Kim Allen has been practicing Insight meditation since 2003, and has trained intensively in the U.S. and Asia with Western teachers, Theravādan monastics, and masters of other Buddhist traditions. Trained by Gil Fronsdal at the Insight Meditation Center and Insight Retreat Center, she offers Dharma programs, sutta study, and retreats in the U.S., internationally, and online, weaving classical Dharma into a contemporary context. Her education was in science and sustainability, and she is now dedicated to a contemplative life of study and practice.
This series expands on instructions offered in basic mindfulness courses, offers new depths of understanding, integrates the practice with life situations, and helps students establish a daily meditation practice. Mindfulness training is a practical tool that can support wisdom in any activity, and it is at the heart of Buddhist meditation leading to direct realization that frees the mind from suffering.
The Buddha likened the Five Hindrances to impurities and disturbances in a pool of water. In this talk, we examine the grosser and finer manifestations of each hindrance, down to subtle levels.
Kalyana mitta, or spiritual friendship, is a foundation of the Buddhist path. Through examining a number of suttas related to friendship, we gain an understanding of the important qualities and ways of relating to wise friends.
Dukkha – variously rendered as suffering, unsatisfactoriness, stress, or struggle – is one of the three marks of existence. According to the teaching on the First Noble Truth, the task related to dukkha is to understand it. This talk examines what dukkha is and is not, and offers guidelines for exploring it deeply.
Right Livelihood, as the culmination of the virtue, or sila, steps of the Eightfold Path, concerns all aspects of how we sustain our life. It is far more than just our job. This talk examines how we can practice toward a fuller alignment of all aspects of our life.
