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Retreat Dharma Talks
at Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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| Regular weekly talks given at the lower Spirit Rock meditation hall |
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2024-07-03
Toward Freedom and Awakening--Individually and as a Society: A Fourth of July Talk
62:10
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Donald Rothberg
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A day before the Fourth of July and two days after Canada Day, commemorating establishing Canada, we explore the possibility of connecting the vision of individual awakening and freedom and the vision of social freedom and justice. We look at the "shadows" of these visions, of how greed, hatred, and delusion, whether individual or collective, as well as other factors, stand in the way of realizing these visions. We point to the importance of staying connected to these two visions in difficult and challenging times, and of how they can be brought together. After the talk, we have a group discussion.
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2024-07-24
Living from Our Depths 1
62:53
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Donald Rothberg
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How do we live from the depths of our being? We explore this question in a number of different ways. We begin by looking at some of the metaphors for "spiritual practice" (itself involving metaphors), including the sense of touching and living from our depths, becoming a "big person" (a Mahaatta in the Buddha's phrasing), awakening, being on a journey, and seeing through our conditioning, delusions, and the 70,000 veils (as is said in Islamic tradition). In Buddhist tradition, we especially connect, as in the image of the bird with two wings, with wisdom and compassion, and with ways to bring these qualities into our actions and interactions. After inviting several people to share experiences of their depths, we then explore a number of different ways to stay connected in daily life with our depths. The talk is followed by discussion.
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2024-07-29
Buddhism, Sex, and Mindfulness: The Don’ts and Do's
1:26:11
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Diana Winston
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Sex is an incredibly important topic for many people, but is rarely talked about in the insight meditation lineage. This talk first explores the Theravadin Buddhist teachings on sex as they relate to monastics and lay people and then offers tools for bringing our dharma practice to sexual activity. We start with the “don'ts”, looking back at the canonical teachings on sex, and investigate the third precept— refraining from sexual misconduct—as a foundational for integrity in sexual activity. We then move to the “do’s”: how in these times might the dharma teachings offer wisdom to the realm of sex? The key— mindfulness for embodiment, self-awareness, communication, and presence.
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