The teachings of the Buddha (Dharma) and the practices of Insight Meditation (Vipassana) and loving-kindness meditation (metta) are at the heart of all the programs we offer at Spirit Rock. Practicing Insight Meditation develops mindfulness, the capacity to pay attention to each moment of life and to see clearly the truth of our experience. Studying the Dharma provides insights into the conditions that define and limit our experience of life. And cultivating an attitude of loving-kindness allows us to stay present to what's true and what's difficult in our lives with compassion for ourselves and others. Ultimately, our relationship to life is transformed as we learn to live more wisely and kindly.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We continue with the exploration opened up last week in our examination of "skillful desire," starting again with the common misunderstanding of the Buddha's teachings as suggesting giving up all wanting of the pleasant and all not wanting of the unpleasant. There are, to be sure, some passages in the teachings which seem to suggest this approach; here is one example, from the Sallatha Sutta about the results of practice: “Desirable things don't charm the mind, undesirable ones bring no resistance." In the talk, we first review the nature of skillful desire and the distinction between skillful and unskillful desire. A starting reference point is the understanding of the sequence from contact to grasping in the teaching on Dependent Origination and. We look again at the Buddha's teachings on chanda or "skillful desire" and the importance of experiences of pleasure, joy, and happiness in different practice contexts. We then look in a similar way at skillful aversion, asking about the distinction between skillful and unskillful aversion, and pointing especially to the importance of inquiry into the experience of aversion; we look with some detail into the experience of anger. Finally, we connect our explorations with the experience of darkness and light at the time of the Winter Solstice, four days from now.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We start with settling for about 8 minutes followed by about the same time with basic mindfulness practice. Then we explore "moderate" experiences of pleasant or unpleasant when they occur, whether a bodily experience, an emotion, or a thought (or a mix), experiencing pleasant or unpleasant and seeing whether there follows wanting (or not wanting) and reactivity (habitual grasping or pushing away). We close with some reflection on what we explored, with an emphasis on skillful aversion: Was some of the not wanting skillful? Unskillful? What do we find in some daily life examples of aversion? This exploration is related to the talk given a short time later.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Meditation & Dharma Talk
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation & includes a dharma talk. (Group discussion has been omitted.)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Sometimes people interpret the Buddha's teachings as suggesting giving up all wanting of the pleasant and all not wanting the unpleasant, and that equanimity has no wanting or not wanting; there are some passages in the teachings which seem to suggest this approach. However, the Buddha in a number of ways pointed to what we might call "skillful desire." We explore this in several ways. First, we go back to the teaching on Dependent Origination and the sequence from contact to grasping. We can identify that sequence as illustrating unskillful desire (or wanting) followed by grasping (as well as unskillful aversion). Secondly, we explore the Buddha's teachings on chanda, which could be translated as "skillful desire." Thirdly, we look at the role of experiences of pleasure, joy, and happiness in different practice contexts, and ask more generally about the nature of skillful desire (and some on "skillful aversion") in everyday life. What characterizes desire being unskillful or skillful? The talk is followed by discussion.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We start with settling for about 7-8 minutes followed by about the same time with basic mindfulness practice. Then we explore "moderate" experiences of pleasant or unpleasant when they occur, whether a bodily experience, an emotion, or a thought (or a mix), experiencing pleasant or unpleasant and seeing whether there follows wanting (or not wanting) and grasping (or pushing away). We close with some reflection on what we explored: Was some of the wanting or not wanting skillful? Unskillful. This exploration is related to the talk given a short time later.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation & includes a dharma talk. (Group discussion has been omitted.)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This recording has a 10 minute bowing practice followed by all the chants and matras that were practiced over the retreat.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) When we offer mettā to ourselves, we're not trying to transform our experience into unconditional self-love—we're learning to love the parts of ourselves that don't want to love us back. This practice invites us to recognize all our parts because when we can love the fragmented parts of ourselves, we begin to see ourselves as sacred beings, and in knowing ourselves deeply, we come to know Kuan Yin.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation & includes a dharma talk. (Group discussion has been omitted.)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Meditation & Dharma Talk
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation & includes a dharma talk. (Group discussion has been omitted.)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) The Buddha said the one reflection to always keep in mind is Impermanence, Anicca in Pali. When we have a deep understanding of impermanence we are more able to let go. However, there is an upside to impermanence too. No matter how difficult things are they will change. Often overlooked, this aspect of impermanence can give us courage and resolve in the face of hardship. Opening to the truth of impermanence deepens our capacity to be balanced in the face of change. This talk will explore this topic and how we can apply it in our lives.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Revolutionary Practice in 2026: Curiosity, Playfulness & BIPOC Joy
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation & includes a dharma talk. (Group discussion has been omitted.)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Dhama Talk
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation & includes a dharma talk. (Group discussion has been omitted.)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) The talk explores the sutta, The Advice to Anathapindika. The sutta reveals how Anathapindika bestowed the teachings of non-clinging and letting to those of us who ar householders. The talk concludes with a current story of a near death experience that embodies the realization of the goodness of the dharma.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Dharma Talk. (Group discussion has been omitted.)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) After a brief general account of the three ways of liberating insight, we look at each of the three--insights into impermanence, dukkha, and not-self--with a longer treatment of insight into not-self. There is an emphasis especially on how we practice in order to come to these insights. We close with a passage from Ajahn Chah pointing to the unity of developing samadhi and cultivating insight. The talk is followed by discussion.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We review the nature of samadhi, how it is a natural quality that surfaces in many human experiences, and its importance in meditation (and the teachings of the Buddha). We briefly examine the five jhanic factors that point to how samadhi deepens. We also look at several of the main challenges that arise as we practice to develop samadhi.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Exploring the Normalcy of Death in Buddhism. Looking at the many ways Buddhism understands death: Death of the body; The life and death of each moment; Becoming harmonious with Death as part of Life; Death as a Doorway to the Deathless,
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
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