Suburban Dharma

In this Dharma talk given at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on May 11, 2025, Subodha talks about the importance of being a person of integrity and teaching others by example and how that is the way the Buddha says we truly repay our parents for bringing us into the world as he reflects on Mother's Day.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on April 20, 2025, Subodha contrasts the Buddhism on display in a recent season of a popular TV show with the Buddhism that exists in real life and leads to the end of all stress and suffering.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on March 16, 2025, Subodha discusses some of the common ways that we grasp the Dhamma incorrectly in the West and what it means to confidently practice the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma.

In this Dhamma talk given on February 16, 2025, at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles, Subodha talks about love and hate in the Pali Canon and how goodwill, metta, transcends both. He also shares the work of John O'Donohue to articulate the importance of knowing ourselves well to achieve true intimacy with ourselves and others.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on December 15, 2024, Subodha shares his thoughts on people out in the world celebrating and approving of taking a life. He shares the Buddha's instructions on having goodwill for even the smallest of lifeforms and even the worst of people no matter the circumstances. Peace on Earth begins with the peace we have in our hearts.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on November 17, 2024, Subodha shares his thoughts on a world that often seems to make little sense and the pain and stress that comes with living in it. He shares the story of Christopher Thomas Knight, who, seeking seclusion, lived in the woods of North Pond, Maine for 27 years without human contact. Living in the woods, on the periphery, he survived through burglary, as he regularly broke into the cabins nearby, taking what he needed to survive. This story is contrasted with the skillful seclusion of the Buddhist path, which steals from no one.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on October 20, 2024, Subodha discusses the unskillful qualities and skillful qualities inside us. Attention is given to how the Buddha talked about the unwholesome qualities and how important it is to abandon them in Itivuttaka 88 of the Pali Canon.

On this talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on September 15, 2024, Subodha shares about his ongoing recovery from Bell's Palsy and his reflections on the bases of power as a means of cultivating consistency in cultivating the Dhamma.

In this Dhamma talk at IBMC on 6/16/24, Subodha discusses the Buddha's fear and discontent that made him leave his home and become a renunciant. There is a brief summary of the Buddha's lesson to his son, Rahula, and how this lesson aligns with the factors for becoming a stream-enterer.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on May 12, 2024, Subodha talks about how all Buddhist traditions train in developing goodwill and compassion for all beings. He also elaborates on why we must protect our goodwill and our hearts if we want to ensure we are skillful in our interactions with others.

A Dharma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on April 21, 2024. In this Dharma talk, Subodha discusses Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood as well as how Buddhist karma differs from Jain karma. The Kumara Sutta, Udana 5:4 in the Khuddaka Nikaya is also shared in this talk.

In this Dhamma talk at IBMC on March 17, 2024, Subodha talks about a bad movie he watched in 2002 and uses it to have a larger discussion on knowledge and vision on the path as outlined in the Kimattha Sutta (AN 11:1).

In this Dhamma talk at the international Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on February 25, 2024, Subodha discusses Samma Sankappa, Right Resolve, and how we are encouraged live purposeful lives of renunciation, non ill-will, and harmlessness.

In this Dhamma talk on January 21, 2024, Subodha discusses right view and right resolve and their importance on the path. An example of the importance of right view comes in the form of a commonly shared story in American Buddhist circles and the lessons we might take from it.

In this Dhamma talk at IBMC on December 17, 2023, Subodha talks about the Alagaddūpama Sutta (MN 22) and how unskillful views can be a detriment to our path and an obstacle to unbinding. In this, there is a discussion about things that might be allowable for laypeople but defeat a monastic, making them no longer a member of the sangha.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on November 19, 2023, Subodha talks about some questions he came across by lay Buddhists in regard to their spouses and romantic partners and attachment. Subodha touches upon the theme of letting go while being a layperson married and living in society.

In this Dhamma talk at IBMC on October 15, 2023, Subodha shares a concern that a friend of his shared that the Dhamma is harder to practice today in contemporary life than it was in the time of the Buddha and his disciples. Subodha gives an answer to this concern based on the conditions of the world and human nature today.

