Tony Bernhard first encountered the dharma in 1965 and became one of Spirit Rock’s first community dharma leaders in 1999. He currently sits on the board of the Sati Center, trains inmates and staff at Folsom Prison in mindfulness and dharma, leads sitting groups in Davis, and regularly teaches in a handful of venues in and around Sacramento and the Bay Area. He primarily focuses his practice on study of the dharma teachings in the earliest texts.
Tony Bernhard gave the fourth talk in a speaker series titled "Goals in Meditation." Tony explained that the Buddha's insights is captured in the Four Noble Truth. The First Noble Truth points out suffering or dissatisfaction we experience in life. Unfortunately, we make things worse by complaining when we experience things as unpleasant, or wanting more of things that are pleasant. This is the Second Noble Truth, which explains the origin of suffering, namely our clinging and aversion. The Third Noble Truth tells us that we don't have to make things worse for ourselves. And the Fourth Noble Truth tells us how not to make things worse by follwoing the Noble Eightfold Path.
