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Dharma Talks Access for Retreatants
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Three-Month Retreat - Part 2
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| The annual three-month course, including its six-week partials, is a special time for practice. Because of its extended length and ongoing guidance, it is a rare opportunity for students to deepen the powers of concentration, wisdom and compassion. Based on the meditation instructions of Mahasi Sayadaw and supplemented by a range of skillful means, this retreat will encourage a balanced attitude of relaxation and alertness, and the continuity of practice based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. |
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2008-11-01 (43 days)
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center
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2008-11-20
Dependent Origination: An Overview
57:49
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Sally Clough Armstrong
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| The Buddha considered Dependent Origination to be his most profound insight. This teaching shows us how we get caught in the cycle of suffering, and how it is possible to free ourselves. When we’re not aware of this process, we are blinded by our ignorance and get caught in craving again and again. We create different identities that we cling to, and that limit our ability to be free in the moment. When we’re aware of this process, we can make wiser choices about how to respond, and perhaps even break the cycles of becoming altogether. This talk gives a brief overview of the 12 links of Dependent Origination, and then describes how it works on a practical, moment-to-moment basis in our lives.
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2008-11-24
Four Reflections That Turn The Mind Towards The Dharma
57:04
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Annie Nugent
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| These four reflections on the precious human body, impermanence and death, the law of Karma and the round of Samsara support our practice by helping the mind turn towards the Dharma and away from our deeply habituated tendencies of greed, hatred and delusion. |
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2008-11-27
Practicing Gratitude And Joy
56:49
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Sally Clough Armstrong
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| On this day of thanksgiving, it is important to remember what we are actually celebrating: the generosity of Native Americans to the early settlers, and all that they have given us. It is also a day to be grateful for all the blessings in our lives, and to bring a sense of appreciation to the beauty and joy that is all around us. As we incline the mind towards noticing what we are grateful for, we find an increased sense of well-being and happiness in our lives.
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2008-11-30
From Ignorance Come Impulses
61:21
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Guy Armstrong
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| The first two links of dependent origination say that ignorance gives rise to volitional formations, or impulses. This talk describes successive layers of obscurations that form from ignorance, to a belief in self, to afflictive emotions, to unskillful actions. The path undoes these layers by focusing, in order, on virtue, meditation, and wisdom, finally penetrating to Nibbana.
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