Our lives include facing things we didn’t choose, and often cannot change; such as getting ill or injured, or loosing something or someone that we love. Dharma teachings invite us to turn towards these, instead of turning away from them.
What is the wisdom that is available to us when we meet our experience with interest and compassion? What can we learn from opening to the “in-escapable” aspects of the human condition?
This week’s theme is “Preparing the Heart and Mind”. In Buddhist practice we often hear we should let go. And often enough we would really like to let go of those thoughts, impulses, moods and contractions which keep us agitated and in unease. But letting go is rarely something we decide to do; and neither is holding on. In the upcoming week we will explore why the heart-mind holds on to something and how we can prepare, nourish and soothe it, so that letting go becomes a natural process, not a willful command.
This week’s theme is: Taking Refuge in Sati: Resting in Intentional Awareness . In this session, we explore sati as a refuge: a gentle gathering of attention that protects our heart-minds both in meditation and in daily life. We will inquire into the dynamics of attention and learn to navigate the many impressions that touch our hearts, so we can use our attention in ways that support clarity, resilience, and fresh energy. Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.
This week’s topic is “Trust the Process”. There is a natural space that is always available to us. A space before thoughts, before duality. Every day there will be an opportunity to come back to this primary experience that is safe and complete. A space before the beginning. This week let’s trust the process together.
Recorded :
The Buddha’s insight that all things arise dependent on something else points to a universe in ongoing relational flow. When experienced directly, we know this flow to be love. Together we will open to receive the many ways we are touched by life through our connections to each other and the Earth, our ancestors and…
Recorded :
So many of us feel assailed by doubt, anxiety and insecurity. Unhelpful self-talk, along with the uncertainties of the world, heighten and reinforce thought tendencies. Dharma practice helps us recognize and uproot ingrained patterns, and also to establish trust, confidence and fearlessness. Our first Sunday Sangha of 2023 will inquire into what is deeply trustworthy, and point towards a confidence that is unshakeable — regardless of circumstance or preference, life or death.
We’re honored to have Martin Aylward offering our Daily Meditation sessions this week. We hope they are nourishing for your practice.
This week’s theme is: Embracing Complexity and Contradiction
A week of exploring and cultivating a life and practice of radical open-heartedness
Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.
This week’s topic is “Alight, Enlight, Delight”. The Buddha is recorded as saying “be a lamp unto yourself”. Let’s explore enlightening experience by releasing unnecessary burdens, brighten the heart by delighting in the overlooked, and shine our liberating light into the whole world.
Recorded :
In this session Shaila Catherine explored the practice and purpose of lovingkindness (mettā) meditation. She clarified what mettā is, and what mettā is not. Mettā is more than merely an antidote to apply on occasions when fear and ill will arise. Mettā can become a skillful and liberating way to experience all moments of life.