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Dharma Talks
given at Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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2010-03-02
Seeing the Body as a Body
46:31
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Janet Taylor
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This talk is an overview of the contemplative practices of the first foundation of mindfulness—mindfulness of the body—with particular focus on the 32 body parts contemplation. Contemplating the body parts can break the enchantment with the body and the belief that it is beautiful, and bring about insight into not-self. Seeing the body as a conglomeration of parts and processes reveals its empty nature because a self cannot be found. Contemplating the body processes, which includes the brain, reveals that preferences for certain experiences are no more than physiological reactions based on past and present conditions. By clearly seeing what the body is, we see what it is not: it is not a self.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
:
Meditating on the Body
A Five Week Speaker Series
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2009-11-10
Meditation for Life
47:11
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Martine Batchelor
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Meditation is not an idea of getting to a mystical state but of helping us to release. It is not an exotic practice but it is more like eating, brushing our teeth - it is a way to nourish ourselves and to open and finally to let go.
It is a lifelong journey where we learn to let go and stop grasping as we become aware of our life in each moment, accept each moment as it is.
Meditation can help us to be more in the world, by being here and now we can be skillful and respond to whatever happens in the present.
We develop clarity, we see the changing nature of things. When we are engulfed by feelings we can step back and say ‘how long will this last?’ We do not have to feed the feelings, we just need to be with them and watch them as they change.
We can bring creative awareness to everything that we do and use it to be fully where we are, to be in our relationships in our life.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
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2009-06-09
Equanimity
41:43
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Shaila Catherine
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This talk explores equanimity as the fourth of the four qualities called Brahma Viharas. Previous talks in this series addressed loving kindness, compassion, and appreciative joy. Equanimity allows us to remain present and awake with the fact of things—equally close to the things we like and the things we dislike. It is important to develop equanimity in two arenas: 1) in response to pleasant and painful feelings, and 2) regarding the future results of our actions. Equanimity develops in meditation and in life. We can use unexpected events that we cannot control to develop this quality. Our job is not to judge our experiences, but to be present and respond wisely. Equanimity is a beautiful mental factor that can feel like freedom, but if "I" and "mine" still operate, there is still work to be done. Many suggestions are offered for cultivating equanimity.
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Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
:
Four Brahma Viharas
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In
collections:
Four Brahma Viharas,
The Ten Paramis
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