Dharma Seed - Dharma Talks from Retreats

Heart of Mettā

Mettā means loving-kindness, loving intention, or friendliness. Such friendliness is an essential quality for a sincere and persistent deepening of Dharma practice. Mettā realises the potential for freedom of our hearts. In this retreat, we will practice mettā as it has been practised for thousands of years: turning toward and holding the experience of body, heart, and mind with kindness. From there, we will expand that kindness to those who are close to us, those who are distant, and in every direction. Gradually, we will integrate additional dimensions into the practice: gathering the heart and mind in samādhi, working with emotions, cultivating compassion, joy, and equanimity, and exploring liberating ways of looking.

The teachings are informed by Rob Burbea’s approaches to mettā, samādhi, and insight practices.

2026-08-23 (8 days) Vrážné Zen Center

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2026-08-27 Talk: Insight and Mettā 69:30
Yahel Avigur	Download Listen
In the insight teachings, the Buddha offers radical ways of reducing suffering by relaxing the perceptions that give rise to and sustain it. Bringing these perspectives together with mettā practice offers a powerful complementarity, allowing both insight and loving-kindness to deepen and support one another.

2026-08-27 Guided Practice: Mettā and Insight 42:23
Yahel Avigur	Download Listen
In this guided practice, we integrate mettā with practices of letting go through sensitivity to change and the direct relaxation of reactivity.

2026-08-28 Talk and Guided Practices: Dissolving the Sense of Self (and Other) into Mettā 1:22:52
Yahel Avigur	Download Listen
The Buddha suggests that the practice of mettā and the other brahmavihāras can serve as a basis for refined perceptions, in which the solidity of “self” and “other” begins to dissolve. In this sequence of reflections and guided meditations, we begin to explore and experiment with such possibilities.

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