In this Dhamma talk at the IBMC Los Angeles on September 17, 2023, Subodha discusses how, once we are well established in the Dhamma and the Buddha's categorical truths, we are able to confidently derive Dhamma lessons from unlikely sources. Subodha then illustrates this by looking at The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and relating the teachings there to the Dhamma.

In this talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on August 20, 2023, Subodha discusses the growing dichotomy between religion and science in our current discourse and how that has led to some Buddhists distancing themselves from Buddhism as a religion and turning to science to explain and prove Buddhist belief and practice with sometimes disastrous results. Subodha proposes a way to avoid the whole thicket of views entirely by not placing any limits on the Dhamma.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center on July 16, 2023, Subodha reflects on getting older and the maturity that we often gain over the passage of years. This is contrasted with the maturity that comes from studying and practicing the Dhamma, which is an ageless maturity that can take us all the way to the deathless. Responsibility, friendliness, ardency, alertness, and mindfulness are some of the qualities discussed.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on June 18, 2023, Subodha reflects on his complex relationship with Father's Day and the harmful messages from family and society that we internalize. Proposed as ways to think and act skillfully with ourselves and others are the psychological concept of reparenting, the Buddhist teachings on being an admirable friend to oneself, using the perception of not-self in determining what internal narratives are worth developing as we train our minds, and generating sincere goodwill and compassion for ourselves as a necessary component to having sincere goodwill and compassion for others.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on May 21, 2023, Subodha discusses five of the six characteristics of the Dhamma and how they relate to a teaching from the late Upasika Kee Nanayon, a laywoman Dharma teacher from Thailand. The translation of her teachings referenced in the talk is Pure and Simple, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on April 16, 2023, Subodha discusses the misconception that it is the torture and strict asceticism that the Buddha did while still a seeker that led to his awakening. It is his overcoming of his fear of pleasurable meditation and pleasures not associated with sensuality or unskillful mental qualities that led to his realization of the path and his awakening. It is this that we emulate.

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 3/19/23, Subodha shares his thoughts on Ven. Thich Thien-An's legacy as the founder and first abbot of IBMC. Sharing from Ven. Thich Thien-An's book, Zen Philosophy, Zen Practice, Subodha gives his interpretation of three essentials of the practice: great faith, great doubt, and great determination.

A Dhamma talk given at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 2/19/23. Subodha shares his first encounter with Buddhism as a child and the story of the Buddha overcoming Mara, the Buddhist personification of death that appears in several stories attempting to dissuade people from living the holy life and attaining liberation. How can the belief in Mara be used skillfully in our practice today to free ourselves of defilements?

A Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 1/15/23. Subodha shares a story from the Pali Canon about two monks who get into a fight and one commits a transgression that the other does not forgive. The Buddha weighs in on the matter, saying what is unwise and wise in regard to transgressions and pardoning. Subodha then relates this to his own past and a humbling lesson he learned as a young man.

A Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 12/18/22. Subodha shares lessons from the Pali Canon on what constitutes true happiness and why it is worth pursuing.

A Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 11/13/22. Subodha shares thoughts on living a quiet life in the forest being a waste if the mind is not also secluded. He shares a reading from the Viveka Sutta (SN 9:1) on the importance of training the mind away from the hindrances. The third tetrad of the Anapanasati Sutta (Mindfulness of Breathing Sutta), dealing with the mind, is explained as a tool for mental happiness.

A Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 10/23/22. Subodha discusses what it means to practice the Buddha's teachings in our modern time and place.

A Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 9/18/22. Subodha shares a story about driving by a casino and then shortly after witnessing a murder of crows making a game out of consuming roadkill as they dodge oncoming cars. These events are then related to the eight worldly conditions and how the Buddha teaches us to be free of them.

A talk at IBMC Los Angeles on 8/14/22. Subodha begins with a story about an encounter with a rattlesnake to build on the themes of kindness, skillfulness, and discernment.

A talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 7/10/22. Not getting caught up on arguing over maps when they can be so different from the terrain. Maps are useful when they an accurate guide and put to use, but we still need to be innovative and adapt when needed. And we eventually transcend the need for a map at all because we've reached the destination.

