As the planet heats up, and hostilities flare between groups and nations, how do we touch and embody the possibility of peace, right here and now? Peace in the future is founded on peace in the present moment. The same is true of justice, and liberation. These are not things we have to wait for or strive to achieve in the future. We can nourish peace, justice and liberation in ourselves and in our communities now, through the practice of awareness in the present moment, and through building communities of resistance and love. This is how we we become the path of peace and justice itself.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
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The freeing of human consciousness: from seeing the world ‘out there’, separate and alien, to directly knowing, feeling, and living the intimacy of all things
Recorded :
February 18, 2018 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…
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Wise Resolve: Finding Inner Strength
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June 26, 2022 In an effort to counter tendencies towards striving and over-achieving, many Western approaches to meditation and spirituality emphasize relaxation. While relaxation and ease are essential ingredients on the meditative path, they must be integrated with whole-hearted effort. How do we find inner strength and make a clear resolve that is informed by wisdom and balanced…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of July 11, 2022
This week’s topic is Mindfulness in Daily Life. Trying to practice mindfulness in the busyness of our daily lives can leave us confused or frustrated. We know the potential benefits of such a practice, but the different pace, sensory input and constant activity make it challenging to remember to practice, let alone develop a continuous sense of presence. In this week, we explore hands-on sustainable practices with fresh perspectives, free from idealistic expectations or guilt.
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The Appropriate Response
Recorded :
May 8, 2022 When a monk asked the 10th Century Zen master Yunmen, “What are the teachings of a whole lifetime?” Yunmen replied, “An appropriate response.” What is this appropriate response and how do we know we’ve got it right? Beyond linear formulas, Dharma teachings point to a natural intelligence that guides us in a spontaneous responsiveness to life….
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Breath as Medicine
Recorded :
January 5, 2025 Join us for our first Sunday Sangha session of the year on January 5th with Vimalasara Mason-John, inviting us to breathe into the new year with equanimity. It was through the potency of the breath that Prince Siddhartha became awake. It’s said that at the time of enlightenment, the Buddha was practicing anapanasati, the mindfulness…
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Why Meditate?
Recorded :
February 18, 2024 Many people have encountered the Buddha’s teachings when learning to meditate. Many more people in the world, however, have learned about the Buddha through stories imparting lessons about how to live wisely. Why is there so much emphasis on meditation? What else is there in the teachings to support wise and ethical living?
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Surrendering to awareness.
Recorded :
April 10, 2016 Often in spiritual practice there is the encouragement to observe. From that place of observation we attempt to “be with” what arises. When does that intention get colonized by the ego? Who is it that is “being with”? What is it that is “being with”? What shifts in our practice when we surrender what is…
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Being a Bodhisattva
Recorded :
October 6, 2019 What is this incredible archetype? How does it show up in Buddhist history and teachings? How is it relevant to our current times? This talk will explore the idea of beings who commit to waking up in order to respond to the suffering of the world. And might we be one? Or want to?
Discussion