Dharma Seed - Dharma Talks given at Insight Meditation South Bay

2016-08-30 Joy On Demand: The Art of Discovering the Happiness Within 1:43:47
Chade-Meng Tan	Download Listen
Chade-Meng Tan, author of the best selling book, "Search Inside Yourself", and known as Google’s “Jolly Good Fellow” introduces his latest book, "Joy On Demand: The Art of Discovering the Happiness Within.” In this special author event at Insight Meditation South Bay, Meng guides us through a simple series of exercises for collecting the mind, enhancing loving kindness, and accessing an immediate feeling of happiness. He then presents three effects of practicing these techniques: 1) joyful experiences become more joyful, 2) neutral experiences become more joyful, and 3) painful experiences become more manageable.

2016-08-11 Five Qualities Leading to Spiritual Maturity 32:23
Philip Jones	Download Listen
Philip Jones gave this talk using the Meghiya Sutta (Anguttara Nikaya 9.3 / Udana 4.1) as a framework for exploring the importance of spiritual friends. Having good spiritual companions leads to the development of virtue, to hearing and engaging in talk on the Dhamma, to practicing with Right Effort and to the development of wisdom through directly knowing the impermanent nature of all conditioned experience. Spiritual friendship is the means for passing the Dhamma from one person to another, generation after generation.

2016-08-10 Windows on the World: Self-View and the Four Noble Truths 33:53
Philip Jones	Download Listen
Philip Jones gave this talk on self-view (or identity-view) and the Four Noble Truths. What does self mean in terms of our own individual lives and how does one let go of it, beginning with self-view? These questions are explored using the metaphor of windows to illustrate the difference between viewing our experiences from the position of self and with the Four Noble Truths. You are invited to investigate this in your own experience.

2016-08-09 Right Action In The Face Of Climate Change: Can We Practice Non-Harming? 41:10
Jennifer Dungan	Download Listen
We are facing global warming and drastic global climate change. The resulting disruption in the seasonal patterns and the extreme weather events pose threats to all living beings. Jennifer Dungan explores how the concept of non-harming, right action, Brahma Vihara, and the three marks of existence can help a world in which activities that involve fossil fuel perpetuate or worsen climate disruption.

2016-08-04 Refrain From Killing 68:12
Ayya Santussika	Download Listen
Ayya Santussika gave the fifth talk in a six-week series titled "Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts." She takes an in-depth look at the first precept: refraining from killing. She explores harming, how to live a life of non-harming, and facing difficult situations non-violently.

In collection Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts

2016-07-28 Refrain from False Speech 29:28
Shaila Catherine	Download Listen
Shaila Catherine gave the fourth talk in a six-week series titled "Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts." Speech is given particular importance in the Buddhist path because wrong speech can cause tremendous harm, and right speech can be profoundly beneficial. Practicing right speech is given emphasis because it's a very vivid way of applying our practice to daily life. When we lie based on delusion and greed, our intention usually is to benefit ourselves. When we lie based on delusion and hatred, our intention is usually to harm others. Even when we lie to cause less harm than would be caused if we spoke the truth, we should be aware of the potential karmic consequences.

In collection Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts

2016-07-21 Refrain From Sexual Misconduct 50:39
Drew Oman	Download Listen
Drew Oman gave the third talk in a six-week series titled "Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts." He expands upon the third precept: refraining from sexual misconduct. He explores its relation to the other four precepts and to the four noble truths.

In collection Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts

2016-07-14 Refrain from Stealing 51:52
Shaila Catherine	Download Listen
Shaila Catherine gave the second talk in a six-week series titled "Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts." When we undertake the training of refraining from taking that which is not given and practice generosity, we are improving our mind. More specifically, we are purifying our mind of greed. In fact, not stealing and giving are conditions that contribute to the realization of nibbana.

In collection Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts

2016-07-07 Refrain From Intoxication 59:50
Angie Boissevain	Download Listen
Angie Boissevain gave the first talk in a six-week series titled "Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts". Her talk addresses the fifth precept: refraining from intoxication. She discusses the impact of drug and alcohol use on relationships and how restraint can promote harmony.

In collection Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts

2016-07-07 Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts 4:20:07

Listen to tracks Show 5 Tracks

This series will explore virtue as the indispensable foundation of Buddhist practice. The series will emphasize the five training precepts, and explore action, ethics, kamma, and cause-effect dynamics. The precepts are not rules to be obediently followed; 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 relationships, and free the mind from inner forces of greed and anger that if unrestrained may cause suffering to ourselves and others.