Dharma Pathways

We finish the exploration of prajna with this longer passage on Emptiness by Norman Fischer from his book "The World Could Be Otherwise":Understanding in Mahayana Buddhism means, specifically, understanding the empty nature of all phenomena… The word usually translated as “emptiness” is sunyata in Sanskrit. It comes from a root word suggesting swelling, something puffed up and hollow, with nothing inside, like a balloon. Emptiness implies a kind of deception. Beings, all things, thoughts, ideas, feelings—these are all deceptive. They seem to be something big and full, like a balloon, but when you prick them, they pop, Wizard of Oz–like. Like the Wizard, they are empty, completely lacking the substantiality they appear to have. Over the centuries, Buddhists have put it like this: Things don’t actually exist. To say they do is an exaggeration, an overstatement of the case.Existence is an illusion. But to say things don’t exist isn’t right either. How could it be, when throughout our whole life we see, hear, taste, smell, touch, and feel the world? Being is a paradox. The middle way, Mahayana Buddhists have said, isn’t, as originally conceived, a path of moderation between asceticism and sensuality; it’s the middle ground between the two extremes of existence and nonexistence. It’s the way things really are, neither existing nor not existing: empty, ungraspable, ineffable. As concluded in another of the perfection of understanding sutras, the Diamond Sutra, being is like a dream, a phantom, a flash of lightning, a magic show, a bubble, a dewdrop.A balloon is empty of things but full of air. An empty glass is empty of liquid but also full of air. If being is empty, what is it empty of? And what is it full of?The technical answer to the first question is that beings are empty of svabhava, own-being... To be empty of own-being is to lack independent substantial being—such as a soul or an essential consciousness—that can be isolated and grasped… Our mistaken notion of svabhava, or own-being, is what ties feeling-sensation in a painful knot. Without knowing we are doing it, we viscerally impute to things a deeply, almost physically held sense that they are there in a way they actually aren’t. If we truly appreciated that things are not there in the way we think they are, that they are there in some completely different way, we would not react to them in the way we normally do. Our pain would disentangle from its false support. What about the second question? Like the empty balloon and the empty glass, if beings are empty of own-being, what are they full of? They are full of connection; they are full of one another; they are so radically interdependent they cannot exist in their own right as separately existent entities. There are, in fact, no things: there is only the endless ebb and flow of being, Avalokiteshvara’s compassionate ocean. *Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. Email haian@dharmapathways for the link to join these sessions on Zoom.This session explores aspects of the sixth paramita, prajna or wisdom.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition.We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

We explore prajna as understanding with this passage from Norman Fischer's "The World Could be Otherwise": The Sanskrit word prajna is usually translated as “wisdom,” but I have decided to render it as understanding. Let me tell you why.Wisdom is an old-fashioned word. We hardly use it these days. We think of people as quick, clever, intelligent, creative, innovative, knowledgeable, maybe as having good judgment, but seldom do we call them wise... Today’s world seems too fast and shifty for wisdom. The word wisdom suggests probity, character, the discernment that comes from long experience. A wise person is sober and careful, stodgy almost—and usually older. Synonyms for wisdom include sanity, caution, prudence.Understanding, however, is an interesting double-sided word. It includes much of what the word wisdom does. If you understand, you see things clearly and from all sides, which will give you discernment. But the word understanding hides within it something more. Etymologically, to understand is “to stand with.” The “under” part of the word doesn’t mean under. It comes from a proto-Indo-European root that means “among, or between,” not “beneath.” So understanding means to be close to, to be with... The perfection of understanding includes both sides of what is meant by the English word understanding: to understand deeply how things are—to know, to see, how elusive and shimmering this life is and, at the same time, with and through this seeing, to be understanding of life, to care for it, to stand with it in empathy, love, and compassion.Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. Email haian@dharmapathways for the link to join these sessions on Zoom.This session explores aspects of the sixth paramita, prajna or wisdom.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition.We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

