Spring Rain Sangha Dhamma Talks

Holding On and Letting Go

Jarek — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:34:57 +0000

The burden of holding on (grasping, craving, attachment) is clearly seen around us. The rewards of letting go become evident to us personally, socially and environmentally through practice of mindful living.

Being Skilled in Goodness

Jarek — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:16:26 +0000

This examination of various passages from the Dhammapada reveals how volitional actions of body, speech, and mind set the direction and tone of our lives. By replacing our older, unskillful habits with skillful ones, we can turn away from suffering and allow more peace and happiness to manifest.

Vulnerability

Jarek — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:08:54 +0000

The majority of us are driven, confused, and blinded by our vulnerabilities, and suffer as a result of this. Yet the very physical, emotional, and spiritual openness that allows things to affect us as they do, can in itself become the vehicle for liberation if properly understood in light of The Four Noble Truths.

Kilesas: What Keeps Us Stuck in the Mire of Our Misery

Jarek — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:07:05 +0000

Without watching, without being alert we get drawn into that which leads to suffering. As a result of mindfulness we can see the causes of our suffering and abandon them.

Five Hindrances

Jarek — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:17:36 +0000

The Buddha’s teachings list five ‘classic’ hindrances that encompass most of the negative states that prevent us from realizing our innate clarity, radiance, and luminosity of mind. It is imperative that we become familiar and proficient with the use of the antidotes to be able to progress on the path to freedom.

What Holds Us Back from Happiness

Jarek — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:48:59 +0000

All of us want to be happy, and yet something holds us back from realizing the highest, most lasting form of happiness. Being dependent on the six senses for happiness obscures our awareness of this greater sense of joy and delight and ultimately gives rise to our deluded perception of who and what we are. Mindfulness is the path to this higher happiness.

Practicing with the Body

Jarek — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:21:10 +0000

Many of us spend the better part of our lifetime shutting down our awareness of our own body. Yet Buddhism teaches that in order to achieve direct, moment-to-moment awareness of our experience, we need to turn our body into our object of meditation by asking, for example, “What does that emotion, thought or sensation feel like in the body?

Perceptions and Views

Jarek — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:05:39 +0000

Identification with views and ideas is one of the main sources of our suffering. Once we begin to see the arising and passing away of perceptions and views in the mind, we get a taste of things as they truly are; then the path becomes clearer and we naturally relinquish the attachments and clinging that cause us so much suffering.

Homo Sapiens, Wild Geese and Freedom

Jarek — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:18:51 +0000

If we knew the purpose of this precious human life and the tragedy of wasting this extraordinary opportunity to be guided by this purpose, we would not forfeit practicing the Dhamma in the pursuit of temporary pleasures, irrelevant entertainment, or unnecessary acquisitions. By following the example of genuine spiritual warriors like Aung San Suu Kyi, we can overcome our fear, anger and ignorance, and rise to the pinnacle of human potential by courageously doing ‘what needs to be done’.

Living in the Midst of Our Lives

Jarek — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:47:30 +0000

By experiencing the present moment in a direct, clear and vivid way, we are able to transcend our attachment to the world of concepts, ideas, prejudices, judgments, and the emotional states they engender.

Balance in Practice

Jarek — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:37:15 +0000

Bringing our attention to the present moment without trying to change anything – while simultaneously having the intention to cultivate wholesome states of mind – might seem like an apparent contradiction. However, as the Buddhist author and teacher Joseph Goldstein states: ‘The critical balance we need to discover in our meditation practice as well as in daily life is this equipoise between the effort we need to apply and the surrender’.

Taking Responsibility for Ourselves and Others

Jarek — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:17:30 +0000

In this world where so much of our activity is directed outward, it can be hard to acknowledge that taking true responsibility for ourselves means going inward and doing the inner work needed to purify our hearts and minds. By doing this profound transformative work, we also learn how to act responsibly within our relationships and the world at large.

Addiction to Unhappiness

Jarek — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:32:38 +0000

This talk centers on the ‘training’ or steps within the practice that lead to the kind of purification of mind that prepares us for the relinquishment of all that binds us to suffering and a life of unsatisfactoriness.

Introduction to Meditation

Jarek — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:24:53 +0000

A brief overview of the basic meditation techniques practiced at Spring Rain Sangha is presented here, as well as reflections on the benefits of meditation and an introduction to Buddhist principles.

Love

Jarek — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:01:47 +0000

Our very happiness relies on the giving and receiving of love. But this isn’t the kind of conditional, romantic love that’s celebrated in popular love songs. Rather, this deeper, absolute and unconditional love resides in each of us as an expression of our true nature. As John Welwood writes: “The light of unconditional love awakens the dormant seed potentials of the soul, helping them to ripen, blossom and bear fruit, allowing us to bring forth the unique gifts that are ours to offer in this life.”

Abusive Speech: Causes and Consequences

Jarek — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:27:52 +0000

Knowing and examining the direct experience of our own reaction to abusive speech allows us to open up to the suffering that is present in the person who is acting abusively. This in turn gives us the opportunity to break the vicious circle of suffering by responding with compassion.

Finding Peace and Contentment by Being Present

Jarek — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:48:35 +0000

Living fully in the present moment involves bringing our mindfulness and loving-kindness practices into our daily lives and “sharing” them with others. As we become more present to those before us, the peace and happiness-conveying effects of our own actions are experienced.

Ethics

Jarek — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:43:00 +0000

As one component of the Noble Eightfold Path, ethics (sila) comprises the moral foundation of the path without which a solid meditation practice could not be possible. In this examination of right speech, right action, and right livelihood, we see the ways in which these ethical practices are inseparably linked to and guided by the 5 basic precepts, particularly that of non-harming.

Faith

Jarek — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:58:45 +0000

Within the Buddhist tradition, faith in the Buddha’s teachings is rooted in the direct investigation of the mind as a means of knowing for ourselves what is true. This talk also looks at the 2 conditions that give rise to faith: the awareness of suffering and the subsequent search to overcome it, and the path by which we can free ourselves from suffering.

On Death, Love and Dhamma

Jarek — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:42:02 +0000

In this moving tribute to his sister’s recent passing, Jim examines the Buddhist teaching of impermanence, particularly as it applies to the condition of the body. We see how a spiritual practice grounded in the cultivation of the Brahma vihara of unconditional love allows us to relate to death with an openness and honesty that recalls us to present-moment experience.