Dharma Talk and Meditation Podcast

Ask The Right Questions

I had several ideas for Dharma talks for tonight, but none of them feel authentic to me at the moment. It seems like I was reaching for a topic instead of choosing one that I am passionate about and connected to. Therefore, instead of delivering a Dharma talk, I will conduct a Q&A session. However, the Q&A can take the form of a Dharma talk if the right questions are asked.

You are welcome to ask any question, whether you are at home or in the room. Your questions can be about your Buddhist practice, your life, or topics on which you seek a Buddhist perspective. They can also address Buddhist teachings or any aspect of life you would like some Buddhist reflections on.

Read More

To initiate the meditation practice, it is important to understand the Four Noble Truths, which are central principles of Buddhist teachings. The first noble truth states that there is the existence of suffering, which can also be referred to as unhappiness. This level of unhappiness is natural and an inherent part of life, not attributable to personal fault.

The second noble truth traditionally explains that the cause of suffering or unhappiness is craving and attachment. Clinging to desires results in unhappiness. The third noble truth asserts that it is indeed possible to overcome this suffering, often described as enlightenment or nirvana.

What does Happiness feel like to you? What brings Happiness to your life? How do you experience joy?

Read More

I prefer to begin class by providing a topic for discussion. Tonight, instead of delivering a planned Dharma talk, I will take topics from the group. For the small groups, consider what aspects of Buddhism or dharma life are on your mind. Think about questions you have, areas where your practice is evolving, or topics that are relevant to your life. Discuss these with each other.

What are some of the Dharma topics that come up for you? Which feel relevant in your life? What’s on your mind?

Read More

Today is considered one of the most significant days in Buddhism. It is the most sacred day of the Buddhist calendar. Buddhists believe that the full moon in May marks three important events in the Buddha's life: his birth, enlightenment, and passing into Parinirvana.

Different Buddhist traditions celebrate these events at various times, usually in the spring. Some observe it in April, some in May, and others in June. However, May is particularly significant for the Theravada and Thai Forest traditions.

Read More

Earlier, I asked a friend what I should discuss tonight. He mentioned feeling confused about his life and relationships and suggested talking about confusion. According to dictionary.com, confusion is defined as a lack of understanding or uncertainty, a disorderly jumble, or being unclear in one's mind about something.

What’s something about your life that feels confusing? What confuses you about the world?

Read More

Tonight, I would like to discuss creating positive change in the world and share some Buddhist reflections on the current state of the world and potential solutions. Is there anything we can do to address these issues? If so, what steps can we take?

What are you doing to change the world? What positive changes are you making? What would you like to change?

Read More

Tonight, I would like to discuss creating positive change in the world and share some Buddhist reflections on the current state of the world and potential solutions. Is there anything we can do to address these issues? If so, what steps can we take?

What are you doing to change the world? What positive changes are you making? What would you like to change?

Read More

Tonight, I'm going to talk about several things—maybe nine or twelve, we'll see. I have about twelve topics, but I might only get through nine of them.

For those who've studied Buddhism, you're probably familiar with its core teachings, like the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Buddhism often presents information in lists—four of this, eight of that, twelve of these. Tonight, I'll share three or four lists of about three items each.

It's useful that Buddhism is organized into lists, even though it can seem overwhelming at first. You might wonder how to memorize the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and its 27 subsections. Initially, it can feel a bit complicated.

What’s your favorite Buddhist List?

Read More

Tonight, let's discuss the world and politics. How do you feel about the state of the world? It's a broad question. Are you optimistic, believing everything will turn out fine? Or are you pessimistic, thinking there's no hope and we're all doomed? Perhaps you lean towards a nihilistic view, feeling that nothing really matters…

How are you feeling about the world? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? 

Read More

We have discussed the five aggregates of being. Tonight, we will focus on the senses or sense doors related to mindfulness: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, sensation, and mental and emotional processes. I would like to begin the class by encouraging you to engage in conversation with each other to build a sense of community, get to know one another, and connect for long-term relationships.

Read More

I am right now in a series on mindfulness. We're coming towards the end of it, but we're in the fourth foundation of mindfulness, the fourth aspect of the mindfulness meditation practices, and there's five aspects, and we're on the third part of the five. Hopefully it'll still make sense for those of you who are just showing up for the first time.

What’s the most interesting thing that has happen to you while meditating?

Read More

I'm gonna do a little bit of an abbreviated version of class tonight and probably end a little bit early because I'm going to a show. So we're gonna meditate fast and then I'm gonna talk fast and then we're gonna leave early.

The second aspect of the fourth foundation of mindfulness, which is the seventh factor of the eightfold path. I know it's a lot of math, a lot of lists in Buddhism, which are kind of nice. Once you are studying Buddhism for a while, you can kind of start to organize like, okay, there's four noble truths.

Read More

 I'm gonna talk about the fourth foundation of mindfulness: Dhamma nupasana, dhamma, truth, mindfulness of the mind objects, what arises in our mind, what we become aware of when we meditate.

It's several teachings in one. In the fourth foundation all of the Buddhist teachings are in these different lists and then sub lists. So this is the fourth part of the mindfulness list. Then there's five different lists within this fourth section. The first one is the five hindrances, the five things that make meditation difficult, that make happiness difficult, that make freedom from suffering difficult, that hinder our ability to see clearly and respond.

Read More

Tonight we're talking about mindfulness, the seventh factor of the Buddha's teachings. The Eightfold Path, the eight things that need to be practiced, developed, experienced in order to find liberation freedom. The seventh factor is mindfulness, and mindfulness is broken down into four categories.  Tonight we're on the third of the four categories, which is mindfulness of the mind.

Read More

Tonight's topic is the second foundation. The mindfulness of the feeling tone of all of our experience. This also applies to all of the sense doors, hearing, seeing, smelling and tasting and all the physical, emotional, and mental phenomena…

Read More

 I thought I'd start over tonight with, for at least the next four to six weeks going through each foundation of mindfulness. The first foundation of mindfulness is a core Buddhist practice, core teaching. It is very central to what we're doing. It comes in the Buddha's teachings of the fourth truth, in the eightfold path, as the seventh factor.

Read More

Tonight's topic, I'm gonna talk about mindfulness as the core meditation teaching of the Buddha. I’ll explain how it works and why it's so important, how it fits within the Buddhist tradition and teachings. One of the, kind of, sub texts of mindfulness, Satipatthana, Four Foundations of Mindfulness, is the direct path to realization.

Read More

Tonight I want to do the forgiveness meditation and talk about forgiveness. We’ll discuss the idea of learning to train the heart and the mind to forgive and to let go as the topic tonight.

Read More

 The core of this teaching is learning and having the experience of empathizing with the happiness of others. Actually experiencing a genuine feeling of “I’m happy with you. I'm happy for you”. In some ways, this is the opposite of jealousy and envy when somebody else is getting what you want and you feel like, “fuck them”.

How dare they get what I want. The enlightened response, which is, “I’m happy for you getting what I want, getting what you want”.

Read More

In some ways, equanimity it's a balancing factor to compassion. Compassion is the skill, the experience, the intention to meet all of the pain in our lives and all of the pain in the world, all of the confusion, all the ignorance with compassion. Rather than judgment, fear and hatred, actually having compassion for all of the pain.

Read More