A talk on muditā, the joy that isn't ours alone. After days steadying the heart through warmth, tenderness, and spaciousness, we turn toward the brahma vihara most easily overlooked: the capacity to feel glad simply because someone else is. Through stories of borrowed delight, dancing tigers, and the quiet gladness of showing up to practice, we look at what gets in the way (envy, and its louder cousin, toxic cheer) and what it might mean to let another's happiness warm us too.

Reflections on compassion, 20 minute guided meditation exploring various methods of compassion, followed by Q&A

Pain is unavoidable; suffering is what we add by resisting it. This talk traces that distinction through a rage-filled retreat, an ongoing war with invasive shrubs, and the near enemies — pity, overwhelm, "fierce compassion" — that masquerade as care while keeping suffering at arm's length.

Teachings and Guided Practice on practicing loving-kindness for oneself.

An introduction to the Brahma Vihāras and to metta as the atmosphere of practice — exploring how kindness gathers us, heals the places where the heart has closed, and liberates.

The Buddha taught four guidelines for Wise Speech (as a core aspect of ethical practice): truthfulness, helpfulness, care and kindness, and appropriateness (especially good timing). We explore the first guideline, partly in connection with the other three guidelines, in four dimensions of practice. First and most basically, we explore how we practice with truthfulness in our individual practice with others. Secondly, we look at how truthfulness is also a central ethical guideline in our communities, organizations, and societies, making possible trust and safety; yet often this guideline is not followed. Thirdly, we look at our contemporary society in terms of truthfulness and the lack of truthfulness. Fourthly, we ask how we might respond, as part of our ethical practice, to develop more truthfulness in the society: What can help? The talk is followed by discussion.