The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
 
Retreat Dharma Talks at Spirit Rock Meditation Center

Monday and Wednesday Talks

Regular weekly talks given at the lower Spirit Rock meditation hall

Spirit Rock Meditation Center

  
2023-02-22 Cultivating Metta 3: Integrating Metta and Clear Seeing 64:31
Donald Rothberg
In this talk of a series of talks on developing metta or lovingkindness, we look at the question of how we connect and integrate metta with our development of clear seeing, with our mindfulness and wisdom. This is an important question, particularly given that most Western practitioners of insight meditation have separate practices in which they develop metta, on the one hand, and mindfulness and wisdom, on the other. Are they integrated? How? In the talk, we explore: (1) related strong cultural tendencies to separate mind and emotions, as in, for example, science, and much education; (2) how in the basic teachings of the Buddha, there seem to be separate practices; (3) how, both in the teachings of the Buddha and in later Buddhist traditions (as well as in other traditions), there is often a deeper vision of the unity of the awakened heart and mind; and (4) how we can practice to integrate metta, mindfulness, wisdom, and awareness.
2023-03-01 Tatramajjhattata: Here in the middleness of our lives, choosing a path & taking it 1:14:57
Heidi Bourne
Includes meditation & dharma talk (the participant Q/A has been removed).
2023-03-06 My Civil Rights Road Trip 1:42:06
Ruth King
2023-03-08 Thich Nhat Hanh Tells Us: Make Good Use of the Mud 1:19:03
Heidi Bourne
Includes meditation & dharma talk. All Q/A has been removed *except* for 1 participant question - which is directly connected to the title of the talk.
2023-03-15 The Natural & Radical Practices of Wisdom & Compassion 1:28:11
Heidi Bourne
Includes meditation & dharma talk (the participant Q/A has been removed).
2023-03-20 A Teacher’s Trauma Resolution Journey 1:47:48
Pawan Bareja
2023-03-22 How to See the Big Picture when Times are Tough 1:19:38
Kaira Jewel Lingo
Includes a meditation & dharma talk (the participant Q/A has been removed)
2023-03-27 Love, Let, Loosen: Wise Intention 1:44:41
Dawn Mauricio
2023-03-29 Awakening and Habitual Tendencies 1 63:59
Donald Rothberg
Donald shares some of the main themes of his experiences from a four-week retreat that finished four days before the talk. The talk focuses on one of the themes from the retreat--how there is an awakening process and yet how there remain habitual tendencies and times of greed, hatred, and delusion. How do we understand the relationship between seeing our "true nature" to be love and wisdom, and the fact that habitual tendencies appear frequently? We explore this theme in a few ways. We look at some of the understandings and stories in different religious traditions of something like this dynamic: How can there be "evil" when there is an all-powerful and all-good God? What accounts for this dichotomy? How are nirvana and samsara related? What guidelines and suggestions help us to practice so as to hold the aspiration to awaken and keep practicing with the acknowledgement of our habitual tendencies? Seven practice suggestions are given (see the attached file).
Attached Files:
  • Seven Suggestions for Practice: Awakening Amidst Habitual Tendencies by Donald Rothberg (Word File)
2023-04-03 Happiness and the Path of Practice 1:58:45
Nikki Mirghafori
Creative Commons License