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Donald Rothberg's Dharma Talks
Donald Rothberg
Donald Rothberg, PhD, has practiced Insight Meditation since 1976, and has also received training in Tibetan Dzogchen and Mahamudra practice and the Hakomi approach to body-based psychotherapy. Formerly on the faculties of the University of Kentucky, Kenyon College, and Saybrook Graduate School, he currently writes and teaches classes, groups and retreats on meditation, daily life practice, spirituality and psychology, and socially engaged Buddhism. An organizer, teacher, and former board member for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Donald has helped to guide three six-month to two-year training programs in socially engaged spirituality through Buddhist Peace Fellowship (the BASE Program), Saybrook (the Socially Engaged Spirituality Program), and Spirit Rock (the Path of Engagement Program). He is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World and the co-editor of Ken Wilber in Dialogue: Conversations with Leading Transpersonal Thinkers.
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2019-07-03 : From the Ordinary Habitual Mind to the Buddha-Mind 8: Transforming Our Ordinary Sense of Self 2: The “Doer” 63:14
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We first look briefly at the general framework of this series of talks and discussion; we examine: (1) the conditioning of the “ordinary habitual mind,” understood through examining 10 different parameters of that mind; (2) the nature of the “Buddha mind” in terms of these 10 parameters; and (3) how we practice with a given parameter to enact this transformation. Today’s talk is the second covering the nature and sense of self; we review some what was covered last time. We then take the rest of the session examining one manifestation of the “thick” self—the conditioned sense of the “doer.” We look at a number of ways in which the doer becomes more obvious, as when there is anxiety about not doing anything; we might notice this sometimes on a vacation or in retirement. We also examine the cultural dimensions of the conditioning around finding identity as a doer. We then look at how it’s possible to have our doing come more out of presence and being, with reference to the teachings of the Buddha and Chuang-Tzu especially. We conclude with a series of exercises in which we develop a sense of doing that comes more out of presence and being.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Monday and Wednesday Talks
2019-06-05 From the Ordinary Habitual Mind to the Buddha-Mind 7: Transforming Our Ordinary Sense of Self 1 61:05
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After situating today’s theme in the context of the nature of the “ordinary habitual mind” and how it is transformed, we look at the fourth parameter of transformation: the nature and sense of self. We start by recognizing the often conceptually confusing nature of this area, and then proposing a primarily practical way to approach the area. We first identify the conditioned sense of self as permanent, independent, and separate, how this sense of self manifests in various ways and why this can be a problem, connected with suffering. , We then briefly suggest how the elements of such a conditioned sense of self are absent in an awakened being and how other positive qualities are present. Finally, while recognizing a number of complexities, including developmental issues, we look at two practical ways to explore and transform the conditioned sense of self: (1) by looking out for and being mindful of when there is a “thick” or “big” sense of self, and (2) finding various ways, in the flow of daily life as well as in formal meditation, to “thin” out the self, developing ways of experiencing with no or much less of a sense of self.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Monday and Wednesday Talks
2019-06-05 Basic Mindfulness Instructions and a Guided Meditation on Exploring the Nature of the Self 36:10
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Basic Mindfulness Instructions and a Guided Meditation on Exploring the Nature of the Self
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Awakening Joy
2019-05-29 : From the Ordinary Habitual Mind to the Buddha-Mind 6: Opening to the Awakened Heart 2 57:21
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We continue to focus on two core themes related to developing the open, awakened heart: (1) Seeing what blocks the heart and responding skillfully in the moment and over time, and (2) cultivating the open awakened heart in a variety of ways, both in and out of meditation.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Monday and Wednesday Talks
2019-05-22 From the Ordinary Habitual Mind to the Buddha-Mind 5: Opening to the Awakened Heart 57:02
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After a brief account of the ten parameters of transformation that we’re considering in this series, we look at one of them--the ordinary habitual “heart,” our emotions and our access (or not) to kindness and care. We examine many factors that block or limit the awakened heart of kindness and love, including greed, hatred, and delusion; several dimensions of social and historical conditioning; the split between mind, body, and emotions; unhealed wounds; emotions like fear and anger; and attachment to views. We point to some of the ways, including in meditation practice, to access the awakened heart.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Monday and Wednesday Talks
2019-05-20 Monday Night Dharma Talk with Donald Rothberg and Stephen Fulder -Developing our Capacities to Make Change in the World 1:11:27
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Monday and Wednesday Talks
2019-05-19 Keeping Cool in the Fire: Transforming Inner and Outer Conflict - Day 2 -Practicing with Difficult Emotions, Thoughts, and Body States 1:15:03
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
2019-05-18 Keeping Cool in the Fire: Transforming Inner and Outer Conflict - Day 1 - The Two Arrows, the Middle Way, and the Both-And Model of Conflict Transformation 1:11:26
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
2019-05-18 Keeping Cool in the Fire: Transforming Inner and Outer Conflict - Day 1 - The Nature of Conflict and Why Being with Conflict Is Difficult 46:11
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
2019-05-01 From the Ordinary Habitual Mind to the Buddha-Mind 4: Practicing with the Body 2 66:25
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We contextualize our conditioning in relationship to the different “parts” of our experience—related to our thinking, emotions, and body—by examining some the social and cultural history of the last few hundred years, in which thinking has been increasingly differentiated from emotions and the body. We then examine further the nature of our ordinary, habitual experience of the body. The main focus is on a number of “body practices,” including mindfulness of the body in both formal meditation and daily life, ways to self-regulate when there is high activation, using the body in investigation of experience, and the body as a key to presence in speech and interaction.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center :  Monday and Wednesday Talks

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