It is an extraordinary relief to encounter the perfection of ordinary self in a world that is screaming loudly, “There is something better out there! There is something you might be missing! There are standards you need to meet! There is something more you need to prove!” As we remember our inherent goodness, we cease to have an appetite or artificial need to participate in the outer focus, the conditioning that is telling us that what we have and who we are simply ARE not enough. Embracing our essence ends the charade of the conditioned mind, and all that is left is acknowledgement of the preciousness of our unique expression of life and all forms of life. We finally relax, aware that there is nothing to do and nowhere to get to that is worth more than being who and where we already are.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
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This Is What We Are: Foam, Bubbles, Mirage, Banana Tree Trunks and Magical Shows
Recorded :
January 22, 2023 In this session, we will explore the Buddha’s wise use of images in the Phena Sutta. We will see how these are representations of the deepest teachings of Insight Meditation and how they can be relevant for us today in our quest to free the mind and heart from constriction. There will be time to practice together guided by Pascal and time for questions and beginning of answers.
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Overcoming obstacles.
Recorded :
May 31, 2015 Worldwide Insight talk from Shaila Catherine: “Overcoming Obstacles”. Guided meditation, Dharma talk and Q&A.
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Faith and confidence: the first spiritual faculty.
Recorded :
September 4, 2016 Faith, confidence, and trust are English translations for the Pali term saddhā. In this talk, Shaila Catherine explores the cultivation of saddhā as an aid to awakening and as the first in the list of spiritual faculties that include faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with James Rafael – Week of January 8, 2024
This week’s topic is “New Year Habits and Hindrances”. In this week’s sessions we’ll explore how engaging with the Buddha’s teachings on the ‘5 Hindrances’ can help establish or deepen the habit of a daily meditation practice.
If you’re new to meditation, this framework offers ways to engage with common challenges we may face; “I can’t sit still’, “My mind is just too busy”, “I’m just not sure if this is working”.
If you have a consistent, established practice, revisiting the hindrances can be a gateway to access deeper levels of concentration (samatha), and the subsequent, often profound, insight (vipassana) which follows.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Leela Sarti – Week of April 18, 2022
This week’s theme is “Timeless Presence in Daily Life: Being Yourself, Being at Home”. This week we will be exploring the possibility of being grounded in the depth of timeless presence in the midst of daily life. How to live a full life from silence and emptiness? How can we feel at home in our own skin and in the very circumstances of our life? How can we awaken an awareness and a heart that embraces life, dukkha and beyond? The grace of presence reveals the possibility of settling in reality and living with ease.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Kaira Jewel Lingo – Week of October 5, 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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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nathan Glyde – Week of June 14, 2021
This week’s theme is: Contentment Blockers
The Buddha named five key ways access to contentment is blocked, and gave clear and profound teachings that break through to the peace, joy, and freedom they obscure.
Our hearts and minds can be pulled into a mission of greed, or sucked into aversion and rejection. We often swing between restlessness and sluggishness. It is normal to doubt the possibility of developing our experience in more free and delightful ways.
This week we will explore the possibilities available to us to calm habitual patterns and invite vibrant-tranquility.
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Glimpses of Interbeing: An Introduction to Insight Dialogue
Recorded :
March 17, 2024 Based in the Buddhist tradition, Insight Dialogue harnesses the power of relationship to amplify, refine, and accelerate the development of mindfulness. Consisting of 6 meditative guidelines practiced in dyads or more, the practice supports the wisdom of dharma to enter the heart and mind in an embodied way that is immediately applicable in daily life. Join…
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