Dharma Seed - Dharma Talks given at Insight Meditation South Bay

2017-03-07 Money 41:24
Kim Allen	Download Listen
Kim Allen gave the third talk in a speaker series titled "Everyday Dhamma." She discussed how money is an important part of our life, as well as a potent realm for practice. Much of what the Buddha said about wealth and money was about our relationship to money, because this is where our suffering and freedom lies. More specifically, we can easily have an unwholesome relationship to our wealth. For example, we can become miserly and crave even more wealth. Or we can establish a wholesome relationship with our wealth, such as supporting our family, our friends, and the Dhamma. In this way, we can relate to money with wisdom and generosity, instead of grasping and fear.

In collection Everyday Dhamma

2017-03-07 Guided Metta Meditation Toward Groups 30:25
Shaila Catherine	Download Listen
In this 30-minute guided mettā meditation, Shaila Catherine recommends directing mettā initially toward ourselves, then toward a virtuous person, and finally towards groups of beings. Such groups comprise 1) males and females; 2) enlightened and unenlightened beings; and 3) the realms of existence. Such realms include hell beings, animals, humans, celestial beings and gods. The aim is to gradually expand the field of mettā until it is unbounded, immeasurable, and without boarders, barriers, or exceptions. Meditators may use these traditional groupings or creatively adapt them to support their mettā practice.

2017-03-02 Meditating on Body 1 27:54
Laura Lin	Download Listen
Guided meditation on Body #1.

In collection Developing a Mindfulness Meditation Practice

2017-03-02 Meditating on Body 2 7:42
Laura Lin	Download Listen
Guided meditation on Body #2.

In collection Developing a Mindfulness Meditation Practice

2017-02-23 Developing a Mindfulness Meditation Practice 4:08:47

Listen to tracks Show 15 Tracks

These are the guided meditations from the "Developing a Mindfulness Meditation Practice" course. The weekly content for this series included: 1. Why Meditate: The power of mindfulness with breathing, 2. Cultivating Presence: Mindfulness of the body, 3. Settling the Restless Mind: Mindfulness of thoughts, 4. Emotional Presence: Mindfulness of mental states, 5. Practicing Kindness: Metta Practice, and 6. Remember to Remember: Mindfulness recap and practice tips.

2017-02-23 Meditating On Breath 1 13:11
Sharon Allen	Download Listen
Guided meditation on Breath #1

In collection Developing a Mindfulness Meditation Practice

2017-02-23 Meditating on Breath 2 11:57
Sharon Allen	Download Listen
Guided meditation on Breath #2.

In collection Developing a Mindfulness Meditation Practice

2017-02-21 Dharma in Challenging Relationships 43:10
Lisa Dale Miller	Download Listen
Lisa Dale Miller gave the second talk in a speaker series titled "Everyday Dhamma." She explored how difficult relationships can be rich grounds for practice, because they require us to use skills of wisdom and compassion.

In collection Everyday Dhamma

2017-02-14 Four Gateways of Samsara: I, Me, Mine, and Mind 36:18
Ronald Purser	Download Listen
Ron Purser gave the first talk in a speaker series titled "Everyday Dhamma." He explained how our minds filter almost all of our experiences through the framework of "I, me, and mine." Is it possible to develop another way of knowing? Our practice can help us to loosen our minds' strong addiction to "I."

In collection Everyday Dhamma

2017-02-14 Everyday Dhamma 4:02:31

Listen to tracks Show 6 Tracks

Can busy lay practioners realize the fruits of the Buddhist path? How can we bring mindfulness, wisdom, and compassion into our family, community, and workplace activities? This speaker series will explore the intersection of the Buddha's teachings with the complex demands of contemporary daily life. Each speaker will explore a theme that highlights social issues or practical applications related to living a mindful life at work, with family, and in today's society.

2017-02-14 Four Gateways of Samsara: I, Me, Mine, and Mind 36:18
Ronald Purser	Download Listen
Ron Purser gave the first talk in a speaker series titled "Everyday Dhamma." He explained how our minds filter almost all of our experiences through the framework of "I, me, and mine." Is it possible to develop another way of knowing? Our practice can help us to loosen our minds' strong addiction to "I."
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection Everyday Dhamma

2017-02-21 Dharma in Challenging Relationships 43:10
Lisa Dale Miller	Download Listen
Lisa Dale Miller gave the second talk in a speaker series titled "Everyday Dhamma." She explored how difficult relationships can be rich grounds for practice, because they require us to use skills of wisdom and compassion.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection Everyday Dhamma

2017-03-07 Money 41:24
Kim Allen	Download Listen
Kim Allen gave the third talk in a speaker series titled "Everyday Dhamma." She discussed how money is an important part of our life, as well as a potent realm for practice. Much of what the Buddha said about wealth and money was about our relationship to money, because this is where our suffering and freedom lies. More specifically, we can easily have an unwholesome relationship to our wealth. For example, we can become miserly and crave even more wealth. Or we can establish a wholesome relationship with our wealth, such as supporting our family, our friends, and the Dhamma. In this way, we can relate to money with wisdom and generosity, instead of grasping and fear.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection Everyday Dhamma

2017-03-14 Happiness at Workplace 35:30
Laura Lin	Download Listen
Laura Lin gave the fourth talk in a speaker series titled "Everyday Dhamma." Laura observed that most Americans spend most of our waking hours at work. So, work provides us with a great opportunity to continue our practice and training off the cushion, and bring them into our workplace. When we bring wholesome states of mind, such as mindfulness, loving-kindness, and sympathetic joy, to work with us, these states of mind can transform our work into a happier and more rewarding experience. Without using some of these tools from our meditation tool box, the ups and downs of office politics and interpersonal dynamics can easily influence an untrained mind in averse ways.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection Everyday Dhamma

2017-03-21 Wisdom, Skill, and Virtue 42:25
Misha Merrill	Download Listen
Misha Merrill gave the fifth talk in a speaker series titled "Everyday Dhamma." She explained that wisdom is the faculty of making the best use of knowledge, experience, and understanding. Skill is the ability to take that understanding and manifest it in our daily life. Virtue encourages us to practice up-rightedness, a general moral goodness. Virtue requires actually doing it; standing up for what is right.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection Everyday Dhamma

2017-03-28 Trauma, Purification and the Nervous System 43:41
Sean Feit Oakes	Download Listen
Sean Feit Oakes gave the sixth talk in a speaker series titled "Everyday Dhamma." He explained that when we feel threaten, our sympathetic nervous system kicks in two modes: fight or flight. We get activated when we perceive threat, but our usually body calms down once we perceive that we are safe. Anxiety, stress and vigilance are symptoms of trauma. To use the language of Buddhism, restless mind, anxious mind, and fearful mind are minds that got stuck in the activated mode, instead of being reset to neutral. In other words, trauma happened when at one point in our lives we felt threatened, and we never felt safe again. Purification comes when we can learn to turn off the activated mode, and work through the aspects of our conditioning that are painful and let go, so we can return to balance.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection Everyday Dhamma