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Dharma Talks
given at Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2021-05-02
Embodying Mettā: A Daylong Retreat
3:34:42
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Dawn Mauricio
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Those who are familiar with the practice of mettā, or lovingkindness, know that it is one of four divine abidings of the heart according to the Buddha’s teachings. One way that this quality can be cultivated—as traditionally and so frequently taught—is through the recitation of phrases. However, without a deeper understanding or familiarity with the subtle expressions of mettā, or the alternate doorways into cultivating this profound and limitless quality, lovingkindness meditation can mislead us to binary thinking, as in: "I am loving and kind” or “I am not loving and kind."
In our daylong together, we will explore the various doorways into cultivating mettā, as well as the spectrum in which it can come alive in our daily lives. All levels and experiences welcome.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2021-04-21
Doing and Not-Doing in Meditation and Daily Life 5: Talk, Guided Meditation, Discussion
1:15:23
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Donald Rothberg
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We briefly review the main themes of our practice in the last sessions: The importance of "doing" and skillful effort in our formal practice and in our daily lives; the parallel importance of "not-doing" (particularly receptivity) in these areas; some ways to inquire into the nature of our identities as "doers"; some ways of bringing these practices into daily life; the experience of "flow" and being an "expert" in a given area as pointing to a kind of "doing" coming out of a deep not-doing; and the theme of not-doing in Taoist tradition (emphasizing the work of Chuang Tzu) and Buddhist tradition. We suggest that all of practice points toward this deep non-doing as an expression of awakening. We then explore this territory in a 20-minute guided meditation, followed by discussion.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2021-04-21
Guided Meditation on Doing and Not-Doing in Our Meditation Practice
30:29
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Donald Rothberg
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A thirty-minute or so guided meditation, lightly guided, with three successive instructions: (1) to set intentions in light of whether one needs in general to emphasize "doing" more or less, and then to focus initially on settling, connecting with the primary object and noticing when one is distracted; (2) to emphasize receptivity as a dimension of not-doing in being with what is predominant, after an initial period of settling; and (3) opening to a kind of "choiceless awareness," simply noticing what is occurring moment by moment.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2021-04-14
Doing and Not-Doing in Meditation and Daily Life 4: Talk, Guided Meditation, and Discussion
1:13:33
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Donald Rothberg
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We review briefly the basic perspectives that we've explore in preceding sessions: the importance of active "doing" in meditation and daily life, the importance as well as receptivity and "not-doing" in meditation and daily life, and ways in which to inquire into our more fixed identity as a "doer." We then look at two broad perspectives on a doing coming out of a deep not-doing: (1) in "flow" experiences and the experiences of "experts" in a given area, with examples from art, music, sports, and everyday life; and (2) in spiritual traditions, with a particular emphasis on Taoist and Buddhist sources.
Then there is a second guided meditation, about 20 minutes long, and beginning at 35:55, grounded in the earlier guided meditation before the talk, in which we explore a progressive letting-go of both more gross and more subtle dimensions of meditative doing, opening up to a deeper non-doing, which can be the basis for the "doing coming out of a deep not-doing" we explored in the talk.
