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 with love? We will explore the power of determination in meditation and daily life.
With Oren Jay Sofer recorded on June 26, 2022.
Found our teachings useful? Help us continue our work and support your teachers with a donation. Here’s how.
Discover more from the Dharma Library
-
Not Knowing as an Active Practice
Recorded :
April 18, 2021 We sometimes think of not knowing as something negative, but is it really? Truly not-knowing allows spaciousness, openness, and much greater intimacy. When we make not-knowing an intentional action, the barriers that hold us back from true intimacy begin to dissolve, offering much deeper connection with each other, and with the entire universe.
-
Suffering and the end of suffering.
Recorded :
January 24, 2016 The ancient and radical teachings of the Buddha point to the possibility to be a free, loving and happy human being in the midst of our everyday lives. Oftentimes our stress, dissatisfaction or suffering come not necessarily from the actual things or events themselves, but from our relationship to them. A different way of looking…
-
The Jewel of Sangha: We all need Community, Support and Love
Recorded :
September 15, 2019 Martin writes: “Sangha is about community, support and love; it is one of the 3 jewels (Buddha-Dharma-Sangha) of our practice. But in the individualistic cultures and atomised structures in which many of us live, sangha too often gets inadequate attention. This is especially true in the Vipassana / Insight meditation tradition, because while silent meditation…
-
The First Teaching: Radical Medicine for a Painful World
Recorded :
July 19, 2026 The July full moon marks Dhamma Day (Āsāḷha Pūjā), the anniversary of the Buddha’s very first teaching, given to five friends in a deer park 2,614 years ago. This one ancient talk is said to contain the entire path. And it still asks something…
-
Relationship to time.
Recorded :
October 25, 2015 Worldwide Insight talk from Christopher Titmuss: “Relationship to Time”. Guided meditation, Dharma talk and Q&A.
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nathan Glyde – Week of 02 March, 2026
This week’s theme is: Release The Pressure
We often feel pressured to become better-pushed to chase the impossible or to be someone always just out of reach. This same strain can seep into our practice. Yet the Middle Way invites us to soften that drive, releasing unnecessary pressure here and now, and uncovering the steadfast flexibility of wise compassion.
Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.
-
Welcoming the Beyond
Recorded :
October 15, 2023 What is beyond the ordinary mind? Can thought be background music, not a distraction? How can we access a consciousness that is open, free and limitless? How can we dive into the ocean instead of being tossed by the waves? The Buddha was an unparalleled non-dual teacher who taught the formless as well as form….
-
Daily Meditation Recordings, with Christopher Titmuss – Week of 17 February, 2025
We’re delighted to have Christopher Titmuss guiding our Daily Meditation sessions this week. May they support and deepen your practice.
This week’s theme is: Deep Psychology Of Karma
Join us as we explore the Buddha’s profound teachings on karma (kamma in Pali), a central aspect of Buddhist teaching that’s often misunderstood or overlooked. Christopher will guide us in examining karma not through abstract theory, but through our own direct experience and practice.
Together, we’ll investigate the intimate connection between our intentions, actions, and their results – both in meditation and daily life. We’ll look deeply into what creates binding patterns of karma, both wholesome and unwholesome, and discover what actions can free us from these patterns altogether.
Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.