Today we will continue the theme of prajna/panna with a journalling practice to explore the inner critic and the inner sage as a way to connect to intuitive wisdom.  Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. Email haian@dharmapathways for the link to join these sessions on Zoom.This session explores aspects of the sixth paramita, prajna or wisdom.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition.We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

Today we will continue the theme of prajna/panna - wisdom, or understanding with reflections on these passages from Valarie Kaur's exquisite book, "See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love." Wonder is an admission that you don't know everything.Deep listening is an act of surrender. We risk being changed by what we hear.” “True understanding is not possible unless we risk changing our worldview. Otherwise we think we have built bridges to one another, but the bridges are rooted in sands that can shift with the tide.” Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. Email haian@dharmapathways for the link to join these sessions on Zoom.This session explores aspects of the sixth paramita, prajna or wisdom.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition.We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

“The Tathagata has only spoken and taught in relation to one thing: suffering and the end of suffering” Anuradha Sutta “Wisdom is an innate faculty, and it’s not just theoretical. It’s more like the discernment of a raccoon whose wise paws can distinguish between a rock and a clam in a stream. . . mental awareness (citta) already has enough wisdom to recognize and resonate with qualities like kindness, generosity, truthfulness and integrity. We know what goodness feels like when it occurs; it is something that strikes us” (Ajahn Sucitto, Parami, 2012, p.65).  Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. Email haian@dharmapathways for the link to join these sessions on Zoom.This session explores aspects of the sixth paramita, prajna or wisdom.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition.We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate 

Thich Nhat Hanh writes, “This is the highest kind of understanding, free from all knowledge, concepts, ideas, and views.  Prajna is the substance of Buddhahood in us. It is the kind of understanding that has the power to carry us to the other shore of freedom, emancipation, and peace. In Mahayana Buddhism, prajna paramita is described as the Mother of All Buddhas.”  Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. Email haian@dharmapathways for the link to join these sessions on Zoom.This session explores aspects of the sixth paramita, prajna or wisdom.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition.We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. Email haian@dharmapathways for the link to join these sessions on Zoom.This session explores aspects of the fifth paramita, dhyana or meditation.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition.We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

This thirty minute guided practice of choiceless attention meditation can be practiced on its own or in combination with listening to the Dharma Talk from the same day.Today’s meditation comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. Email haian@dharmapathways for the link to join these sessions on Zoom.We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. Email haian@dharmapathways for the link to join these sessions on Zoom.This session explores aspects of the fifth paramita, dhyana or meditation.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition.We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. Email haian@dharmapathways for the link to join these sessions on Zoom.This session explores aspects of the fifth paramita, dhyana or meditation.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition.We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. This week explores the fifth paramita, dhyana or meditation.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition. We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. This week continues the exploration of the fifth paramita, dhyana or meditation.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition. We are happy to offer these teachings to you.If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

Today’s talk comes from a year-long exploration of the paramitas, the perfecting qualities that lead to liberation, offered by HaiAn during the Thursday Meditations. This week is an introduction to the fifth paramita, dhyana or meditation.  If you’re unfamiliar with the paramitas, Chapter 25 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart fo the Buddha’s Teaching” offers an introduction and Norman Fischer’s “The World Could be Otherwise” gives a deeper dive. The paramitas are related to the parami, in Pali, for the Theravada tradition. We are happy to offer these teachings to you. If you would like to support us to continue to make these teachings available, go to https://www.dharmapathways.org/donate

This is the final in a 9-week series on the Brahma Viharas, the Buddha's teachings on true love.This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible. Quote from Caroline Jones and Paul BurrowsMetta, [kindness] the love that connects, is an antidote to all forms of aversion. It is not attachment. If it slides into sentimentality, karuna [compassion] brings the heart back into balance. Karuna, the love that responds, is an antidote to cruelty. It is not pity. If it slides into sorrow, mudita [appreciative joy] brings the heart back into balance. Mudita, the love that celebrates, is an antidote to envy. It is not competitive. If it slides into agitated excitement, upekkha [equanimity] brings the heart back into balance. Upekkha, the love that allows, is the antidote to partiality. It is not indifference. If it slides into disconnection, metta brings the heart back into balance.

