Featured talks

Cleansing the Doors of Perception: Distortions, Wisdom, and Play
Distortions of perception, the three universal qualities, and a dip into the Cosmic Calendar

Beautiful Mind and Heart: Recollection of the Buddha, Mudita, and Metta
This daylong includes instruction in Recollection of the Buddha, a classical practice that is rarely taught in our Insight scene.

Start Anywhere, Get Everywhere - An Exploration of Dependent Arising
Dependent Arising is the Buddha's most comprehensive teaching on how suffering (dukkha) comes about and how it can be eliminated through correct seeing and practice. (45 min sit, 45 min Dharma talk)


Audio Talks

Hundreds of my talks are available on the main platforms for Insight Dharma talks:

AudioDharma collects talks given at the Insight Meditation Center (IMC), Insight Retreat Center (IRC), and Sati Center for Buddhist Studies -- Gil Fronsdal's centers in California.

DharmaSeed collects talks given at Spirit Rock, Insight Meditation Society (IMS), and many local Dharma groups associated with these large Insight centers. DharmaSeed also includes an archive of talks given specifically through Uncontrived.
Video Talks

Series: Letting Go and Cultivation (Dec '24/Jan '25)
A set of five guided meditations (30 min) and five Dharmettes (15 min)
As we turn over the new year, we explore Dharma topics that support, enhance, and hone our ability to let go or cultivate. These actions are not always easy to do well, which is why our "resolutions" often fall flat.

Series: Buddha's Mind (Oct 2024)
A set of five guided meditations (30 min) and five Dharmettes (15 min)
The Ten Epithets of the Buddha portray the qualities of the Buddha's mind, from being fully enlightened to having the ability to teach. How does this set of epithets support our practice here and now?

Dependent Arising ("Start Anywhere, Get Everywhere") (July 2024)

Series: Four Inspirational Blessings (Apr 2024)
A set of five guided meditations (30 min) and five Dharmettes (15 min)
This series is also available on YouTube.
An unpacking of the Pali Canon teaching "to not neglect wisdom, to preserve truth, to cultivate reliquishment, and to train for peace," which connects to a later teaching called The Four Inspirational Blessings. 

Series: Flavors of the Dharma (June 2023)
A set of five guided meditations (30 min) and five Dharmettes (15 min) Below, they are matched up with guided meditations on the Five Elements. Above, the series link gives just the talks.
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. 
     #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)

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Series: The Art of Letting Go (Feb 2023)
A set of five guided meditations (30 min) and five Dharmettes (15 min)
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.

Here is the same series on YouTube (meditation and talk combined):
     #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)
A set of five guided meditations (30 min) and five Dharmettes (15 min) Below, they are matched up with guided meditations. Above, the series link gives just the talks.
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)
A set of five guided meditations (30 min) and five Dharmettes (15 min)
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.

Here is the same series on YouTube (meditation and talk combined):
     #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)
A set of five guided meditations (30 min) and five Dharmettes (15 min)
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. 

Here is the same series on YouTube (meditation and talk combined):
     #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)
A set of five guided meditations (30 min) and five Dharmettes (15 min)
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

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)

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