The Shurangama Sutra, which points out the foundations of Zen practice, discusses the essential nature of mind as the “primal essence of consciousness that brings forth all conditions.” Implied is the heart-mind (citta) both profoundly intimate with all things while at the same time free and independent of all things. How is it to live this paradox as we move within an unbearable evolutionary crisis polarized between human driven destruction and human inspired renewal?
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Your Most Expensive Resource
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September 3, 2023 There is a substance we need for every meaningful part of our life. We only have a small amount of it, it’s being spent constantly, we can’t get more, and we’re surrounded by predators hungry for it. Attention: every moment we give it to something, and if we don’t choose wisely, a salesperson or an…
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The Dharma and the Drama of Sex: Everything you Wanted to know about Dharma and Sex but were too Spiritual to Ask
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November 18, 2018 Sex is everywhere. It’s how we got born, it teases us from advertising boards on every city street, it drives some of the biggest industries, and it provokes some of the most intense stimuli in body, heart and mind. Yet dharma teachings, even in a lay context, mostly ignore sex. It is not spoken about…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Christine Kupfer – Week of April 10, 2022
This week’s topic is “Body like a temple”. We often refer to the body as if it were a functional tool. We talk about my body, as if it were supposed to be at our service. Sometimes all it takes is one breath for everything to change, and in a dazzle, we experience body as a temple, a sanctuary for life. What is a temple? It is a sacred place, a place whose spiritual reality goes beyond the physical plane. In our daily meditations this week, we will bow to the miracle of the body that we are, honoring the presence of life unfolding in all its realities.
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Communication, Clarity and Consequences
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September 30, 2018 Everything that we write matters. Everything that comes out of our mouth matters. Important communications require calm and insightful reflection afterwards. Wisdom and Liberation of the voice support each other. Clear communication with another (spoken or written) expresses itself freely from the extremes of positivity and negativity. The middle way shows itself in exploration of…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of January 18, 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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Speaking Out Against Injustice with Deep Listening and Loving Speech
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June 3, 2018 How can we stand up for the values of social justice, inclusion, respect and dignity for all in a way that helps to heal division? How can we reach out to those who are different from us to help bridge the divide? In this session we explore the power of loving speech and deep listening,…
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Practicing the Middle Way: Navigating Between Extremes
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May 14, 2023 The Buddha invites us to travel the Middle Path, between extremes. How do we navigate this path that leads to knowledge, understanding and liberation? We practice with mindfulness and kindness to meet our day to day experiences and our conditioning: societal, familial, cultural, and historical. Inviting in curiosity and diligence, we learn to practice to…
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Working with difficult emotions.
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December 4, 2016 Feelings have the power to motivate one toward wise action when facing a challenge. They can also cause intense suffering, drive and distort behavior, and lead to regret. Being able to work with emotions, both intense and subtle, is a skill that can be developed through mindfulness meditation. We explore the Unified Mindfulness technique of…
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