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The greatest gift is the
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Dharma Talks
2017-04-01 Q&A Pt II 32:46
Ajahn Sucitto
1. How to practice last 3 of 8 precepts; recipient of one’s giving determines one’s merit – please explain; 2. how interpersonal aspect of energy affect/support one’s practice and meditation; 3. giving hand to hand vs. in disembodied ways (credit cards, etc.); 4. self consciousness around my giving’ the art of receiving has been neglected; 5. how to be with others who don’t know their own goodness
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies BCBS The Gradual Path: The Step-by-Step Way to Awakening

2017-04-01 Q&A Part I 48:53
Ajahn Sucitto
Caring for aging parents; celestial realm as metaphor or actuality; those who are spontaneously reborn; sacrifice; when I know I’m not observing precepts perfectly; meditation practice feels flat; advice for caregivers in medical field; breaking through feeling bleak about the world; subjective nature of the sacred
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies BCBS The Gradual Path: The Step-by-Step Way to Awakening

2017-03-24 If You Grow Good Fruit, Eat It! 13:58
Ajahn Sucitto
Ajahn Sucitto responds to a question about dana parami, describing the gift of safety that can be provided by keeping precepts and sustaining open awareness. He reminds us that in the field of dana we are also in a position to receive generosity, partaking of the good fruit we have grown.
Tisarana Buddhist Monastery :  Morning Meeting Offerings

2017-03-14 2017 4NT Retreat - Introductory Talk, precepts, and Guided Meditation with Bhante Gunaratana 35:03
Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Bhavana Society of West Virginia 2017 Four Noble Truths Retreat

2017-03-07 Retreat closing. Guided metta meditation and refuge and precepts. 21:00
Marcia Rose
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center In the Footprint of the Buddha: Wise Concentration

2017-02-19 02 talk: Refuges and Precepts 28:41
Jill Shepherd
introduction of the Refuges and Precepts, noble silence, metta, and supports for the retreat "container"
Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre Seven-day insight meditation retreat

2017-01-04 01 Talk: Retreat opening - refuges and precepts, metta 28:32
Jill Shepherd
Cultivating supports for the retreat container: taking the refuges and precepts, and developing an attitude of kind curiosity
Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre New Year, New Beginnings

2016-12-15 Inviting the precepts to tea. 49:33
Caroline Jones
Some thoughts on how to make friends with the five ethical training guidelines.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge December 10 to 31 2016 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2016-12-09 Precepts and Forgiveness 17:11
Ajahn Sucitto
(refuges and precepts, final reflections and goodbye, metta chant)
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge November 10 to December 9 2016 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2016-11-15 02 Introduction to Refuges & Precepts 10:47
Ayya Santussika
Karuna Buddhist Vihara Daylong on Lopez Island, Washington

2016-10-27 Morning Chant of Refuges and Precepts 2:06
Kamala Masters
Monastero di Camaldoli :  The Integration of Love and Wisdom

2016-09-18 2016 Bojjhanga Retreat - Introduction, Precepts, and Guided Meditation 38:01
Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
Bhavana Society of West Virginia 2016 Bojjhanga Retreat

2016-09-11 Entering the retreat: refuges and precepts 56:38
Guy Armstrong
This talk gives an overview of the three refuges and the five precepts in retreat practice, as well as chanting them. It gives particular emphasis to the wholesome qualities of the historical Buddha
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Part 1

2016-08-05 Opening Talk: awareness, schedule, formal refuges and precepts 58:01
Steve Armstrong
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Attitude and Awareness, Insight and Integration

2016-08-04 Refrain From Killing 68:12
Ayya Santussika
Ayya Santussika gave the fifth talk in a six-week series titled "Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts." She takes an in-depth look at the first precept: refraining from killing. She explores harming, how to live a life of non-harming, and facing difficult situations non-violently.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts

