Recordings
Dharma Talks
Hundreds of Kim's 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:
Here are a few sample talks:
Dependent Arising ("Start Anywhere, Get Everywhere") (July 2024)
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?
Cleansing the Doors of Perception: Distortions, Wisdom, and Play
Guided Meditations
Guided Meditation is a form of Dharma teaching. The meditations offered here encompass some of the key practices I convey in my teachings, and are based on my experiential understanding. It is best to tune into guided meditations when you are in a secluded place and properly set up for meditation.
Ānāpānasati -- Mindfulness of Breathing
I teach Anapanasati from the Pāli Canon discourse where the Buddha gives these instructions (MN 118). They include 16 distinct instructions that flow together in a beautiful set designed to cultivate both samatha (serenity) and vipassanā (insight), as well as the Seven Factors of Awakening. They can be done prescriptively, but are more deeply understood as descriptive.
Guided Meditation - Tetrad 1
Guided Meditation - Tetrads 1 and 2
Guided Meditation - Tetrads 1 2 3 and into 4
Guided Meditation - Tetrad 4 no end bell (This last one assumes you have established your mind in the first three already)
The Elements
Dharma practice entails softening our highly conceptual views, starting with our way of seeing the body. Learning to experience the physical body as Elements is the beginning of a process that leads to freedom. It opens up to many insights, including not-self (anattā).
The Elements (This recording includes about 1 min of the pre-meditation teachings, in which I point to the "whole-body" method I encourage for experiencing the Elements)
Contemplating the Elements
The Elements and Not-Self
The Brahma-Vihāras
The four heart qualities can be deliberately cultivated and also appear on their own as Dharma practice removes the veils that obscure their expression. These are mettā (goodwill / kindness), karunā (compassion / sympathy), muditā (appreciative joy), and upekkhā (equanimity). We must each discover how they manifest in our own heart-mind, and not rely on ideas or ideals of what they should look or feel like. When properly practiced, these qualities are onward-leading, continually going deeper.
Guided Meditation: The Four Brahma-Viharas and Beyond
This meditation is a "grand tour" of the heart qualities for a group that had practiced them for some days already.
Radiation of Muditā
One form of brahma-vihara practice is to radiate these qualties outward. Typically one would begin with metta and proceed in order, but this guided meditation is for the third brahma-vihara, mudita.
Additional / Older Guided Meditations
These are less formal instructions than the above, and are often related to a Dharma talk that followed the sitting.
Seeing the Body Freshly (42 min)
Mindfulness of Thought (21 min)
Sitting with the Vitality of the Dharma (35 min)
The Path Will Take You Whenever You are Ready (34 min)
"Get Small" (26 min; part of Widening the Range daylong. An exploration of the details of experience. Meditation begins at 3:35)
"Get Big" (36 min; part of Widening the Range daylong. An exploration of creating a large awareness. Meditation begins at 1:32)
Focus on Change (36 min; part of Widening the Range daylong. Liberation through noticing change. Meditation begins at 11:58)
Stay Connected but Do Nothing (41 min; part of Widening the Range daylong. Letting go of "for" and "against". Meditation begins at 7:48).
Present without Manipulation (28 min)
Daylongs & Half-Days
Exploring a teaching over several hours, including multiple meditations and instruction sessions, allows it to unfold more fully and deeply. It is worthwhile to take the time to practice a full daylong on one's own or with a group of friends. As a teacher, I see daylongs as giving a taste of what a retreat offers.
Beautiful Mind and Heart (Oct 2024)
(In-person at the Insight Meditation Center). This day is devoted to learning and practicing the Recollection of the Buddha, which is infrequently taught in the Insight world, as well as muditā (appreciative joy) and mettā (lovingkindness or goodwill).
Finding Stability and Clarity in the Breath (July 2024)
(In-person at the Insight Meditation Center). Systematic guidance in mindfulness of breathing (Anapanasati) with an emphasis on the cultivation of serenity and insight.
Modes of Investigation (Jun 2024)
(Online through the Insight Retreat Center). Dharma practice involves a deep exploration of reality. This kind of exploring is a skill in and of itself, as well as being a factor of awakening in the classical list of seven. This daylong includes practices of investigation and inquiry that rely on several modes of knowing. Participants will broaden and refine their understanding of Dharma investigation and how it facilitates liberation.
Joy and Tranquility through the Breath (Mar 2023)
(Online through the Insight Retreat Center). This daylong is based on mindfulness of breathing, with an emphasis on the awakening factors of Joy and Tranquility. The coexistence of energizing qualities, calming qualities, and deep happiness characterizes this form of meditation.
The Cultivation of Knowledge: Understanding and Releasing Dukkha (July 2022)
(Sati Center for Buddhist Studies). The heart of Buddhist practice involves understanding and releasing dukkha (suffering or unsatisfactoriness). These are not static ideas to learn, but active knowledges to cultivate. When we set out to understand dukkha, that understanding begins one way, then changes as we mature in practice. The same is true for the task of letting go of dukkha.
Audio
Video
The Inner Strength of Non-Obsession (Apr 2021)
A mind obsessed by wanting, ill will, opinions, etc, brings suffering for oneself and one's community. In contrast, a mind with little obsession is "well-disposed for Awakening." This is a half-day of samatha and vipassana practice on letting go of obsessive thinking and views.
Introduction
Guided Meditation: Samatha
Papanca - short teaching
Guided Meditation: Open awareness and papanca
Guided Meditation: Resting in awareness
Dharma Talk and Q&A: Building Inner Strength
Dharma Chariots: Three Teachings from the Suttas Using Chariot Imagery (Jan 2021)
Chariots are a common image in the classical teachings. How can we use them to "ride well into 2021"?
Spontaneous and Skillful Speech
Not-Self
Dharma Chariot Guided Meditation
Dharma talk: Living a Dharma Life
Cultivating Complete View (Jun 2020)
(Insight Meditation Center). Five key supports for the development of "right view," also called "complete view":
Faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom.
Part 1
Part 2
Widening the Range: The Four Noble Truths (Oct 2018)
(Insight Meditation Center). This daylong presents a range of perspectives and tools that help us move out of "stuckness"
The whole series is linked above. Here are the individual pieces:
Introduction and initial guided meditation
"Get small" meditation
"Get big" meditation
"Focus on change" meditation
"Stay connected, but do nothing" meditation
Refuge, Path, and Wrap-Up
Dhamma for Scientists (July 2017)
A program of meditation, contemplation, and teachings about the resonances and differences between science and the Dharma. It is not about neuroscience. Teachings touch into topics such as investigation, the role of an objective observer, and the limits of cognitive knowledge in the development of the heart.
The whole series is linked above. Here are the individual pieces:
Introduction, teaching on Investigation, Guided Meditation on observing breath, and Q&A
Five ways of knowing
Bringing in the Heart; our intentions; Guided Meditation on heart connection; Q&A
Changing our perceptions and views; Direct knowing; Three types of wisdom
Guided meditation: Direct knowing
Q&A about direct knowing
Going beyond the mind; practice tips; Guided Meditation -- rest and reconnect; Q&A
Classes
I teach classes through the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies, the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, various Insight organizations, as well as on my own through Uncontrived. Although they are called "classes" because they engage a particular topic in a structured way, they are meant to be approached as Dharma study combined with practice. They are not offered as mere intellectual explorations.
Some of these recordings have video, others are audio-only.
Retreats
It is a fruitful practice to go through a set of retreat recordings on your own. Set aside time to absorb them. Even sit the retreat on your own, as a self-retreat. Retreats offer an extended arc of teaching through which to develop a theme; they create a container with a beginning, middle, and end.