Dharma Talks

Video Talks (YouTube):

Series: Flavors of the Dharma (June 2023)
(30 min guided meditation; 15 min Dharma talk)
The Buddhist teachings are characterized by distinct emotional tones (recognized in ancient Indian culture). This series explores a set of these emotional tones and when they are useful in practice. They are matched up with meditations on the Five Elements.
#1: Meditation: Fire Element ; Talk: Love and Care
#2: Meditation: Earth Element ; Talk: Energy or Heroism
#3: Meditation: Water Element ; Talk: Humor
#4: Meditation: Air Element ; Talk: Wonder and Amazement
#5: Meditation: Space Element ; Talk: Peace

Reverence and Irreverence (June 2023)

The Spectrum of Desire (Apr 2023)

Practicing in Accordance with the Dharma (Apr 2023)

Series: The Art of Letting Go (Feb 2023)
(30 min guided meditation; 15 min Dharma talk)
Knowing that the Buddhist path is about letting go, a natural question is, "How can I let go of X?" (Fill in your choice -- anger, compulsive thinking, self-criticism...). This series delves into a list of seven methods that lead to letting go. Our job is to do the practices, and the letting go will occur.
#1: Meditation: Noting ; Talk: Letting Go by Seeing
#2: Meditation: Ease as the Reference ; Talk: Letting Go by Restraining
#3: Meditation: Being with Thinking ; Talk: Letting Go by Using and by Avoiding
#4: Meditation: Sitting with Things as They Are ; Talk: Letting Go by Enduring and by Removing
#5: Meditation: Strengthening Awareness ; Talk: Letting Go by Developing

Gathering the Mind: The Practice of Samādhi (Feb 2023)
30 min guided samatha meditation; 30 min talk + Q&A

Series: Meeting Life Well -- Five Dharma Resources (Nov 2022)
(30 min guided meditation; 15 min Dharma talk)
This series describes five key qualities with which we can meet life circumstances well, both on and off the cushion. It's a list that appears in many suttas (at least 10), but is not taught often.
#1: Meditation: Trust in Meeting Experience ; Talk: Confidence
#2: Meditation: Honesty with Experience ; Talk: Virtue
#3: Meditation: Listening ; Talk: Listening and Learning
#4: Meditation: Giving Attention & Letting Go ; Talk: Generosity and Letting Go
#5: Meditation: Arising and Passing ; Talk: Discernment

Series: Desire and Letting Go (Aug 2022)
(30 min guided meditation; 15 min Dharma talk)
This series views the path to Awakening as a process of refining our desires and learning to let go more and more deeply. It introduces the Buddhist understanding of "renunciation" (nekkhamma), which differs from the Western view.
#1: Meditation: From Craving to Aspiration ; Talk: The Diversity of Desire
#2: Meditation: Wanting and Not Wanting ; Talk: Sensual Desire and Pleasure
#3: Meditation: Simplicity ; Talk: Nekkhamma -- A Fresh Look at Renunciation
#4: Meditation: Samādhi and Happiness ; Talk: The Happiness of Letting Go
#5: Meditation: Open Awareness and Letting Go ; Talk: The Movement Toward Freedom

Series: Mindfulness as Protection (Mar 2022)
(30 min guided meditation; 15 min Dharma talk)
This series brings in many images and similes that the Buddha used to describe mindfulness (sati). They all circle around the idea that mindfulness is a powerful protection for both ourselves and others.
#1: Meditation: Protection for Oneself ; Talk: Guarding the Sense Doors
#2: Meditation: Investigation of Wandering ; Talk: The Danger of Not Being Mindful
#3: Meditation: Impermanence ; Talk: Mindfulness at the Time of Death, and as a Refuge
#4: Meditation: The Body Supports the Mind ; Talk: The Strength of Mindfulness
#5: Meditation: Balancing Through Mindfulness ; Talk: Protection of Oneself and Others

Series: The Dharma of Uncommon Lists (Dec 2021)
(30 min guided meditation; 15 min Dharma talk)
This series is a "countdown" through some of the less-well-known lists in the Buddha's teachings -- from 5 items down to 1. You'll see that they are every bit as profound as the more common teachings.
#1: Meditation: Knowing with the Body ; Talk: Five Ways of Ascertaining Truth
#2: Med: Simple Refuge ; Talk: Four Qualities to Emulate and Grow
#3: Med: Reflecting on Generosity ; Talk: Three Kinds of Wisdom [truncated]
#4: Med: Open Mind, Flowing River ; Talk: Two Fools
#5: Med: Sensing the Citta ; Talk: The Primacy of the Mind

Series: The Depth of the Body (Aug 2021)
(30 min guided meditation; 15 min Dharma talk)
#1: Meditation: Touching into the Body ; Talk: Mindfulness of the Body as a Friend
#2: Med: The Energy of the Body ; Talk: Four Bodily Knots
#3: Med: Resting in Well-Being ; Talk: The Body as a Support for Concentration
#4: Med: The Four Elements ; Talk: The Body as a Vehicle of Insight

The Five Faculties and Life (Aug 2021)
(30 min guided meditation; 30 min Dharma talk)

Independence in the Dhamma (July 2021)
(30 min guided meditation; 30 min Dharma talk)

Beginning Well (Apr 2021)
(30 min guided meditation; 30 min Dharma talk)

Thinking in the Service of Awakening (Feb 2021)
(30 min guided meditation; 30 min Dharma talk)

The Dharma Life (Nov 2020)
(30 min guided meditation; 30 min Dharma talk)

The Four Bases of Dharma Power (July 2020)

The Past Has Been Left Behind; The Future Has Not Been Reached (Apr 2020)

Dharma Intelligence (Feb 2020)