2016-07-28 Refrain from False Speech 29:28
Shaila Catherine
Shaila Catherine gave the fourth talk in a six-week series titled "Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts." Speech is given particular importance in the Buddhist path because wrong speech can cause tremendous harm, and right speech can be profoundly beneficial. Practicing right speech is given emphasis because it's a very vivid way of applying our practice to daily life. When we lie based on delusion and greed, our intention usually is to benefit ourselves. When we lie based on delusion and hatred, our intention is usually to harm others. Even when we lie to cause less harm than would be caused if we spoke the truth, we should be aware of the potential karmic consequences.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts

2016-07-17 Buddhist Studies Course - The Practice of Integrity - Week 4 63:11
Mark Nunberg
We will discuss wise speech and then break for our small groups to talk about our experience and insight into the middle three precepts of not taking, refraining from sexual misconduct, or wise speech. Here are two study materials related to wise speech that you might want to use:
Common Ground Meditation Center Buddhist Studies Course - The Practice of Integrity
Attached Files:

2016-07-14 Refrain from Stealing 51:52
Shaila Catherine
Shaila Catherine gave the second talk in a six-week series titled "Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts." When we undertake the training of refraining from taking that which is not given and practice generosity, we are improving our mind. More specifically, we are purifying our mind of greed. In fact, not stealing and giving are conditions that contribute to the realization of nibbana.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts

2016-07-07 Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts 4:55:25
with Angie Boissevain, Ayya Santussika, Drew Oman, Shaila Catherine
This series will explore virtue as the indispensable foundation of Buddhist practice. The series will emphasize the five training precepts, and explore action, ethics, kamma, and cause-effect dynamics. The precepts are not rules to be obediently followed; they serve as guidelines for the intentional development of compassion, mindfulness, and wisdom. These five precepts offer us a joyful method to cultivate the heart, nurture harmony in relationships, and free the mind from inner forces of greed and anger that if unrestrained may cause suffering to ourselves and others.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley

2016-07-03 Day 4: Evening Instructions & Sitting Meditation 42:40
Anushka Fernandopulle
Sharing experiences with the precepts in daily life. Anushka Fernandopulle, JoAnna Harper, Bonnie Duran and Vance Pryor (trainee)
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Finding Freedom: Vipassana Retreat for People of Color

2016-06-18 Understanding the Refuges and Precepts 60:51
Kamala Masters
Twin Cities Vipassana Collective TCVC June 2016

2016-06-06 Mine development, ethics, and giving 63:39
Rebecca Bradshaw
The three parts of the path for Westerners. Includes precepts as practice, and an exploration of the Brahma Viharas as a template for giving
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Liberation of Heart and Mind: Insight Meditation and Lovingkindness Retreat

2016-05-26 Chanting: Hommage to the Buddha, Refuges, Precepts 2:53
Steve Armstrong
Meditationszentrum Beatenberg Sayadaw U Tejaniya

2016-04-28 Evening Q&A 51:12
Ajahn Sucitto
Samsara; The Realms; Broken Heart/Deep Grief; How to Be with Heavy Stuff; Painful Feelings; Identification with the Body; Precepts; Abuse; Sound of Silence; Equanimity
Padmasambhava Peace Institute :  Body, Heart and Mind: Embodying Citta

2016-04-23 Opening Remarks: The Texture of the Precepts Includes Respect, Sensitivity and Care 1:16:41
Ajahn Sucitto
The group format of the retreat requires care because we can't help but enter each other's presence. Precepts offer boundaries that catalyze quality of heart and sensitivity to how we negatively impact ourselves and others.
Padmasambhava Peace Institute :  Body, Heart and Mind: Embodying Citta

2016-03-21 Opening Talk, Transformation, Indriyas, Precepts 60:49
Ajahn Sucitto
Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, South Africa :  The Deeper You Go, the Lighter it Gets

2016-03-17 Skillful Paths of Bodily Action 49:33
Jenny Wilks
This is the first talk in a 3-part speaker series titled "Pathways of Skillful Action". Jenny Wilks provides an overview of what we mean by ethics, and how the Buddha's list of ten paths of skillful action expand on the traditional five precepts and encompass body, speech, and mind. This talk focuses on the body and the first 3 precepts.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley

2016-03-11 Sitting on Potential Found in Body-Mind 66:28
Ajahn Sucitto
Arriving Potential Guided meditation (with rain) Posture No past, no future, rhythmic breathing, Trust breath Refuge and Precepts
Dharmagiri Healing the Cracks: Generosity and Interdependence

