Dharma Seed - Dharma Talks given at Insight Meditation South Bay

2015-07-21 Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts 3:26:01

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with Jason Murphy, Shaila Catherine, Sharon Allen, Steve Gasner, Tony Bernhard

This series explores virtue as the indispensable foundation of Buddhist practice. It is structured according to the five training precepts. These precepts are not rules to be followed obediently; rather, they serve as guidelines for the intentional development of compassion, mindfulness and wisdom. These five precepts offer us a joyful method to cultivate the heart, nurture harmony in our relationships, and free the mind from inner forces of greed and hatred that if left unrestrained might cause suffering for ourselves and others.

Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley

2015-07-21 Precepts: The Gift of Fearlessness 28:24
Shaila Catherine	Download Listen
This talk by Shaila Catherine is the first in a speaker series titled Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts. It offers an over view of the five precepts (sila) as training tools for bringing mindfulness and restraint into our actions, relationships, and daily life activities. These basic guidelines for living an ethical life, and the power of restraint are as relevant in the modern world as they were in ancient India. Taking care with our actions can be a source of joy and happiness. When our actions are clear, the mind is free from regret, guilt, and remorse; we gain self-respect, self-esteem, and confidence. The four bases of success (iddhipadas) can be used to strengthen these training precepts. With the support of desire, energy, consciousness, and investigation we can fully commit to abstain from unwholesome actions, and develop wholesome states, thereby gaining sovereignty over our own mind.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts

2015-07-16 The Path to the Ending of Suffering 69:41
Robert Cusick	Download Listen
This is the second talk in a speaker series titled Fundamental Buddhist Principles 2015. The teaching of the Buddha is not about a belief system; rather, it is about deliverance from suffering. His teaching is verifiable by our own experience. Along with this message comes the method of practice that leads to the ending of suffering, and this method of practice is the Noble Eightfold Path. The eight factors of this Path include right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Liberation from suffering is the inevitable fruit of cultivating this Path.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Fundamental Buddhist Principles 2015

2015-07-09 Fundamental Buddhist Principles 2015 2:59:01

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with Bob Stahl, Kim Allen, Robert Cusick, Shaila Catherine

Buddhist tradition offers a rich tradition of wisdom teachings. This series focuses on the philosophy, principles, practices, and instructions that are fundamental to developing a meditative or Buddhist practice. It is intended as an introduction to Buddhism series, with an emphasis on the primary teachings that guide meditators to a liberating understanding of the mind, world, and life.

Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley

2015-07-09 Buddhism in Brief 20:10
Shaila Catherine	Download Listen
This is the first talk in a speaker series titled Fundamental Buddhist Principles 2015. Buddha was a human being, whose mind opened to the truth of things, to the nature of life. He understood the causes of suffering, and developed a path of teaching that enables others to realize the truth of things for themselves. He was awakened, which means greed, hatred, and delusion were uprooted from his mind. So when we meditate, we examine our mind with the goal to understand what is really happening in our encounter with experience. What happens in our seeing, hearing, smelling, or tasting? What happens when we feel with our body? What happens when we think or feel emotions? Is that encounter affected by greed, hatred, or delusion? Or are we seeing the nature of these experiences arising and passing away, with a mind free of clinging? This talk also includes basic Buddhist teachings such as the Four Noble Truths, the Three Training (virtue (sila), meditation (samadhi) and wisdom (panna)), and the Three Primary Contemplative Skills that support meditation (concentration, mindfulness, and investigation).
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Fundamental Buddhist Principles 2015

2015-06-30 The Joy In This Moment 49:57
Misha Merrill	Download Listen
Meditation brings us to see how amazingly ordinary and yet incredibly profound every moment is in our day. Meditation is the dharmic gate of joyful ease. Yes, we do our sitting practice, but hopefully, we can spend the rest of our day in a meditative state of mind. We take our mindfulness with us to whatever it is we are doing, and stay at ease in our mind and body. Yes, there is suffering, but it doesn’t mean that there isn’t also joy. We spend so much time worrying about the future that has not happened, and reliving the past that cannot be changed. It is easy to miss the joy of the present moment. As Susiki Rosi said, “The world is its own magic.” We can find this while we clean our toilet as well as washing dishes. Indeed, everyday activity is itself enlightenment. But we have to be present to experience this contentment, and this is the joy of this moment.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley

2015-06-23 Wise Attention 46:29
Sayadaw U Jagara	Download Listen
Wise attention deals with how we are directing our mind. We have the ability to choose what we think about, and how we pay attention. Wise attention can be divided into two parts. First, it deals with guarding the mind, so we can maintain a balanced mind, and protect the mind from various kinds of defilement such as the five hindrances. Second, wise attention encompasses the development of our mind, which starts with improving the quality of our observation. This improvement then leads to understanding, clarity and wisdom.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley

2015-05-19 The Giver, Gift. and Receiver 21:10
Shaila Catherine	Download Listen
The Discourses of the Buddha include instructions on how to give so that the act of generosity will be most fruitful. This talk by Shaila Catherine explores the significance of the inner motivation of the donor, the quality and appropriateness of the gift itself, and the virtue and purity of mind of the recipient. The motivation, context, and result each play a role in the practice of generosity (dana).
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley

2015-05-07 Mindfulness of Emotions and Feelings 30:39
Chris Clifford	Download Listen
This talk was given as part of the series “Strengthening Mindfulness.” Buddhism is the study of the processes of the human mind and body, so we can discern what the patterns are that lead to more suffering and less suffering, respectively. For many of us, the so-called ‘afflictive emotions,’ such as anger, anxiety, despair and envy, are the most common experiences of suffering. However, in our practice, it is not our aim to get rid of these emotions. Rather, we are training ourselves to become aware of these emotions, for they are usually deeply ingrained habits reacting to what’s pleasant or unpleasant with clinging or aversion. This awareness then allows us to shift the way we respond to what’s happening in the present moment, so we can find peace and ease with things as they are.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Strengthening Mindfulness

2015-04-30 Mindfulness of Pain, Illness, and Death 44:11
Kim Allen	Download Listen
This talk was given as part of the series “Strengthening Mindfulness.” Dukkha, or suffering, includes pain, illness, and death; yet these are inevitable visitors to our lives. It is our practice to gently turn towards what’s difficult and painful in our lives, and understand truly these human experiences. When we are mindful, we become aware that there are the bodily sensations of pain and discomfort that we may not control, and there are our mind’s reactions to these sensations that we may observe and change. Mindfulness of death can lead us to a sense of spiritual urgency, and help us to cultivate compassion for this shared experience among all human kind. This knowledge of commonality can also help us to overcome fear.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Strengthening Mindfulness