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?
Discover more from the Dharma Library
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Love for the world
Recorded :
December 17, 2017 In our last class of 2017, our guiding teacher Martin offers reflections on life, love and liberation, looking particularly at some of the challenging events and elements of worldly life, and pointing towards a skilful, loving and courageous engagement with the world and everyone in it.
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The Gratification, The Danger and The Escape
Recorded :
September 23, 2018 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…
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Spiritual Friendship: The Whole of the Path
Recorded :
December 7, 2025 We exist within a web of relatedness. Much of our stress and suffering arises in relationships. The troubles of this world too, can often be traced to a breakdown in relationship; with ourselves, with one another and with the more-than-human world. More than ever, it feels vital to bring the benefits of meditation practice off…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of 15 April, 2024
This week’s topic is “The Dharma and the Drama: Illuminating Heart and World”. Each day this week, Martin will offer some brief reflections as an introduction to meditating together, with the dual focus of supporting a deepening meditation practice, and integrating its themes into your daily life and activities.
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The Dharma of Sex and Intimacy
Recorded :
February 23, 2025 Do your dharma insights seem to fall apart in the face of romantic connection? Are you wondering what mindfulness means when it comes to sex and intimacy? As a monastic, the Buddha had little to teach on this topic, but as modern practitioners we can engage our practice to deepen our relationships and experience a…
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The Fruits of the Spiritual Life
Recorded :
April 17, 2022 2 Kings. Palace Intrigue. A Murder. 500 Elephants. A nighttime visit to see the Buddha. And that’s just the backstory to one of the Buddha’s deepest teachings: his curriculum for spiritual advancement. Join us as we explore the lessons from the 2nd of the Long Discourses and gain a deeper understanding of how morality, concentration,…
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Simplicity: The Heart of the Dharma
Recorded :
July 21, 2024 Simplicity underlies Dharma practice. It’s common that when people begin to meditate, even if they have a full life with a job and family, they begin to realize that simplicity is a deep value. Pursuing conventional goals feels less meaningful or satisfying than finding ease and straightforwardness in our approach to life. Simplicity cuts across…
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Seeing Clearly in an Age of Confusion
Recorded :
May 1, 2022 The Buddha spoke of the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion. We see all three of these showing up in the realm of global events currently, and in particular, the phenomenon of ‘fake news’, intentional misinformation, and delusional thinking. How might the practice of Vipassana or ‘seeing clearly’ help us in this context? How…
Discussion