2016-01-10 Closing Talk 52:07
Ajahn Sucitto
moving out of the retreat form; honouring others; unresponsive cittas and microphones; recognizing and using the underlying foundation with confidence; empathy and sympathy for ourselves and others from a confident citta; connections to others; story of the calm and loving peace activist; recommending skillful means: using the 5 precepts to bear the welfare of others in mind and to cultivate respect for oneself; offering value to each other; cultural themes – intention and convention; using the pause; top down morality; guilt and confession, unskillfulness of some religious forms ; sila - being clear about intention to help the citta; finding balance and clarity; skillful use of the restful aspects of meditation; common social behaviours, gossip and fuzziness of intention; ongoing attunement of attention to what really counts; your citta has the capacity for great well being and clarity; respecting and gladdening the citta and spending time each day listening to the citta; reflection on the triangular mural in the hall; the earth touching mudra; dealing with mundane busyness in life; using the 10 second pause to touch your own earth element and call on the earth mother

2016-01-01 Going Home 1:32:42
Matthew Brensilver
Along with Marv talking about Resources, Dawn about Sangha groups and "T" about precepts/closing.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center New Year's Teen Retreat

2015-12-23 Integrity is the Cause of Happiness:Precepts Practice 1:55:38
Sylvia Boorstein
35 minute break after initial talk for meditation
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2015-10-17 The Sure Heart's Release (Part 2) - The Two Guardians Of the World 38:20
Kamala Masters
Hiri and Ottappa: A deep respect for oneself and others to practice the precepts of non-harming
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1

2015-09-13 Finding Refuge 52:45
Greg Scharf
An exploration of the subject of talking refuge - includes chanting of the refuges and precepts in Pali
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1

2015-08-25 Refrain from Taking Intoxicants 23:19
Jason Murphy
This talk by Jason Murphy is the sixth in the speaker series Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts.The five training precepts are not commandments nor are they a list of “don’t dos.” Instead, they have an over-arching principle of ahimsa, or do no harm. In other words, following the precepts can be seen as a way to stop us from spilling our suffering onto the rest of the world. In addition, the aim of observing the precepts is to allow practitioners to be blameless and at ease, thereby preparing their minds for meditation. The fifth precept deals with not taking alcohol, drugs or other intoxicants that will lead to heedlessness. This precept is really about seeing clearly: we cannot see clearly and develop our wisdom when we intoxicate our mind.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts

2015-07-28 How Conduct Bears Fruit: Training in Not Killing 37:52
Shaila Catherine
This is the second talk in a speaker series titled Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts. This talk by Shaila Catherine explores kamma (karma) and the training precept to refrain from killing. The Abhidhamma presents a detailed analysis of both wholesome and unwholesome mental states to explain how some actions lead to suffering, and other actions lead to happiness. The conditions that surround an action, the intentions that instigate it, and the reflective understanding of potential consequences will influence the intensity of the patterns that affect our options. If you find that you have killed a living being, perhaps an insect, notice your mental state. Was hatred or greed present? Learn what happens in the mind to enable killing, and what happens in the mind when you refrain from violence. The act of restraint is a particularly potent action. When virtue (sila) is pure, reflections on the abstention from harming can be a source of joy. The potency of wholesome restraint can be increased by reinforcing it with the wisdom that understands the causes and end of suffering—right view of the path.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts

2015-07-24 The Path of Wise Speech 67:15
Oren Jay Sofer
Introduction to practicing with Right Speech and overview of its relevance in spiritual practice. Talk ends with reflections on the triple gem (three refuges) and five precepts.
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies The Path of Wise Speech: Living the Teachings

2015-07-21 Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts 3:26:01
with Jason Murphy, Shaila Catherine, Sharon Allen, Steve Gasner, Tony Bernhard
This series explores virtue as the indispensable foundation of Buddhist practice. It is structured according to the five training precepts. These precepts are not rules to be followed obediently; rather, they serve as guidelines for the intentional development of compassion, mindfulness and wisdom. These five precepts offer us a joyful method to cultivate the heart, nurture harmony in our relationships, and free the mind from inner forces of greed and hatred that if left unrestrained might cause suffering for ourselves and others.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley

2015-07-21 Precepts: The Gift of Fearlessness 28:24
Shaila Catherine
This talk by Shaila Catherine is the first in a speaker series titled Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts. It offers an over view of the five precepts (sila) as training tools for bringing mindfulness and restraint into our actions, relationships, and daily life activities. These basic guidelines for living an ethical life, and the power of restraint are as relevant in the modern world as they were in ancient India. Taking care with our actions can be a source of joy and happiness. When our actions are clear, the mind is free from regret, guilt, and remorse; we gain self-respect, self-esteem, and confidence. The four bases of success (iddhipadas) can be used to strengthen these training precepts. With the support of desire, energy, consciousness, and investigation we can fully commit to abstain from unwholesome actions, and develop wholesome states, thereby gaining sovereignty over our own mind.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley
In collection: Ethics, Action, and the Five Precepts

2015-04-23 Ethics and Meditative Experiences 59:47
Martine Batchelor
Exploring the bodhisattva precepts, the goals of practice and meditative experiences and awakening.
Gaia House Son Retreat

2015-01-29 Taking Your Practice home 56:40
Mark Coleman
How do we integrate practice into daily life? This talk explores how the eight fold path and the five precepts support us in life.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Natural Radiance: The Liberating Power of Awareness

2014-12-11 Evening - Introductory Explanations 33:07
Ajahn Sucitto
How to see and use the retreat; Significance of bowing; refuges and precepts; need to realize the opportunity for practice and its urgency
Young Buddhists Association of Thailand :  Ajahn Sucitto YBAT Silent Retreat

2014-10-01 Ethical Practice 1 - An Introduction 58:11
Donald Rothberg
We explore the meaning of ethical practice - its relationship to meditation and wisdom practice, how it is more a training than a following of external principles, how there are individual, relational, and social dimensions to our ethical practice, and how it can deepen for us. There's a brief overview of the five lay precepts and a taking of the precepts.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2014-10-01 Chanting--Homage to the Buddha, Refuges, Precepts 5:23
Stephen Snyder
Cloud Mountain Retreat Center Cloud Mountain Month-long Samatha Retreat Sept. 6 - Oct. 3, 2014

2014-10-01 Chanting--Homage to the Buddha, Refuges, Precepts 5:23
Tina Rasmussen
Cloud Mountain Retreat Center Cloud Mountain Month-long Samatha Retreat Sept. 6 - Oct. 3, 2014

2014-09-14 Retreat Opening 49:14
Carol Wilson
Taking the refuges and precepts
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three Month - Part 1

2014-08-01 Opening Talk: Retreat format, refuges and precepts 49:54
Steve Armstrong
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Awareness with Wisdom: Insight Meditation Retreat

2014-07-01 Roles, Relationships, and Awakening 38:16
Shaila Catherine
This talk was given as a part of the series "Where Rubber Meets the Road: A Series on Mindful Living." We live in a world that requires a diversity of relationships. How do you choose your friends? What kind of relationships support or stunt your spiritual growth? How do you relate to life, and to love? We can bring wisdom and mindfulness to our interactive lives, to the roles that we perform, to our intimate sexual relationships, and our friendships; we practice both in solitude and in community. Harmony, generosity, and joy are developed through noble friendship. Relationships can challenge us to work with the tendencies of our own minds, clarify our precepts, develop compassion, learn to let go, and nurture the path of awakening. Deep friendship is considered to be the precursor of right view. A good friend encourages the best in us and supports our development of the noble eight fold path.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley Tuesday Talks
In collection: Where Rubber Meets the Road: A Series on Mindful Living

2014-05-05 The Five Precepts of Service 1:11:14
Frank Ostaseski
Precepts and guides for working with the dying...
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2014-05-05 The 5 Precepts of Service 1:11:14
Frank Ostaseski
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2014-03-19 Refuges and Precepts 1:10:55
Larry Rosenberg
Cambridge Insight Meditation Center

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