Finally, we have open discussion.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2021-04-12
Joy (Mudita)
58:36
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Jack Kornfield
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"Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate. Live in joy, in health, even among the afflicted. Live in joy, in peace, even among the troubled. Look within, be still. Free from fear and attachment, know the sweet joy of the way." —The Buddha (Dhp 197-200, Byrom)
From suffering, greed, hatred, and fear we can shift our whole identity and find well-being, release, & freedom. This is possible for us and those around us.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2021-04-12
Meditation: Joy (Mudita) | Monday Night
29:23
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Jack Kornfield
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Let yourself think of someone you care about. Picture them, remember them, see them in your mind's eye or hold them in your heart. Imagine their happiest moment as a child. Then begin to wish them well: "May you be joyful. May you remember that child of spirit that was born in you. May your joy increase. May the causes for happiness and joy grow stronger in your life." Then imagine this person wishing the same for you.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2021-03-31
Doing and Not-Doing in Meditation and Daily Life 3
68:17
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Donald Rothberg
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We start with a brief review of what we’ve explored in the last two sessions on this theme, including the importance of both doing and not-doing in Buddhist practice and the nature of identification with the “doer” (and the related themes of self, time, and the future). We then go into more depth inquiring into the nature of the “doer,” including a brief guided meditation looking into the experience of “doing” and opening to not-doing in meditation. We lastly further investigate traditions (Jewish, Christian, Taoist, and Buddhist) that point to the importance of a doing coming out of not-doing, and ways that we can experience and explore this doing coming out of not-doing in daily life, including in the experiences of creativity in art and music, and being “in the zone” in sports.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2021-03-22
The Sacred Pause | Monday Night talk
52:03
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Jack Kornfield
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How do we tend ourselves, how do we tend this world? Can we pause, be present, take a step back and be the loving awareness that witnesses it all? We are consciousness itself having a human experience.
This is an invitation to pause, to walk among the trees, to take time, to remember the sense of mystery. With mindfulness you may discover a peace that allows you to be present, compassionate and open.
Mary Oliver writes:
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It's simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2021-03-10
Doing and Not-Doing in Meditation and Daily Life 2
69:08
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Donald Rothberg
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We briefly review the main themes from last week, including the importance of "doing" and effort in the teachings and practices of the Buddha, the importance also of "not-doing" (through letting go and cultivating receptive mindfulness), and elements of our conditioning to be a "doer." We go in more detail into this conditioning, pointing to ways of practicing and inquiring. Then, finally, we explore how there is an advanced way of being in which doing comes, so to speak, out of non-doing; we look at this in terms of the teachings of Lao-Tzu, Chuang-Tzu, and Dzogchen. We close with a kind of developmental model of the stages of inquiry into the doer.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2021-03-03
Doing and Not-Doing in Meditation and in Daily Life 1
1:10:10
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Donald Rothberg
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We explore the nature of doing and not-doing, first in dharma practice generally. The Buddha’s teachings seem full of exhortations to diligence, mindfulness, and skillful effort and doing. Yet there also is a clear place for not-doing—for example, in letting go and in cultivating mindful receptivity to experience. We can also see how being a “doer” is so central to many of our identities, whether in our roles or work or even our meditation. Given these dimensions of doing and not-doing, we suggest a number of ways to inquire into and respond to our patterns and habits related to doing and not-doing, both in meditation and daily life.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2021-02-11
Brahma Vihara: Equanimity
51:38
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James Baraz
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Equanimity is the last of the 4 Brahma Viharas. It holds the other three--metta, compassion/karuna, and mudita--with spaciousness and balance. Equanimity reminds us to allow for life to unfold as it will. We can let go of control, which we never had in the first place, meeting life's up and downs with balance and the possibility of a wise, skillful response.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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February Insight Meditation Retreat: A Retreat for Experienced Students with James Baraz, Sally Armstrong, Kamala Masters, Andrea Fella, Dawn Scott, Bob Stahl, PhD, Louije Kim and Martha "Rasika" Link
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2021-02-09
Trusting Your Buddha Knowing
59:37
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James Baraz
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With so many instructions and ways to practice, how do we know which is the "right one"? Similarly, with all decisions we need to make in our lives, how can we access the wisdom right inside?
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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February Insight Meditation Retreat: A Retreat for Experienced Students with James Baraz, Sally Armstrong, Kamala Masters, Andrea Fella, Dawn Scott, Bob Stahl, PhD, Louije Kim and Martha "Rasika" Link
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2021-02-09
Practicing with Vedana or feeling tone
46:50
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Sally Armstrong
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Every experience has the quality of being pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. When we can bring mindfulness to this aspect of the experience, we have the potential of not falling into greed, aversion, or delusion.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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February Insight Meditation Retreat: A Retreat for Experienced Students with James Baraz, Sally Armstrong, Kamala Masters, Andrea Fella, Dawn Scott, Bob Stahl, PhD, Louije Kim and Martha "Rasika" Link
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