This talk offered to the new Irish Earth Holders community on Sunday, June 28th. Begins with a guided meditation and then some dialog and discussion of how we can respond to the multiple crises of justice that we face.

This guided meditation on equanimity accompanies the eighth week of the course: "Teachings on Love" with HaiAn (Sister Ocean.)Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

In a time of physical isolation it is essential to know how to generate love from the inside. The Brahma Viharas, or The Four Immeasurable Minds, are the Buddha’s teachings on love. The four qualities of friendliness, compassion, resonant joy, and equanimity offer a time-tested path that anyone can follow to nurture the deepest love for all beings, including ourselves. This week's practice: - Every day cultivate upekkha (the love that allows with spaciousness, stability, and inclusivity) for at least 10 minutes towards someone you care about with the recorded meditation or with your own wording. Notice your reaction to the practice as well as the effect on your relationship. Quotes:What is the heart of this old monk like?A gentle wind beneath the vast sky ~ Ryokan Bhikkhu Bodhi states: “The real meaning of upekkha is equanimity, not indifference in the sense of unconcern for others. As a spiritual virtue, upekkha means stability in the face of the fluctuations of worldly fortune. It is evenness of mind, unshakeable freedom of mind, a state of inner equipoise that cannot be upset by gain and loss, honor and dishonor, praise and blame, pleasure and pain. Upekkha is freedom from all points of self-reference; it is indifference only to the demands of the ego-self with its craving for pleasure and position, not to the well-being of one's fellow human beings. True equanimity is the pinnacle of the four social attitudes that the Buddhist texts call the 'divine abodes': boundless loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy, and equanimity. The last does not override and negate the preceding three, but perfects and consummates them.”[1] ~This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible.

This guided meditation on experiencing unpleasant sensations for the fifth week of the course entitled "Teachings on Love" with Sister HaiAn (Sister Ocean.)Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

In a time of physical isolation it is essential to know how to generate love from the inside. The Brahma Viharas, or The Four Immeasurable Minds, are the Buddha’s teachings on love. The four qualities of friendliness, compassion, resonant joy, and equanimity offer a time-tested path that anyone can follow to nurture the deepest love for all beings, including ourselves.This week's practice: - Practice sending metta, karuna, or mudita to a person you find challenging every day this week.  See what happens. - Play with the idea that "people are doing their best, given their circumstances." What do you notice in your body in response to this phrase? Are there different words and phrases that help you to stay open in the face of people you find difficult, grounded in the impermanent, conditioned nature of existence?  “Everyone wants a happy life without difficulties or suffering. We create many of the problems we face. No one intentionally creates problems, but we tend to be slaves to powerful emotions like anger, hatred and attachment that are based on misconceived projections about people and things. We need to find ways of reducing these emotions by eliminating the ignorance that underlies them and applying opposing forces.” ~ HH the Dalai Lama*This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible. 

 This guided meditation on experiencing unpleasant sensations for the fifth week of the course entitled "Teachings on Love" with Sister HaiAn (Sister Ocean.)Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

 In a time of physical isolation it is essential to know how to generate love from the inside. The Brahma Viharas, or The Four Immeasurable Minds, are the Buddha’s teachings on love. The four qualities of friendliness, compassion, resonant joy, and equanimity offer a time-tested path that anyone can follow to nurture the deepest love for all beings, including ourselves.This week's practice: Continue with last week's practice, in reverse:Several times a day pause and ask yourself, "Is there something to celebrate here? Can I rejoice? Is there suffering here? Can I care for it? " Resources Mudita Phrases:I appreciate your good qualitiesI take joy in your good fortuneMay your joy continue, may it grow.May it lead you to full liberation/awakening. "If I am only happy for myself, many fewer chances for happiness. If I am happy when good things happen to other people, billions more chances to be happy!" ~ H.H. the Dalai LamaSong: Your Joy is My Joy ~This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible.