A Dharma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 6/5/22. Subodha shares his experience of practicing meditation while sick and severely short of breath.

A Dharma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 4/24/22.

A Dharma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 3/13/22

A Dharma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 1/2/2022. Subodha shares the Yoga Sutta (AN 4:10) and the four burdens of sensuality, becoming, views, and ignorance. Craving and clinging to these burdens impact the way we think and our existence in the present and future.

A Dharma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on 12/12/21. Subodha reflects on the importance of simplicity and contentment on the path especially as it relates to the hectic holiday season.

A Dharma talk at the IBMC Sunday service on Zoom 11/21/2021. Subodha talks about the problem with the modern temptation to view traditional Buddhism as repressive and unnecessary in the pursuit of a peaceful mind. He shows how the precepts, especially those kept by dedicated lay disciples of the Buddha on the four moon phases, are taken on voluntarily to emulate the way of life of the Noble Ones, those who have achieved liberation. In this light, the precepts are about freedom.

A talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles Sunday service on 10/10/21. In memory of his late friend, Subodha gives a Dharma talk on the seven treasures as a guide to living and dying well.

A Dharma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles Sunday Zoom service on 9/12/21. Tragedies large and small are discussed, including the attack on September 11. The five hindrances are framed as coping mechanisms for troubled times. And then some tactics for working with the five hindrances are offered.

A Dharma talk at the IBMC Sunday service on Zoom, 8/15/21. Subodha shares how the lesson he is preparing for the kids in Dharma school on the Eightfold Path reminded him of a book he read over twenty years ago called Way of the Peaceful Warrior. He then contrasts one of the teachings from the book about the present moment with the Buddha's teachings on "appropriate attention" showing how the Buddha teaches a purposeful directing of the mind to realizing the Four Noble Truths in meditation.

A Dharma talk at the IBMC Sunday service on Zoom 7/25/21. Subodha shares some of his thoughts on teaching the Noble Eightfold Path to children at an online Dharma school. This leads to a reflection of how Buddhism and the Eightfold Path encompass one's whole life.

A Dharma talk given at the IBMC Sunday Service on Zoom, 6/20/21. The Buddha's lessons on developing path factors to a reliable happiness and transcend suffering and stress are shared as a contrast to the popular view that the stresses of life are to be accepted.

A Dharma talk at the IBMC Zoom Sunday Service. Subodha talks about the five aggregates not as an objective description of a human being, but as the Buddha's explanation of why we suffer and how to find liberation by changing the activities of the mind by abandoning desire and developing dispassion.

A Dharma talk at the IBMC Sunday service on Zoom, 4/25/21. Subodha discusses the Devadaha Sutta (SN 22:2) as a good summary of the path and why we follow it. He also talks about meditation and its role in measuring progress, looking at heart and mind. When developing skillful mental qualities and abandoning unskillful mental qualities, how does the heart feel? Is it heavy, like dragging a cart behind you, or light like your shadow that follows you?

Subodha gives a Dharma talk at the IBMC Zoom Sunday service on 3-7-21. He shares life lessons with his grandfather and lessons that the Buddha shared with his son. Rahula, on meditation and equanimity. The Sutta discussed is MN 62, Maha Rahulovada Sutta.

Subodha gives a talk at the IBMC on 2/14/21, Valentine’s Day, about falling in love with meditation and entering into a committed relationship with Buddhist…

A Dharma talk at the International Meditation Center Los Angeles Zoom Sunday service on 11/29/2020. Subodha discusses the fear and anxiety that he felt being…

A Dharma talk at the IBMC Zoom Sunday service on 10/18/20. Subodha talks about the importance of being honest and upright about our practice, even…

Subodha, still staying socially distant at home, shares his views on meditation. He specifically addresses the absorptions (jhanas) and ekaggata (stillness of mind) in regard…Continue readingIs Meditation Onepointedness?

Subodha gives an informal talk in his home on 5/21/2020. He discusses the importance on cultivating an enjoyment for silence, solo retreating at home, and being more discerning about our media consumption. He also shares upcoming plans for more guided meditation and dharma discussion online through Facebook, Instagram, and Zoom.