Buddha points out the three main ways we get pulled into activity and self-contraction – Greed, Hatred and Delusion – which Martin often translates as Desire, Defense and Distraction. This class explores creative ways of meeting these forces in everyday life, and explores powerful reflections for each of the three.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nirmala Werner – Week of Jan 23 – 27, 2023
This week’s theme is “5 Doorways to Love”. What hinders our love? Where are we blocked? Desire, anger, dullness, restlessness and doubt are the so-called 5 hindrances: qualities in the mind which obstruct mindfulness and love. At the same time, when we approach them wisely, they can serve as a beautiful guide towards liberation. During this week we will explore the treasures of these qualities for our meditation and our daily life.
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What Can I Do to Help?! I’m At My Limit!
Recorded :
May 15, 2022 Sometimes as much as we want to help, we feel stuck. When we see children suffering and grandmothers crying in Ukraine, our hearts break, but the enormity of suffering feels like more than we can bear. How can we meet this wall, especially when our own personal resources are low? In this talk, I’ll teach…
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Meditation in nature as a path of wakening.
Recorded :
March 27, 2016 Mark explores how mindfulness practice in the natural world can help bring peace, insight, compassion and freedom.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nirmala Werner – Week of May 22 – 27, 2023
This week’s topic is “The Steam of a Cup of Tea: Teachings on Generosity, Gratitude and Renunciation”. Can we achieve happiness and wealth by giving? Can we experience abundance through simplicity? In this exploration, we’ll examine how such concepts are possible in today’s world by delving into certain aspects of the 10 Perfections (Paramis), all while embracing our perfectly imperfect nature.
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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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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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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of June 13, 2022
This week’s topic is Healing Shame and Guilt. Psychologists describe shame as soul-eating emotion. Shame and guilt prevent us from developing trusting connections with others and a healthy sense of appreciation for ourselves. The Buddha taught that systems of self-reference such as shame and guilt can cause pain and stress. To find liberation is to find freedom from these deeply harmful emotions. We will look at practical ways to find such freedom in our own lives.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of June 17, 2024
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.
Discussion