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Dharma Talks
given at Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2001-04-18
Holding Hands
30:10
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Sylvia Boorstein
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In thinking about the path of awareness and the refining of the heart that is the purpose of Buddhist philosophy, Sylvia suggests that she would like to amend the Eightfold Path to be the "Ninefold Path," adding Right Relationship as the ninthfold. Right Relationship is the sense of connection we feel in the world that holds us up. Hand holding is the metaphor Sylvia uses to symbolize this connection. Hands take us from the womb, and they put us in the grave. In between, it is one big "hand holding."
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2001-04-17
Trust In Being The Knowing
67:43
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Ajahn Sumedho
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Using reason and logic, that is, acquired knowledge, we get caught in dualistic positions: right and wrong, good and bad, etc. We tend to
establish a fixed view about things. In this talk Ajahn Sumedho is trying to get us to a place beyond such dualistic thinking, beyond taking sides. He says that intuitive awareness involves a one-pointedness (ekaggata) that includes, rather than excludes. It is not dualistic. Transcendence is a matter of “being” it, not thinking about it.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2001-04-14
The First Noble Truth: What's Noble About Dukkha
66:46
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Ajahn Sumedho
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The Buddha's teachings are all about awakening to the truth of suffering, or dukkha, and finding the end to it. Our potential for awakening begins to be realized when we shift our attitude to take an interest in suffering, learning from the way it is, and understanding how it gets created. Opening to the truth about suffering, we also open our awareness to something greater -- the ultimate reality.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2001-02-14
Stop
63:07
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Sylvia Boorstein
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How to use "stopping" as a tool in wise practice. Kindness and goodness are parameters to measure our practice. Stories of the Buddha including "a wise ape teaches kindness." Discussion of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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2001-02-07
Untying The Knots
60:18
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Sylvia Boorstein
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Referencing her own experiences, Sylvia explores the stories we make up for ourselves to substantiate or justify certain views (opinions) that we hold about things -- some to the point of making them into "truths." After considering the possible origins of these views, Sylvia exposes the profound suffering caused by holding these views and the stories around them. Taking it a step further, she wonders: What is the relationship between hope and opinion? Is it wrong to hope or is it part of the nature of the human organism? Perhaps, she concludes, it is the solidified view we hold around a hope that causes suffering.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2000-12-31
Purification Of The Heart
49:55
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Guy Armstrong
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The deepest nature of our heart is intrinsically pure, but it is usually obscured by the visiting forms of wanting, aversion, and confusion. This talk explores how to work mindfully with various kinds of difficult emotions and how mindfulness works to purify our hearts of their influence.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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