Use code SUMMERPRACTICE for a 25% discount on all On Demand Courses through August 31.

Search Sangha Live

The Gratification, The Danger and The Escape

With Dave Smith recorded on September 23, 2018.

Found our teachings useful? Help us continue our work and support your teachers with a donation. Here’s how.

The triad of gratification, danger, and escape is one of the Buddha’s most concise and simple teachings for investigating everyday lived experience. This formula can be applied to every single aspect of our experience. Many Buddhist scholars point out that this teaching contains the earliest roots of what we have come to know as the four noble truths, the basic framework for all Buddhist traditions.

During this session Dave outlines the teaching and its implications from the early Buddhist tradition. He also offers some basic tools and tips for how this teaching can be applied to all areas of our lives, on and off the cushion. Cultivating a liberation-based lifestyle in the tragic, yet beautiful complexity of the modern world.

Listen to the audio version below, or click here to download the mp3.

Discussion

Leave a Reply

Discover more from the Dharma Library

  • Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of May 8, 2023

    This week’s theme is “Shedding Light on Darkness”. In the Buddhist tradition, we find three psycho-physical dynamics which bring together suffering, stress and dissatisfaction. Beside aggression and wanting, the root of moha, often translated as ignorance, delusion or blindness, can be tricky to understand and practice. What are we blind to? What do we need to see and understand? How can we potentially see our blind spots? How can we prepare ourselves for that which we might discover? We dedicate this week of practice to discovering the different aspects of ignorance and learn practical steps to look deeply yet with kind eyes.

    Read More

  • Nina la Rosa

    Sometimes Bodhisattvas need a rest!

    Recorded : October 22, 2017

    The life of a bodhisattva can be tough. There is immense suffering on our planet at this moment in history. It can be joyful work, but it can also be difficult to live a life aligned with values such as serving others with compassion. How can the wisdom of the dharma help? Join Nina La…

    Read More

  •

    Whole body breathing to regulate your mind and body

    Recorded : April 2, 2023

    In this session Vidyamala introduces key areas of body awareness where mindful breathing can help to bring about regulation and calm in the body/heart/mind. She calls these the 5 B’s of the breath: Buttocks, Belly, Back, Back of the throat and Brain. She introduces the physiology of these areas and then leads a guided meditation….

    Read More

  • photo of Martin Aylward smiling

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of March 23

    We’re fortunate that Martin Aywlard has generously offered to lead our daily meditation sessions for Europe and the UK. To find out more about Martin, and to view his other contributions to Sangha Live, click here. Monday, March 23 The immediacy of experience Wednesday, March 25 Receptivity and responsiveness Friday, March 27 Real time Tuesday,…

    Read More

  • Sophie Boyer

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Sophie Boyer – Week of March 27, 2022

    This week’s topic is “Movement in Stillness”. The flow of life is unpredictable, and its instability and the changes it presents often throw us off balance. The Buddha suggests adopting an approach where beauty and freedom can emerge at the center of this “movement in stillness.” Throughout this week, we will explore the challenges that arise when facing the realities of birth, life, and death, and how open, stable attention and clear perception can support a deeper understanding of the natural flow of all things.

    Read More