Dharma Seed - Rodney Smith's Dharma Talks

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2012-04-03 Fundamentals of the Dharma: Staying Within Yourself 2:02	Download Listen
In the West we have little preparation for dharma practice because our lives have not been tuned to staying within ourselves. We have been taught to look outside for approval and to compare ourselves to others. How can we possibly find ourselves within any comparison? All we will ever find is a sense of lacking. Leaning toward the world does not allow us to find our own stability, and yet we cannot question the sense of self without inward evenness and dependability.
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
In collection: Fundamentals of the Dharma

2012-03-29 Application Of The Four Foundations 44:46	Download Listen
The four foundations move us from form to formless but also give us a view and appreciation to make the journey
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge : March 2012 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2012-03-22 Exploring The Fourth Foundation. 43:01	Download Listen
The Buddha removes the self from consideration by remembering each mind state, simple as it is.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge : March 2012 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2012-03-15 Third Foundation: Just This 45:09	Download Listen
The Buddha seems to be suggesting to advance ourselves as little as possible in the Third Foundation. When we see what is arising minimally as "just this," we are essentially taking ourselves out of that seeing.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge : March 2012 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2012-03-08 Second Foundation: Dissolving Form 48:33	Download Listen
The second foundation begins to dissolve the form of "I' and the body/mind begins to slowly lose its boundaries revealing the formless.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge : March 2012 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2012-03-01 Applying The Four Foundations 39:10	Download Listen
The principles of the Four Noble Truths, we are all familiar with, but the application of the principles lie within the integrated understanding of the Four Foundations.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge : March 2012 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2012-02-21 Fundamentals of the Dharma: Samadhi 56:47	Download Listen
The Buddha once said that his teaching directed us toward three principles: sila (ethical conduct), panna (wisdom), and samadhi (firmness of mind). Samadhi is the fundamental principle of a steady and harmonious mind. During samadhi, consciousness is not wavering with each thought but firm and stationary, allowing attention to be bare and free for observation. There is a component of wisdom within samadhi since the mind is resolute and unperturbed by states of mind, yet there is a difference between samadhi and awareness. Awareness is not a state of mind and samadhi is a conditioned state that changes over time; awareness is more easily acknowledged when the mind is firm and steady.
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
In collection: Fundamentals of the Dharma

2012-02-07 Fundamentals of the Dharma: Bare Attention 1:01	Download Listen
Any review of the fundamentals must go squarely through bare attention. Bare attention is the essence of our practice, and the single tool that nourishes our wisdom and understanding all along the way. "Baring" our attention is why the practice seems to take so long to mature. We are so used to looking to thought for guidance that we overlay a film of thought on our attention to give a familiar tinge to what we see. Without that film of memory there would be the simple essence of emptiness seeing itself. Many of us feel unprepared for that level of reality so we subtly think about what we see, and our thinking makes this great expanse feel safer and more manageable. Cleaning up our attention becomes our work.
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
In collection: Fundamentals of the Dharma

2012-01-23 Fundamentals of the Dharma: Moving Toward the Struggle 0:36	Download Listen
Why did the Buddha say he only taught suffering and the end of suffering? If this is the core of what he taught, how diligently do we practice it? Do our practices attempt to understand the nature of anguish, or do they sidestep that issue and attempt to create anguish-free environments and foster greater dependency on pleasant experiences? Do we see anguish as a fundamental dharmic principle that guides and directs us toward liberation, or do we pull back and adapt a philosophical approach to anguish - "This too shall pass." Suffering provides all that is necessary for a complete understanding of the formation of self, but we must be willing to move toward the difficult for that to be imparted.
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
In collection: Fundamentals of the Dharma

2012-01-10 Fundamentals of the Dharma 14:40:40

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In this series we open an exploration of a few fundamental dharma principles. Students will already have some familiarity with many of these topics, and some may seem trivial. But the reality is there is no trivial truth. Any and all truths can only take us as deeply as we allow them to enter. Most of us reach a comfort level with these fundamentals and then build our practice on top of that partial understanding. If our practice is to move forward these principles must be reexamined and thoroughly realized, then the simplest truth can have a profound impact.

Seattle Insight Meditation Society

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