  This guided meditation on experiencing unpleasant sensations for the fourth week of the course entitled "Teachings on Love" with Sister HaiAn (Sister Ocean.)Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

In a time of physical isolation it is essential to know how to generate love from the inside. The Brahma Viharas, or The Four Immeasurable Minds, are the Buddha’s teachings on love. The four qualities of friendliness, compassion, resonant joy, and equanimity offer a time-tested path that anyone can follow to nurture the deepest love for all beings, including ourselves.This week's practice:Practice this or a related meditation on KarunaSeveral times a day pause and ask yourself, "Is there suffering here? Can I care for it? Is there something to celebrate here? Can I rejoice?" ReferencesMetta, [kindness] the love that connects, is an antidote to all forms of aversion. It is not attachment. If it slides into sentimentality, karuna [compassion] brings the heart back into balance. Karuna, the love that responds, is an antidote to cruelty. It is not pity. If it slides into sorrow, mudita [appreciative joy] brings the heart back into balance. Mudita, the love that celebrates, is an antidote to envy. It is not competitive. If it slides into agitated excitement, upekkha [equanimity] brings the heart back into balance. Upekkha, the love that allows, is the antidote to partiality. It is not indifference. If it slides into disconnection, metta brings the heart back into balance.~ Caroline Jones and Paul BurrowsCompassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a covenant between equals. Compassion is always, at its most authentic, about a shift from the cramped world of self-preoccupation into a more expansive place of fellowship, of true kinship.~ Father Greg BoyleLet us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to places where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it.~ Henri Nouwen*This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible.

 This guided meditation on experiencing unpleasant sensations for the fourth week of the course entitled "Teachings on Love" with Sister HaiAn (Sister Ocean.)Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

This guided meditation on feeling a pleasant experience for the fourth week of the course entitled "Teachings on Love" with Sister HaiAn (Sister Ocean.)Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

In a time of physical isolation it is essential to know how to generate love from the inside. The Brahma Viharas, or The Four Immeasurable Minds, are the Buddha’s teachings on love. The four qualities of friendliness, compassion, resonant joy, and equanimity offer a time-tested path that anyone can follow to nurture the deepest love for all beings, including ourselves.This week's practice: Take care of yourself. Seriously. Poems Kisagotami A child dead.And a mad search for a magic seed. It's a story as old as dust. Brave up, my sisters. The day will comewhen you runfrom house to house. People will meet you at the door,look you in the eye,and they won't let you in. I'm sorry, they'll say.But we can't help you. Listen. When everyone you love is gone,when everything you havehas been taken away,you'll find the Pathwaitingunderneathevery rockon theroad. These are the words of Kisagotami. ~ "The First Free Women" translated by Matty Weingast  Please Call Me by my True Names - Poem by Thich Nhat Hanh with his introduction ~This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible.

This guided meditation on offering loving kindness to oneself is part of the practices for the second week of the course entitled "Teachings on Love" with Sister HaiAn (Sister Ocean.)Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page. 

In a time of physical isolation it is essential to know how to generate love from the inside. The Brahma Viharas, or The Four Immeasurable Minds, are the Buddha’s teachings on love. The four qualities of friendliness, compassion, resonant joy, and equanimity offer a time-tested path that anyone can follow to nurture the deepest love for all beings, including ourselves.This week I invite you to to:- Practice the radiating and suffusing styles of metta meditation. Before the next class see if you have a sense of what style(s) of metta towards the self work best for you - visualizing yourself as a child, saying your name, using phrases, patting the body, radiating in all directions...- Notice your hindrances to self-metta (and when you find them, see if you can meet them with kindness as in, "Oh! Hello shame! So good to see you! Thanks for showing yourself.")- Set a timer and every hour, or at least three times a day, send yourself micro-metta!Hindrances (not an exhaustive list)- thinking that happiness/peace lies somewhere else so metta brings up longing- thinking that happiness/peace is not possible so metta brings up aversion and shame- thinking we’ve already found happiness but we’re really numbed from dissatisfaction, stress, and trauma- when shame is involved there’s usually a “should” involved (as in, "You can't even find love for yourself! What a bad person!" rather than simply noticing "Wow. It's hard to find a sense of care for myself today. That's how it is.")

