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) Begins with a 30m meditation and is followed by a Dharma talk. Group discussion has been omitted.
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(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Guided practice "May Loving Kindness Arise"
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) In this talk, Emily explores the Buddha's teachings on the Liberating Insights and the Three Characteristics. She explains how suffering and impermanence shape our experience of self—sometimes making it feel solid and fixed, other times more open and fluid. By working skillfully with the hindrances, we can loosen our grip on a rigid sense of self and allow it to move with greater freedom.
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(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Guided meditation relating to the planet and our place on it, followed by a Dhamma Talk on the instructions given to Ven. Mahapajapati by the Buddha as encouragement for continuing practice in daily life.
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(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) A gentle guide through all the steps with a focus on Dhamma reflection.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Reflections on Impermanence & Cessation
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Short reflection on the Four Brahmavihara followed by a guided meditation
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(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Reflections on awareness + wisdom and how to bring the practice home.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Summary of ways to recognize awareness and guidance on resting practice.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Teachings on using vitakka and vicara to connect with and recognize the nature of awareness.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Teachings on emptiness and the love that is waiting for us as we learn to let go.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We may think some experiences are better than others to support awakening, but the Buddha said otherwise. This talk explores the liberative quality of mindfulness and the implications of this understanding.
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(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Finding the balance of effort and letting go is the art of meditation practice. This applies both to times of ease in practice and in the greater challenges of meeting the hindrances. We have the opportunity to use every moment as a portal to wisdom and compassion.
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(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Teachings and guided practice on mindfulness of the breath.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Meditation & Dharma Talk
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) The Anguttara Nikaya is one of the five Nikayas (collections) that constitute the Sutta Pitaka, which is part of the Pali Tipitaka, the Theravada Buddhist canon. It is also known as the "Numerical Discourses" or "Gradual Collection". The Anguttara Nikaya is organized numerically, with suttas grouped into eleven books (nipatas) based on the number of items discussed within them. For example, the "Book of the Ones" contains suttas about a single topic, the "Book of the Twos" contains suttas about pairs of things, and so on
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Meditation & Dharma Talk
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Meditation & dharma talk
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We first review of some of the themes explored last week. We look at the appropriateness of understanding and responding to social and political concerns, in the context of non-profit organizations and then in the context of the Buddha's teachings (which involved commentary on the caste system, on the origins of wars and poverty) and later Buddhist traditions (for example, King Ashoka, a practitioner in what is now India in 250 B.C.E. eliminated the death penalty, renounced war, and set up medical facilities for non-human animals). We then identify four foundations for bringing our attention to social and political concerns, including staying connected to the vision and practice of awakening and grounding ethically. This is followed by identifying, through the lens of teachings, six contemporary systems and ideologies (strengthened in the current U.S.) that manifest greed, aversion, and delusion and violate core ethical teachings. Then we look briefly at ways of practicing and responding individually, in connection with community. The talk is followed by discussion.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We begin with some guidance on developing samadhi (concentration) and stability, followed by practicing developing samadhi. After about 10 minutes developing samadhi, we move to mindfulness practice. After about another 10 minutes of practice, we then inquire into some of the emotions and thoughts that have been present recently, whether difficult or joyful, related to the current state of the society and world. We first relive a recent experience and then bring mindfulness to the somatic, emotional, and mental dimensions of experience. While staying silent, we also have a sense of being in community and sharing our experience. We then work with Kristen Neff's three-step self-compassion practice (shifting to a three-step joy or mudita practice if the experiences have been more positive).
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Meditation & Dharma Talk
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Meditation & Dharma Talk
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We first explore in general the relationship of core teachings and practices to the social and political dimensions of our lives. We see that Buddhist practice in the West has commonly emphasized meditation and inner practices, often neglecting or marginalizing the ethical training that traditionally is one of the three dimensions of training, even though the Buddha did often give social commentary (e.g., on the caste system) and at times social interpretations of the ethical precepts ("Let one not destroy life nor cause others to destroy life and, also, not approve of others' killing. . . . Let one not cause to steal, nor approve of others' stealing.'). We explore a vision of individual and collective awakening, inspired in part by more contemporary traditions of socially engaged Buddhism initially developed by pioneers like Thich Nhat Hanh, Sulak Sivaraksa, A.T. Ariyaratne, Dr. Ambedkar, Joanna Macy, and Robert Aitken. Then we give some attention to how to connect inner and outer practices, particularly focusing, as we did in the guided meditation, on practicing with challenging emotions and thoughts, and clarifying ways to act in the world. The talk is followed by discussion and ends with the setting of intentions.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) After about 25 minutes of lightly guided practice, to settle with concentration and/or mindfulness practice, we explore in several ways some of the emotions and thoughts that have been present related to the current state of the society and world. We first relive a recent experience and then bring mindfulness to the somatic, emotional, and mental dimensions of experience. We then work with Kristen Neff's three-step self-compassion practice, leading to developing intentions for how to practice with such experiences in the future.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation and is followed by a Dharma talk. (Group discussion is omitted).
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Both our oral traditions that value the interconnectedness of all relations.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Reclaim our relationship with our beloved Earth through Metta and Indigenous wisdom.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Meditation & Dharma Talk
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(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Vedena and thoughts.
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(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Meditation & Dharma Talk
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Sit & Dharma Talk
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This talks focuses on one of the three areas of practice discussed a week before, on developing samadhi (or concentration), the theme of Donald's four weeks of practice in March. We begin by more generally discussing the nature of samadhi, including short account of the etymology in Pali, and the Tibetan sense of samadhi as "staying," as developing in the nine stages of the "Elephant Path." We look at the place and importance of developing samadhi in our practice and its relationship to insight practice; developing samadhi is one of the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path and appears in many of the Buddha's core teachings. We discuss some ways to practice developing samadhi, and then focus especially on several challenges of such practice and how to work with such challenges. The talk is followed by discussion, including further exploration of the relationship of cultivating samadhi and insight practice, the nature of skillful effort, and the joy that can arise in the development of samadhi.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This guided meditation gives more detail on developing samadhi than the guided meditation from a week ago. First, after a brief overview of the nature of samadhi (usually translated as "concentration"), instructions are given for a practice session developing samadhi, including on posture, gaze, possible objects of focus, and skillful effort. Midway through the session, some further guidance is given on "intensifying," which helps both to deepen samadhi and to cut through background thinking as well as foreground thinking.
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(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) The deepest kind of peace: what it is, what it isn't, how it relates to boundaries and action in the world, and how to find it.
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