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)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Check-in | JS2C25 | Week 4
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Includes meditation, dharma talk & a few elements of group discussion.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Includes meditation, dharma talk & a few elements of group discussion.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This guided meditation starts with brief talk on equanimity. Followed by a guided meditation.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) When met with love and awareness, change opens the path to liberation through letting go
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This guided meditation lead you through a series of practices to establish yourself as you enter into formal meditation.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) A short talk on how compassion dissolves the suffering of separation, followed by guided practice.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This talk explores the joy and dignity that is available when we know dukkha directly. It explores the three kinds of dukkha and perceptions that lead to dukkha.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Working with an anchor- Body, Breath, Sound.
(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) A talk exploring these two hindrances, our relationship to them, and ways to embrace them as parts of our path
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We begin with a review of how the Buddha saw "ignorance" of the basic nature of things (not so much of facts or information) as the basic problem of human life; we are as if asleep, caught in dream-like living, and need to "wake up." For the Buddha, we are especially ignorant about impermanence, dukkha (or reactivity--grabbing at the pleasant and pushing away the unpleasant or painful and believing that this is the way to happiness), the nature of the self, and nirvana or awakening. We bring in a brief report of the experience of attending the previous week's EcoDharma retreat at Spirit Rock, emphasizing especially the pervasiveness of a sense of separation--from the earth, other living beings, and each other--and the connection of such sense of separation with our systemic problems. Indigenous teachers at the retreat particularly emphasized living without such separation. The second part of the talk, we focus on the teaching of not-self (anatta), and ways of practicing that deepens our understanding of not-self, as well as how we hold this understanding of pervasive human ignorance with compassion and kindness, including in our responses to the manifestations of ignorance. The talk is followed by discussion.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We begin with about 7-8 minutes of developing stability of attention and less distraction, through concentration practice or some other practice. We then explore several aspects of how we "construct" experience. We look at impermanence in several ways, noticing the arising, staying and changing, and passing away with (1) the breath, (2) body sensations, (3) sounds, and (4) the open flow of experience (about 3 minutes). Then there is a period of mindfulness practice with the additional instruction of looking out for a moderate or strong sense of self. We close with a short period of a heart practice such as lovingkindness or compassion.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Talk Synopsis: Clearing the Poisons – Greed and Aversion This talk explores how the Buddha's teachings on dukkha and the three unwholesome roots—greed, aversion, and delusion—relate to the common mental obstacles that arise in meditation and daily life. Framed through the lens of the five hindrances, the talk looks closely at how these energies obscure attention and contribute to suffering. The talk includes a practical discussion of temperament—how some of us tend more toward craving, others toward irritation or confusion—and how understanding these patterns can support clarity and compassion. Rather than trying to get rid of these states, the emphasis is on recognizing and relating to them with awareness, in line with the Buddha's instruction to know dukkha and its causes. Grounded in the Four Noble Truths, the talk points toward a path of practice that works with what's difficult—not as a problem to fix, but as a doorway to insight and freedom.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) In this session we explore the 4 components of Self-Compassion: mindfulness, kindness, shared humanity, and recognition of our inner goodness. Then we practice Self-Directed Loving Kindness.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This talk, given on the opening night of a retreat for beginners, explores what mindfulness is, some science behind it, helpful attitudes for retreat, including patience and kindness, and ways of supporting yourself on retreat.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation & is followed by a Dharma Talk. (Group discussion is omitted).
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation & includes a dharma talk. (Group discussion has been omitted.)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) The Buddha saw the core problem in human life as "ignorance"(avijjā), not an ignorance of facts or information, but rather a not-knowing about the basic nature of reality and our experience. The Dalai Lama tells us: "There is a fundamental disparity between the way we perceive the world, including our own experience in it, and the way things actually are." We explore how similar understandings of a core human ignorance are found in Plato, Christian and Islamic traditions, and in later Buddhist traditions. The Buddha said, in particular, that we are ignorant about impermanence, dukkha (or reactivity), and the nature of the self. We look into some of the main habitual constructions of experience, including a sense of permanent, stable, separate external objects, and a sense of a separate, independent self, pointing to ways of exploring such constructions meditatively. We also point to experiences in which we go beyond such constructions, in meditation and also in "flow" experiences. The talk is followed by discussion.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) The Buddha saw the core problem in human life as "ignorance"(avijjā), not an ignorance of facts or information, but rather a not-knowing about the basic nature of reality and our experience. The Dalai Lama tells us: "There is a fundamental disparity between the way we perceive the world, including our own experience in it, and the way things actually are." We explore how similar understandings of a core human ignorance are found in Plato, Christian and Islamic traditions, and in later Buddhist traditions. The Buddha said, in particular, that we are ignorant about impermanence, dukkha (or reactivity), and the nature of the self. We look into some of the main habitual constructions of experience, including a sense of permanent, stable, separate external objects, and a sense of a separate, independent self, pointing to ways of exploring such constructions meditatively. We also point to experiences in which we go beyond such constructions, in meditation and also in "flow" experiences. The talk is followed by discussion.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We begin with about 7-8 minutes of developing concentration, becoming more settled and less distracted. We then explore the impermanence in several ways, noticing the arising, staying and changing, and passing away with (1) sounds, (2) body sensations, and (3) the open flow of experience (about 2 minutes). Then there is a period of mindfulness practice with the additional instruction of looking out for a moderate or strong sense of self. We close with a short period of a heart practice such as lovingkindness or compassion; brief instructions are given for self-compassion practice (as developed by Kristen Neff).
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Your practice affects everyone around you. When you see your practice in this wider context, it evokes a whole dimension of inspiration and “joyful responsibility“ to cultivate wisdom and compassion within us. In this world with so much suffering—including the climate crisis and injustice in the world—more than ever we need to keep this in mind and see ourselves as “bodhisattvas in training“.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation and includes a Dharma talk. (Group discussion has been omitted).
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Dharma Talk
(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) Includes meditation, dharma talk & select aspects of group discussion
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Reflections on our body as nature and subject to the conditions of nature, including change and death. Reflections on the mind as also part of nature. Wishing well for all can come naturally when we recognize we are all in the same fragile situation.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Dharma talk.
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation and is followed by a Dharma talk. (Group discussion has been omitted)
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Begins with a 30m meditation & includes a dharma talk. (Group discussion has been omitted.)
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