This guided meditation on offering loving kindness to an "easy being" and a "neutral being" is part of the practices for the second week of the course entitled "Teachings on Love" with Sister HaiAn (Sister Ocean.)Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

In a time of physical isolation it is essential to know how to generate love from the inside. The Brahma Viharas, or The Four Immeasurable Minds, are the Buddha’s teachings on love. The four qualities of friendliness, compassion, resonant joy, and equanimity offer a time-tested path that anyone can follow to nurture the deepest love for all beings, including ourselves. This week we dove into Metta-Maitri-Loving kindness meditation. We started off by listening to a jazz version of the Discourse on Love, found here.Week 2 Practice- Practice a daily meditation on love, either the recording here or any practice that you enjoy.- Practice "stealth metta", sending well wishes to people at the grocery store, that you pass while walking, or even on TV and Facebook if you can't get outside.  Make it a game.  play with it for at least 10 minutes a day, as best you can- At some point, reflect on which words "work" best for you in doing metta.  There's no need to use the words that I use.  Anything that opens up connection and care is appropriate.  Make a list and bring it to next week's session. Text from the class Metta, [kindness] the love that connects, is an antidote to all forms of aversion. It is notattachment. If it slides into sentimentality, karuna [compassion] brings the heart back into balance. Karuna, the love that responds, is an antidote to cruelty. It is not pity. If it slides into sorrow, mudita [appreciative joy] brings the heart back into balance. Mudita, the love that celebrates, is an antidote to envy. It is not competitive. If it slides into agitated excitement, upekkha [equanimity] brings the heart back into balance. Upekkha, the love that allows, is the antidote to partiality. It is not indifference. If it slides into disconnection, metta brings the heart back into balance.~ written by Caroline Jones and Paul Burrows  *** This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible.

This guided meditation on opening to sensation and connection is part of the practices for the first week of the course entitled "Teachings on Love."Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

In a time of physical isolation it is essential to know how to generate love from the inside. The Brahma Viharas, or The Four Immeasurable Minds, are the Buddha’s teachings on love. The four qualities of friendliness, compassion, resonant joy, and equanimity offer a time-tested path that anyone can follow to nurture the deepest love for all beings, including ourselves. Week 1 Practice- Every day do the recorded meditation or else another version of a love meditation that gently opens to a sense of connection and care.  It doesn't matter if you feel it or not. Opening up to see what happens is what matters. Be curious and honest with yourself.- Write yourself a note or set a timer to remind yourself to check in several times a day to:1) see if it's possible to tune into a sense of connection and affection2) get curious about the experience on the level of physical sensations3) notice how this changes throughout the day and week Discourse on LoveHe or she who wants to attain peace should practice being upright, humble, and capable of using loving speech. He or she will know how to live simply and happily, with senses calmed, without being covetous and carried away by the emotions of the majority. Let him or her not do anything that will be disapproved of by the wise ones.(And this is what he or she contemplates:)May everyone be happy and safe, and may all hearts be filled with joy. May all beings live in security and in peace - beings who are frail or strong, tall or short, big or small, invisible or visible, near or far away, already born, or yet to be born. May all of them dwell in perfect tranquility.Let no one do harm to anyone. Let no one put the life of anyone in danger. Let no one, out of anger or ill will, wish anyone any harm. Just as a mother loves and protects her only child at the risk of her own life, cultivate boundless love to offer to all living beings in the entire cosmos. Let our boundless love pervade the whole universe, above, below, and across. Our love will know no obstacles. Our heart will be absolutely free from hatred and enmity.Whether standing or walking, sitting or lying, as long as we are awake, we should maintain this mindfulness of love in our own heart.   This is the noblest way of living. Free from wrong views, greed, and sensual desires, living in beauty and realizing Perfect Understanding, those who practice boundless love will certainly transcend birth and death.Etena sacca vajjena sotthi te hotu sabbada. [repreat three times][By the firm determination of this truth, may you ever be well.]Video of the recording of Discourse on Love - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhjL1oZxuRA *** This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible.

