This talk was given as a part of the series "Where Rubber Meets the Road: A Series on Mindful Living." We live in a world that requires a diversity of relationships. How do you choose your friends? What kind of relationships support or stunt your spiritual growth? How do you relate to life, and to love? We can bring wisdom and mindfulness to our interactive lives, to the roles that we perform, to our intimate sexual relationships, and our friendships; we practice both in solitude and in community. Harmony, generosity, and joy are developed through noble friendship. Relationships can challenge us to work with the tendencies of our own minds, clarify our precepts, develop compassion, learn to let go, and nurture the path of awakening. Deep friendship is considered to be the precursor of right view. A good friend encourages the best in us and supports our development of the noble eight fold path.

Vimalasara talks about her book (co-authored with Dr. Paramabandho Groves) Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction. We can’t avoid suffering if we open our eyes to it. Suffering is all around us. However, freedom from suffering is in front of our eyes too. Some of us, who realize our difficult human predicament, reach a crisis and turn to a spiritual path, faith or religion to deal with the shock. Others turn to an addiction for answers to the meaning of life. Vimalasara speaks to the pain all beings share, and how we deal with that pain.

The Satipatthana Sutta, often translated as the "Four Foundations of Mindfulness," is the primary teaching given by the Buddha on Mindfulness. The remarkable features of this Sutta include detailed instructions as to how to set up the practice, pragmatic instructions for establishing mindfulness with attention to the body, feelings, mind, and various dhamma objects, and awakening and liberation as the aim of the practice.

Shaila Catherine gave this concluding talk in a guest speaker series that was organized to stimulate critical inquiry about mindfulness and how the teachings about mindfulness are manifesting in western cultures. This talk presents critical thinking, reflection, and discussion as integral elements of Buddhist practice. It refers to the early Buddhist custom of reciting teachings, sharing the Dhamma, and inviting correction and criticism about how the Dhamma was presented and taught. As mindfulness practices become mainstreamed, and applied in corporations and therapeutic contexts, some concern arises that the deep and liberating teachings of emptiness might be ignored as non-Buddhists, and sometimes non-practitioners, assert their own definitions of mindfulness in the media. This brief talk concludes with reflection questions about: 1. the meaning and definition of mindfulness—how is mindfulness different from attention? 2. how are ethics taught in Buddhist and secular applications of mindfulness? 3. how are secular interests affecting the development of western lay Buddhism?

In this conversational interview between Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, Shaila Catherine, and students in Insight Meditation South Bay's online Samyutta Nikaya course (www.imsb.org), Bhikkhu Bodhi offers teachings that illuminate the collection of suttas known as the Connected Discourses of the Buddha. Venerable Bodhi explains the historical background of this collection, comments on the cosmological world view embraced by early Buddhism, and offers skillful tips for studying the Discourses. He recommends approaching this collection as an exposition of the Four Noble Truths. He shares insights gained through his translation process, including his reflections regarding the choice to translate certain terms such as dukkha (as suffering or unsatisfactoriness), rupa (as form or materiality), and nibbida (as disenchantment or revulsion). The conversation explores the historical influence of the commentarial texts, and Bhikkhu Bodhi offers practical advise for both the beginner and seasoned reader of the Buddha's teachings. He recommends that readers take notes as they read, and nurture the five steps of contemplation: 1) listening to the teachings, 2) retain in mind what was heard, 3) repeat the teaching verbally, 4) examine the teaching with the mind, 5) penetrate it well with insight. The discussion concludes with reflections on how to approach a study of the Numbered Discourses of the Buddha (The Anguttara Nikaya).

In his newest book, Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence, Dr. Rick Hanson explains how the mind shapes the brain: neurons that fire together, wire together. Positive experiences are the main source of the neural structures underlying motivation, self-worth, the executive functions, good mood, kindness, resilience, and other inner strengths. Unfortunately, most positive experiences are wasted on the brain because it evolved a negativity bias to help our ancestors survive. It’s like Velcro for bad experiences but Teflon for good ones. To solve this problem, this talk will present the four simple HEAL steps of taking in the good, which turn passing experiences into lasting neural resources. We’ll explore how to use these methods to build confidence, focus attention, lower anxiety, and fundamentally, hardwire happiness into the brain.