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.
With Willa Blythe Baker recorded on September 1, 2024.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Antonia Sumbundu – Week of 24 February, 2025
We are delighted to have Antonia Sumbundu leading our Daily Meditation sessions this week. May these sessions support and enrich your practice.
This week’s theme is:
Compassion in Action, Wisdom in Practice – Living the Six Paramitas
This week we will be exploring how the Six Paramitas offer a pathway to living with more awareness, wisdom, and compassion by nourishing the qualities of generosity, integrity, patience, diligence, collectedness, and wisdom. Each day focuses on one or two paramitas, combining instructions for our sitting practice and reflections on how to integrate these qualities into daily life.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Sophie Boyer – Week of Mar 11, 2024
This week’s topic is “To Be on the Road Without Leaving Home”. Zen Master Hakuin reveals an apparent tension between movement and stillness in this statement. What may the road refer to? What is called home? Sophie Boyer will lead our Daily Meditations this week, inviting us to engage with this paradoxical dynamic. We’ll discover that stability and ground can become more spacious in every situation, every experience, and every condition. How it is possible to discover, or re-discover, home … endlessly.
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Feeling Tone as a Door to Awareness, Compassion and Wisdom
Recorded :
November 24, 2024 In this practice related talk, we will explore the profound concept of “Feeling Tone or Vedena” and how it serves as a gateway to deeper awareness, compassion, and wisdom in our lives. Feeling Tone, often referred to as the raw and immediate tonality of our experiences, holds the key to unlocking a more profound connection…
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Integrity and Clarity: Foundations for Awakening
Recorded :
March 30, 2025 Everything in Buddhist practice builds on ethics and morality. With this basis, meditation and insight unfold naturally. This talk will explore the connection between living a life of integrity and developing spiritual awakening
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of April 5, 2021
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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Entering the flow of generosity: giving and receiving are one.
Recorded :
February 28, 2016 In this class we explore the practice of generosity, both in giving and receiving. We investigate how we can give and receive from our heart, with wisdom and discernment. We learn how to allow the three kinds of gifts–material resources, the gift of the Dharma, and the gift of non-fear–to flow abundantly through all aspects…
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Live wholeheartedly and leave not a trace
Recorded :
July 30, 2017 During the meditation and dharma talk Eden explores this Zen teaching by Suzuki Roshi: “When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.” How wholeheartedly are you showing up to life? What most helps you to remember that THIS IS IT? What helps you to see…
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Nature Awareness Practice in the Anthropocene
Recorded :
February 6, 2022 For many people, the natural world is a perennial place of refuge, resource and replenishment. It can be a profound support for bringing awareness into the outdoors. Yet, nature is under increasingly under siege. During this session we’ll explore how we can still take refuge in the natural world as a support for our well-being,…
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