Most of us know the Buddha as a revered spiritual sage. Less is known about the person, Siddhartha Gautama, who was also a social revolutionary. In this talk, we will explore how Gautama upended the caste system in India and examine his problematic relationship to women. We’ll see how understanding the Buddha as a human being can help us illuminate and transform ourselves and current systems of racism, misogyny and oppression.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Jaya Rudgard – Week of November 7, 2022
This week’s theme is A Gentle and Playful Heart”. A week of morning meditations orienting to the qualities of playfulness and gentleness. When we neither meet ourselves or each other with harshness nor take ourselves too seriously, we find a genuine inner strength. Whether we feel we have lots of energy and motivation for practice, or little, exploring these qualities will refresh the heart and mind and support us in meeting the challenges of our week.
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The Necessity of Trust
Recorded :
May 28, 2023 The qualities of trust, faith, and confidence are essential for mental health, profound spiritual explorations and the depth of relationships. To serve well, trust needs cultivating in conjunction with qualities of discerning wisdom and conscious intention. This session explores how this can be encouraged in both meditation and in our heart’s countless daily actions.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Caverly Morgan – Week of May 18
We’re very grateful to have Caverly Morgan hosting our Daily Meditation Series for North America. To find out more about Caverly, and to view her past recordings and contributions to Sangha Live, click here. Monday, May 18 The unconditional embrace of “yes” Wednesday, May 20 Seeing the inner critic from the refuge of being. Friday,…
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Endarkenment: Embracing the Medicine of Light and Dark
Recorded :
November 29, 2020 As we enter the darker months of the year, consider the profound restoration and healing that darkness offers us— both physically and symbolically. Darkness is often considered the absence of light, but it is actually a vital and regenerative essence of nature and consciousness. This session is an experiential exploration of the interplay of light…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of July 19, 2021
This week’s theme is: Identifying the Many Masks of the Inner Critic
Often we think of the inner critic as the constant nagging inner discourse which dismisses our good qualities, questions our lovability, and our potential for goodness. Being a master/mistress of disguise, the inner critic takes on many forms; it wraps our decision making process in veils of doubt, pushes us into compulsive activity, traps us in paralysis, and distorts our views on others.
Luckily, the Dharma path offers us tools to meet this painful heart-mind dynamic. This week we will practice summoning qualities like wisdom, kindness, equanimity, concentration, appreciation, compassion and inquiry, in order to meet our inner critic in a skilful way.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of 6 – 10 November, 2023
This week’s topic is “Everything to Lose, Nothing to Fear”
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Equanimity: Dancing with the Unexpected
Recorded :
July 8, 2018 Equanimity is a key spiritual faculty which allows us to face the known and the unknown, the ecstasies and the despairs, with steadiness and lightness. Equanimity helps us engage with life from an unlimited and interconnected perspective. The Buddhist image is of an island in the stormy seas – remembering that all islands are connected…
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Cultivating Resilience: Heart-Mind Awareness in Challenging Times
Recorded :
May 11, 2025 This session focuses on finding freedom from suffering by validating our emotions and deepening our connection to the present moment. We will explore how non-judgmental awareness can help us release limiting beliefs and cultivate inner peace.
