2 Kings. Palace Intrigue. A Murder. 500 Elephants. A nighttime visit to see the Buddha. And that’s just the backstory to one of the Buddha’s deepest teachings: his curriculum for spiritual advancement. Join us as we explore the lessons from the 2nd of the Long Discourses and gain a deeper understanding of how morality, concentration, and wisdom come together to provide a path towards the end of dukkha.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
-
Faith: Cultivating an Undivided Life
Recorded :
May 22, 2022 The divisiveness we see around us begins in the binary mind: self and other, me and you, us and them. In each moment, we like and don’t like, pick and choose, evaluate and judge. How can we untangle this tangle? This talk will explore how practice helps liberate us from our views and opinions, and…
-
When the Path Becomes Natural
Recorded :
January 12, 2025 Much of the time, the path of meditation and awareness must be worked with intention, realigning ourselves with the teachings, with practice, lovingkindness and compassion. Other times, the path may become an effortless, natural part of our lives. We will explore the ways our practice feels easeful and our intentions metabolized and also how we…
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of September 18, 2023
This week’s theme is “Understanding Suffering”. Dukkha, often translated as suffering, is a central concept in the Buddha’s teachings. This has led some to view Buddhism as adopting a negative outlook on life. But is this true? Why did the Buddha emphasise suffering (dukkha) and what does he mean by this concept? This week of practice we will take an in-depth look into the first noble truth around dukkha. This exploration can help us cultivate compassion, as well as extending it to the larger community. It can free us from feelings of shame and a sense of failure, and bring a fresh perspective on our practice.
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nathan Glyde – Week of March 22, 2021
This week’s theme is: Resolve to Unbind the Heart
The word resolve can embody many meanings. This week we will see how much it offers on a Dharma path of awakening. It is made of re & solve: ‘re’ as in ‘really’, fully, with intensity; ’solve’ as in loosen, undo, or dissolve. Such a poetic and insightful combination: to intensely loosen.
The Buddha offered teachings and practices for a path of unbinding. A path of resolve to resolve, of dedication to undoing. For dukkha is a state of high activity and reactivity: a doing of distress. Meditations are practices of skilful and subtle activity that unbuild problematic senses of self and loosen missions of reactivity. An invitation to wake up to life, in life, for life, and there in the midst of it all to resolve: to fully unbind.
-
Bodhisattva Practice
Recorded :
June 23, 2024 Using the hagiography of the Bodhisattvas of Compassion, Wisdom, and Activity, let’s explore how to bring those ideals into our everyday life off the cushion. What can these perfections of compassion, wisdom and activity teach us about our own journey to practice-realization, and liberation.
-
What Does it Mean to be Free?
Recorded :
December 14, 2025 Awakening, freedom, liberation … these are the premise and promise of the Buddhist Path. This session will explore the theme of awakening and liberation, and reflect on how practice can support us to find freedom right where we are.
-
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.
-
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.
