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Dharma Talks
given at Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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2013-03-09
Deep Presence
31:36
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Shaila Catherine
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Mindfulness brings a powerful quality of presence to our encounter with experience. By cultivating deep presence we meet life below the level of superficial concepts. We disentangle the mind from the story of self. More than charisma or social skills, deep presence implies a profound way of being which brings our momentary encounters into the immediate present.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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Saturday Talks - 2013
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2013-03-05
Boredom
37:18
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Shaila Catherine
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Boredom not a state of relaxation. It is a manifestation of aversion and restlessness that arises when we are not bringing enough mindfulness, interest, energy, or attention to what is actually happening. The habit of seeking happiness in external events and sensory pleasures is fundamentally unsatisfying. The restless seeking of more stimulating experiences ignores the First Noble Truth of dukkha—that there is suffering in conditioned experiences; that unpleasant feelings arise in our lives. Boredom arises because the quality of attention is not well direction; it arises with unwise attention. We can counter boredom with mindfulness. Make the effort to observe the changing nature of things. Appreciate and enjoy what is worthy. Notice moments in which there is no clinging. Reflect upon your purpose and goal—aim for the highest liberation, complete awakening, the peace of release, nibbana.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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Tuesday Talks
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2013-02-09
Awakening
42:31
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Shaila Catherine
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Awakening is the profound aim of the spiritual life. Awakening is not described as a mystical goal, we wake up to the four noble truths. We look squarely at the world and recognize that we cannot fix it, and through this clarity we realize the end of suffering. Enlightenment does not imply a separation from life, instead, it brings us to face the reality of lived experiences without resistance. Profound realization brings a deep equanimity and peace into every encounter; it is defined as the ending of greed, hatred, and delusion. Awakening is known through the result—the end of defilements, craving, and ignorance.
This talk teases out the meaning of several difficult "D" words: disenchantment, dispassion, detachment. These terms do not imply an aversive response to experience, instead they play a vital role in the process of awakening.
The talk explores profound spiritual experiences. It considers the danger of arrogance and conceit arising, clinging to, and corrupting enlightenment experiences. It discusses how to express, describe, and speak about our spiritual awakenings without identification.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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Saturday Talks - 2013
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2013-01-01
The Two Guardians
30:19
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Drew Oman
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This talk presents the two guardians, hiri and ottappa in Pali, as lenses for self-examination from the original texts, and as supports for the cultivation of sila in our everyday lives. Hiri, is more inwardly directed; it's our inner moral compass. Ottappa, is more outwardly directed; it comprises of notions such as social conscience or a collective sense of morality. Together, they guard our minds from going too far astray. The audience are divided into pairs to explore how each of these concepts can be used in investigate both wholesome and unwholesome thoughts and actions, helping us to deepen our understanding of what it means to live ethical lives.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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Tuesday Talks
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