|
|
Donate |
Contact
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
|
|
|
| |
|
Dharma Talks
|
2024-12-11
Understanding and Practicing with Anger
63:35
|
|
Donald Rothberg
|
|
|
We continue to explore the intersection of our more inner practice and our practice with the larger world, including the U.S. post-election world. Our starting point is seeing how widespread and predominant the emotions of anger and fear are in our society. We look particularly at the nature of anger and how to practice with it, especially in terms of our own anger but also in terms of the anger of others.
Anger, it has been said, is the most confusing emotion in Western civilization, seen often over the last 2500 years sometimes as both entirely as negative and sometimes as a quality that manifests, for example, in the Jewish prophets, Jesus, and God. There's a confusion also among Western Buddhists, who may have conditioning related to aversion to anger combined with following problematic translations of terms like dosa (entirely negative in the Buddhist context) as "anger" (not entirely negative in the contemporary Western context).
Based on these explorations of the nature of anger, we look at how to practice with anger individually, especially through mindful investigation of anger and how anger can lead either to reactivity and the formation of reactive views of self and/or other, or to skillful action. We also explore practicing with the anger of others through empathy practice.
The talk is followed by discussion and sharing, including of the experiences of practicing with anger from several people. The meditation before the talk includes a guided exploration of an experience of anger in the last third of the meditation period (the meditation is also on Dharma Seed).
|
|
Spirit Rock Meditation Center
:
Monday and Wednesday Talks
|
|
|
2024-11-27
Heart Meditation: Taking in the Goodness
24:12
|
|
Tara Brach
|
|
|
Taking in the Goodness: Rumi said, “Whenever some kindness comes to you, turn that way – toward the source of kindness.” This meditation guides us to look for the source of loving and to turn in that direction. It begins with a lovingkindness practice that spreads the image of a smile into the body, then continues with a practice of seeing the goodness of ourselves and others.
Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. - Thomas Merton
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
|
|
|
2024-11-27
Gratitude: Entering Sacred Relationship
52:35
|
|
Tara Brach
|
|
|
Gratitude arises when we are in sacred relationship with life—present, open and receptive. This talk explores how central gratitude is to our physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, and then looks at the ways we can directly gladden our minds with gratitude. We end with a guided meditation that includes sharings from the group. The audio includes a poem of blessing by John O’Donohue with a brief cut from Robert Gass – Om Namaha Shivaya (from the archives).
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
|
|
|
2024-11-27
Guided Meditation on Feeling-Tone, the Second Foundation of Mindfulness
40:14
|
|
Donald Rothberg
|
|
|
After setting the posture and tuning into intentions, we have a short period of settling, typically through the breath or some other anchor. Then there is guidance to tune into the feeling-tone, especially when there is a "moderate" level pleasant or unpleasant feeling-tone, noticing tendencies to move to wanting/not-wanting or grasping/pushing away--the two forms of reactivity. We can also, when there is reactivity, tune into the pleasant or unpleasant "beneath" the reactivity, finding, for example, some compassion when there is underlying pain. Near the end, we also explore being with all feeling-tones for a very short period of a few minutes.
|
|
Spirit Rock Meditation Center
:
Monday and Wednesday Talks
|
|
|
2024-11-20
Meditation: Vipassana – The Practice of Seeing Clearly
18:01
|
|
Tara Brach
|
|
|
Vipassana, also known as insight meditation, is training in bringing a clear mindful attention to our moment-to-moment experience. We begin by relaxing through the body and then resting attention with the breath – or some other sensory anchor – and allowing the mind to settle. Then we open to whatever is predominant or calling our attention – sensations, emotions, sounds – meeting each arising experience with a clear, kind attention. The gift of this process is discovering balance in the midst of the changing flow, and gaining deep insight into the nature of reality.
|
|
Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC
|
|
|
2024-11-06
Post-Election Day Community Gathering
1:59:46
|
|
Sylvia Boorstein,
Donald Rothberg
|
|
|
We gather for two hours together the morning after Election Day, 2024, in large part to ground what we are experiencing in our practice and in community. We begin with short reflections from Sylvia and Donald, followed by short periods of meditation and then sharing from many of those present at the gathering, with intermittent reflections from Sylvia and Donald. We finish with short talks from Sylvia and Donald and then a reading of the intentions of community members going forward in the next period of time.
|
|
Spirit Rock Meditation Center
:
Monday and Wednesday Talks
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