This meditation accompanies "The Way Out Is In, Week 3."Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

The Four Noble Truths are not a list of statements to believe in.  Rather, they are instructions offered by the Buddha for a meaningful and happy life.  This 5-session course with Sister HaiAn is an experiential journey through the Four Noble Truths to bring this teaching from the head into the body and the world.  When there is a time in the recording for sharing in pairs, please press pause to write your reflections on the topic for a few minutes and then press play again. This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible.

A Dharma talk given by Chan Phap VuAs monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible. 

This meditation accompanies "The Way Out Is In, Week 3."Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

The Four Noble Truths are not a list of statements to believe in.  Rather, they are instructions offered by the Buddha for a meaningful and happy life.  This 5-session course with Sister HaiAn is an experiential journey through the Four Noble Truths to bring this teaching from the head into the body and the world.  When there is a time in the recording for sharing in pairs, please press pause to write your reflections on the topic for a few minutes and then press play again. This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible.

The Four Noble Truths are not a list of statements to believe in.  Rather, they are instructions offered by the Buddha for a meaningful and happy life.  This 5-session course with Sister HaiAn is an experiential journey through the Four Noble Truths to bring this teaching from the head into the body and the world.  When there is a time in the recording for sharing in pairs, please press pause to write your reflections on the topic for a few minutes and then press play again. This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible.

This meditation accompanies "The Way Out Is In, Week 3."Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

This meditation accompanies "The Way Out Is In", Week 2. Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

The Four Noble Truths are not a list of statements to believe in.  Rather, they are instructions offered by the Buddha for a meaningful and happy life.  This 5-session course with Sister HaiAn is an experiential journey through the Four Noble Truths to bring this teaching from the head into the body and the world.  When there is a time in the recording for sharing in pairs, please press pause to write your reflections on the topic for a few minutes and then press play again. This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings.As monastics we share the Dharma freely and live from what is offered.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible.

This meditation accompanies "The Way Out Is In, Week 1."Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.

The Four Noble Truths are not a list of statements to believe in. Rather, they are instructions offered by the Buddha for a meaningful and happy life. This 5-session course with Sister HaiAn is an experiential journey through the Four Noble Truths to bring this teaching from the head into the body and the world. When there is a time for sharing in pairs, please pause the recording to journal on the topic for a few minutes and then resume the recording. This course is offered by Dharma Pathways, a collaboration of dedicated Buddhist monastics whose aspiration is to support individuals and communities on the path of awakening, service, and wellbeing. Click here to sign up for our Newsletter and be informed about future offerings. As monastics we share the Dharma freely and receive what is offered freely.  We rely solely on donations to support our basic needs, our outreach, and our studies.  You are welcome to make a donation to the teacher or the whole organization here to help us continue to make courses like these possible. Lyrics to the Metta Song, to the tune of Amazing GraceMay I be filled with loving kindness.May I be well.May I be peaceful and at ease.May I be happy.May you be filled with loving kindness.May you be well.May you be peaceful and at ease.May you be happy.May we be filled with loving kindness.May we be well.May we be peaceful and at ease.May we be happy.May all be filled with loving kindness.May all be well.May all be peaceful and at ease.May all be happy.

This talk was offered by Sister HaiAn for the Sangha in Boston on January 18, 2020, exploring the ways suffering and freedom from suffering show up in every moment. Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page. 

This talk was offered by Sister HaiAn for the Gaithersburg Sangha on January 14, 2020.  It includes some singing - you might want to join in!Offered to you by Dharma PathwaysWe are happy to offer these teachings and practices freely.  If you'd like to support our work and the monastics, please make your way to our donation page.