away pulls us from the present, and how the practice of recognizing the gap – whether a split second or something larger –…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Milla Gregor – Week of July 22, 2024
This week’s theme is “Comfort and Discomfort”. Comfort and discomfort can show up in practice, as well as in life. In what ways are they interwoven? What assumptions do we make about them that might hold us back from fully engaging? We’ll explore these ideas through meditation and contemplation, to see what can be learned – and liberated – in support of living and practising more freely and fully.
Discussion